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Will Teofimo Lopez follow Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney to welterweight?
Ahead of Friday night’s triple-header at Times Square, Teofimo Lopez remains in the orbit of Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney, despite operating in the weight class below.
Lopez has served as a peripheral figure to Garcia and Haney’s rivalry, with the Takeover twice sharing a division with the pair.
However, the two-division world champion has remained at super lightweight, whilst his compatriots are now competing at welterweight.
With the trio throwing barbs at each other in the build-up to the Times Square card, fans have wondered whether Lopez will join his contemporaries at 147 pounds.
Lopez happy to wait and see when it comes to potential Garcia or Haney fight
(Golden Boy / Cris Esqueda)
Whilst Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney have opted to move up in weight, Teofimo Lopez has shown patience by remaining at 140 pounds.
The Olympian has certainly not picked an easy opponent to bide his time, welcoming the challenge of the undefeated Arnold Barboza Jr.
In a recent interview with Ring magazine, Lopes detailed his philosophy when it came to matchmaking.
He explained: “I always like going after the biggest challenges, the giants of new divisions and of the world of boxing.
“Anyone that's at 147, anyone that's at 154, anyone that's at 140, we're at that level where we deserve to face everybody.
“I think we bring a lot of hype and a lot of excitement to the sport.
“Every time you see a Teofimo Lopez fight, you're gonna see excitement.”
Lopez is well aware that the opportunity to face either Garcia or Haney is certainly on the cards; but only if his potential opponents uphold their end of the bargain.
King Ry tops the card with his clash against Rolando Romero as Haney fights Jose Ramirez in their respective lightweight debuts, with a fight between the two rivals expected later this year.
“I think that's the build up,” continued Lopez.
DAZN“Everybody has got to do their job, everybody has to win.
“And as long as all those things happen and they go to plan, the best are gonna fight.
“It's almost like a tournament, we'll see each other, the best fighting the best.
“Whoever is the last man standing. I believe the beginning of next year.
"I don't care, as long as I'm there next year, that's all that matters to me.”
Teofimo Lopez "coming to conquer" welterweight division
Matchroom Boxing Photos
In the same interview, Lopez went from being quite coy about his future to outright stating his intentions for the welterweight class.
Lopez has long mused about a potential move up to 147 pounds, previously stating his desire to become a three-weight champion back in July 2024.
Back then, he was calling out WBO welterweight title holder Brian Norman Jr, a fellow Top Rank fighter who was keen on the match-up.
A fight between the pair did not materialise, with Norman defending his strap against Puerto Rican Derrieck Cuevas in March 2025.
Now that both Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney have stepped up a weight class, it appears that Lopez’s interest in becoming a 147-pounder has been renewed.
The Honduran-American is confident he has what it takes to beat either man, sharing: "They're moving up to 147, I'm still at 140. So they'll at least get a little head start of the welterweight division.
“So everybody at 147, beware, Teofimo is coming to conquer the 147 division.
“I'm just thankful, I'm grateful. Overall, whoever wins out of Ryan and Haney, put them in front of me, we'll beat them.
"It don't matter - either one can get it.”
Watch two incredible fight nights this week only on DAZN
Fight fans are in for a treat this week, with two amazing fight exclusively DAZN PPV.
- May 2: Ryan Garcia vs Rolly Romero; Devin Haney vs Jose Ramirez; Teofimo Lopez vs Arnold Barboza Jr.
- May 3: Canelo Alvarez vs William Scull
Fight fans can purchase either these fight nights individually for $59.99 US; £/€21.99 UK/IRE; $24.99 ROW per PPV or take advantage of the DAZN Knockout Weekend Bundle where both fight cards can be purchased for $90 US; £34.99 UK and €34.99 Europe.
