Bob Arum is targeting a super fight between Teofimo Lopez and Ryan Garcia.
The ‘Takeover’ is the current WBO junior welterweight champion, having beaten Josh Taylor via a unanimous decision.
In the aftermath, Lopez indicated his intention to retire by stating that he would only return if he was given a nine-figure payday.
And given that Lopez has since backtracked on his retirement plans, a fight with Garcia would fulfil that requirement of a mega payday.
Garcia had confirmed that he made $30 million following his fight with Gervonta Davis, as the event sold over a reported $1.2 million pay-per-views.
In addition, due to Garcia’s new training regime, which involves working under Derrick James, ‘King Ryan’ would be a big name opponent.
With that being said, Arum was looking to make the fight happen.
“That would be a huge fight for both guys, and I would certainly be interested in doing a co-promotion with Golden Boy. It’s something that we’ve done very often. I think if Teo is right, nobody beats him at 140. I really believe that.
“If Teo is distracted with personal problems, then Garcia, who really punches hard, can win by knockout. So again, when you’re dealing with fighters, you don’t know what you’re going to get from fight to fight with a lot of them,” Arum
Such a fight would make sense, given that Ryan’s attempt to fight the WBA champion Rolando Romero have been ruled out.
The latter has been ordered to fight his mandatory opponent, Ohara Davies, which has opened the way for a fight with Lopez.
Social Media Reaction
Teo smokes Ryan, they would be putting him in there for a massacre
— 𝔻𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕔𝕜 🎧 𝕍𝕚𝕘𝕘𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕠 𝕏 (@dj_viggi) August 13, 2023
I think Ryan's speed & power would keep him dangerous as long as the fight lasted.
— 🇬🇧 Beta Ray Bill 🇨🇦 (@RayBill2) August 14, 2023
Aw man that would be a crazy fight! I think Teo would win tho
— Taniyah “She-Ra” Price (@SheRaPrice_) August 14, 2023