Bob Arum Announces Ryan Garcia vs Teófimo Lopez for February 2024; Declares Only Condition That ‘KingRy’ Needs to Fulfil

Heavens be merciful. Like he did with the Gervonta Davis fight this year, Ryan Garcia might usher in 2024 with a big match. We still have a month before the year ends. But the fans can already look forward to a few mouth-watering big matches on the horizon. Along with the Tyson Fury–Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua–Deontay Wilder line-ups, Ryan Garcia and Teófimo Lopez now join the tentative line-ups.

Per the latest update, Top Rank boss Bob Arum seems upbeat about a Garcia-Lopez square-off. However, the celebrated promoter has a condition that the Californian needs to fulfill. In the meantime, after the ‘Tank’ loss, Garcia returns to the ring against Oscar Duarte Jurado next month. It shouldn’t be too tough of a chase, says Arum reportedly, to get two of the biggest stars in the 140-pound division together.

Get, (Conditions) Set, and Go! Ryan Garcia vs. Teófimo Lopez

Boxing journalist Steve Cureno III asked Bob Arum, “…I know you and Oscar have both mentioned Teófimo possibly facing Ryan Garcia. Just what’s the latest with Teófimo? What’s going on?” The Top Rank honcho replied that they would love to have a bout between the two in the month of February. However, in the meantime, Garcia has the Duarte fight coming up. So, connecting the dots, Arum mentioned that it shouldn’t be challenging to set up a Garcia-Lopez fight by the end of February.

He said, “Well, we hope to get that fight done sometime in February; meanwhile Garcia has a fight before then, but you know, I don’t think there’s going to be that much difficulty putting a uh uh a uh Teófimo Ryan fight together for the end of February.”

So for all intents and purposes, if Ryan Garcia wants to have a go at the world title, he needs to cross the Duarte hurdle first.

Teófimo Lopez moved up a division after the loss to George Kambosos Jr. After two prosaic fights, he made the big move in June this year. He posted a resounding victory over the former undisputed champion Josh Taylor and became the WBO and The Ring light welterweight champion.

Divisional Bells for ‘KingRy’

It’s not that Ryan Garcia lacks any divisional experience either. He fought Javier Fortuna on July 16 last year. It was a light welterweight bout, and he impressed everyone with the sixth-round knockout of the former world champion. However, the coming of the mega-fight against Gervonta Davis forced a retreat. The duo fought at the 136-pound catchweight. Notwithstanding the first career loss, ‘KingRy’ announced a move to 140 pounds. The step, as it appears, even goes for a presumptive rematch with Davis. The latest update is sure to delight scores of fans who want the talented boxer to get out of the much-maligned social media tag and prove himself a worthy boxer in every sense.

Read More: “World Champion at 140”: Fans Hopeful as Ryan Garcia Changes The Gears in Training

After all that he went through this year, do you believe that 2024 will finally be Ryan Garcia’s year? Please share your views with us in the comments below.

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