Boots Ennis Snubbed as Ryan Garcia vs. Teofimo Lopez Come to Play in Oscar De La Hoya’s Plan

All of a sudden, Teofimo Lopez has an abundance of options to look forward to while Jaron Ennis’ dwindles. Just the other day, several reports claimed talks of a fight between Lopez and Ennis are underway at welterweight, which ‘The Takeover’ corroborated on social media. However, Golden Boy Promotions honcho, Oscar De La Hoya, has entered the conversation with his fighter Ryan Garcia.

You see, ‘Boots’ Ennis and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, had previously claimed that Ennis wanted to move on to 154 pounds. However, when Vergil Ortiz Jr. offered to fight Ennis at super welterweight in the upcoming stacked card on February 22, the fight fell apart, with Ennis and his promoter claiming they wanted to remain in their current division. 

Regardless, it seemed like Ennis had finally found an opponent in Lopez, as all the other champions in his division are currently busy with their own opponents—potential or otherwise. Bob Arum, Lopez’s promoter suggested the potential fight between Lopez and Ennis would be a co-promoted event with DAZN and ESPN broadcasting the joint pay-per-view affair.

He told Boxing Scene, “That’s the fight that we want” regarding the Lopez-Ennis fight. “And I believe we can make it happen.” However, earlier today, Oscar De La Hoya hopped on X to introduce some competition for Ennis for the bout. “@RyanGarcia vs @TeofimoLopez makes all the cents if they wanna make dollars,” Oscar wrote. But is this fight possible? 

Ryan Garcia vs. Teofimo Lopez: An unfeasible idea for now

‘King Ry’ is set to face Japanese kickboxer Rukiya Anpo in an exhibition match on December 30th in Tokyo. Press conferences for the bout have already taken place in Los Angeles and Japan. However, Garcia won’t be eligible to appear in a professional setting until April 20th— after serving a suspension imposed earlier this year.

The suspension came after Garcia tested positive for the banned substance Ostarine following his fight with Devin Haney. Given that Garcia typically fights twice a year, and with his exhibition bout lined up, a potential showdown with Teofimo Lopez would likely have to be pushed back until after April. While the fight is not off the table entirely, there’s a considerable wait before it could happen.

Lopez, on the other hand, has expressed a desire to move up in weight, aiming for a future bout with Terence Crawford. He’s also mentioned interest in fighting Gervonta Davis, indicating that weight may not be a limiting factor for ‘The Takeover.’

Despite Oscar De La Hoya’s efforts to make the fight happen, a Lopez-Garcia matchup doesn’t seem feasible at the moment. It might be more strategic for Lopez to take on Jaron Ennis first, and then target Garcia once his suspension is lifted next year. Who do you think Lopez should face next?