“That’s the Mayweather Effect”: Teofimo Lopez Explains Why Ryan Garcia Is Suddenly Ducking Devin Haney and Moving on to Another Fight

Teofimo Lopez is way too familiar with fight offers against Ryan Garcia! So, ‘The Takeover’ Lopez detailed his thoughts on Garcia’s unforeseen U-Turn. Lopez, who is geared to defend his WBC title against Jamaine Ortiz on February 8, was offered $1.5 million to fight Garcia in November but refused, claiming it’s way lower than his worth. 

So, during an interview with Fight Hub TV today, the WBO super lightweight champion revealed why ‘King Ry’ is opting to fight Rolly Romero instead of Devin Haney. It’s worth mentioning that Garcia was in the talks to fight Romero before ‘The Dream’ Haney came into the picture. Nevertheless, ‘The Takeover’ believes it has something to do with Floyd Mayweather.

Teofimo Lopez claims Devin Haney has the ‘money belt’

During the interview, the reporter questioned Lopez about his thoughts on Garcia’s swapping. In response, the Brooklyn native claimed, “That’s the Mayweather Effect!” Notably, Floyd has started mentoring Garcia, so it’s not farfetched to think Floyd might have given some pointers to Garcia. Teofimo Lopez went on to suggest that it’s all about the business.

“You got to think about it [from a] business point [of view]. If [Ryan] gets the world title, then he gets [to] balance WBC with the WBA, you know,” said Lopez. Romero currently holds the WBA Super Lightweight title, and Haney holds the WBC Super Lightweight title. So, Teofimo Lopez thinks, “If he got no belt, the Haney’s are going to say they need more because they got the money belt.” With that out of the way, here’s what Garcia said about Floyd recently.

Ryan Garcia on Floyd Mayweather: “Floyd is mentoring me”

Not so long ago, ‘Money’ and ‘King Ry’ were spotted together taking over the streets of Las Vegas when Floyd claimed Garcia should fight who he wants to because he is the best-selling fighter right now. However, who Ryan wants to fight seems to have changed since then. Despite that, in a tweet from January 5, the Victorville native revealed the nature of their relationship.

While Oscar De La Hoya, Garcia’s promoter, seems okay with it, Garcia suggested Floyd is mentoring him. “Floyd is mentoring me, And I love and respect him, he is so authentic so stop judging him.” Garcia wrote on X (formerly Twitter). He went on to claim that he is still being trained by coach Derrick James, and he loves and respects him as well.

Also Read: “Ryan Is Doing Crazy Numbers”: Canelo Alvarez and Gervonta Davis (Now Abdul Wahid) Roped In as Floyd Mayweather Shares His Two Cents on Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney

While nobody but Garcia can be sure about why he decided to change opponents, Lopez’s claims have solid ground, given the development between Ryan and Floyd. Do you think Floyd influenced Garcia to switch opponents? 

Watch This Story: Ryan Garcia & Sean O’Malley Twitter Beef Turns into Fight Call-Out