WBO 140-pound champion Teofimo Lopez says he is in talks to unify next with IBF light welterweight champion Richardson Hitchens.

Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs) will then move up to 147 and challenge the IBF welterweight in October’s Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney 2 fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Class champion Jalen “Boots” Ennis. If Lopez defeats Ennis, he will face the winner of Garcia-Hani 2 in Riyadh in February 2026.

Lopez-Hitchens Unification

Lopez wouldn’t say whether he has to win a unification fight with Hitchens (19-0, 7 KOs) as a condition of his October matchup with Boots Ennis. However, Turki Sheikh will likely still allow Teofimo to fight Ennis in October, even if Richardson beats him, as he agrees with the fighters returning to the big fight after a defeat.

The question that could arise is if Teofimo is defeated by Hitchens in a humiliating defeat, the October fight between him and Butz will be affected. There’s a good chance that Hitchens will dominate Teofimo and make him look worse than George Kambosos Jr., Xander Martin, and Jamaine Ortiz. Would Turki still want to have Teo in the ring with Boots Ennis in October?

This amounts to rewarding failure. Lopez has looked terrible in his last two fights against journeymen Steve Cratchit and Jermaine Ortiz, who are on a seven-fight losing streak. The vast majority of fans thought Lopez made a genius decision against Jermaine, and the same was true against Xander Martin.

“I’m looking forward to a very productive year. We have a three-fight deal that has not yet been disclosed, but we look forward to announcing it soon,” Teofimo Lopez said. battle center tv About his signing with Turki Sheikh.

“Yeah, that’s what it looks like, yeah,” Teofimo said when told he’d heard from Turki that he would face Jalen “Butz” Ennis in October if he won. he said. He will face the winner of Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney in February 2026. It’s all about the best versus the best, and we’re here to be strong.

“The only thing now is we win the next game and that’s it.” Lopez said when asked how close he was to the Butz Ennis game. “At 140, then we’ll get to 147 class. We’re talking to (IBF light welterweight champion) Richardson Hitchens right now. We want unity. “

I don’t think Lopez’s three fights with Sheikh are going to end well. Teo will make a lot of money, but will likely lose to Richardson next, who looks like a friend being thrown to hungry sharks when he faces IBF welterweight champion Boots Ennis in October.

Turki plans to give the October card loser a consolation fight in Riyadh in February. We could see Teofimo take on Haney, both of whom have been on thin ice in their careers.

The road to 147

“So, two world title fights lined up (Hitchens and Ennis) and then a bonus fight. So, we have a good plan,” Teofimo said. “Yes, we (Hitchens and Te’o) know each other. Yes, we are expecting great things now. Stay tuned. Soon,” when asked when the match with Hitchens would take place. Lopez said. That’s the beauty of it. We’re working on everything right now. That’s the goal. Get everything done and finalized. My legal team did a great job, that’s all. “

Richardson Hitchins, who defeated IBF 140-pound champion Liam Paro last month on December 7 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, will defeat Teofimo, and reveals him to be a has-been boxer. Lopez has struggled since losing to Kambosos Jr. in 2021 and has been terrible over the past four years. Teo took a lot of punishment in his 2020 win over Vasily Lomachenko and things haven’t been the same since.