Fatal Fury Foreshadows Future Boxing Landscape: Teofimo Lopez Faces Tough Barboza Jr. While Garcia And Haney Navigate Crucial May 2nd Bouts – Boxing News 24

WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez is confident that he’s going to do his part by defeating Arnold Barboza Jr. in their tournament fight on the May 2nd Fatal Fury card in 18 days, live on DAZN PPV at Times Square in New York City.

Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs) says he doesn’t care who wins the other two fights on the May 2nd card because he’s just focused on getting through his difficult bout against his WBO mandatory Barboza Jr. (32-0, 11 KOs).

Barboza Jr. is going to be a problem for Teo because he’s looked great recently, beating Jack Catterall and Jose Ramirez in back-to-back fights to maneuver his way into his mandatory position. He’s been fighting on a higher level than Lopez and seems mentally stronger.

Fights On May 2nd

Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero
Devin Haney vs. Jose Ramirez
Teofimo Lopez vs. Arnold Barboza Jr.

Saudi Plans

“Everybody has to do their job, and everybody has to win. The best of the best are going to fight. It’s like a tournament and we’ll see each other. The best fighting the best; whoever the last man standing by the beginning of next year,” said Teofimo Lopez to Ring Magazine about him fighting Ryan Garcia or Devin Haney.

Teofimo failed to mention that Ryan and Devin need to win their respective fights on May 2nd for them to meet in the October rematch that the Saudis have planned for them. If one or both lose on May 2nd, their rematch will be up in smoke for October. They can still fight at a later time, but it might not be with the funding from the Saudis.

“I don’t care. As long as I’m over there next year, that’s all that matters to me,” said Lopez when asked who he prefers to fight between Ryan and Haney in 2026. “They’re moving up to 147. I’m still at 140. So, they’ll at least get a little headstart in the welterweight division.”

Haney and Kingry already have a head start over Lopez because they’ve been rehydrating huge amounts of weight for their fights at 140. Ryan looked like a slender junior middleweight during his last fight against Haney on April 20th last year. It will be interesting to see how well he holds up when Teo gets in with the winner or loser of their October rematch. Both are difficult in their way.

“So, everybody at 147, beware. Teofimo is coming to conquer the 147-pound division. Whoever wins, Ryan and Haney, put them in front of me. I’ll beat them. It don’t matter. Maybe I go to 147 and come back to 140,” said Lopez on whether his fight with Barboza Jr. will be the last time he fights at light welterweight.

Loser’s Bracket

Lopez may fall apart long before he gets to 147 in 2026 with his May 2nd clash against Barboza Jr. He’ll still fight early next year even if he’s beaten, but it would be in the loser’s bracket against Garcia or Haney. The beaten one of those two would face Lopez with their careers basically being on the line.

“We’re going to make boxing great again, and we’re going to start it May 2nd. I believe whether this fight goes 12 or not, it’s going to be one to watch. So, tune in, live on DAZN,” said Lopez about his fight with Barboza Jr. next month at Times Square.

“If Crawford could do it and no one gives him s*** for doing it, then I can do it. I don’t want to hear it,” said Teofimo about whether he could go up to 154 for one fight. “I’m talking about one or two weight classes difference. There’s so much room to take every belt. There’s not a lot of noise at 154. There’s not a lot of noise at 147 as much as it should be,” said Lopez.