“We all can’t wait for @RyanGarcia comeback,” promoter Oscar De La Hoya has posted on social media. “What do you think @TeofimoLopez ?” Although Ryan Garcia still essentially has until next spring before he can get in the ring with anyone (getting popped for a banned substance comes with consequences, after all) it’s clear De La Hoya is – on the surface, at least – looking to get his fighter back in action against top competition as soon as possible. Of course, being a promoter, De La Hoya may simply be keeping his fighter’s name out there while Garcia rides out a yearlong suspension for having banned substances found in his system around the time he was facing Devin Haney last year.
Then again, Garcia-Lopez would have all the makings of a crowd pleasing fight. Garcia is extremely popular – though clearly eccentric – while Lopez is bold and flashy in his own right. Garcia is from California. Lopez is from New York. Both men have been known to ooze confidence. Lastly, they have both surprised quite a few people by defeating the very top level of competition. Lopez defeated the seemingly unstoppable Vasyl Lomachenko in 2020 while Garcia thoroughly beat up Devin Haney last spring (though admittedly some feel that having banned substances in his system may certainly have helped).
Perhaps most importantly, a Garcia-Lopez match would present two high end fighters squaring off – something that remains too little seen in this day and age (though things have definitely gotten better over the past few years). If there’s one common gripe when it comes to the sweet science, it’s that top names don’t throw down nearly enough. Whatever a person can say about either man, Garcia or Lopez, it can’t be denied that these two have proven they’re willing to take a loss or two if need be. Neither of these guys is precious about his record, something that’s nice to see.
Major fights are hard to make, though. With Garcia not being available until at least the spring it would likely take a while until he and Lopez finally answered the opening bell. And again, De La Hoya, being a good promoter, might well simply be getting his fighter’s name out there while Garcia sits on the sports’ sideline. Should De La Hoya be serious, however, fans will be eager to see a Garcia-Lopez match sooner rather than later…and with good reason. Too many potentially great matchups have fallen through, after all.
