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Teofimo Lopez will join fellow American stars Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney in boxing at a unique event in Times Square on Friday.
On 2 May, the New York City hotspot will host an event organised by The Ring magazine, which was recently purchased by Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh.
It was initially announced that the card would see Garcia box online rival Rolly Romero, while Haney would fight former world champion Jose Ramirez. Lopez was then added to the event, too, as he faces Arnold Barboza Jr.
In February, Barboza Jr upset Jack Catterall in Manchester, outpointing the Briton to become the mandatory challenger to Lopez’s WBO super-lightweight title.
Alongside that title fight between Lopez and his unbeaten compatriot, Garcia and Haney’s bouts will set up a rematch between the pair – if they both win.
Last April, Garcia dropped Haney three times en route to a surprising decision win, but the result was later overturned upon the revelation that “King Ryan” had failed a drug test. Garcia, who was also ineligible to take Haney’s WBC super-lightweight belt after missing weight, has been serving a one-year ban since.
With Garcia’s win overturned, Haney remained unbeaten. Meanwhile, Garcia’s sole professional loss came against Gervonta Davis in 2022, and Lopez’s only defeat came at the hands of George Kambosos Jr in 2021.
Alalshikh recently said he would like to stage a boxing card on Alcatraz Island, on the grounds of the famous San Francisco prison, with Lopez featuring.
There has been no confirmation of that potential event, but the Times Square card quickly came to fruition, as Saudi Arabia continues its aggressive involvement in boxing – and tries to draw more eyes to the sport and the Gulf nation.
English (US) ·