Teofimo Lopez says his verbal exchange with Ryan Garcia last Tuesday during the kickoff press conference was his attempt to get him to come out of his straightlaced character role that he was playing to get him to liven up the promotion of their May 2nd event at Times Square in New York City.
Ryan’s “Character”
Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) felt that Ryan and the other fighters at the table on stage were making it boring for the fans. The idea is to connect with the people ordering the event on PPV.
Teo says that Garcia thought that he was “discrediting” the fighters in the event by saying they were dull. It was boring because the fighters said nothing but good stuff about each other, making it like an award ceremony instead of a promotion.
We don’t know if Kingry was told to play it nice because it is a Riyadh Season event, and Turki Alalshikh is trying to bring boxing back to its former glory as one of the major sports.
May 2nd Mega-card
– Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero
– Devin Haney vs. Jose Ramirez
– Teofimo Lopez vs. Arnold Barboza Jr.
“After that exchange, Ryan mentioned to me that he felt that I was discrediting the fighters, but at least I got him out of his character,” said Teofimo Lopez to BoxNation about the back-and-forth verbal exchange he had with Ryan Garcia on stage last week on Tuesday during the kickoff press conference kin New York to promote their Times Square event on May 2nd.
Teofimo didn’t get Ryan out of character. He was basically told to shut up by Ryan, who continued to say nice stuff, and never did go into trash talk mode. His opponent, Rolly, acted like he had stage fright, and seemed too nervous to talk.
“The character he was trying to play was to be more sincere, laid back, and apologetic, and trying to have a clear face and a clean image,” continued Lopez about Ryan. “That’s something we understand, but there’s something about this game of boxing. People are always going to remind you of what you’ve done or said.”
Taking Over
“So, no need for that. Be yourself, be who you are. When it came to Ryan, I’m just happy. I just tell him, ‘Listen, I’m doing my part. You guys either jump in and do your part with me or I’m going to take over like I did on Tuesday. I believe I’m in all their head. All those fighters that you saw at that table, I’m in all their heads,” said Lopez.
It’s important that Teo take over the press conferences because it’s likely that the other fighters are going to continue to play it cool. Haney seems like he’s shaken from his loss to Ryan Garcia last April, and doesn’t feel comfortable trash talking. His dad, Bill Haney, was missing from the press conference. He would have been an important figure to live things up.
“A tough competitor. That’s the vibes I’m getting from him. He’s someone who’s hungry, but he’s one of those guys who sees red like a bull and they’re about to run right into a wall. That’s all I can say,” said Teofimo when asked about his thoughts on his opponent, Arnold Barboza Jr., who he’ll defend his WBO light welterweight title against on May 2nd.
“Any fighter they put in front of Teofimo, is going to be my toughest. So, I’m not going to overlook Barboza. I look forward to what he’ll bring to the table that night, Friday night, and we’re going to show him Friday night lights. We’re going to show him the origin of that.
“It don’t matter where you traveled, whether you want to cross the pond or whatnot. When you face Teofimo, we’re taking over,” said Lopez.
Last Updated on 03/09/2025
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