Following a defeat to Shakur Stevenson back in July, Teofimo Lopez looked set to move up to the welterweight division and land a world title fight upon his debut.

Lopez famously dethroned Vasyl Lomachenko to become the unified lightweight world champion back in 2020, but he lost all three of his titles upon his next outing in a shock defeat to George Kambosos Jnr.

‘The Takeover’ then set about super-lightweight, where he claimed Josh Taylor’s WBO crown in another statement victory and made three title defences, before being thoroughly outclassed by Stevenson at the beginning of the year.

Once again, defeat for Lopez has encouraged him to move up in weight and he had been linked to a challenge for Ryan Garcia’s WBC welterweight world title, with the champion even saying that he was convinced the fight would take place this July.

Speaking to The Ring on Saturday night, Lopez confirmed that there have been talks for that fight and that he is ready and willing to face Garcia without a fight at 147lbs to his name.

“There has been talks, for sure, but that’s the thing. If Shakur and these other guys don’t want to take the risk, we are willing to do it and step up to the plate. That is what we are all about, it’s why we talk about making boxing great again, for that reason.

“You never know, maybe [it happens] in the summer.”

However, Conor Benn’s victory over Regis Prograis looks to have spoiled those plans, with Benn being the mandatory challenger for Garcia’s belt and publicly demanding the fight during the aftermath of his win.

As a result, Benn could take Lopez’s place, especially if the WBC opt to strictly mandate the fight. As a final option, Garcia could push for a rematch against old rival and current WBO champion Devin Haney, with the sanctioning bodies often approving unifications ahead of mandatories.