Ryan Garcia Calls Out Teofimo Lopez for December as Dana White Doubts Crawford Return
Ryan Garcia wants a welterweight unification with Teofimo Lopez in December, but Dana White is not convinced Garcia is big enough to lure Terence Crawford out of retirement.
Ryan Garcia is not interested in waiting around. The WBC welterweight champion took to social media Saturday to challenge WBA titleholder Teofimo Lopez to a December unification fight, writing, "Literally no one really wants the smoke in boxing what's actually going on??? Yall really scared??? Teo does December sound good to go???"
The timing is aggressive. Lopez only won his WBA belt from Rolando Romero in August, going twelve hard rounds that left him cut and shaken, per Boxing News 24. The WBA has already ordered Lopez to begin negotiations with mandatory challenger Jack Catterall by October 22. Catterall earned his shot by beating Shakhram Giyasov and has signaled he would rather take the fight than accept a step-aside payment.
That means Lopez faces a choice: defend against Catterall first or vacate the belt to chase a bigger payday against Garcia. A Garcia-Lopez bout would combine two of the four major welterweight titles, making it the most significant fight available at 147 pounds right now.
Meanwhile, Dana White poured cold water on another Garcia ambition. Asked whether Garcia could be the opponent to bring Terence Crawford out of retirement, White was blunt: "I don't know if that's the fight Crawford would come back for. I don't know if Ryan is it," per Boxing News 24.
Crawford remains retired. He previously confirmed that promoter Turki Al-Sheikh never formally offered a rematch after Crawford's decisive win over Canelo Alvarez. With Canelo scheduled to face Christian Mbilli on October 31, a Crawford-Canelo rematch does not appear to be on the table either.
If Lopez declines the December offer, Garcia could pivot to Isaac Cruz while claiming he was the one who pushed for the bigger fight. Either way, Garcia is positioning himself at the center of the welterweight conversation heading into 2027.
I like the energy from Garcia here, and December is the right timeline. Lopez took real damage against Romero and probably needs the rest, but a unification with Garcia is the kind of fight you cannot afford to turn down at welterweight. The Catterall mandatory complicates things, but we have seen fighters negotiate their way past mandatories before.
As for Crawford coming back for Garcia, Dana is right. Crawford is not coming out of retirement for anyone short of a legacy-defining rematch, and Garcia is not that. Crawford already beat Canelo clean. He has nothing left to prove against a guy who just moved up to 147. Garcia is better off focusing on Lopez and building the welterweight division the old-fashioned way, one belt at a time.
https://www.boxingnews24.com/2026/09/ryan-garcia-pushes-teofimo-lopez-toward-december-decision/
