Garcia names next targets
Ryan Garcia says he’s lining up a big next fight — he’s named a former world champ as his likely opponent while Oscar De La Hoya pushes for a rematch with Devin Haney, and Garcia’s camp has even floated Shakur Stevenson and a potential Terence Crawford return. Negotiations and opponent talk are active as Garcia chases a marquee comeback bout (boxingnewsonline.net) (secondsout.com) (boxingnews.com).
Ryan Garcia told the Creators Think Podcast he plans to face Teofimo Lopez next, naming Lopez outright as his likely opponent. (boxingnewsonline.net) Lopez is a former unified lightweight and ex-WBO super-lightweight champion who lost his 140-pound title to Shakur Stevenson in January, and he has publicly floated the idea of moving up to welterweight. (boxingnewsonline.net) Oscar De La Hoya said he wants Garcia to skip a tune-up and run it back with Devin Haney, explicitly targeting a July window for Garcia–Haney while urging promoters to “make this fight happen.” (boxingnews24.com) De La Hoya noted the scheduling hurdle that Haney is involved in talks for a May 30 bout with Rolando “Rolly” Romero, a matchup that could compress the calendar for any immediate rematch with Garcia. (boxingnews24.com) Shakur Stevenson said he is open to a mega-fight with Garcia “later in 2026” but insisted on VADA oversight and proposed meeting at a catchweight rather than attaching a title to the bout. (boxingscene.com) On DAZN, Terence Crawford predicted Stevenson would “wipe the floor” with Garcia, and Garcia told interviewer Jon-Bernard Kairouz he believes beating Stevenson might be the move that persuades Crawford to come out of retirement. (dazn.com) Two-division champion David Benavidez called a potential Garcia–Stevenson fight a “50/50” matchup and has publicly urged Stevenson to take the bout, even proposing a stacked Cinco de Mayo card featuring Garcia. (boxingnews.com)
