WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez’s next fight is being planned for Alcatraz Island offshore from nearby San Francisco for June or July. This would be part of Teofimo’s three-fight deal with Turki Al-Sheikh.
If Teo is going to fight in the San Francisco area, Devin Haney would make the most sense. He was born in that city and brought in a big crowd for his fight against Regis Prograis at the Chase Center in December 2023. Teo might be too dangerous for Haney to fight, and he’s already supposed to be fighting Jose Ramirez in May.
The Alcatraz Angle
I’ve been to Alcatraz many times and grew up in the nearby Emeryville area. Getting a big crowd there would require many ferry trips, as the vessels have a seating capacity of 700.
I’m assuming the fight would be staged in the exercise yard unless they want to place outside the prison area. The view of the bay is outstanding, and Angel Island is nearby.
It’s not the ideal location for Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs) to fight a unification clash against IBF 140-lb champion Richardson Hitchins, as both are from Brooklyn, New York. Staging that fight on the West Coast would be moving away from their fanbase. Teofimo’s East Coast speech would be gibberish to West Coast fans, who have time to understand what he’s babbling about. He has a way of rambling that California fans would view as alien.
It could be a nightmare for Teofimo if he fights Hitchins in Alcatraz. If he loses, which there’s an excellent chance he will, he’ll stew on the loss as he takes the ferry back to the San Francisco mainland. It would be a depressing trip back. If this were another Steve Claggett that Teo was expected to fight, it would be a picturesque location for him to fight.
Many fans expect Hitchins to be too good for Teo, who has been a mental basket case in four out of his last six fights since 2021. He’s fallen apart since his win over Vasily Lomachenko in 2020. I’m surprised Turki wanted to sign him to a deal. If this were 2020, it would be understandable for Turki to sign him, but Teofimo has looked like a space case ever since. That Loma fight took something out of him.
Hitchins is expected to be the first fight for Teofimo, which would then lead to a clash against IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis in October, and then finally a match in early 2026 against the winner or loser of the Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney 2 rematch. The most likely scenario is Teofimo fighting the loser of the Garcia-Haney rematch in a loser’s bracket.
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) February 12, 2025
Last Updated on 02/11/2025