Garcia and Lopez 'trying to finalize a deal' for 6 February, not Mayweather, says Coppinger
The Ring's insider said talks for Ryan Garcia v Floyd Mayweather are real but "would be for after February", and put a 6 February Mayweather fight at "like 0.5%".
Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez are trying to finalise a deal to fight on 6 February, The Ring's Mike Coppinger said, and Garcia's talked-about fight with Floyd Mayweather would come after that.
"I'm told that Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez are trying to finalize a deal right now for February 6th," Coppinger said on The Ring's Inside the Ring show. "And what I've been told is, while there is real talks for Mayweather and Garcia to happen, that would be for after February. It would not be for next."
Asked by host Mario Lopez whether he liked the odds of Garcia v Lopez on 6 February, he said: "I believe that fight will happen next. I'm confident that fight will happen next from what I've heard."
Earlier in the show, Coppinger put the chances of Mayweather fighting Garcia on 6 February at "like 0.5%, something like that", and said he had "zero faith" in it. "I think it would be a bait-and-switch," he added.
Garcia has said on a livestream that he will fight Mayweather on 6 February in Las Vegas. Mayweather has not confirmed a date, and no promoter has announced the fight. The Ring reported in October that Garcia and Lopez were in advanced talks for a 147lb unification on the same date.
Garcia holds the WBC welterweight title and Lopez the WBA belt. On Wednesday the WBA rejected Lopez's appeal and upheld its order for him to defend against Britain's Jack Catterall, giving the two camps 10 days to reach an agreement before either side can request a purse bid.
Devin Haney, also on the show, picked Garcia: "I got Ryan. I think Ryan will win comfortably." Coppinger said he favoured Garcia too. He called Lopez "an excellent fighter", but said that to him Lopez "just has not looked the same" in his last two fights.
Every UK fight result and what's next, every Friday. Get the free UK fight briefing
More Boxing from Combat Sports UK
- Terence Crawford answers 'broke' talk with bank deposit: 'That's only one source of income'
- Jai Opetaia to drop secondary WBA title and be WBC mandatory for Benavidez v Cieslak winner
- David Adeleye ahead of US debut against Alexander Flores: "My balls is bigger than my body"
- Josh Kelly: 'I know Eddie's favourite's probably Boots' as Haney puts him on the spot
The UK fight briefing
The stories, results and upcoming fights worth knowing. Every Friday.