HAVING already worked with different broadcasters in the past, DAZNโs Marketing Vice-President Alfie Sharman seems confident that a fight between Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez can happen.
Yesterday Garciaโs promoter Oscar De La Hoya posted an Instagram image of himself and Lopezโs promoter Bob Arum after a โgreat meetingโ between the two boxing legends. Twenty-four hours earlier, De La Hoya used the same social media platform to beam about the possibility of staging a โSuperbowl of boxingโ on the weekend of the NFLโs 57th flagship event which takes place at the Allegiant Stadium in Nevada on Sunday, February 11, 2024.
โI was at The Sphere opening, and I cannot tell you how f*****g amazing it is,โ the former world champion said. โSo, imagine Super Bowl weekend, the Super Bowl of boxing: Ryan Garcia versus Teofimo Lopez or even Devin Haney, the winner with [Regis] Prograis. Then on the undercard you have Shakur [Stevenson] versus William Zepeda and then to top it all off you have Jaime Munguia versus [Sergiy] Devryanchenko or even [Edgar] Berlanga. And to open it up you have Kid Austin (Floyd Schofield) versus JoJo Diaz. Letโs do this!โ
Boxing lends itself to fantasy often but a meeting between De La Hoya and Arum is an encouraging sign that 2024 could carry on the good work of matchmakers and promoters in 2023.
A notorious stumbling block which has prevented marquee fights taking place in previous years has been rival television networks. Garcia currently fights on DAZN and on December 2 the streaming service will showcase his return to action against Oscar Duarte. The fight will be Garciaโs first since losing to Gervonta Davis by seventh-round knockout in their pay-per-view blockbuster in March. That was to be Garciaโs last fight at lightweight and he will now campaign at super-lightweight, with new trainer Derrick James in his corner.

Lopez, meanwhile, fights on ESPN and is currently the WBO title holder at super-lightweight, having dethroned former number one Josh Taylor in the summer.
Boxing News spoke to DAZNโs Alfie Sharman after yesterday’s Leigh Wood-Josh Warrington press conference to get his thoughts on the possibility of a potential bout between two of the biggest stars in the sport.
โGreat fight,โ he said. โSince weโve had boxing on our platform for a number of years now, we demonstrate regularly that weโre willing to work with any promoter and any broadcaster to put on the best fights on our platform. The proofโs in the pudding. We deliver. And thatโs just another example of a phenomenal fight that weโd all love to see. Letโs see how it goes early December for Ryan and then look into next year.”
Sharman reacted positively when asked how an event like that would come together given both fighters are on different networks.
โWeโd make it work,โ he said. โWeโve done it this year with Showtime. We had a great partnership with ESPN for the Jake Paul-Nate Diaz mega-fight in August; worked with PBC in the UK last week for Canelo. Weโll make it work.โ