October in Riyadh: Ennis vs. Teofimo, Ryan vs. Haney 2! The finals of the Turku tournament are set for February

Turki Al-Sheikh revealed tonight on X his plans for a mini-tournament featuring Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis vs. Teofimo Lopez at Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney 2 in October in Riyadh. The winners of those two fights will face each other in February, and the losers will face each other on the same card.

Turkey’s tournament

Turki says he still needs to talk to Matchroom, Golden Boy Promotions and PBC to let them know his plans to use their fighters.

Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) is struggling to move up to 147 pounds to take on what many fans believe is the king of the welterweight division, IBF champion Jaron Ennis.

Chance of rain in February

• Jaron Ennis vs. Ryan Garcia – *Winners Group
• Devin Haney vs. Teofimo Lopez – Consolation for the losers

Lopez’s punching power gives him an excellent opportunity to defeat Haney. At 147, Ennis would probably be too big, too strong and too experienced for Ryan.

Of course, Teofimo wants the fight with Ennis because it gives him a big payday and a chance to prove himself against an elite level fighter. As long as Teo is competitive in a losing effort, his stock will rise as he is now down at 140, languishing in a dead division and fighting nameless opposition.

When you look at the matchups, it’s an ideal situation for IBF light heavyweight champion Boots Ennis as he has an excellent chance of being the last man standing. He would be a heavy favorite to defeat Teofimo in October and then the winner of Garcia vs. Haney 2. Ennis would have the size and experience advantage of 147 over any fighter in Turki’s proposed mini-tournament.

Ryan fights Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz in May and Haney fights Jose Ramirez on the same card in New York’s Times Square. Neither of these fights is a good thing for Ryan and Haney, but they don’t seem to like it which doesn’t matter if they lose. Turki isn’t saying anything about Cruz or Ramirez getting a chance to fight on his October card, but you have to believe he’d use them at one of his events at a later date.

Turkey’s vision

it’s easy… fight in May, then a big rematch in October, and on the same card we’ll try Tea vs. BOOTS, then winner vs. winner and loser vs. loser in February… we have to talk to our partners about top tier and match room and goldenboy and PBC 🥊🔥

— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) January 18, 2025