October in Riyadh: Ennis Vs. Teofimo, Ryan Vs. Honey 2! The finals of the Turkey tournament are set for February.

Turki Al-Sheikh has announced plans for a mini-tournament tonight on X where Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis will fight Teofimo Lopez on the Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Honey 2 card in Riyadh in October. The winners of those two bouts will meet in February, with the losers on the same card.

Turkey competition

Turki said he still needs to talk to Matchroom, Golden Boy Promotions and PBC to inform them of his plans to use their fighters.

It will be tough for Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) to move up to 147 pounds to take on IBF champion Jaron Ennis, who many fans believe is the king of the welterweight division.

When the smoke clears, these are the potential clashes we’ll see in February.

• Jaron Ennis vs. Ryan Garcia – * Winners Bracket
• Devin Honey vs. Teofimo Lopez – Losers’ Consolation

Lopez’s punching power gives Hani a good chance to beat him. At 147, Ennis is probably 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 a top-level fighter. As long as Theo is competitive in a losing effort, the stakes rise because he’s now stultified at 140, thrashing around in a dead room and fighting nameless opponents.

Looking at the matchups, it’s a very good scenario for IBF welterweight champion Boots Ennis as he’s likely to be the last man standing. He will be a big favorite to beat Teofimon in October and then the winner of Garcia and Haney 2. Ennis will have the size and experience advantage at 147 against the fighters in Turkey’s scheduled mini-tournament.

Ryan is fighting Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz in May, and Haney fights Jose Ramirez on the same card in New York’s Times Square. None of these fights are a mystery to Ryan and Hani, but it doesn’t seem to matter if they lose. Turki isn’t saying anything about Cruz or Ramirez having a chance to fight on the October card, but you have to believe he’ll use them at one of the events.

Turkey view

It’s easy…fighting May and then a big rematch in October followed by Theo from BOOTS and the winner vs the loser in February…we have to discuss with our partners top level and match room and golden boy. PBC 🥊🔥

– Turki Alalshikh (@Turki_alalshikh) January 18, 2025