A highly anticipated weekend of boxing has delivered more of a whimper than a bang. Only Naoya Inoue can save us now. The big names came out to play, yet action was thin on the ground. Let’s see who emerged with a bit of credit and who had a night to forget.
Boxing winners of the week
Teofimo Lopez
You never quite know what version of the ‘Takeover’ you’ll get. The explosive early version blasted people away, did spinning kicks and Fortnite dances. There’s the version that struggles with supposedly lesser foes. There’s the version that fights back against the system and produces performances like Friday night.
Teofimo wore a mask at the weigh-in and got into the right kind of mindset to defeat Arnold Barboza Jr. When he feels undervalued, bullied, or his back is against the wall, that’s when Lopez delivers.
Rolando Romero
Demoted to ‘clown prince’ status, turned into memes for some of his previous outings, Romero delivered the biggest and best performance of his career so far, beating Ryan Garcia on points. The power travelled upwards and so have Romero’s career prospects.
Lewis Richardson
Fresh from his Olympic medal success, Richardson signed pro terms with Frank Warren and Queensberry Promotions. He has old amateur rival Marco Verde in his sights. It feels like a future collision course for a 27-year-old just beginning an exciting journey.
Justis Huni
The saviour of the heavyweight division? Maybe not, but the Aussie stepped in to save Fabio Wardley’s big stadium homecoming. For that, we make him a weekly winner.
Oleksandr Usyk
The classy heavyweight champ was fronted up by Daniel Dubois’ team, shoved by the IBF champion and insulted from all angles. Usyk acted graciously throughout the incident.
Boxing losers of the week
Canelo
It takes two to tango and William Scull’s waltz didn’t help matters. All considered, it was surely on Canelo to force the issue, make him fight and make him pay. Canelo’s activity levels and punch output were nowhere near high enough. He resigned himself too quickly to winning on points while blaming the IBF champion’s tactics.
Martin Bakole
Financially, Bakole is doing well, getting good paydays on big cards. In the ring, it hasn’t been working out for him in 2025. A two-round smashing at the fists of Joseph Parker and now an unsatisfactory 10-round draw with Efe Ajagba. Last night felt frustrating, as if a fitter Bakole could’ve got over the line and won. Is the big Congolese banger in danger of becoming a gym myth?
Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney
Who’s pumped for Haney-Garcia 2? Not many after Friday night. Garcia losing to Romero felt like Zab Judah losing to Carlos Baldomir when the Mayweather money fight sat waiting on the table. Looking too far ahead in boxing often comes with pitfalls.
The fact that Judah-Mayweather still happened, regardless of the Baldomir hiccup, shows that Haney-Garcia 2 could still be made next, as money talks. However, in this case, Haney delivered a dire display, meaning hype for the return is at an all-time low.
Boxing veterans
Wheeling out the iconic voice of HBO prime boxing, Jim Lampley, seemed like a good idea at the time. Jim started off a little rusty but managed to get into a better groove with the modern-day fighters as the evening progressed.
Mike Tyson, meanwhile, mumbled and fumbled his way through the ‘Fatal Fury’ card. Not that he’ll care about that, or much of anything. Mike is loving life.
