Episode 932: Teofimo Lopez Makes Welterweight Interesting Again & The Moses Itauma Hype

Teofimo Lopez is a champion again; so what does that mean for the welterweight division? 

We now have three stars holding titles: Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, and Teofimo Lopez – the lone outlier, Liam Paro, the IBF titleholder, who everyone will call out. 

Lopez beat Rolando Romero via a low-speed majority decision; that result makes the bout seem more interesting than it was. 

So what is next? Unification? Mega-fights? Inactivity? 

Also, Moses Itauama returns against Filip Hrgovic. The fight is on pay-per-view. YAY! 

A few things. How good is Itauama, and do fans in the U.S. care? It seems like the U.K. is enamoured, but unlike Anthony Joshua, Itauama doesn’t seem to have anyone casually talking about his rise. We all assume Itauama will win this fight, but what is the context and story of this fight?

We go backward to talk about the PBC undercard:

The co-feature could be summed up as “Dakota was right”…or at least for now. Middleweight Yoenli Hernandez had a bucket of water thrown over his meteoric rise. Francisco Veron came in underrated, with many assuming he would be stopped. Instead, the one-speed that Dakota speaks of with Hernandez was on full display. We will discuss thoughts on this. 

Also, Gary Antonio Russell won a form of the WBA junior featherweight title, and junior welterweight Carlos Utria was lucky to win a split decision against Israel Mercado. 

MVP held a card on TikTok and YouTube, with Amanda Serrano struggling to win a majority decision over Lucrecia Anabella Manzur. The fight said one thing: hard fights add up, as Serrano looked exhausted from a long career. 

The rest of the card had some upsets, as a friend of the show, 105 lb. Brook Sibrian upset Lupita Medina to take her undefeated record; women’s featherweight “Right Hook Roxy” Iyana Verduzco won a split decision against Miguelina Hernandez; Avious Griffin is on a three-fight knockout streak since his loss to Julian Rodriguez, and “Lady KO” Albina Moldazhanova is someone to watch for. 

The biggest card of the week is: Mikaela Mayer vs. Chantelle Cameron. Does the winner fight Claressa Shields? Also, Caroline Dubois will put her belts on the line against Amelia Moore; an upset is brewing, and Terri Harper vs. Miranda Reyes is an evenly matched bout that could be fun.

Other notables this week: ProBox TV will be behind a $5 paywall on YouTube. Lester Martinez versus Luka Plantic is the main event; Najee Lopez vs. Juan Carrillo is your co-feature, and Ramon Cardenas also returns on the card

Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:30 The State of Welterweight
3:30 Teofimo vs. Rolly 
15:10 Moses Itauma vs. Hrgovic
26:10 Yoenli Hernandez and Israel Mercado
33:17 Brook Sibrian vs. Lupita Medina
37:00 Amanda Serrano vs. Lucrecia Manzur
41:30 Jahmal Harvey impresses 
44:30 Mikaela Mayer vs Chantelle Cameron
51:08 Caroline Dubois vs Amelia Moore
57:40 Itauma vs Hrgovic PPV undercard
01:00:00 ProBox TV & Salita Promotions shows