The last weekend saw plenty of action occur on Friday, June 28th and Saturday, June 29th. Jesse Rodriguez, Teofimo Lopez, and Lamont Roach Jr successfully won their respective title fights, but with varying results and performances. Roach headlined a ProBox card at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington, D.C., while Top Rank fighter Lopez and Matchroom signee Rodriguez [who fought on Saturday] main-evented respectively at the James L. Knight Center in Miami Beach, Florida, and the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.

Lamont Roach Jr Vs. Feargal McCrory

On Friday, American World Boxing Association (WBA) super featherweight (130 lbs) champion Lamont Roach Jr (25-1-1, 10 KO’s) faced an unbeaten Irish contender in Feargal McCrory (16-1, 8 KO’s) and gave a solid performance, despite McCrory exceeding expectations in regards to his own ability.

The match went as expected for the most part. The 32-year-old McCrory, who was not considered a top 10 contender by any of the four main sanctioning bodies, was very much an underdog heading into the match but proved himself to be a tough contender. McCrory sought a battle up close for most of the match and Roach responded in turn by meeting the Irishman in the middle of the ring.

While Roach Jr, 28, has proven to be quite capable at simply outboxing opponents, the American clearly sought to prove something and did not shy away from fighting in the pocket. There were a couple of moments where it appeared Roach’s decision would not pan out well, but the American proved to have toughness and power as he knocked McCrory down once in the third round, and twice in the fourth.

As the match went on, Roach also notably blended his boxing skills with his newfound inside approach, eventually leading to a stoppage in the eighth round as he bombarded McCrory with combinations to the point the Irishman’s corner interceded to stop the bout in the closing seconds of the fight. Lamont Roach Jr was ruled the winner by technical knockout (TKO) not long after and retained his WBA 130 lbs title for the first time since obtaining it last November.

Teofimo Lopez Vs. Steve Claggett

American World Boxing Organization (WBO) super lightweight (140 lbs) Teofimo Lopez (21-1, 13 KO’s) successfully defended his title against Canadian challenger Steve Claggett (38-8-2, 26 KO’s) but didn’t thoroughly impress during his headlining fight at the James L. Knight Center in Miami Beach, Florida.

Claggett, 35, was an overwhelming underdog heading into the match and looked the part against Teofimo Lopez, but his toughness made it difficult for Lopez to rack up a highlight victory, forcing the WBO champion to net a win through a unanimous decision (UD) victory [scorecards: 120-108, 120-108, and 119-109].

Lopez will likely benefit from seeking a unification fight going forward. Having already solidified his status as champion with two title defenses, the natural next course of action would be for Lopez to seek a unification fight as he did in the lightweight (135 lbs) division. History is kind to Lopez in this regard, with Lopez’ first unification fight proving to be very successful as he coursed to an upset victory over Vasyl Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KO’s) in 2020.

With the WBC 140 lbs set to be put into rotation as the recently elevated Dominican champion Alberto Puello (23-0, 10 KO’s) is likely set to face Spanish contender Sandor Martin (42-3, 15 KO’s) in the upcoming months, Lopez has a better chance of facing the winner between Mexican WBA champion Isaac Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KO’s) and American challenger Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KO’s) who are set to fight on August 3rd.

Lopez also has the opportunity to seek a fight with IBF champion Liam Paro (25-0, 15 KO’s), who recently already expressed interest in fighting the WBO champion following his capture of the IBF title on June 15th.

Undercard results:

• Dominican contender Elvis Rodriguez (16-1-1, 13 KO’s) scored a UD win over Filipino contender Jino Rodrigo (12-4-2, 10 KO’s). Their 140 lbs match was a non-title bout.
• Cuban former world champion Robeisy Ramirez (14-2, 9 KO’s) oversaw a successful TKO win over Mexican contender Brandon Leon Benitez (21-3, 9 KO’s). Their 126 lbs match was for the [vacant] WBO North American Boxing Organization (NABO) title, which Ramirez successfully claimed. Benitez additionally was not allowed to vie for the NABO title due to coming in over the weight limit of 126 lbs by weighing in at 127.1 lbs.
• American prospect/contender Nico Ali Walsh, best known for being the grandson of the late Muhammad Ali, netted a UD win over countryman Sona Akale (9-2, 4 KO’s) in a rematch of their 2023 fight―which Walsh lost by majority decision (MD). Their middleweight (160 lbs) match was not for any titles.

Juan Francisco Estrada Vs. Jesse Rodriguez

There were quite a couple of question marks regarding this match-up as Mexican WBC super flyweight (115 lbs) champion Juan Francisco Estrada (44-4, 28 KO’s) had not defended his title since December of 2022, but the Mexican champion dispelled any supposed adverse effects from his stint out of the ring as he nearly successfully defended his title against American challenger Jesse Rodriguez (20-0, 13 KO’s).

Coming off of a stoppage win against former IBF flyweight (112 lbs) champion Sunny Edwards (21-1, 4 KO’s), Jesse Rodriguez was certainly in form going into the match but found himself nearly overwhelmed by Estrada’s experience and skill.

Both fighters were knocked down during the fight, marking it as the most competitive bout of the past weekend, with Estrada finding himself knocked down in round 4, while Rodriguez was dropped for the first time in his career during the 6th round.

Rodriguez eventually overcame the tough veteran, managing to put Estrada down with a second knockdown in the 7th round. Estrada failed to beat the count of 10, allowing Rodriguez to claim victory by knockout (KO).

With Rodriguez reclaiming his WBC 115 lbs title, which he lost after deciding to move down to 112 lbs, it is likely the American champion will continue to ply his trade in the super flyweight division, leaving him open to potential and crucial unification fights.

Undercard results:

• British former world champion Sunny Edwards, Rodriguez’ previous opponent, made an appearance on the card where he fought the recently-dethroned Mexican IBF flyweight champion Adrian Curiel (24-6-1, 5 KO’s). Edwards won the match by technical unanimous decision (TD-U) in the 9th round of their 12-round match after a gruesome cut forced the match to be stopped. Their 112 lbs match was not for any titles.
• Mexican fighter Yamileth Mercado (24-3, 5 KO’s) defeated British challenger Ramla Ali (9-2, 2 KO’s) by UD. Their super bantamweight (122 lbs) title bout saw Mercado successfully defend her WBC title against Ali.