Nico Ali Walsh, grandson of the legendary Muhammad Ali, boldly challenged Teofimo Lopez, the WBO junior welterweight champion, accusing Lopez of insulting his legacy. The 23-year-old boxer not only triumphed over Sona Akele via unanimous decision in her fight this weekend, but also turned down huge amounts of money to step into the ring with social media phenom turned boxer Jake Paul.

In an impassioned statement, Ali Walsh expressed his dismay at Lopez’s comments: “One thing I need to make clear, Teofimo Lopez said in an interview a few weeks before this fight that he was disrespectful to my family by saying that I am only in boxing because I am money and fame and I thought it was really inappropriate for someone I admired,” Walsh revealed.

He continued to define his journey in the world of boxing, dismissing any notions of pursuing money or clout: “But you know, that’s what it is. I just want everyone to know that I chose the path of boxing, I chose the path of legacy.

“I could be a millionaire right now if I wanted to. Before this fight, I turned down a multi-million dollar contract with MVP Promotions to fight Jake Paul, and today I’m fighting a real fighter. I’m not part of this circus league of boxing, and that’s what I’m going to do.

Jake Paul himself joined the fray, mocking Ali Walsh’s claims on social media. He labeled him a imitation and undercut Walsh’s complaint with further criticism: “Exactly. All his attention is working against him,” Paul wrote.

He then ridiculed: “I tried to fight this scam and now he admitted he was avoiding me by calling me a circus performer. He gave me the decision tonight because of his name. I shook my head.”

Walsh was met with jeers during his post-fight interview at the James L. Knight Center, and Akele was supported by a forceful group. Despite battling a shoulder injury, Walsh defeated his opponent.

“I don’t know what happened. I’ve never been through anything like that and it came out, but I survived and I definitely beat him,” Walsh noted of his injury.

“I don’t know what’s got him so worked up. I feel like if it happened to him, he’d cry like a baby, sit on the ground and quit the fight, but it happened to the right person and I’m just content I won. I feel like I’m winning twice now because the first time they gave him a decision, but I felt like I won.”

A trilogy between Walsh and Akele could be in the cards. “I feel like I’ve beaten him twice now, but if this fight doesn’t prove it, I’ll fight absolutely anyone,” Akele said.

Teofimo Lopez defended his WBO super lightweight title for the second time at the James L. Knight Center in Miami Beach, defeating Steve Claggett for a crushing twelve-round points victory.

Claggett tried to impose himself in the early rounds, but although he was the aggressor, Lopez constantly counterattacked and outboxed the challenger. Lopez maintained this pattern throughout the fight, and in the fifth fight, he countered Claggett with several uppercuts, then fought mostly from the ropes, fending off any attacks Claggett could muster before the championship rounds.

In the tenth set, Lopez landed at least four right hands to the head of his opponent, and another right hand a round later bloodied the nose of Claggett, who had long been racing to win. He never stopped trying, however, and in the final frame landed a solid left hand that was probably his best of the fight, but the result was academic as both were exposed.

Two scores of 120-108 and a third of 119-109 reflected dominance for Lopez, who will be hoping to step into a gigantic fight next time out.

Ramirez returns in devastating form

Robeisy Ramirez (14-2, 8 KO) returned from his last loss of the WBO featherweight title, and the Cuban scored in the seventh round against Brandon Leon Benitez (21-3, 9 KO) to win the vacant WBO NABO title. A huge uppercut dropped Benitez to the canvas and everything at sea, and the fight ended spectacularly.

Santana finally hears the final bell

Also in the featherweight division, Yan Santana (12-0, 11 KO) went the distance for the first time in his career, and the Dominican defeated Brandon Valdes (15-5, 7 KO) and secured a comfortable points victory. Santana won by scores of 98-91 (twice) and 96-93.

Full Undercard Summary

Super lightweight prospects Elvis Rodriguez (16-1-1, 13 KOs) and Jino Rodrigo (12-4-2, 10 KOs) both went down in the first round of their clash, but it was Rodriguez who came out on top over the course of ten rounds, winning by two scores of 98-91 and a third by a score of 97-92.

In eight-round fights, welterweight hope Rohan Polanco (13-0, 8 KO) defeated Luis Hernandez Ramos (23-5, 20 KO) in two rounds, and in the middleweight division Euri Cedeno (9-0-1, 8 KO) needed less than minutes to knock out Dormedes Potes (14-7-1, 10 KO).

in six rounds Nico Ali Walsh (10-1, 5 KO) took revenge for his only defeat in his career, scoring points in six rounds against Sona Akale (9-2, 4 KO), where he knocked down Ali in the third round. Walsh’s favor decided about their middleweight fight.

Emiliano Vargas (11-0, 9 KO) scored another quick victory, this time against Jose Zaragoza (9-9-2, 3 KO), needing just over 90 seconds to win their super lightweight fight. In the heavyweight division, Lorenzo Medina (11-0, (9 KO) was forced to go the distance against Detrailous Webster (7-4, 3 KO), winning wide on the card.

Anthony Joshua’s upcoming fight against Daniel Dubois could be the biggest fight ever to take place at Wembley. Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, revealed that the fight between the two Brits attracted an incredible number of fans at the stadium.

Hearn revealed that 70,000 tickets were sold on the first day for the Joshua-Dubois IBF heavyweight title fight [via talkSPORT]. The 45-year-old also said that if 90,000 tickets are sold for the fight, he will discuss the possibility of adding 10,000 more tickets for the fight, bringing the total to over 100,000.

If this happens, the fight will set a modern record for most fans to watch a boxing match in the UK. Currently, the current record holder is the fight between Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte in 2022 at Wembley.

When “The Gypsy King” fought Whyte, a reported 94,000 people gathered at Wembley to watch Fury knock out Whyte in the sixth round. After the fight, Fury thanked those who showed up and filled the stadium.

“I wholeheartedly thank all the people who bought a ticket,” Fury said. via the Daily Mail.. No matter how many fans fill the stadium, there will certainly be fireworks when Joshua faces Dubois on September 21.

What makes the fight even more vital is the fact that both will fight for the IBF heavyweight title. Oleksandr Usyk, the undisputed heavyweight champion, announced in a social media video that he would relinquish his title shot as a “gift” to Joshua and Dubois.

“Anthony, Daniel, listen,” Usyk said in the video. “I know the IBF title is vital to you. This is my gift to you on September 21.” Due to his victory over Filip Hrgovic on June 1, Dubois received the title in the meantime.

With Hrgovic and Otto Wallin losing, Joshua becomes the next challenger to Dubois’ modern title. Given how tempting the prospect of fighting Joshua is, Dubois explained what it means to fight his compatriot on the biggest stage.

“This is a dream [to fight Joshua at Wembley]. Especially after coming back from defeats and fighting for the world title” – Dubois he told The Sun“Now I have a chance to win the damn thing and that’s what I want. I will destroy AJ, I can only get better from here.”

Additionally, it seems there was no love lost between them, as they had a heated verbal argument before the fight. Their encounter was so heated that they had to be separated from each other to avoid accidental blows and the like.

“Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, apart from the belts and the fact that it’s him, I’m just ready to fight,” Johsua said, by TalkSPORT. When Dubois insisted he put his money where his mouth was, Joshua doubled down, making sure his opponent knew he was ready.

“To relax …[Do you want] is that f—— chair in your face? Don’t disrespect me,” Joshua snapped back as Dubois got his way. “Dan, I don’t take disrespect lightly, you know? Don’t sit at the table and tell me we can go and do this and that, try to challenge me.”

Both stars will face each other on September 21 at Wembley Stadium.