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Lamont Roach Jr. fulfills a seven-year promise by defending the title in his hometown

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It’s been almost seven years since Maryland native Lamont Roach last fought in the “DMV” area. After a ten-round clinic hosted by Rey Perez at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, Roach grabbed the microphone and promised the crowd that one day he would return home to defend his world title in front of them.

That promise will come true next Friday when Roach, 28, defends his WBA junior lightweight title against undefeated Irish rival Feargal McCrory at the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, DC. The nation’s capital is located just 20 miles from Roach’s hometown of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, giving his local fans the chance to witness his first title defense.

“This is something special for me because this is what I decided to do. Friday night will be the final step in completing what I set out to do,” said Roach (24-1-1, 9 knockouts), who is rated No. 2 in the rankings. 4 by The Ring at 130 pounds.

Roach won the title in his last fight, defeating Hector Luis Garcia in the twelfth round to lift the title by split decision. The win was his fifth straight since his lone loss as a professional, when he lost a unanimous decision to Jamel Herring in 2019 for his first title shot. Roach says life has changed in some ways, with local fans stopping him more often to take photos or take some time out. This doesn’t bother Roach, who knows what he’s signed up for by devoting his life to such a public career. But in other respects, everything is business as usual.

“It’s still a bit surreal because I’m still training and working like I’m not a champion. This is my attitude, this is how I feel and I feel like I still have more to prove. “I think that keeps me motivated because there’s more, I still have more goals in front of me that I want to achieve so that the work never ends,” Roach said.

McCrory (16-0, 8 KO), a 31-year-old from County Tyrone, Ireland, is making significant progress in the competition, becoming his first shot at a world title. This will be McCrory’s first scheduled twelve-round fight, with only one of his fights ending after six. Despite this, McCrory has extensive amateur experience, having competed 127 times, representing Ireland internationally and winning several tournaments abroad. He has also developed a huge fan base in Recent York, where he currently lives and trains with Colin Morgan, and in Philadelphia, where he fought once in 2023.

Lamont Roach attacks Hector Garcia. Photo: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME

“Feargal is tough. We’ve watched him and we know he’s a guy who likes to fight, a guy who tries to impose his will and doesn’t want to be denied. These are all factors that will make the fight fan-friendly,” said Roach of McCrory, who received a “no” rating. 12 by the WBA at 130 pounds.

“When it all came down to it, the other boys had already been beaten and were well on their way to the end of their careers. I felt like I didn’t want to fight these guys who were walking out the door because then I would feel like they should just lay down. I’m home and I want to give the fans something to focus on.”

The entire event is a family affair for the Roaches, with father/coach Lamont Roach Sr. organizing the event. and Pro Box Promotions, which will also broadcast the fight live on the Pro Box platform starting at 8 p.m. EST. Additionally, the event will feature the professional debut of Jordan Roach, Lamont’s 20-year-old younger brother, in a four-round junior bantamweight fight against Luis Domingo Hernandez (15-13-1, 10 KO) of the Dominican Republic. Jordan Roach, currently ranked No. 5 by USA Boxing at 112 pounds, has had a fantastic amateur career highlighted by, among other titles, winning the 2022 USA Boxing Championships.

Lamont Roach Jr. he says he has always dreamed of having his brother fight on one of his cards and expects Jordan to win a world title quickly because there are fewer top contenders to beat in his weight class.

“It feels great that my family is so involved in this production that we will put on for people. I can’t explain how it feels, I’m the reason we’re in this position. I can put my brother on a platform that millions of people employ. It’s not like he signed with a large promoter who will put him on an out-of-town card and you get a few show tickets. It will be a packed house and he will have it in his professional debut,” Roach said.

If he can get past McCrory, he hopes to set up a unification fight with another 130-pound titleholder, namely WBC champion O’Shaquie Foster. Roach says the two and their teams have discussed making the fight happen, but says the “business aspects” weren’t in agreement for it to happen at this point. This does not mean that he is deviating from this goal.

“I want to be a unified world champion and then I want to be a multi-division world champion. Overall, I want to be a staple in this sport. I want to be one of the guys talked about when I’m not fighting or when I retire. I just want to leave a mark on this sport,” Roach said.

By Friday evening, he will have left a mark on boxing fans in his home region.

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Ryan claims a member of Mayer’s camp was responsible for the paint attack

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English boxer Sandy Ryan has accused Mikaela Mayer, her opponent in Friday night’s title fight in Fresh York, of orchestrating a pre-fight stunt in which Ryan was hit with an open can of paint as she left her hotel earlier in the evening.

Ryan (7-2-1, 3 KO) lost her WBO welterweight title to Mayer (20-2, 5 KO) by majority decision, with the judges scoring it 95-95, 97-93 and 96-94.

Preparing for the fight at Madison Square Garden was very personal for both, as Ryan worked with Mayer’s former longtime trainer Kay Koroma. Mayer broke up with Koroma when he decided to work with Ryan, which she considered a betrayal.

As Ryan was leaving the hotel on Friday and heading to the event venue, she was struck by an open can of paint belonging to an unidentified man. She said she felt something “punch” her in the stomach and then saw a man wearing a hoodie run to a car and drive away. Ryan was uninjured and continued to the site after changing clothes in his hotel room.

She and her team told ESPN they believed it was a member of Mayer’s camp, which Mayer denies.

In social media post On Saturday, Ryan said she was still “trying to come to terms” with the attack, adding that her team had obtained CCTV footage of the event and was in contact with local authorities.

Despite continuing to fight, Ryan admitted after her loss to Mayer that the incident affected her performance.

“It bothered me at first,” she said. “Going to the scene, I was shocked. And then it kind of took me out of my game plan because I just wanted to fight.

“You saw at the beginning of the fight, I was pretty good with the jab. I boxed her and then started lifting her. But then I obviously pushed too demanding.”

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“Ryan Garcia destroyed Devin Haney’s image,” says Teofimo Lopez Sr

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Image: "Ryan Garcia Destroyed Devin Haney's Image," Says Teofimo Lopez Sr

Teofimo Lopez’s father, Teofimo Sr., believes the reason for Devin Haney’s lawsuit is to “take advantage of what happened to him” after losing to Ryan Garcia last April in Brooklyn, Recent York. Lopez Sr. claims Ryan “damaged” Haney’s image with the beating he gave him in that fight and is trying to rebuild it.

After that fight, Ryan tested positive for the PED Ostarine and Haney’s lawsuit focuses on that. Haney is seeking punitive damages in his civil suit. If the lawsuit fails, Haney could be at risk of losing his career. If he moves up to 147 or 154 to compete with guys his size, his chances of success will be slim to none.

Ryan Garcia = Oil well

On the other hand, if Haney wins the lawsuit, he can make a lot of money and it won’t matter if his career ends. He will have enough money to retire and live in luxury as a wealthy aristocrat in Beverly Hills or Atherton, California. Ryan would be like an oil well pumping money into Haney’s bank account. Being one of them would be Haney’s dream life idle prosperous who don’t have to work.

Some fans on social media the media believes that Haney’s real goal is milky Ryan for as much money as he can because this is as good as it can be for him. With his star power, Ryan is like a cow that can be milked for years for money if he loses the lawsuit against Haney. A financial settlement of $100 million would be a huge windfall for Haney and would provide Ryan with the opportunity to work for him.

No other substantial names are willing to fight Haney after he was defeated. It is like a dying star that has exhausted its nuclear fuel and goes out with a supernova explosion.

There is no similar popular fighter in this weight class that Haney would have any chance of fighting. Gervonta Davis won’t fight Haney, and there are no stars in the 140- and 147-pound divisions.

Time will tell if the judge rules in Haney’s favor. It may just be a waste of time and money on his part. The downside to being sued by Haney Ryan (24-1, 20 KO) is the fan reaction.

If this was intended as a move to rebuild his ruined image, it has already backfired on public opinion. Maybe it doesn’t matter to Haney because if he wins the lawsuit, he’ll be so prosperous that his public image won’t be something he’ll have to worry about.

“I think Devin Haney is just playing chess and trying to put the right pieces in the right places to make the most of what happened to him and his image because Ryan Garcia destroyed his image,” Teofimo Lopez Sr. said. Down Fighting Hub TVtalking about why Devin Haney filed a lawsuit against Ryan Garcia after a devastating loss to him last April.

“Furthermore, I don’t know if it’s true, but Ryan Garcia said that you can take some salt and throw it into an Olympic-size swimming pool and that’s what it has in your body. I don’t know how true that is, but if it is. The beating started from the very beginning,” Lopez Sr. said of how Ryan dominated Haney from the first round of their fight in Brooklyn, Recent York.

It doesn’t matter that Ryan tested positive for trace amounts of Ostarine. If the judge rules in Haney’s favor, he could make a lot of money from his trial if he can prove that his future earnings have been reduced.

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Brilliant Mikaela Mayer-Sandy Ryan fight ruined by pre-fight painting attack on Ryan

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Author: Sean Crose

“I’ve never had so much pain in my arms after a fight,” Mikaela Mayer said Friday night after winning the WBO welterweight title with a high-octane victory over Sandy Ryan. Indeed, the fight was fierce. Mayer proved to be faster and more mobile early on, but as the fight progressed, she was tagged by defending champion Ryan. “It went similar to what I thought,” Mayer told ESPN’s Mark Kriegel in the ring after the judges awarded him the majority victory. “She has a lot of pedigree, just like me, but I knew I could beat her. I knew I was swift. I knew I was sharper… I felt like I had won the fight. I’m glad I made the right decision this time. ”

Before the fight, it was clear that Mayer and Ryan were not huge fans of each other. However, things took a shadowy turn before the fight when Ryan was attacked on a Up-to-date York street on her way to Madison Square Garden, where the fight was about to end. “Something broke in my stomach,” Ryan told Kriegel before the fight, “I looked down, it was a paint can, I looked up, a guy in a hood running to a car. Then they drove away.”

Ryan, who was fighting for only his second time in the United States and first time in Up-to-date York, was visibly concerned. “Nothing like this has ever happened,” she said. “Mikaela Mayer understands this. It’s definitely someone from her team. Why should it be any different? It has to be. I’m from Great Britain. Who will hit me and run away? Who knew what time I left the hotel to arrive? Who knew that someone was sitting in a hotel and saying that he would come now? They know what time I leave the facility with my team.”

With this in mind, the thirty-three-year-old remained determined. “Throw things at me,” she said, “because that’s what they’re trying to do.” For her part, Mayer condemned and denied any involvement in the incident. “I mean obviously crossing the line,” she told Kriegel before the fight. “It’s messed up, so I feel sorry for her. I’m sorry this happened to her. Of course I had nothing to do with it. I would never do something like that. This is crossing the line 100 percent.”

After the fight, Mayer expressed his desire to have a rematch with Ryan, provided the money and fan interest were adequate. The 34-year-old claimed her dream was to become the undisputed welterweight division. “You won’t see me in an effortless fight,” Mayer said. “I will fight for the biggest and best.”

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