Teddy Atlas pointed out one major factor that could make Dmitry Bivol too much of a risk for David Benavidez.

Their potential uncontested clash could come later this year or early next year, although both featherlight heavyweight champions are equally considering alternative options.

Considering Bivol just defended his IBF, WBO and WBA titles against Michael Eifert, it seems there is a lot of interest in the Artur Beterbiev trilogy in Russia.

Beterbiev won their first meeting by majority decision in October 2024, while Bivol won the undisputed crown by the same margin in the rematch the following February.

Therefore, it would make sense for the pair to go into the fight at the distance, potentially leaving Benavidez at 200 pounds in pursuit of more titles.

The “Mexican Monster” dethroned Gilberto Ramirez after a sixth-round stoppage last month he became a three-division world champion, winning the WBO and WBA cruiserweight titles.

He has since become the mandatory challenger to WBC cruiserweight champion Noel Mikaelian, while still holding his green and gold belt at 175 pounds.

Had Atlas won, Benavidez would have been aiming for a three-belt unification fight in his current weight class, rather than making the same mistake Roy Jones Jr made in his illustrious career.

I keep talking his YouTube channelthe Hall of Fame trainer explained the danger of losing weight after acclimating to the above division.

“The only thing that worries me is this [with Benavidez] weight gain and loss. Example: Roy Jones Jr.

“When he came upstairs [to fight] John Ruiz won this version of the heavyweight title and then came back, he was never the same. He got older, but he was never the same.

“[If] you gain weight and then you have to lose it – [Benavidez] This can be done, but it may be a problem.

For pound-for-pound legend Jones, his bold decision to re-join the 175-pound weight class ultimately led to his second-round loss to Antonio Tarver.

Planning a multi-fight saga with rematches and “Fight of the Year” trophies before even stepping into the ring with a monster like Zepeda is crazy. This shows a complete lack of situational awareness. Zepeda is a career-changing threat who will deliver a barrage of punches from the opening bell.

In a way, you can’t blame Roach for coming up with this fanciful vision. The generational wealth he will gain after defeating Zepeda and Shakur will allow him to live like a king. The idea of ​​cashing those huge checks and moving into a Beverly Hills mansion among the elite is enough for anyone to dream about. The problem is that Roach still has William Zepeda in front of him.

Roach acts as if the Zepeda fight is just a formality, a compact rehearsal before the main event he imagines. In boxing, this level of forward-looking tends to lead to a brutal wake-up call.

If Roach brings the exact same irreverent “keyboard warrior” attitude to the ring on August 1, Zepeda might just quickly shock him back to reality.

If you look closely at Roach’s resume, there is nothing in his win column to justify this level of supreme confidence.

Article title and delicate victories

Before the promotion, Roach’s crowning achievement was winning the WBA super featherweight title. He won it via split decision over Hector Luis Garcia, a fighter whose confidence had already been shaken by Gervonta Davis. After that, his only defense was a TKO victory over Feargal McCrory, a decent fighter but a regional level fighter who was far from elite at 130 pounds.

Additionally, Roach’s record includes wins over aging veterans like Rene Alvarado and Jonathan Oquendo. These are solid, respectable wins for a fighter trying to stay vigorous, but they are not career-defining performances that prepare a fighter to handle the elite, contemporary buzzsaw.

Illusory “success” of draws

And here comes the psychological trap. With the official scorecards crediting him with most of his draws against Tank Davis and Pitbull Cruz, Roach turned these stalemates into moral victories.

• Tank Davis fight: You are here. Davis looked completely unmotivated, fighting without rushing and letting the rounds fly by out of sheer boredom. Roach didn’t “neutralize” Tank; Tank just didn’t show up with any real fire.
• Cruz’s Pitbull Fight: Cruz clearly did enough to win this fight, breaking through Roach’s low-impact arm punches and forcing action. The draw was a huge gift that saved Roach’s position, but it still counts as a dominant performance that proved he belongs at the top.

Reality test on August 1

Since he technically didn’t lose those two fights on paper, Roach convinced himself that his lifeless, safety-first, step-back fighting style was elitist. He believes that surviving the distance means he can overtake William Zepeda.

The problem is that Zepeda doesn’t allow enemies to fly. Zepeda won’t stand idly by like Tank, nor will he offer sporadic action that allows a defensive fighter to steal rounds with quick punches. Zepeda will land over 100 punches in each roundforcing Roach to work every second of the fight.

When a fighter hasn’t officially seen his hand raised since mid-2024, standing at ringside with William Zepeda and dreaming of Shakur Stevenson is an extremely threatening game. Roach has confused survival with supremacy, and this illusion may cost him dearly.

lol you think I’m in a phase but these mfs that reply and comment on what’s going on in my career? 80% phony site. The other 20 are miserable and can barely pay their bills. I 100% cannot fwm and do what I do in my field. With that in mind… AUGUST 1 #RoachZepeda

— Lamont Roach Jr (@OneOf1x) June 7, 2026

When a fighter starts attacking random people on social media over paying his bills, there’s a powerful suspicion that the pressure is seeping through his armor. Completely loses the plot.

The irony in his post is hilarious. He claims that no one can “fwm and do what I do in my field,” but what he has actually done recently is avoid highly debatable draws. If Roach’s record reflected back-to-back dominant victories, he could have his critics kicking stones. But with two huge gifts on the scorecards, bouts like this simply look like overcompensation.

This social media meltdown comes as the fight date has officially been set for August 1 in Las Vegas. The reality of what’s coming is starting to settle in. Instead of quietly preparing to deal with a guy who throws a thousand punches a day, Roach wastes his energy defending his honor on X.

If he continues to bring this erratic, weak-skinned energy into his camp, he will be in stern trouble.

Mike Tyson looks explosive again. The combinations are keen, the body shots are breathtaking, and social media does exactly what it always does when a heavyweight legend posts training videos.

A few days before his 60th birthday, Tyson is once again receiving praise from fans who are convinced that the former undisputed champion still has something in him.

Mike is a beast at 60, but that’s not the point.

Mike Tyson illusion

The thing is, fans have seen this before.

Before Tyson fought Jake Paul, the internet was flooded with clips of him turning back time. The swift hands, vicious combinations and flashes of ancient Iron Mike convinced many people that when the bell rang, something special could happen.

There was no avoiding the hype as the footage stood out and people wanted to believe it.

Those waiting for the promise of another night featuring the ancient Iron Mike were largely disappointed with Jake Paul, and even those who craved nostalgia would be hard-pressed to get anything out of that night in Texas.

Tyson struggled to pull the trigger, landed very little, and weakened as the fight went on. He later admitted that he barely remembered the competition and had effectively erased most of the experience.

The Mike Tyson seen in these training clips never actually showed up when the fight started.

What we have already seen

Paul later admitted that he chose to leave Tyson alone rather than pursue a knockout, leading to calls for the knockout bets to be refunded. The YouTuber also admitted that as the rounds went on, Tyson’s age became more and more obvious, something boxing people had been saying long before the fight.

Tyson looks good. Nobody can deny that. For a man approaching 60, he is absolutely remarkable, just like Jake Paul before him.

The problem arises when these clips stop being training material and start being evidence that Tyson intends to turn back time.

A few seconds of pad work and massive bag work suddenly becomes evidence that another vintage Tyson performance is just around the corner, even though boxing saw the same story play out before the Paul fight and saw how it ended.

Floyd Mayweather

Now the conversation turned to Floyd Mayweather, another all-time great fighter, but one who can still move and box much better and faster than Tyson’s ancient YouTuber foe.

If this fight does happen, Tyson will struggle to fight from the opening bell and will likely fade even further as the fall passes a few months from his 60th birthday, leaving fans once again wondering how these video clips generated such high expectations.

We watched the movies and then the fight. Tyson later admitted he barely remembered it, and Paul admitted he let it go rather than push for a break.

Therefore, the latest footage should be viewed as is.

The danger comes when people start to believe that these clips are the same Mike Tyson they remember from the 1980s.

A few days before his milestone birthday, Tyson is once again an energetic participant in training.

The difference is that we’ve seen it all before.

About the author

Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.