“To be candid, it looks like they’re planning for me and Espinoza to meet at the end,” Carrington said. Ring. “That’s what it looks like, it’s a massive crescendo, me and him having a dream fight. I think that’s what they’re trying to set up, so I’m not mad about it at all.”

From a business perspective, the strategy makes sense. Carrington holds the WBC featherweight title and represents one of Top Rank’s biggest American hopes. Espinoza holds the WBO belt and has become one of the most captivating champions in this division.

The problem is that Espinoza has already ruined a similar plan once.

Before meeting Espinoza, Robeisy Ramirez seemed destined for stardom. The two-time Olympic gold medalist won the WBO featherweight title and seemed poised to become one of Top Rank’s attractions. Instead, Espinoza defeated Ramirez twice in grueling fights. The rematch ended with Ramirez’s injury, which excluded him from the ring for over a year, and the Cuban is no longer a member of Top Rank.

Carrington (17-0 (10 KO)) is also showing signs of vulnerability.

The 29-year-old Brooklyn native was blindsided by Carlos Castro before scoring a ninth-inning stoppage goal in January. Early in his career, Carrington avoided fighting with a 10-round majority decision over Sulaiman Segawa in a fight that many observers considered much closer than expected.

Carrington, 29, is not a newborn prospect with years to develop. If Top Rank believes he can beat Espinoza, there is an argument that the time to take the fight will come sooner rather than later.

Espinoza (28-0 (24 KO)) presents problems Carrington hasn’t encountered. The 6-foot-1 Mexican champion combines unrelenting pressure, high impact power and proven durability. These traits helped him beat Ramirez twice and change the featherweight landscape.

Carrington is scheduled to make an optional defense against undefeated Rene Palacios on July 4 in Cleveland. Espinoza currently has no fight scheduled.

If both continue to win, the matchup that Carrington described as a “dream fight” could ultimately become one of the biggest fights in the division. However, Top Rank has already seen how threatening Espinoza can be to carefully laid plans.

Trainer Robert Garcia believes the ongoing debate over Tyson Fury potentially teaming up with Dana White is overblown and insists boxing fans only care about one thing: getting the biggest fights.

Fury addressed the increasing conversations about his future at the UFC White House gala, where he hinted that a major announcement regarding Dana White may be on the horizon. The heavyweight star has been heavily linked to White’s burgeoning boxing business, even though his long-talked-about clash with Anthony Joshua remains unresolved.

Asked by Chris Algieri whether Fury’s promotional situation could complicate the long-awaited fight with Joshua, Garcia dismissed the idea.

“The fans don’t care. The fans don’t care. As long as the fight happens, I don’t care,” Garcia told Probox TV. “Anthony Joshua has obviously been very, very devoted and has worked very well with Eddie and Matchroom, and that’s perfect. I love that with fighters as well. But Tyson Fury, if he says Turki Alalshikh is his promoter, that fight can still happen.”

Garcia pointed out that the various parties involved in boxing’s biggest events had cooperated before, making the promotional disputes less significant than some had suggested.

“It’s not like they never worked together. They continue to work together. So it’s a fight that has nothing to do with the promoters. It’s not like the promoters are going to prevent the fight or anything like that. The promoters can make it happen. Turki can do it.”

The Mexican coach’s biggest fear was that Fury and Joshua would continue to fight on an interim basis rather than eventually meet in the ring.

Garcia said earlier in the discussion that neither heavyweight side needs another exhilarating fight and warned that the longer they wait, the greater the risk that injuries, losses or age will diminish the appeal of one of boxing’s most anticipated fights.

For Robert, the possible involvement of Dana White is secondary. If a Fury-Joshua delivery is still possible, boxing fans are unlikely to care whose logo appears in promotional materials.

Tomek Galm is a boxing journalist covering the global fight landscape since 2014, specializing in heavyweight analysis, industry trends and fighter psychology.

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Last update: 16/06/2026 at 1:54

Lennox Lewis wasn’t just preparing to beat Mike Tyson in 2002. He made sure he never experienced the Evander Holyfield situation again.

By the time Lewis and Tyson finally stepped foot in the ring in Memphis, the undisputed heavyweight champion had already learned a painful lesson about leaving his fate in other people’s hands.

Three years earlier, Lewis appeared to out-do Holyfield over twelve rounds at Madison Square Garden. Most observers believe he did enough to become the undisputed heavyweight champion.

Instead, he walked away with a lopsided draw.

Referee Eugenia Williams somehow scored the fight for Holyfield, creating one of the most controversial scorecards in heavyweight history.

Lewis openly disputed the result.

Rainfall at Holyfield

The injustice was finally righted eight months later when Lewis defeated Holyfield in a rematch and finally secured the undisputed championship.

Even then, the scorecards still raised eyebrows.

Bill Graham scored the fight 117-111 for Lewis. Chuck Giampa had it 116-112. American judge Jerry Roth saw it much closer at 115-113.

This time, Lewis got the decision he deserved, but the contrast between the scorecards only reinforced concerns that had lingered since the first fight.

The Briton had already been burned once, and even when the verdict was finally reached in the rematch, one of the judges still saw the fight much closer than most observers.

Rightly or wrongly, these experiences left a mark. For Lewis and his team, the doubts never completely disappeared.

Opportunities were missed

When Tyson became his next opponent, Lewis entered the biggest fight of his career carrying those experiences with him.

Tyson remained boxing’s biggest attraction. The fight took place in America and millions of dollars were at stake.

Reports at the time indicated that the Lewis camp was pushing for the creation of a panel of judges that would not include U.S. officials.

After what happened in the first Holyfield fight, and after another American referee scored the rematch much closer than most thought, Lewis no longer wanted to leave anything to chance.

Whether viewed as wise caution or lingering distrust, the move showed how deeply the Holyfield story influenced Lewis and those around him.

Tyson never made it to the judges

Ultimately, Lewis never needed the scorecards he was worried about. The champion crushed Tyson via submission in the eighth round.

After years of wondering whether the referees would treat him fairly, Lewis removed them completely from the equation.

When the biggest fight of his career finally came, Lewis made sure Mike Tyson never came close to leaving the outcome in the judges’ hands.

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.