“Well, I think it’s more so the fighters’ teams. They’re trying to weigh out their options in terms of what would be the easiest route for them,” said Carrington to Chris Mannix’s channel. “For me, I’m the type of guy that knows I can beat everybody. I have the confidence that I can beat everyone, so it doesn’t matter who comes first.”

Carrington went a step further, saying the lack of movement toward unification is proof that other champions don’t fully believe in their own fighters.

“If these guys had that confidence in their fighter, then they would fight me next. But being that they don’t, they’re finding other alternative routes to reach the top or stay at the top before they fight me because they see that I’m a real threat,” said Carrington.

Those comments are unlikely to convince everyone.

Although Carrington remains unbeaten, many fans believe he has yet to face the type of opposition that justifies calling out the other titleholders. His January stoppage of Carlos Castro earned him the vacant WBC title, but Castro entered the fight coming off a loss and an 18-month layoff. Carrington also had to survive a difficult spell after being badly hurt before rallying for the stoppage.

His previous opponents have also done little to quiet the criticism. Mateus Heita arrived unbeaten but largely unknown on the world stage, while Enrique Vivas and Dana Coolwell were viewed as solid contenders rather than elite featherweights.

Carrington’s 2024 victory over Sulaiman Segawa remains another talking point. While he won a majority decision, many fans felt Segawa had done enough to deserve the verdict. Combined with the problems he encountered against Castro, those performances have led some to question whether Carrington is ready for the division’s top fighter.

That fighter, in the eyes of many, is WBO champion Rafael Espinoza.

Espinoza has strengthened his standing with victories over Robeisy Ramirez and Edward Vazquez and is widely regarded as the man to beat at 126 pounds. As a result, some fans have questioned why that fight has not materialized while Carrington has continued to face less established opposition.

Carrington, however, insists unification remains his goal and identified Espinoza and WBA champion Angelo Leo as the opponents he hopes to face before the end of the year.

Carrington’s explanation is unlikely to change many minds. The questions surrounding his resume won’t go away until he faces Espinoza or another established champion.

“I was catching him with shots the first day we sparred. The second day we sparred, those shots were not landing,” Mendoza said to FightHype.

“People forget he was a high-IQ boxer as an amateur.”

Mendoza said the biggest takeaway was watching Spence make adjustments from one sparring session to the next rather than simply relying on experience.

“For those of you that think he’s done, that he’s just showing up for a paycheck… he’s not working like someone who’s showing up for a paycheck.

“The work ethic I got to see in the couple of weeks I was in camp, and just from being in the ring with him… there were adjustments every day. He’s not someone that’s just showing up.”

Mendoza also addressed another major question surrounding Spence following such a lengthy layoff: whether he can still take a punch.

“I did check Spence’s punch resistance—I can definitely say I sent some missiles his way—and I honestly feel like he responded well.”

Mendoza is in a unique position to compare the matchup, having lost a unanimous decision to Tszyu in October 2023 before recently helping Spence prepare for the Australian.

Both fighters enter the bout looking to revive their careers. Spence has not fought since losing his WBC, WBA and IBF welterweight titles to Crawford, while Tszyu is trying to rebound after defeats to Sebastian Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev left his standing among the division’s elite in doubt.

With both men attempting to prove they still belong at the highest level, Mendoza’s assessment suggests Spence is arriving in Australia with more left in the tank than many critics have assumed.

Adam Catterall believes Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua’s long-awaited showdown simply doesn’t work financially without Saudi Arabia’s backing, while Simon Jordan says that reality explains why Turki Alalshikh ultimately holds the strongest hand in negotiations over the fight’s future.

Questions remain over where the heavyweight clash will take place after Eddie Hearn insisted the fight is contractually set for the UK. Catterall argued, however, that the enormous purses Fury and Joshua are expected to command cannot be covered by gate receipts and pay-per-view revenue alone. Instead, Saudi Arabia’s financial backing is what makes the fight possible.

“I think also where AJ and Tyson Fury reside now might have some sort of bearing on where they might want the fight to be. Ultimately, he’s the money in the room, and he can determine it, and he can say what he wants to say because he’s paying for the right to do so,” Catterall said on talkSPORT.

Jordan agreed, arguing that the economics of the fight give Alalshikh the leverage to decide where it ultimately lands.

“You’ve got to ask yourself where does Turki want it? Why does he want this fight? Because he’s the money in the room. He’s the one that’s creating the outcome,” Jordan said. “If Frank and Eddie are doing it, it has a certain scale, and they’re not going to break the budget economically just to make a fight happen for Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.”

Simon argued that even a sold-out Wembley Stadium would not generate enough revenue to cover the career-high purses Fury and Joshua are expected to seek. In his view, Saudi Arabia’s investment bridges the gap between what the event can realistically earn and what the two former heavyweight champions are likely to demand.

The discussion comes after Turki Alalshikh hosted a high-profile meeting this week involving representatives from Queensberry, Matchroom, TKO Boxing and Sela to discuss the future of boxing. Although Fury versus Joshua remains one of the sport’s biggest potential fights, no official venue or date has been announced.

“I suppose we have to be grateful that the fight’s eventually being made because if it was left to Frank and Eddie, probably we’d never see this fight,” Jordan said.

Olly Campbell is a boxing journalist who has covered the sport since 2014, providing ringside reporting and technical analysis of major bouts. His work focuses on fighter tendencies, tactical adjustments, and the details that shape high-level competition.

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Last Updated on 2026/07/03 at 12:44 PM