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Teofimo Lopez Considers Moving Up To Welterweight For A Potential Title Fight With Brian Norman Jr.

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Image: Teofimo Lopez Considers Welterweight Move, Potential Title Shot Against Brian Norman Jr.

Teofimo Lopez says he is considering moving up to 147 pounds for his next fight and a world title shot.

Lopez (21-1, 13 KOs) could challenge Brian Norman Jr. for the WBO welterweight title if the World Boxing Organization promotes him to full champion. Terence Crawford moved up to 154 and has not indicated he intends to return to 147 to resume his WBO title defense.

Norman (26-0, 20s) won the interim WBO 147-pound title on May 18 with a tenth-round knockout of Giovani Santillan in San Diego. The power and stamina Norman showed in that fight were impressive.

Lopez will have to think twice before moving up to 147 pounds, as his last two outings at 147 pounds against Steve Claggett and Jamaine Ortiz have shown that he is not the same fighter he was at 135 pounds. His power has not improved and he has been average in three of his last four fights.

Top Rank matchmakers know that 23-year-old Brian Norman Jr. is too sturdy and tough for Teofimo and will either knock him out or beat him up soundly.

Teofimo finds himself in a tough spot as he has to move up to 147 pounds. He looked exhausted as he made weight for his final defense of his WBO 140-pound title against Claggett on June 29 in Miami, Florida.

Lopez’s face was swollen and both eyes looked bad from the multiple punches Claggett landed. This was supposed to be an exhibition fight in which Teofimo would look impressive, but it turned out to be a really tough fight.

If this performance was a result of Teofimo’s weight issues, then he needs to move up.

Marek Kriegel: “I want to know two things. You had lightning power at 135. Do you have it at 140 and will you have it at 147?” ESPN commentator Kriegel said Top-level boxing.

Teofimo Lopez: “147 is something I plan on aiming for, probably even in the upcoming match.”

Kriegel: “Another upcoming match. You talked about Pitbull Cruz. You want to fight four times this year. There’s only one way to do it, and that’s September, probably at the Garden. There’s a lot of talk about you and Brian Norman at 147, which I think would be a hell of a fight. What do you think?”

Teofimo: “Teofimo Lopez is a three-division world champion at 27. That sounds amazing to me.”

Kriegel: “Now you’re being clever.”

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Muhsin Cason vs. Alvin Varmall Jr. will take place on November 2nd in Recent Jersey

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Muhsin Cason

On Saturday night, November 2nd, Teflon Promotions will be hosting a huge night of boxing at The Scottish Rite Auditorium in Collingswood, Recent Jersey.

In the evening’s six-round main event, undefeated cruiserweight Muhsin Cason will face Alvin Varmall Jr.

Cason, from Philadelphia by way of Las Vegas, has a record of 12-0 with nine knockouts. The 30-year-old Cason is a six-year veteran and has wins over Nathaniel Copeland (1-0), Montez Brown (8-1) and his most recent fight, when he stopped Lamont Capers in two rounds on April 27 in Philadelphia.

Varmall, from Catskill, Recent York, is 17-1 with 14 knockouts. The 32-year-old has been a professional for 11 years and has wins over Antonio Mignella (3-0) and Jesse Vice (1-0). In his last appearance, Varmall stopped Billy Cunningham in four rounds on Aug. 19, 2023, in Biloxi, Mississippi.

The event will be a six-round super welterweight fight between James Martin (10-4) of Philadelphia and Delen Parsley (13-2, 4 KOs) of Brooklyn, Recent York.

In four-round fights:

Tariq Green (5-2-2, 3 KOs) of Philadelphia will face Keithland King (5-2, 5 KOs) of Washington, Recent Jersey in a middleweight fight.

In a clash of undefeated super welterweights, Aaron Anderson (6-0, 4 KOs) of Dundalk, Maryland, will face Martin Sollano (5-0, 2 KOs) of Amarillo, Texas.

Ashwin Trail (0-1) of Pennsylvania will face the debuting Julio Dos Santos of AMarillo, Texas in a heavyweight fight.

Undefeated featherweight contenders Jaclyne McTamney (2-0, 1 KO) of Southampton, Pennsylvania, and heavyweight Paul Koon (4-0, 1 KO) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will face opponents whose names have not yet been revealed.

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Joey Dawejko claims multiple mouthpiece protrusions that led to disqualification were unintentional

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On several occasions, Joey Dawejko’s mouthpiece came off in his fight with heavyweight contender Richard Torrez Jr. last week. And on several occasions, Dawejko was warned, then docked points, then disqualified, giving Torrez a fifth-round victory.

Dawejko says he wasn’t looking for relief — extra time to recuperate while cleaning and replacing his mouthpiece — or a way to retire from the fight.

“To be clear, I didn’t spit out the mouthpiece on purpose,” Dawejko wrote on Facebook. “I was hit and the mouthpiece kept falling out.”

(Ryan Songalia from The Ring he was the first to report it.)

During the broadcast, commentator Tim Bradley asked if Dawejko had bought a homemade mouthpiece from a store that he boiled in water and pressed with his teeth. Bradley said that mouthpieces made by professionals, including those made by dentists, would not come out as easily or consistently as Dawejko’s mouthpieces.

It was the first time Dawejko had been disqualified, and only the fourth time he had missed the final bell. The 34-year-old Philadelphian now has a record of 28-12-4 (16 KOs).

Torrez, a silver medalist in the super heavyweight division at the 2020-21 Olympics, improved to 11-0 (10 KOs). It was his first fight that didn’t end in a knockout and only the third time he’s seen a fifth round, having defeated Curtis Harper in eight rounds last December.

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Will Artur Beterbiev prove too powerful for Dmitry Bivol?

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Image: Beterbiev Hints at Cruiserweight Move After Bivol Fight

Dmitry Bivol will face the greatest boxer of his career in the delicate heavyweight division[ited championship fight against unified champ Artur Beterbiev in 19 days on October 12th in Riyadh. Beterbiev might have too much power for Bivol, who likes to throw combinations and leaves himself open. Getting countered by Beterbiev will be bad for Bivol.

WBA champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) is known for his movement and boxing skills, which he’s used to defeat the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez. He’s not faced anyone like IBF, WBC and WBO champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs), though.

Bivol hasn’t fought anyone like Beterbiev, and we don’t know if he’ll be able to use his in-and-out attacking style effectively against this kind of puncher.

Canelo, a natural middleweight in size, was too small to fight at light heavyweight against Bivol in 2022. Zurdo Ramirez was slow and limited in his fight against Bivol in November 2022. Bivol might not be as good as some fans had thought, and Beterbiev may expose that.

“When I think of what is a machine? It’s Beterbiev more than any other boxer in recent years,” said Ade Oladipo on his YouTube channel, talking about unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev ahead of his fight against Dmitry Bivol on October 12th.

“Some thought Callum Smith was going to go to Canada and take the titles from him. Beterbiev destroyed him. That’s when I thought this guy is the real deal. Then there’s Dmitry Bivol. I think he’s poetry in motion.

“You have someone [Beterbiev] it will break you, and you have someone who is poetry in motion. Bivol does not have such a distinguished CV as Beterbiev,” Ade said.

Beterbiev’s greatest victories:

– Oleksandr Gvozdyk
-Callum Smith
-Callum Johnson
-Marcus Browne
-Anthony Yarde
–Joe Smith Jr.

Bivol’s best wins include defeats over Joe Smith Jr., Canelo, and Gilberto Ramirez. His resume is similar to Beterbiev’s, but not quite as good.

“Bivol shut Canelo down. You can’t sleep after a performance like that. That was Canelo in the run-up to the fight, on the run.”

“I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary at the time, but of course it was. In retrospect, it was like he hit me in the arms and knocked me down,” Callum Johnson told Secondsout of his 2018 fight with Artur Beterbiev.

“Will his age affect him? At some point, yes. Will knee surgery affect him?” Johnson asked of Beterbiev.

Beterbiev’s recent knee surgery raises questions about whether he’ll be able to handle the stress of facing a fighter like Bivol. Not just the movement. Bivol could decide to lean on Beterbiev in the clinches to wear down the knee and weaken it.

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