Boxing’s biggest winners and losers of May: Canelo Alvarez, Ryan Garcia, Dana White lead lowlight-filled month
After an eventful month both inside and outside of the boxing ring, let's take a look at the mixed fortunes of some of the sport’s stars for May 2025.
WINNERS
Rolando Romero & Teofimo Lopez
Yes, I have lumped these two together to make room for another entry on the list — shoot me down! — but as a pair, "Rolly" Romero and Teofimo Lopez were the only two positives coming out of a lackluster Times Square Ring Magazine card at the start of the month.
Romero dropped and upset Ryan Garcia, and Teofimo Lopez looked pretty decent in outpointing the dangerous Arnold Barboza Jr. in a fight that, at least on paper, he would typically struggle to get up for or impress with in the past.
Sure, Garcia was flatter than some of Carl Froch’s flat-Earth conspirator pals, but Romero beat what was put in front of him and now has plenty of options at 147 pounds.
These two are winners by definition, but the bar was set pretty low on a rotten night in the Big Apple.
Anthony Cacace
In a domestic battle of 36-year-olds, Anthony Cacace came out on top in the backyard of hometown hero Leigh Wood, underlining his positioning as the man to beat — in the United Kingdom — at super featherweight.
And if the IBO title wasn’t enough for “The Apache,” he can now add a spot in Uncrowned’s monthly Winners and Losers list to his career achievements.
Both Wood and Cacace have found something later in their careers than most, and in what would've been billed in pro wrestling as a “loser retires” match, the Northern Irishman benefits from the winner stays on stipulation, licking his lips at the broad spectrum of recognized world champions at 130 pounds.
Cacace is as strong and physical at the weight as they come and may well be able to lure a champion into a contest, thanks to his humbling knockout record (just nine KOs).
Dave Allen
Who’d have thunk it — writing about a career-best Dave Allen win in *checks calender* 2025. For the record, Allen denies that his fifth-round stoppage of Johnny Fisher was the best on his ledger — saving that for his demolition of Lucas Browne in 2019 — but this is the win that could well open the most doors for the “White Rhino.”
Allen is no spring chicken, and after a career littered with losses and tough spars, he should be advised carefully and compassionately as he starts calling out a who’s who of the heavyweight division.
But for now, enjoy it, Dave. Nice guys often finish last in this sport. This isn’t to say he will finish anywhere near first, but he’s managed to carve a fruitful career out of very humble beginnings.
Angelo Leo
This is where, ideally, I’d insert that meme of Angelo Leo and a wheelbarrow for his testicles. The IBF featherweight champion traveled to Japan to outpoint a resurgent Tomoki Kameda, extending his unbeaten run to six fights in the process.
This 26th win of Leo’s career came nine months after upsetting Luis Alberto Lopez with a monstrous left hook, continuing the massive spike in his stock following years of anonymity.
The likes of Nick Ball, Steph Fulton and Rafael Espinoza await as fellow champions at 126 pounds, and surely Leo will be knocking on the door for a unification fight next.
Women’s boxing
The proof may well have to be in the pudding on this one, but Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions are baking something quite large in the women’s division.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer-turned-entrepreneur has made it his mission to elevate women’s boxing, signing a plethora of talent to his stable, and July 11 at Madison Square Garden will provide the opportunity for him to showcase eight (and counting) fights involving some of the best female fighters.
With the influx of Saudi money in the sport, the health of women’s boxing has been a concern for many female fighters looking for opportunities.
“We’ve seen such a positive growth of women’s boxing over the past couple of years, it would be a shame for that bubble to burst,” Norfolk featherweight Raven Chapman told Uncrowned in the buildup to Saudi Arabia’s last boxing bonanza, headlined by Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.
“It [women’s boxing] has certainly slowed down over the last six months,” Chapman continued. “Whether that is due to more control over the fight schedule from the Saudis, it is hard to comment. There will be so much excitement and attention on this card in Riyadh, it’s just a shame that there will be no eyes on a women’s fight. I guess it’s down to us, as women, to keep fighting for these opportunities.”
Perhaps Paul’s desire for a monopoly of women’s boxing will see fighters, like Chapman, receive career-high paydays and opportunities that can’t be funded elsewhere.
LOSERS
Ryan Garcia & Devin Haney
One guy lost and the other guy threw fewer punches than I’ve seen inside a London boozer on a Saturday afternoon. Which is more damaging? It’s hard to say …
Devin Haney’s coach and father, Bill, will tell you that “a win is a win,” but Haney will find opportunities and paydays harder and harder to come by if he repeats his performance against Jose Ramirez any time soon.
Haney was lousy, ineffective and gun-shy as he moved to 32-0 in a bout that would struggle to fill a highlight clip.
And Garcia? He is still as marketable as they come, but these inconsistent performances are beginning the grow the target on his back larger and larger.
For now, the Garcia vs. Haney rematch should be dead in the water — but it won’t be long until fight fans are gaslit into believing the Times Square card was simply a chapter in their evolving story.
Canelo Alvarez
Simply put: Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is no longer an exciting fighter.
Beating William Scull by throwing the fewest number of punches by a champion in a world title fight is going to get you nowhere, and his unwillingness to engage with the overmatched Cuban emphaizes the decline of the Mexican great.
A younger, more spiteful Canelo would have made quick work of Scull, but now at 34, the former “Face of Boxing” seems utterly disinterested in adding to his legacy.
If anything, Terence Crawford was the biggest winner from that forgettable night in Riyadh, as “Bud” will now see his odds of beating Alvarez shorten drastically.
Josh Taylor and Scottish boxing
The King of Scotland is dead, long live the … oh, wait. That could well be the problem for the proud fight fans of Scotland going forward, as Josh Taylor suffered his third straight loss, edging him closer to retirement.
The “Tartan Tornado” was out-everything’d by Ekow Essuman in his Glasgow homecoming, looking like a shadow of the fighter who was undisputed at super lightweight in 2019.
Scotland has only had Ricky Burns and Taylor to hang their hats on in recent years, so the hunt for a new star is needed now more than ever. Step forward, Nathaniel Collins?
The WBC
Get used to a position in the Losers list being occupied by a sanctioning body.
This month, it’s the turn of Mauricio Sulaiman and the WBC for throwing the retired Manny Pacquiao back into their top-10 rankings and into a world title shot with Mario Barrios.
“PacMan” is 46 years old, hasn’t won a fight since 2019, yet is being treated like the active Hall of Famer that scaled eight divisions in his heyday.
Age waits for no man or woman in boxing — and many need protecting from their own ego.
Dana White
Is there trouble in paradise?
UFC’s supremo Dana White was widely expected to make his big boxing debut splash in promoting September’s superfight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford, but the brash American has been left high and dry at the alter by Saudi Arabia’s boxing overlord, Turki Alalshikh.
Alalshikh announced via his media mouthpiece, Ring Magazine, that Saudi-firm Sela would now get the gig for this super middleweight contest, raising questions on the future of White and TKO Boxing.
White’s personality comes fresh out of the Trumpian playbook, so it’ll be interesting to see how this story develops and how willing he is to bend the knee in the future to the man his disciples call “His Excellency."
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