“The way you’re the boogeyman after I’m the one chasing the boogeyman,” Carrington said to Fight Hub TV, questioning the narrative around Espinosa.
The unbeaten WBC 126-lb champion doesn’t dismiss Espinosa as a fighter. He acknowledged the explanation why some rate him highly, pointing to his height and the issues that style can bring over 12 rounds. Carrington even said he became a fan after watching Espinosa earlier in his rise, which adds a layer of respect to the matchup.
At the identical time, he isn’t treating that difficulty as something that separates Espinosa from the remaining of the division. Carrington’s view stays easy. Good fighter, tough night, but not something that puts him outside the pack.
He’s been asking for that fight since 2023, and from his perspective, that alone challenges the concept that Rafael is being avoided. If anything, Carrington sees it the opposite way around. A dangerous opponent doesn’t turn out to be off-limits simply because people start attaching labels to him.
The broader message stays consistent with how Carrington has been talking since picking up the WBC belt. He believes the division should move toward the highest fights, and Espinosa is an element of that group. Not someone to avoid, but someone to face.
Carrington feels like a fighter who sees the “boogeyman” tag as something created outside the ring, not proven inside it, and he wants the prospect to prove it himself.