Boxing actual or not: Paul over Chavez? Pacquiao champ once more?

Vasiliy Lomachenko introduced his retirement from boxing on June 5 after a profession that included profitable titles in three divisions. However can he be thought of the perfect light-weight of his technology?

Manny Pacquiao, boxing’s solely eight-division champ, introduced his return after virtually 4 years away from the game. The 46-year-old will face WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios, 30, on July 19 in Las Vegas, looking to become the oldest former champion to win a title within the 147-pound division. Can he do it?

Former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, additionally retired, has been hearing calls to return to face fellow former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in an all-British struggle that has eluded boxing followers for a few years. Will the struggle lastly occur?

One other proposed title struggle just lately fell aside when WBO junior welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez‘s workforce introduced that he is not going to face Devin Haney for the WBO belt at the moment for “personal reasons.” Lopez and Haney are on the peak of their careers, however will the struggle ultimately occur?

Jake Paul returns to the ring on June 28 to face Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Whereas Chavez, 39, hasn’t received a title struggle since he defeated Andy Lee in 2012, he is a former middleweight champion with 61 skilled fights in his résumé. Can the 28-year-old Paul defeat Chavez in his quest to turn into a world champion?

And on Saturday, former unified light-weight champion George Kambosos Jr., 31, will try to turn into a world champion in a second division when he faces Richardson Hitchins, 27, for the IBF junior welterweight title. Can he beat the youthful champ?

Andreas Hale and Nick Parkinson reply these questions in an effort to separate what’s actual and what’s not.

Actual or not: Vasiliy Lomachenko is the perfect light-weight of his technology

Not actual. There isn’t any argument towards Lomachenko being one of the crucial expert fighters of this technology, no matter weight class. Nonetheless, talent would not all the time imply finest, and it is simple to conflate Lomachenko’s distinctive runs at featherweight and junior light-weight with light-weight success. However analyzing his light-weight file is the place he falls quick.

Lomachenko is 8-2 as a light-weight, which is superb. However he has misplaced his two greatest light-weight fights to Lopez and Haney. Whereas the latter was controversial, the previous was more definitive. Had Lopez not misplaced to Kambosos in 2021, he could have had a declare to be the perfect of his technology as effectively. However, for me, the honors go to Haney, who was 30-0 as a light-weight and defeated each Lomachenko and Kambosos (twice). No matter what you saw in the ring between Haney and Ryan Garcia in April 2024, the very fact stays that Garcia blew the load and failed a prefight drug test. And that struggle was at junior welterweight.

There will likely be individuals who will argue in favor of Gervonta Davis, however “Tank” damage his standing along with his majority draw with Lamont Roach in March and hasn’t confronted Lomachenko, Haney or Lopez. WBC light-weight champion Shakur Stevenson could ultimately run away with the title, however is simply three fights into his light-weight tenure. — Hale

Actual or not: Jake Paul will KO Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Actual. Chavez isn’t anticipated to be anyplace close to the situation wanted to threaten Paul of their cruiserweight bout, which Paul doubtless wins inside the space.

Chavez has been largely inactive just lately (one struggle since December 2021), and Paul’s work price is more likely to overwhelm him. Chavez may run out of steam after a couple of rounds and permit the social media star a highlight-reel end.

On paper, Chavez is a robust opponent. He’s a former middleweight champion who fought — and misplaced — to Sergio Martinez, Canelo Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs, amongst others. Prior to now 5 years, Chavez has made 5 appearances at a decrease degree, including losing to former UFC champion Anderson Silva in 2021.

Paul earned a unanimous decision in November over former heavyweight king Mike Tyson, 58 on the time, and this will likely be one other win over a boxing has-been. — Parkinson

Actual or not: Tyson Fury will return from retirement to lastly face Anthony Joshua this yr

Actual — but it surely may not be this yr. If Fury vs. Joshua turns into a actuality, subsequent yr is a greater guess since Joshua is at the moment recovering from elbow surgery and Fury claims he is still happily retired. Since Fury is coming off back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk and Joshua suffered a humiliating fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in September, it would not be a shock to see each of them in interim fights earlier than dealing with one another in 2026.

Fury has flip-flopped between an lively profession and retirement since 2013. The “Gypsy King” announced in January he was finished with the game following a second successive choice loss to unified heavyweight champion Usyk, and to date he’s sticking to it. “I hear a variety of speak of the ‘Gypsy King’ returning to boxing, and I ask this query: For what? What would I return for? Extra belts? I’ve received 22 of them,” Fury mentioned in an Instagram video posted to his account in Might.

However most of media and boxing followers assume Fury is simply teasing.

Since losing to Usyk in December, Fury has remained in form and appears in combating kind. This makes a revival of his boxing profession subsequent yr a risk.

As for Joshua, additionally a two-time world heavyweight champion like Fury, isn’t anticipated to field once more till October, however he — together with Fury — remains to be the largest draw on British soil. Deontay Wilder, one other former champion in shedding kind, is being related with Joshua they usually may meet late this yr, in a pathway to Fury vs. Joshua in 2026. Joshua, 36 in October, and Fury, 37 in August, shouldn’t have youth on their facet, which is why we are going to see them share a hoop inside 12 months.

It may not be as large a couple of years in the past when each had been champions, , however the all-English showdown would nonetheless be one of many greatest boxing occasions to be made. — Parkinson

Actual or not: Manny Pacquiao will defeat Mario Barrios

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The numbers behind Manny Pacquiao’s Corridor of Fame profession

Try the numbers behind Manny Pacquiao’s profession that received him inducted into the Worldwide Boxing Corridor of Fame.

Not actual. Pacquiao’s unimaginable profession will make an awesome film sooner or later, however it’s tough to consider his welterweight title fight against Mario Barrios on July 19 on the MGM Grand Backyard Area in Las Vegas will present the traditional Hollywood, completely happy ending.

After beginning his skilled boxing profession 30 years in the past, “Pac Man” has too many miles on his physique, has misplaced an excessive amount of athleticism and isn’t fast sufficient to defeat Barrios.

Pacquiao’s model relies on movement, speed and footwork, however all of these qualities have been in decline for the Filipino who has not fought for almost 4 years. There was compelling proof of Pacquiao’s erosion in his final struggle in 2021, when Yordenis Ugas outpointed Pacquiao 116-112, 116-112 and 115-113 and was a transparent winner.

Watching Pacquiao now could be like watching a peak model of the Filipino in gradual movement.

Pacquiao is making an attempt to interrupt his personal file as boxing’s oldest 147-pound world champion (40 years, 215 days), however he’ll discover it tough to maintain up with the excessive quantity of punches Barrios likes to throw. Barrios isn’t a formidable champion, and Pacquiao has overwhelmed a protracted record of boxing greats, however Barrios nonetheless has sufficient to beat a pale former champion.

Pacquiao has received titles from flyweight (112 kilos) to junior middleweight (154 kilos) over an expert profession that began in January 1995, however his finest years had been over a decade in the past. — Parkinson

Actual or not: Teofimo Lopez vs. Devin Haney will ultimately occur

Actual. Lopez and Haney have circled one another for years, and it appeared just like the struggle was going to come to fruition in August. Relying on the way you take a look at it, the hangup for Lopez was both weight, cash or each. There’s nothing to recommend that Lopez fears Haney. The larger situation is the connection between Lopez and Turki Alalshikh, Saudi Arabia’s chairman of the final leisure authority and Ring Journal proprietor, who would promote the struggle. Lopez mentioned some “inappropriate phrases” about Alalshikh on social media, for which he later apologized. This may not be the final time Haney and Lopez are linked collectively for a struggle, and it’s too good of a struggle to not ultimately occur. — Hale

Actual or not: George Kambosos Jr. will turn into a two-division champion on Saturday

Not actual. Determining how good Kambosos is might be tough to quantify. The Australian began his skilled profession 20-0. His greatest victory throughout that run was a stunning decision in 2021 over Lopez, who after the fight was diagnosed with “pneumomediastinum” with “intensive air within the retropharyngeal area.” Since then, he has gone 2-3 with all three of his losses coming in one-sided beatings by the hands of Haney (twice) and Lomachenko. The 2 wins? A majority choice over Maxi Hughes and a unanimous choice over unheralded and inexperienced fellow Aussie fighter Jake Wyllie.

That is necessary to notice as a result of Kambosos’ greatest wins earlier than the Lopez upset had been break up choices over Mickey Bey and Lee Selby. Between that and the punishment he is absorbed in his previous couple of fights, it actually feels just like the Australian has overachieved in his profession and that we doubtless have already seen the perfect of Kambosos. Hitchins, his opponent on Saturday, is arguably extra expert than anyone Kambosos’ has defeated outdoors of Lopez. The struggle could play out just like the Haney struggle, the place Hitchins can use his six-inch attain benefit to regulate the space along with his jab to frustrate Kambosos early earlier than pulling away late with mixture punching. The mountain is probably going too large for Kambosos to beat, and Hitchins has all of the bodily attributes to show again the problem. — Hale