Boxing actual or not: Joshua vs. Paul? Can Pacquiao win a title?

Nick Ball makes the third protection of his WBA featherweight title towards Sam Goodman on Aug. 16. Whereas Ball is the second-longest reigning champ within the division, can a win towards Goodman crown him because the No. 1 fighter to beat at 126 kilos?

Oleksandr Usyk is contemporary from a powerful fifth-round KO of Daniel Dubois on July 19 to unify the heavyweight titles, however the WBO already has ordered Usyk to face necessary challenger Joseph Parker subsequent. Usyk is predicted to battle Tyson Fury in a trilogy bout subsequent yr, but when he declines to face Parker first, he’ll must relinquish his WBO belt and can now not be an undisputed champion. What’s going to Usyk do?

Former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who misplaced to Usyk twice, is making an attempt to make a comeback following a fifth-round KO loss to Dubois in September. He has set his sights on both a much-anticipated bout towards English countryman Fury or a high-profile battle with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who has stated the battle “goes to occur.” Nevertheless, the possibility to battle Tony Yoka in a matchup between British Olympic boxing gold medalists can be very intriguing for Joshua. Will that battle be the tuneup he wants?

One other former champion, Manny Pacquiao, returned to the ring on July 19 after a four-year retirement and fought to a draw towards WBA welterweight champion Mario Barrios. Pacquiao, 46, looked impressive and referred to as out WBA champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero after the battle. Can he win a title in a crowded 147-pound division?

And WBO junior welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez is predicted to face IBF champ Richardson Hitchins subsequent. Can Lopez unify the belts and take purpose on the different champions within the division, trying to turn out to be an undisputed champion in a second weight class?

Listed below are solutions to those burning questions, supplied in an effort to separate what’s actual and what’s not.

Actual or not: Oleksandr Usyk will battle Joseph Parker subsequent

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Usyk knocks out Dubois to turn out to be undisputed heavyweight champion

Oleksandr Usyk knocks out Daniel Dubois in Spherical 5 to turn out to be the undisputed world heavyweight champion once more Saturday.

Actual. With deep pocketed Riyadh Season reportedly uninterested in staging Usyk vs. Parker, the WBO necessary challenger, Usyk should both take a pay lower with a distinct promoter or wait till Fury returns in 2026. If Usyk had been to attend, he must relinquish the WBO belt, so the Ukrainian will probably proceed with the Parker battle. It might be a good suggestion to carry the battle at an indoor soccer stadium in Germany, nearer to Ukraine than Riyadh is.

Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, the previous heavyweight champions who’re additionally from Ukraine, had most of their fights at venues in Germany, which borders Poland, the place there’s a massive Ukrainian inhabitants. Usyk has additionally fought many instances within the U.Ok., most lately in a fifth-round KO of Dubois at London’s Wembley Stadium on July 19. However a U.Ok. venue for a Usyk-Parker battle would create decrease curiosity; it’s arduous to think about two non-British fighters drawing a crowd of 60,000, even when Usyk is taken into account the best heavyweight of the past two decades.

If Parker is his final opponent, do not be stunned if the battle is in Germany or Poland late this yr. Parker is the strongest present challenger for Usyk and one of the best matchup for the undisputed champion.

Actual or not: Nick Ball ought to be ranked No. 1 at featherweight if he KOs Sam Goodman

Not actual. In some divisions, it’s a fairly straightforward name as to who’s the boss. Usyk at heavyweight, Naoya Inoue at junior featherweight, Canelo Alvarez at tremendous middleweight — no arguments there. However at featherweight, it’s debatable as to who sits on prime.

Whereas there’s a sturdy risk Ball retains his WBA world title on Aug. 16 towards Goodman (Ball is a -500 favourite, per ESPN BET), even a KO wouldn’t be sufficient for Ball to be universally thought to be the No. 1 fighter within the featherweight division. To succeed in that standing, he must beat one of many different champions. Goodman is stepping up a division and has fought simply as soon as prior to now yr. The Australian will not be a banger or a former world champion, and Ball, from Liverpool, England, is predicted to make a 3rd protection inside the space.

However some regard WBO champion Rafael Espinoza, who has gained 23 of 27 fights by KO, or WBC titleholder Stephen Fulton superior to Ball. Espinoza not solely has a giant KO ratio, however at 6-foot-1, he additionally towers over the 5-2 Ball. Espinoza is extraordinarily tall for a featherweight and has stoppage wins over Robeisy Ramirez and Edward Vazquez in his previous two fights. Ball has to do extra to earn everybody’s vote as No. 1 at 126 kilos.

Actual or not: Anthony Joshua’s subsequent opponent is not going to be Jake Paul or Tyson Fury

Actual. Sturdy rumors are rising from North London that Joshua, the previous unified heavyweight world champion, will face Tony Yoka — and never Paul or Fury — subsequent. Hypothesis had mounted that Joshua will face Paul, the YouTuber-turned-boxer, following Paul’s feedback throughout the Usyk vs. Dubois battle.

“It is going to occur,” Paul stated throughout an interview on DAZN. “So, fasten your seat belts or no matter, and after I knock him out, I’m going all the way down to the historical past books without end.”

Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, has held talks with Paul’s staff and has excitedly talked concerning the potential for document revenue numbers for a battle that was dismissed as a ridiculous mismatch not way back.

“AJ-Paul isn’t a battle we anticipated, and it is by no means a battle we have focused,” Hearn advised Sky Sports activities Information following the Usyk-Dubois battle.

“However if you would like Jake Paul to be the warmup battle for Fury — and also you need to present AJ with the chance to extinguish Jake Paul from the world of boxing — then perhaps Joshua would oblige.”

Joshua, who’s recovering from elbow surgery, has instructed 2026 will probably be his last year in boxing, and his prime priorities will probably be to lastly safe fights towards Fury and Paul.

“Twelve years in the past, I signed with you,” Joshua wrote in a social media publish directed at Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing final week. “And 12 years later, I’ll throw my final punch with you.”

Joshua is coming off a crushing Spherical 5 KO loss to Dubois in September, and a conflict versus Yoka — a fellow Olympic tremendous heavyweight gold medalist (Joshua in 2012, Yoka in 2016) — may restore his momentum.

That battle would additionally present Hearn and Joshua the mandatory time to safe a cope with Paul for early 2026. That focus-grabbing occasion would pave the way in which for a career-concluding showdown with Fury within the second half of 2026.

Actual or not: Manny Pacquiao will win a title battle once more

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Pacquiao able to battle once more

After combating Mario Barrios to a majority draw, Manny Pacquiao says he is not executed but.

Probably actual. With the proper matchmaking, boxing legend Pacquiao can keep away from the harmful males at welterweight and battle an opponent he can nonetheless beat. With WBA champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis shifting up and finally vacating his title, there will probably be alternatives for the 46-year-old Pacquiao.

Rolando “Rolly” Romero, the WBA “common” titleholder, is coming off a career-best unanimous decision win over Ryan Garcia in Could and can be a high-risk opponent for Pacquiao on account of his depth and aggression. PacMan must also keep nicely away from Brian Norman Jr., the WBO champion, given his present type. Norman produced one of the best KO of 2025 when he poleaxed Jin Sasaki with a left hook in May. A rematch with WBC champion Mario Barrios, after their July 19 draw, can be one other tough project for Pacquiao, however one of many safer choices. Pacquiao began nicely in that battle and was forward on the scorecards however misplaced the ultimate three rounds towards Barrios, who’s 16 years youthful than him.

Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan will battle for the vacant IBF title on Sept. 13, and if Pacquiao may be lined as much as battle the winner, this may be his finest likelihood of changing into champion once more.

No person needs to see Pacquiao, boxing’s solely eight-division world champion, find yourself like Sasaki, but when Pacquiao’s staff can information him towards the IBF belt, there might be a fairy-tale ending to the Filipino’s outstanding profession.

Actual or not: Teofimo Lopez will unify titles towards Richardson Hitchins

Actual. If Lopez, the WBO junior welterweight champion, continues the type of his most up-to-date battle and will get his technique proper, he ought to be capable to beat Hitchins, the IBF titleholder. If this unification title battle occurs, Lopez wants to stay disciplined and detach himself from the vitriol that’s already brewing on social media between them.

Coming off a Spherical 8 KO of George Kambosos Jr., Hitchins will attempt to lure Lopez right into a brawl. But when Lopez can stick with his fluent motion and boxing, his fast combos and inventive offense will give him sufficient rounds to win a call towards Hitchins.

Lopez was again to his finest when he unanimously outpointed Arnold Barboza Jr. in Could after an underwhelming display towards Steve Claggett in June 2024. When Lopez containers and strikes, as he did his final trip and when he outpointed Vasiliy Lomachenko (2020) and Josh Taylor (2023), he’s a puzzle past anybody at junior welterweight.

True, an off-form Lopez misplaced a break up choice to Kambosos in 2021, and Hitchins emphatically handled the Australian final month. However widespread opponents aren’t all the time a dependable predictor, particularly in terms of the inconsistent Lopez. Lopez is not going to lack motivation in a battle with fellow New Yorker Hitchins, a harmful opponent who, if he can impress, not solely will earn one other belt but in addition enhance his profile and potential to turn out to be boxing’s premier attraction.