Paul over Chavez? Teo vs. Haney? Pacquiao champ again?

Vasiliy Lomachenko announced his status from boxing connected June 5 aft a vocation that included winning titles successful 3 divisions. But tin helium beryllium considered the champion lightweight of his generation?

Manny Pacquiao, boxing's lone eight-division champ, announced his instrumentality aft astir 4 years distant from the sport. The 46-year-old volition look WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios, 30, connected July 19 successful Las Vegas, looking to go the oldest erstwhile champion to triumph a rubric successful the 147-pound division. Can helium bash it?

Former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, besides retired, has been hearing calls to return to look chap erstwhile two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua successful an all-British combat that has eluded boxing fans for galore years. Will the combat yet happen?

Another projected rubric combat precocious fell isolated erstwhile WBO inferior welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez's squad announced that helium volition not look Devin Haney for the WBO loop astatine this clip for "personal reasons." Lopez and Haney are astatine the highest of their careers, but volition the combat yet happen?

Jake Paul returns to the ringing on June 28 to look Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. While Chavez, 39, hasn't won a rubric combat since he defeated Andy Lee successful 2012, he's a erstwhile middleweight champion with 61 nonrecreational fights successful his résumé. Can the 28-year-old Paul decision Chavez successful his quest to go a satellite champion?

And connected Saturday, erstwhile unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr., 31, volition effort to go a satellite champion successful a 2nd part erstwhile helium faces Richardson Hitchins, 27, for the IBF inferior welterweight title. Can helium bushed the younger champ?

Andreas Hale and Nick Parkinson reply these questions successful an effort to abstracted what's existent and what's not.

Real oregon not: Vasiliy Lomachenko is the champion lightweight of his generation

Not real. There is nary statement against Lomachenko being 1 of the astir skilled fighters of this generation, careless of value class. However, accomplishment doesn't ever mean best, and it's casual to conflate Lomachenko's exceptional runs astatine featherweight and inferior lightweight with lightweight success. But examining his lightweight grounds is wherever helium falls short.

Lomachenko is 8-2 arsenic a lightweight, which is excellent. But helium has mislaid his 2 biggest lightweight fights to Lopez and Haney. While the latter was controversial, the erstwhile was more definitive. Had Lopez not mislaid to Kambosos successful 2021, helium whitethorn person had a assertion to beryllium the champion of his procreation arsenic well. But, for me, the honors spell to Haney, who was 30-0 arsenic a lightweight and defeated some Lomachenko and Kambosos (twice). Regardless of what you saw successful the ring betwixt Haney and Ryan Garcia successful April 2024, the information remains that Garcia blew the value and failed a prefight cause test. And that combat was astatine inferior welterweight.

There volition beryllium radical who volition reason successful favour of Gervonta Davis, but "Tank" wounded his lasting with his majority gully with Lamont Roach successful March and hasn't faced Lomachenko, Haney oregon Lopez. WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson whitethorn yet tally distant with the title, but is lone 3 fights into his lightweight tenure. -- Hale

Real oregon not: Jake Paul volition KO Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Real. Chavez is not expected to beryllium anyplace adjacent the information needed to endanger Paul successful their cruiserweight bout, which Paul apt wins wrong the distance.

Chavez has been mostly inactive precocious (one combat since December 2021), and Paul's enactment complaint is apt to overwhelm him. Chavez could tally retired of steam aft a fewer rounds and let the societal media prima a highlight-reel finish.

On paper, Chavez is simply a beardown opponent. He is simply a erstwhile middleweight champion who fought -- and mislaid -- to Sergio Martinez, Canelo Alvarez and Daniel Jacobs, among others. In the past 5 years, Chavez has made 5 appearances astatine a little level, including losing to erstwhile UFC champion Anderson Silva successful 2021.

Paul earned a unanimous decision successful November implicit erstwhile heavyweight king Mike Tyson, 58 astatine the time, and this volition beryllium different triumph implicit a boxing has-been. -- Parkinson

Real oregon not: Tyson Fury volition instrumentality from status to yet look Anthony Joshua this year

Real -- but it mightiness not beryllium this year. If Fury vs. Joshua becomes a reality, adjacent twelvemonth is simply a amended stake since Joshua is presently recovering from elbow surgery and Fury claims he is inactive happily retired. Since Fury is coming disconnected back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk and Joshua suffered a humiliating fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois successful September, it wouldn't beryllium a astonishment to spot some of them successful interim fights earlier facing each different successful 2026.

Fury has flip-flopped betwixt an progressive vocation and status since 2013. The "Gypsy King" announced successful January helium was done with the athletics pursuing a 2nd successive determination nonaccomplishment to unified heavyweight champion Usyk, and truthful acold helium is sticking to it. "I perceive a batch of speech of the 'Gypsy King' returning to boxing, and I inquire this question: For what? What would I instrumentality for? More belts? I've won 22 of them," Fury said successful an Instagram video posted to his relationship successful May.

But astir of media and boxing fans deliberation Fury is conscionable teasing.

Since losing to Usyk successful December, Fury has remained successful signifier and looks successful warring form. This makes a revival of his boxing vocation adjacent twelvemonth a possibility.

As for Joshua, besides a two-time satellite heavyweight champion similar Fury, is not expected to container again until October, but helium -- on with Fury -- is inactive the biggest gully connected British soil. Deontay Wilder, different erstwhile champion successful losing form, is being connected with Joshua and they could conscionable precocious this year, successful a pathway to Fury vs. Joshua successful 2026. Joshua, 36 successful October, and Fury, 37 successful August, bash not person younker connected their side, which is wherefore we volition spot them stock a ringing wrong 12 months.

It mightiness not beryllium arsenic large a fewer years agone erstwhile some were champions, , but the all-English showdown would inactive beryllium 1 of the biggest boxing events to beryllium made. -- Parkinson

Real oregon not: Manny Pacquiao volition decision Mario Barrios

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The numbers down Manny Pacquiao's Hall of Fame career

Check retired the numbers down Manny Pacquiao's vocation that got him inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Not real. Pacquiao's unthinkable vocation volition marque a large movie 1 day, but it is hard to judge his welterweight rubric combat against Mario Barrios connected July 19 astatine the MGM Grand Garden Arena successful Las Vegas volition supply the classical Hollywood, blessed ending.

After starting his nonrecreational boxing vocation 30 years ago, "Pac Man" has excessively galore miles connected his body, has mislaid excessively overmuch athleticism and is not speedy capable to decision Barrios.

Pacquiao's benignant relies connected movement, velocity and footwork, but each of those qualities person been successful diminution for the Filipino who has not fought for astir 4 years. There was compelling grounds of Pacquiao's erosion successful his past combat successful 2021, when Yordenis Ugas outpointed Pacquiao 116-112, 116-112 and 115-113 and was a wide winner.

Watching Pacquiao present is similar watching a highest mentation of the Filipino successful dilatory motion.

Pacquiao is attempting to interruption his ain grounds arsenic boxing's oldest 147-pound satellite champion (40 years, 215 days), but helium volition find it hard to support up with the precocious measurement of punches Barrios likes to throw. Barrios is not a formidable champion, and Pacquiao has beaten a agelong database of boxing greats, but Barrios inactive has capable to bushed a faded erstwhile champion.

Pacquiao has won titles from flyweight (112 pounds) to inferior middleweight (154 pounds) implicit a nonrecreational vocation that started successful January 1995, but his champion years were implicit a decennary ago. -- Parkinson

Real oregon not: Teofimo Lopez vs. Devin Haney volition yet happen

Real. Lopez and Haney person circled each different for years, and it seemed similar the combat was going to come to fruition successful August. Depending connected however you look astatine it, the hangup for Lopez was either weight, wealth oregon both. There's thing to suggest that Lopez fears Haney. The bigger contented is the narration betwixt Lopez and Turki Alalshikh, Saudi Arabia's president of the wide amusement authorization and Ring Magazine owner, who would beforehand the fight. Lopez said immoderate "inappropriate words" astir Alalshikh connected societal media, for which helium aboriginal apologized. This won't beryllium the past clip Haney and Lopez are linked unneurotic for a fight, and it is excessively bully of a combat to not yet happen. -- Hale

Real oregon not: George Kambosos Jr. volition go a two-division champion connected Saturday

Not real. Figuring retired however bully Kambosos is tin beryllium hard to quantify. The Australian started his nonrecreational vocation 20-0. His biggest triumph during that tally was a stunning determination successful 2021 implicit Lopez, who after the combat was diagnosed with "pneumomediastinum" with "extensive aerial successful the retropharyngeal space." Since then, helium has gone 2-3 with each 3 of his losses coming successful one-sided beatings astatine the hands of Haney (twice) and Lomachenko. The 2 wins? A bulk determination implicit Maxi Hughes and a unanimous determination implicit unheralded and inexperienced chap Aussie combatant Jake Wyllie.

This is important to enactment due to the fact that Kambosos' biggest wins earlier the Lopez upset were divided decisions implicit Mickey Bey and Lee Selby. Between that and the punishment he's absorbed successful his past fewer fights, it surely feels similar the Australian has overachieved successful his vocation and that we apt person already seen the champion of Kambosos. Hitchins, his hostile connected Saturday, is arguably much skilled than anybody Kambosos' has defeated extracurricular of Lopez. The combat whitethorn play retired similar the Haney fight, wherever Hitchins tin usage his six-inch scope vantage to power the region with his jab to frustrate Kambosos aboriginal earlier pulling distant precocious with operation punching. The upland is apt excessively large for Kambosos to overcome, and Hitchins has each the carnal attributes to crook backmost the challenge. -- Hale