Manny Pacquiao is likely to have carried out his last fight, and although he was not seen that way in the face of Saturday in Las Vegas, the fight against Yordenis Ugás may have been the time of the passing of the torch that the division welterweight desperately needed. It’s almost certain that Pacquiao will move away from the sport to focus on his political career in the Philippines, but boxing fans will always be focused on “what would happen if,” especially when it comes to Floyd Mayweather . Did Pacquiao do enough in his career to overshadow Floyd’s legacy? As for Ugás, he is now ready to be a superstar in welterweight. Is he number one in the division?
After a legitimate fight last weekend, the boxing world is now turning to a fight between a social media star and a former UFC champion. Jake Paul hopes to keep his knockout streak alive when he faces Tyron Woodley Sunday night in Cleveland. Woodley had a dominant reign in the welterweight in the UFC, but his problems in recent times have closed the door to his future in MMA. Will he be able to stop Paul’s efforts in combat sports?
After this fight and the return of Oscar De La Hoya on September 11, fans can once again expect another fight for the undisputed title, this time between Canelo Álvarez and Caleb Plant. Many are discounting Plant’s viability in this Nov. 6 fight, even though he’s a talented super middleweight champion. Will Alvarez really get a quick knockout?
Marc Raimondi, Mike Coppinger, Nick Parkinson and Mike Rothstein separate what is real and what is not.
Real or Not: Manny Pacquiao’s career was bigger than Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s.
Coppinger: It’s not real. If Pacquiao had fought Spence as planned and come out victorious, he would probably have outscored Mayweather. This victory would have been an incredible success at age 42, and in this sport, longevity is important. The successes of their careers are hard to separate: they both had long careers at the top of the pound-for-pound list, often changing places after their fights.
So it all comes down to his 2015 crash, which broke revenue records. Mayweather won this fight by going far, beating Pacquiao for long periods. The only drama came in Round 4, when Pacquiao seemed to stun Mayweather. And now that Pacquiao is likely to retire after the defeat to Ugás, here is the summary of the debate: Mayweather had the best career.
These are not just the two best fighters of their generation, but two of the top 10 or 15 boxers who have ever put on their gloves. There’s no shame in being second behind Mayweather, though there are many who believe Pacquiao would have come out on top if they had fought five years earlier. We will know.
Real or Not: Yordenis Ugás has a legitimate chance to establish himself as the best welterweight in boxing
Copper: Don’t let Ugás ’27-4 record fool you, it can really fight. There aren’t too many notable flaws in Ugás ’game. He is fundamentally solid, sporting a high guard that intercepted Pacquiao’s blows round after round. It’s big for the 147 pounds, long and thin, but also strong on the inside. And his blows are clearly powerful enough, the counterattack with his right hand constantly deterring Pacquiao from fighting recklessly.
Above all, perhaps, Ugás possesses an excellent jab and impeccable manners. He never deviated from his game plan in the most important fight of his career. The jab was shaped like a piston and was often bent to place the right hand on the body. Ugás was also cautious, able to defend himself from Pacquiao’s slower attacks.
I thought Ugás beat Shawn Porter, although he didn’t get his approval on the judges ’cards, and combining that performance with his performance against Pacquiao, it’s clear that Ugás is one of the top five welterweights in the world. He certainly has a real chance to rise to No. 1.
However, at this juncture, Ugás should be recognized as the third best 147-pound fighter in all of boxing behind Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford. The Cuban would settle in as the non-favorite against either, but probably not by a big difference after Saturday night. Now Ugás only needs fights to prove he is the best.
Real or Not: Tyron Woodley will end Jake Paul’s career in combat sports
Raimondi: I will give it a resounding “It’s not real” to this statement. And it’s not necessarily because I think Jake Paul will beat Tyron Woodley on Sunday. It’s just that even if Woodley wins, even if it’s in a spectacular way, there will still be a market for Paul’s fights. Paul’s popularity, which originally comes from YouTube and his massive fanaticism on social media, is not necessarily based on victories and defeats. Paul and his team are telling a story about the trajectory of his career, and a defeat here would only lead to a big fight back in the future.
Look back at the list of possible opponents Paul called in a social media video. Not all were the Canelo Alvarez and Gervonta Davis of the world. Also on the list was KSI, fellow YouTuber who beat Paul’s brother Logan in boxing. This is the kind of fight Paul could do next if he loses to Woodley. Tommy Fury could also be Paul’s next enemy, win or lose in Cleveland. Fury, the half-brother of heavyweight Tyson Fury, is on the bill for the same reason. He is the most likely option to fight Paul next. I think that could make sense if Paul wins or even loses to Woodley. Of course, we’ll have to see how Fury looks against MMA fighter and Paul’s training partner Anthony Taylor. And there’s always the possibility of igniting rivalry with Dillon Danis if the other options don’t make sense. Danis is an MMA fighter famous for being Conor McGregor’s good friend and training partner.
On top of all that, sources tell me that Paul has a multi-tier deal with Showtime. This is not just a single fight against Woodley. He will return and fight again on Showtime in the future. A defeat here does not command Paul to pack. I would be inclined to guarantee this. Even if it’s a billboard fight against someone who represents a step backwards in the competition, Paul isn’t going anywhere.
Real or No: Canelo Alvarez will knock out Caleb Plant in the first five rounds
Parkinson’s: It’s not real. Alvarez has been increasingly destructive in his reign in the super middleweight and has stopped better fighters than Plant in recent years, but is still likely to extend into the second half of his fight after finding brave resistance of the Nashville-born wrestler and holder of the International Boxing Federation (FIB).
Plant has some good victories in his record, Caleb Truax (2021) and José Uzcátegui (2019), but he has not competed at the level where Álvarez has operated for almost a decade, and this may have persuaded some to suggest that this it will be a quick victory for Alvarez.
Alvarez is in a terrifying shape. If Alvarez was able to beat a tricky rival and super middleweight world champion like Billy Joe Saunders in eight rounds (May 2021), Callum Smith by a wide and unanimous decision (December 2020) and the fearsome hitter Sergey Kovalev by KO in the eleventh assault (November 2019), then the form suggests that Plant will be uprooted from the canvas at some point. Canelo also dispatched Avni Yildirim in three rounds in February for his third win ahead of time in the last four outings.
But Plant is better than Yildirim and will make Alvarez work on his belt, just as Saunders did before an uppercut forced him to retire after eight rounds with an eye injury.
Plant has decent power (12 KOs to 21 fights) to make Canelo suspicious in the first rounds. It also launches a good volume, suggesting it will stay beyond the five assaults. In his last fight earlier this year, Plant connected a total of 179 strokes in his dominant victory by unanimous decision over Truax, according to CompuBox statistics, including 124 power blows against Truax’s 29. Plant also scored two falls in a clear unanimous decision on Uzcátegui to win the FIB belt, connecting 217 of 707 (31%) strokes in the process (CompuBox) when the Las Vegas boxer proved he can keep pace fast at the elite level.
Plant has good movement, and Truax was able to connect only 10 times in the first three rounds. More importantly, Plant uses his left jab with good results. He will have to put it to good use again to stay in the fight against Canelo. Plant is more elusive than Saunders and an elite super middleweight, so Canelo is unlikely to get an early win.
What is likely is that Canelo will become the undisputed champion on November 6, with a late stoppage or a decision victory being apparently a safer bet.
Real or No: Amanda Serrano deserves to be the No.1 boxer in the pound-for-pound ranking
Rothstein: It’s not real. Make no mistake, Amanda Serrano is a great boxer and the best knockout pitcher in women’s boxing. She is one of the best fighters in the world. She fights for titles constantly, and it’s not her fault that some of her opponents, even if they own the title, aren’t exactly the best competition.
She wins. She has a power that other boxers don’t have. Serrano can argue, and has already done so, that she is the most exciting boxer in the sport. Given that she’s fighting on Jake Paul’s PPV billboard, knocking out Yamileth Market would put more eyes on her. And it would put her in a position to be the best pound for pound in the world if that means a possible fight against Katie Taylor.
But the best pound per pound? Taylor and Claressa Shields will continue to be ahead of her, no matter what happens in Cleveland.