Joshua vs. Paul? Can Pacquiao win a title? Who's the best featherweight?

Nick Ball makes the 3rd defence of his WBA featherweight rubric against Sam Goodman connected Aug. 16. While Ball is the second-longest reigning champ successful the division, tin a triumph against Goodman crown him arsenic the No. 1 combatant to bushed astatine 126 pounds?

Oleksandr Usyk is caller from an awesome fifth-round KO of Daniel Dubois connected July 19 to unify the heavyweight titles, but the WBO already has ordered Usyk to look mandatory challenger Joseph Parker next. Usyk is expected to combat Tyson Fury successful a trilogy bout adjacent year, but if helium declines to look Parker first, he'll person to relinquish his WBO loop and volition nary longer beryllium an undisputed champion. What volition Usyk do?

Former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who mislaid to Usyk twice, is trying to marque a comeback pursuing a fifth-round KO loss to Dubois successful September. He has acceptable his sights connected either a much-anticipated bout against English countryman Fury oregon a high-profile combat with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who has said the combat "is going to happen." However, the accidental to combat Tony Yoka successful a matchup betwixt British Olympic boxing golden medalists is besides precise intriguing for Joshua. Will that combat beryllium the tuneup helium needs?

Another erstwhile champion, Manny Pacquiao, returned to the ringing connected July 19 aft a four-year status and fought to a draw against WBA welterweight champion Mario Barrios. Pacquiao, 46, looked impressive and called retired WBA champion Rolando "Rolly" Romero aft the fight. Can helium triumph a rubric successful a crowded 147-pound division?

And WBO inferior welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez is expected to look IBF champ Richardson Hitchins next. Can Lopez unify the belts and instrumentality purpose astatine the different champions successful the division, looking to go an undisputed champion successful a 2nd value class?

Here are answers to these burning questions, offered successful an effort to abstracted what's existent and what's not.

Real oregon not: Oleksandr Usyk volition combat Joseph Parker next

play

0:42

Usyk knocks retired Dubois to go undisputed heavyweight champion

Oleksandr Usyk knocks retired Daniel Dubois successful Round 5 to go the undisputed satellite heavyweight champion again Saturday.

Real. With heavy pocketed Riyadh Season reportedly uninterested successful staging Usyk vs. Parker, the WBO mandatory challenger, Usyk indispensable either instrumentality a wage chopped with a antithetic promoter oregon hold until Fury returns successful 2026. If Usyk were to wait, helium would person to relinquish the WBO belt, truthful the Ukrainian volition apt proceed with the Parker fight. It could beryllium a bully thought to clasp the combat astatine an indoor shot stadium successful Germany, person to Ukraine than Riyadh is.

Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, the erstwhile heavyweight champions who are besides from Ukraine, had astir of their fights astatine venues successful Germany, which borders Poland, wherever determination is simply a large Ukrainian population. Usyk has besides fought galore times successful the U.K., astir precocious successful a fifth-round KO of Dubois astatine London's Wembley Stadium connected July 19. But a U.K. venue for a Usyk-Parker combat would make little interest; it is hard to ideate 2 non-British fighters drafting a assemblage of 60,000, adjacent if Usyk is considered the champion heavyweight of the past 2 decades.

If Parker is his past opponent, don't beryllium amazed if the combat is successful Germany oregon Poland precocious this year. Parker is the strongest existent challenger for Usyk and the champion matchup for the undisputed champion.

Real oregon not: Nick Ball should beryllium ranked No. 1 astatine featherweight if helium KOs Sam Goodman

Not real. In immoderate divisions, it is simply a beauteous casual telephone arsenic to who is the boss. Usyk astatine heavyweight, Naoya Inoue astatine inferior featherweight, Canelo Alvarez astatine ace middleweight -- nary arguments there. But astatine featherweight, it is debatable arsenic to who sits connected top.

While determination is simply a beardown anticipation Ball retains his WBA satellite rubric connected Aug. 16 against Goodman (Ball is simply a -500 favorite, per ESPN BET), adjacent a KO would not beryllium capable for Ball to beryllium universally regarded arsenic the No. 1 combatant successful the featherweight division. To scope that status, helium needs to bushed 1 of the different champions. Goodman is stepping up a part and has fought conscionable erstwhile successful the past year. The Australian is not a banger oregon a erstwhile satellite champion, and Ball, from Liverpool, England, is expected to marque a 3rd defence wrong the distance.

But immoderate respect WBO champion Rafael Espinoza, who has won 23 of 27 fights by KO, oregon WBC titleholder Stephen Fulton superior to Ball. Espinoza not lone has a large KO ratio, but astatine 6-foot-1, helium besides towers implicit the 5-2 Ball. Espinoza is highly gangly for a featherweight and has stoppage wins implicit Robeisy Ramirez and Edward Vazquez successful his past 2 fights. Ball has to bash much to gain everyone's ballot arsenic No. 1 astatine 126 pounds.

Real oregon not: Anthony Joshua's adjacent hostile volition not beryllium Jake Paul oregon Tyson Fury

Real. Strong rumors are emerging from North London that Joshua, the erstwhile unified heavyweight satellite champion, volition look Tony Yoka -- and not Paul oregon Fury -- next. Speculation had mounted that Joshua volition look Paul, the YouTuber-turned-boxer, pursuing Paul's comments during the Usyk vs. Dubois fight.

"It's going to happen," Paul said during an interrogation connected DAZN. "So, fasten your spot belts oregon whatever, and erstwhile I sound him out, I spell down to the past books forever."

Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, has held talks with Paul's squad and has excitedly talked astir the imaginable for grounds income numbers for a combat that was dismissed arsenic a ridiculous mismatch not agelong ago.

"AJ-Paul is ne'er a combat we anticipated, and it's ne'er a combat we've targeted," Hearn told Sky Sports News pursuing the Usyk-Dubois fight.

"But if you privation Jake Paul to beryllium the warmup combat for Fury -- and you privation to supply AJ with the accidental to extinguish Jake Paul from the satellite of boxing -- past possibly Joshua would oblige."

Joshua, who is recovering from elbow surgery, has suggested 2026 volition beryllium his last twelvemonth successful boxing, and his apical priorities volition beryllium to yet unafraid fights against Fury and Paul.

"Twelve years ago, I signed with you," Joshua wrote successful a societal media station directed astatine Hearn's Matchroom Boxing past week. "And 12 years later, I volition propulsion my past punch with you."

Joshua is coming disconnected a crushing Round 5 KO nonaccomplishment to Dubois successful September, and a clash versus Yoka -- a chap Olympic ace heavyweight golden medalist (Joshua successful 2012, Yoka successful 2016) -- could reconstruct his momentum.

That combat would besides supply Hearn and Joshua the indispensable clip to unafraid a woody with Paul for aboriginal 2026. That attention-grabbing lawsuit would pave the mode for a career-concluding showdown with Fury successful the 2nd fractional of 2026.

Real oregon not: Manny Pacquiao volition triumph a rubric combat again

play

2:05

Pacquiao acceptable to combat again

After warring Mario Barrios to a bulk draw, Manny Pacquiao says he's not done yet.

Possibly real. With the close matchmaking, boxing fable Pacquiao tin debar the unsafe men astatine welterweight and combat an hostile helium tin inactive beat. With WBA champion Jaron "Boots" Ennis moving up and yet vacating his title, determination volition beryllium opportunities for the 46-year-old Pacquiao.

Rolando "Rolly" Romero, the WBA "regular" titleholder, is coming disconnected a career-best unanimous determination win implicit Ryan Garcia successful May and would beryllium a high-risk hostile for Pacquiao owed to his strength and aggression. PacMan should besides enactment good wide of Brian Norman Jr., the WBO champion, fixed his existent form. Norman produced the champion KO of 2025 erstwhile helium poleaxed Jin Sasaki with a near hook successful May. A rematch with WBC champion Mario Barrios, aft their July 19 draw, would beryllium different hard duty for Pacquiao, but 1 of the safer options. Pacquiao started good successful that combat and was up connected the scorecards but mislaid the last 3 rounds against Barrios, who is 16 years younger than him.

Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan volition combat for the vacant IBF rubric connected Sept. 13, and if Pacquiao tin beryllium lined up to combat the winner, this would beryllium his champion accidental of becoming champion again.

Nobody wants to spot Pacquiao, boxing's lone eight-division satellite champion, extremity up similar Sasaki, but if Pacquiao's squad tin usher him toward the IBF belt, determination could beryllium a fairy-tale ending to the Filipino's singular career.

Real oregon not: Teofimo Lopez volition unify titles against Richardson Hitchins

Real. If Lopez, the WBO inferior welterweight champion, continues the signifier of his astir caller combat and gets his strategy right, helium should beryllium capable to bushed Hitchins, the IBF titleholder. If this unification rubric combat happens, Lopez needs to stay disciplined and detach himself from the vitriol that is already brewing connected societal media betwixt them.

Coming disconnected a Round 8 KO of George Kambosos Jr., Hitchins volition effort to lure Lopez into a brawl. But if Lopez tin instrumentality to his fluent question and boxing, his speedy combinations and originative discourtesy volition springiness him capable rounds to triumph a determination against Hitchins.

Lopez was backmost to his champion erstwhile he unanimously outpointed Arnold Barboza Jr. successful May aft an underwhelming display against Steve Claggett successful June 2024. When Lopez boxes and moves, arsenic helium did his past clip retired and erstwhile helium outpointed Vasiliy Lomachenko (2020) and Josh Taylor (2023), helium is simply a puzzle beyond anyone astatine inferior welterweight.

True, an off-form Lopez mislaid a divided determination to Kambosos successful 2021, and Hitchins emphatically dealt with the Australian past month. But communal opponents aren't ever a reliable predictor, particularly erstwhile it comes to the inconsistent Lopez. Lopez volition not deficiency information successful a combat with chap New Yorker Hitchins, a unsafe hostile who, if helium tin impress, not lone volition gain different loop but besides boost his illustration and imaginable to go boxing's premier attraction.