Pacquiao was better than Mayweather; Woodley will end Jake Paul’s run

Manny Pacquiao probably fought his last fight, and while he wasn’t seen that way until Saturday in Las Vegas, the fight against Yordenis Ugas may have been the passing torch moment which the welterweight division desperately needed. Pacquiao will almost certainly move away from the sport to focus on his political career in the Philippines, but boxing fans will always focus on the “what ifs,” especially with Floyd Mayweather. Has Pacquiao done enough in his career to eclipse Floyd’s legacy? As for Ugas, he’s now set to be a welterweight superstar. Is he No. 1 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 will be hoping to maintain his knockout streak when he takes on Tyron Woodley on Sunday night in Cleveland. Woodley had a dominant welterweight reign in the UFC, but his struggles of late have closed the door to his future in MMA. Will he be able to stop Paul’s efforts in combat sports?

After that fight and Oscar De La Hoya’s return on September 11, fans can look forward to yet another undisputed title fight, this time between Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant. Many are discounting Plant’s viability in this fight on November 6, despite being 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.

True or not: Manny Pacquiao’s career was better than Floyd Mayweather’s

Coppinger: Not real. If Pacquiao had fought Spence as planned and won, I probably would have beaten him ahead of Mayweather. This victory would have been an incredible achievement at 42, and in the sport, longevity matters. Their professional accomplishments are hard to separate – the two have had long runs topped the pound-for-pound list, often switching places after their fights.

So it comes down to their 2015 clash, which broke earnings records. Mayweather won this fight on the way out, passing Pacquiao for long stretches. The only drama came in Round 4, when Pacquiao appeared to knock Mayweather out. And now that Pacquiao is likely to retire after the loss to Ugas, the debate is over: Mayweather had the best career.

They’re not just the two greatest fighters of their generation, but two of the 10 or 15 best boxers to ever put on the gloves. There is no shame in being second to Mayweather, although there are many who believe Pacquiao would have come out on top if they had fought five years earlier. We’ll never know.

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True or not: Yordenis Ugas has a legitimate chance to establish himself as the best welterweight in boxing

Copper : Don’t be fooled by Ugas’s 27-4 record, he can really fight. There aren’t too many notable flaws in the game of Ugas. He’s basically healthy, sporting a high guard that has picked up Pacquiao’s incoming fire lap after lap. He’s big for 147 pounds, long and lanky, but also strong on the inside. And his punches are clearly pretty powerful, the counter right hand constantly dissuading Pacquiao from recklessly fighting.

Above all, perhaps, Ugas has an excellent jab and impeccable composure. He never deviated from his game plan in the biggest fight of his career. The jab looked like a piston, and it often doubled up to put the right hand on the body. Ugas was also wary, able to fend off Pacquiao’s slower attacks.

I thought Ugas had beaten Shawn Porter, although he didn’t get the green light on the judges’ scorecards, and by combining that performance with his performance against Pacquiao, it’s clear that Ugas is the one. one of the top five welterweights in the world. He certainly has a real chance to climb to No. 1.

However, at this point Ugas should be recognized as the third best 147 pounds in all of boxing behind Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford. The Cuban would be set up as an underdog against either man, but probably not a big one after Saturday night. Now Ugas just needs the fights to prove he’s the best.

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True or not: Tyron Woodley will end Jake Paul’s run in combat sports

Raimondi: I will give a resounding “not trueto that 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 spectacularly – there will always be a market for Paul’s fights. Paul’s popularity, which originally comes from YouTube and his huge social media fandom, isn’t necessarily based on wins and losses. Paul and his team tell a story about his career trajectory, and a loss here would only lead to a big fight back in the future.

Come back to that list of potential opponents that Paul called out in a social media video. Not all of them 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 nemesis, win or lose in Cleveland. Big heavyweight Tyson Fury’s half-brother Fury is on the undercard for this very reason. He is the most likely choice to fight Paul next. I think it might make sense if Paul beats or even loses to Woodley. Of course, we’ll have to see what Fury looks like against MMA fighter and training partner Paul Anthony Taylor. And there’s always the possibility of igniting the Dillon Danis rivalry if the other options don’t make sense. Danis is an MMA fighter known to be Conor McGregor’s good friend and training partner.

On top of all this, sources tell me that Paul has a multifight deal with Showtime. It’s not just a one-off fight against Woodley. He will return and fight again on Showtime in the future. A loss here doesn’t send Paul racing. I would be inclined to guarantee it. Even though this is an upcoming undercard fight against someone who represents a step backwards in the competition, Paul is not going anywhere.

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True or not: Canelo Alvarez to knock out Caleb Plant within five rounds

Parkinson’s: Not real. Alvarez has been increasingly destructive during his super middleweight reign and has stopped better fighters than Plant in recent years, but he is still likely to be extended into the second half of their fight after they met fierce resistance from the Nashville-born fighter. and holder of the IBF title.

Plant has some good wins to his credit – Caleb Truax (2021) and Jose Uzcategui (2019) – but he has never competed at a level comparable to what Alvarez has been at for almost a decade, so it may be. be convinced some of suggest it will be an early victory for Alvarez.

Alvarez is in scary shape. If Alvarez can beat a delicate client and rival of world super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders in eight rounds (May 2021), Callum Smith by a broad and unanimous decision (December 2020) and the formidable puncher Sergey Kovalev by KO in the 11th round (November 2019), then the shape suggests that Plant will be uprooted from the web at some point. Canelo also sent Avni Yildirim in three rounds in February for the third distance win in his last four outings.

But Plant is better than Yildirim and is going to put Alvarez to work for his belt, just like Saunders did before an uppercut forced him to retire after eight rounds with an eye injury.

Plant has decent power (12 KOs in 21 fights) to make Canelo suspicious in the early rounds. It also throws a good volume, which suggests it will stay beyond five turns. In his last fight earlier this year, Plant landed a total of 179 punches in his dominant unanimous victory over Truax, according to CompuBox stats, including 124 powerful shots versus 29 for Truax. Plant also scored two knockdowns in a clear and unanimous decision over Uzcategui to win the IBF belt, landing 217 of 707 (31%) punches in the process (CompuBox) when the Las Vegas-based boxer showed he could maintain a rapid pace at the elite level.

Plant has good movement and Truax only managed to land 10 punches in the first three laps. More importantly, Plant uses his left jab to good effect. He will have to make good use of it again to stay in the fight against Canelo. Plant is more elusive than Saunders and an elite super middleweight, so an early victory for Canelo is unlikely.

What is likely is that Canelo will become the undisputed champion on November 6, with a late save or decision win seemingly a safer bet.

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True or not: Amanda Serrano deserves to be the # 1 pound-for-pound fighter

Rothstein: Not real. Make no mistake, Amanda Serrano is a great fighter and the best knockout passer in women’s boxing. She is one of the best fighters in the world. She’s constantly fighting for the titles, and it’s not her fault that some of her opponents, while the title holders, aren’t exactly the best competition.

She wins. She has power that other fighters don’t. Serrano can argue – and has argued before – that she is the most exciting fighter in the sport. Considering she’s fighting over Jake Paul’s underlying pay-per-view card, knocking out Yamileth Mercado would put more scrutiny on her. And that would put her in a position to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world if that meant a possible fight against Katie Taylor.

But the best pound for pound? Taylor and Claressa Shields will always be ahead of her no matter what happens in Cleveland.