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

Nick Ball makes the third defense of his WBA featherweight title against Sam Goodman on Aug. 16. While Ball is the second-longest reigning champ in the division, can a win against Goodman crown him as the No. 1 fighter to beat at 126 pounds?

Oleksandr Usyk is fresh from an impressive fifth-round KO of Daniel Dubois on July 19 to unify the heavyweight titles, but the WBO already has ordered Usyk to face mandatory challenger Joseph Parker next. Usyk is expected to fight Tyson Fury in a trilogy bout next year, but if he declines to face Parker first, he'll have to relinquish his WBO belt and will no longer be an undisputed champion. What will Usyk do?

Former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who lost to Usyk twice, is trying to make a comeback following a fifth-round KO loss to Dubois in September. He has set his sights on either a much-anticipated bout against English countryman Fury or a high-profile fight with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, who has said the fight "is going to happen." However, the chance to fight Tony Yoka in a matchup between British Olympic boxing gold medalists is also very intriguing for Joshua. Will that fight be the tuneup he needs?

Another former champion, Manny Pacquiao, returned to the ring on July 19 after a four-year retirement and fought to a draw against WBA welterweight champion Mario Barrios. Pacquiao, 46, looked impressive and called out WBA champion Rolando "Rolly" Romero after the fight. Can he win a title in a crowded 147-pound division?

And WBO junior welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez is expected to face IBF champ Richardson Hitchins next. Can Lopez unify the belts and take aim at the other champions in the division, looking to become an undisputed champion in a second weight class?

Here are answers to these burning questions, offered in an effort to separate what's real and what's not.

Real or not: Oleksandr Usyk will fight Joseph Parker next

play

0:42

Usyk knocks out Dubois to become undisputed heavyweight champion

Oleksandr Usyk knocks out Daniel Dubois in Round 5 to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion again Saturday.

Real. With deep pocketed Riyadh Season reportedly uninterested in staging Usyk vs. Parker, the WBO mandatory challenger, Usyk must either take a pay cut with a different promoter or wait until Fury returns in 2026. If Usyk were to wait, he would have to relinquish the WBO belt, so the Ukrainian will likely proceed with the Parker fight. It could be a good idea to hold the fight at an indoor soccer stadium in Germany, closer to Ukraine than Riyadh is.

Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, the former heavyweight champions who are also from Ukraine, had most of their fights at venues in Germany, which borders Poland, where there is a big Ukrainian population. Usyk has also fought many times in the U.K., most recently in a fifth-round KO of Dubois at London's Wembley Stadium on July 19. But a U.K. venue for a Usyk-Parker fight would create lower interest; it is hard to imagine two non-British fighters drawing a crowd of 60,000, even if Usyk is considered the best heavyweight of the past two decades.

If Parker is his last opponent, don't be surprised if the fight is in Germany or Poland late this year. Parker is the strongest current challenger for Usyk and the best matchup for the undisputed champion.

Real or not: Nick Ball should be ranked No. 1 at featherweight if he KOs Sam Goodman

Not real. In some divisions, it is a pretty easy call as to who is the boss. Usyk at heavyweight, Naoya Inoue at junior featherweight, Canelo Alvarez at super middleweight -- no arguments there. But at featherweight, it is debatable as to who sits on top.

While there is a strong possibility Ball retains his WBA world title on Aug. 16 against Goodman (Ball is a -500 favorite, per ESPN BET), even a KO would not be enough for Ball to be universally regarded as the No. 1 fighter in the featherweight division. To reach that status, he needs to beat one of the other champions. Goodman is stepping up a division and has fought just once in the past year. The Australian is not a banger or a former world champion, and Ball, from Liverpool, England, is expected to make a third defense inside the distance.

But some regard WBO champion Rafael Espinoza, who has won 23 of 27 fights by KO, or WBC titleholder Stephen Fulton superior to Ball. Espinoza not only has a big KO ratio, but at 6-foot-1, he also towers over the 5-2 Ball. Espinoza is extremely tall for a featherweight and has stoppage wins over Robeisy Ramirez and Edward Vazquez in his past two fights. Ball has to do more to earn everyone's vote as No. 1 at 126 pounds.

Real or not: Anthony Joshua's next opponent will not be Jake Paul or Tyson Fury

Real. Strong rumors are emerging from North London that Joshua, the former unified heavyweight world champion, will face Tony Yoka -- and not Paul or Fury -- next. Speculation had mounted that Joshua will face Paul, the YouTuber-turned-boxer, following Paul's comments during the Usyk vs. Dubois fight.

"It's going to happen," Paul said during an interview on DAZN. "So, fasten your seat belts or whatever, and when I knock him out, I go down to the history books forever."

Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, has held talks with Paul's team and has excitedly talked about the potential for record income numbers for a fight that was dismissed as a ridiculous mismatch not long ago.

"AJ-Paul is never a fight we anticipated, and it's never a fight we've targeted," Hearn told Sky Sports News following the Usyk-Dubois fight.

"But if you want Jake Paul to be the warmup fight for Fury -- and you want to provide AJ with the opportunity to extinguish Jake Paul from the world of boxing -- then maybe Joshua would oblige."

Joshua, who is recovering from elbow surgery, has suggested 2026 will be his last year in boxing, and his top priorities will be to finally secure fights against Fury and Paul.

"Twelve years ago, I signed with you," Joshua wrote in a social media post directed at Hearn's Matchroom Boxing last week. "And 12 years later, I will throw my last punch with you."

Joshua is coming off a crushing Round 5 KO loss to Dubois in September, and a clash versus Yoka -- a fellow Olympic super heavyweight gold medalist (Joshua in 2012, Yoka in 2016) -- could restore his momentum.

That fight would also provide Hearn and Joshua the necessary time to secure a deal with Paul for early 2026. That attention-grabbing event would pave the way for a career-concluding showdown with Fury in the second half of 2026.

Real or not: Manny Pacquiao will win a title fight again

play

2:05

Pacquiao ready to fight again

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

Possibly real. With the right matchmaking, boxing legend Pacquiao can avoid the dangerous men at welterweight and fight an opponent he can still beat. With WBA champion Jaron "Boots" Ennis moving up and eventually vacating his title, there will be opportunities for the 46-year-old Pacquiao.

Rolando "Rolly" Romero, the WBA "regular" titleholder, is coming off a career-best unanimous decision win over Ryan Garcia in May and would be a high-risk opponent for Pacquiao due to his intensity and aggression. PacMan should also stay well clear of Brian Norman Jr., the WBO champion, given his current form. Norman produced 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, would be another difficult assignment for Pacquiao, but one of the safer options. Pacquiao started well in that fight and was ahead on the scorecards but lost the final three rounds against Barrios, who is 16 years younger than him.

Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan will fight for the vacant IBF title on Sept. 13, and if Pacquiao can be lined up to fight the winner, this would be his best chance of becoming champion again.

Nobody wants to see Pacquiao, boxing's only eight-division world champion, end up like Sasaki, but if Pacquiao's team can guide him toward the IBF belt, there could be a fairy-tale ending to the Filipino's remarkable career.

Real or not: Teofimo Lopez will unify titles against Richardson Hitchins

Real. If Lopez, the WBO junior welterweight champion, continues the form of his most recent fight and gets his strategy right, he should be able to beat Hitchins, the IBF titleholder. If this unification title fight happens, Lopez needs to remain disciplined and detach himself from the vitriol that is already brewing on social media between them.

Coming off a Round 8 KO of George Kambosos Jr., Hitchins will try to lure Lopez into a brawl. But if Lopez can stick to his fluent movement and boxing, his quick combinations and creative offense will give him enough rounds to win a decision against Hitchins.

Lopez was back to his best when he unanimously outpointed Arnold Barboza Jr. in May after an underwhelming display against Steve Claggett in June 2024. When Lopez boxes and moves, as he did his last time out and when he outpointed Vasiliy Lomachenko (2020) and Josh Taylor (2023), he is a puzzle beyond anyone at junior welterweight.

True, an off-form Lopez lost a split decision to Kambosos in 2021, and Hitchins emphatically dealt with the Australian last month. But common opponents aren't always a reliable predictor, especially when it comes to the inconsistent Lopez. Lopez will not lack motivation in a fight with fellow New Yorker Hitchins, a dangerous opponent who, if he can impress, not only will earn another belt but also boost his profile and potential to become boxing's premier attraction.