MANNY PACQUIAO BELIEVES HIS ELITE SPEED WOULD HAVE EASILY DISMANTLED ERROL SPENCE JR.
Manny Pacquiao reveals why he would have "easily beaten" Errol Spence Jr. and shares the secret to his 8-division success.
Manny Pacquiao didn’t need much time to give his take on a fantasy matchup with Errol Spence Jr. If their rumoured 2021 fight actually happened, Pacquiao says he knows how it would have played out.
Back then, Spence was already a big deal. He was a unified welterweight champ, a local hero in Texas, and he’d built up hype with Dallas Cowboys players and musicians. Undefeated, 27 wins with 21 knockouts. His star was on the rise in the US, and Pacquiao was the perfect name to take him to that next level, just like when Pacquiao beat Oscar de la Hoya and launched his own pay-per-view takeover.
But Pacquiao saw things differently. “I wanted to fight him because I know I can easily beat him,” he told ‘Inside The Ring’ on DAZN.
At that point, Pacquiao had fought 71 times. He’d done it all. Titles, wars, all of it. But he was quick to say he wouldn’t be the ageing de la Hoya in this story.
If he had beaten Spence, it would have been thanks to his speed. “It’s not about strength or how strong the punch is. It’s about skills and abilities in the ring and how you move. That’s boxing. That’s the secret to being an eight-division champion,” Pacquiao explained.
In reality, Pacquiao ended up fighting Yordenis Ugas instead, and it didn’t go well. He lost badly. Fans saw him days later, face swollen shut, being spoon-fed by his wife, Jinkee. After almost four years out, he came back in 2025 and nearly beat Mario Barrios, settling for a controversial majority draw.
Spence, on the other hand, bounced back to beat Ugas with a 10th-round stoppage but got knocked out by Terence Crawford in the ninth round in 2023. He hasn’t fought since, but he keeps getting linked to a summer fight with Tim Tszyu.
Last we heard, Spence was still undecided. He says he’ll only return if the right fight comes along.
WHY DID OLEKSANDR USYK STOP WATCHING FURY VS MAKHMUDOV DURING THE SIXTH ROUND?
Oleksandr Usyk ignores Tyson Fury’s win to pray, while Anthony Joshua brands Fury a "clout-chaser" in a ringside row.
Oleksandr Usyk didn’t bother finishing Tyson Fury’s fight with Arslanbek Makhmudov on Saturday. After six rounds, he switched off the TV and went to pray. He’s not thinking about fighting Fury again anytime soon either.
Fury stepped back into the ring after a year away, squaring up with Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The fight went the full twelve rounds, and Fury took home a unanimous decision win. It streamed live on Netflix, so fans everywhere got to watch.
But Usyk caught half the fight before leaving. He told the Mail, “I got a bunch of messages like, ‘Did you see my friend winning?’ I said, ‘Yeah, great,’ but honestly, I only watched the first six rounds. Then I left for church to pray. In rounds three and four, I got a little worried Makhmudov started landing, and I thought, ‘Come on, keep your hands up.’”
As for facing Fury for a third time, Usyk shot down the idea. After beating Fury twice in 2024, he’s ready to move on. “My plan’s the same. I’ve got three fights lined up, I know what I want. If Fury fits in, fine, but things are more complicated now.”
Back in May 2024, Fury put his WBC heavyweight belt on the line, dreaming of undisputed glory, while Usyk brought his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles. Usyk edged out Fury on a split decision. They ran it back in December, and it wasn’t as close Usyk dominated and hit a clean 23-0 record with another unanimous points victory.
Next, Usyk is set to face Rico Verhoeven, the Glory heavyweight kickboxing champ, on May 23 at the Pyramids of Giza. Not your average boxing event.
Meanwhile, Fury wasted no time calling out Anthony Joshua, who was ringside for his win over Makhmudov. Fury wanted to make the fight happen right then and there, but Joshua didn’t commit. That annoyed fans in the stadium and at home.
Joshua’s response? He wasn’t impressed. “Tyson, you’re clout-chasing,” he shot back. “I’ve never had a problem getting in the ring with you. I punched you up when we were kids, and after watching you tonight, I’ll do it again. You don’t tell me what to do.”
He doubled down. “I’ve been chasing you for ten years. When you’re ready, come see me. I’m the boss you work for me. I’m the landlord, remember that.”
ANTHONY JOSHUA REJECTS POST-FIGHT RING FACE-OFF DESPITE FURY’S DECISIVE WIN OVER MAKHMUDOV
Eddie Hearn explains Anthony Joshua’s ring snub. Is the Fury vs AJ fight actually signed for this autumn?
Eddie Hearn laid it out pretty clearly: Anthony Joshua stayed out of the ring Saturday night and didn’t square off with Tyson Fury, even though Fury and Turki Alalshikh were both pushing hard for that dramatic moment to sell their big all-British fight for later this year.
Tyson Fury came back for yet another post-retirement bout at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, picking up a decisive win over Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov. It wasn’t much of a contest, really. Fury dominated, collected a unanimous decision, and then instantly shifted his attention to Anthony Joshua sitting at ringside. At one point, Joshua even whipped out his phone to record the fight.
Naturally, Fury grabbed the mic and did what he does best: he hyped up the idea of fighting Joshua next, telling the crowd (and Joshua himself) that this was the battle fans have been waiting for. He even called AJ into the ring on the spot.
But Joshua didn’t bite. He stayed put, calmly telling the crowd he’s ready to fight Fury and has been chasing it for a decade. No drama. No face-off.
Later, Fury and his camp went public. They said their side had signed the contracts weeks ago and put the blame for the holdup squarely on Joshua.
“We brought him here tonight to make this fight a done deal,” Fury said. “I’ve already signed. No idea if he has.”
Netflix, broadcasting the fight, amped things up even more by teasing that the huge British showdown would happen this autumn. But Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, pushed the decision back onto Joshua. “The only one who can confirm it is AJ,” he said. “It’s one man holding things up.”
Fury himself doubled down: “If it isn’t Anthony Joshua next, I’m done with boxing. It’s him, or I’m gone.”
On the other side, Joshua’s team fired back against any claims that AJ was running from the fight. Eddie Hearn, his promoter, explained why Joshua didn’t step into the ring: “He’s not interested in the theatrics if there’s no deal done. How many times has this fight supposedly been on? Years go by, nothing happens. Until something’s signed, it’s all just talk. AJ knows it’s Fury who really needs this, and he’ll fight him. We’re confident it happens, but right now, nothing is signed.”
And as for the talk about Joshua being scared? Hearn shut that down: “Scared of what, of that? Even Fury’s own fans feel the energy is different now. We don’t see anything other than an AJ win.”
