Top storylines to watch this weekend with Manny Pacquiao’s return, Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois 2

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For the second straight weekend, there will be some serious competition on the boxing calendar as a trio of major cards compete against one another on Saturday. 

From an undisputed heavyweight championship rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois to the return of 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao atop a loaded PBC on Prime pay-per-view card, there are no shortage of big names and even bigger fights on the docket this weekend. 

As we draw closer to one of the busiest days in recent memory for the sweet science, one week after back-to-back blockbuster shows in New York, let’s take a closer look at the biggest storylines. 

1. At 46, is Manny Pacquiao making a terrible mistake? 

Pacquiao, the Filipino legend and eight-division champion who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in June, hasn’t boxed professionally since 2021 and didn’t look particularly great in a sparring match against a larger kickboxer last summer. That didn’t stop him from not just announcing his return to the sport but signing up for a title shot at WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios. If there’s any good news for Pacquiao, it’s that Barrios has looked beatable as champion, as evidenced by his all-action draw against journeyman Abel Ramos last fall. But, if we’re being honest, this older version of Pacquiao hasn’t looked much like the Pacquiao of old since a 2019 victory over Keith Thurman that made him the oldest fighter to win a 147-pound belt at the age of 40 (netting Pacquiao a spot as an unlikely finalist for fighter of the year). Even though a large number of ex-fighters have come forward predicting a Pacquiao upset against Barrios, this is asking a lot of an aging boxer who turned pro exactly 30 years ago and has been inactive for most of this decade. If there’s a true 1-of-1 alien who is capable of turning back the clock, it’s certainly Pacquiao. But the truth remains, there are many ways this fight ends poorly for the legendary “PacMan.”

2. A lot has changed in two years for Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois

The pair of heavyweight beltholders are set to unify the undisputed crown this Saturday in front of 96,000 fans at London’s Wembley Stadium in their rematch (12:30 p.m. ET, DAZN PPV — buy now). In 2023, their title bout produced plenty of controversy when a Dubois body shot appeared to produce not only a knockdown, but a knockout, only for referee Luis Pabon to rule it a low blow. Usyk not only dodged a legitimate threat to derail his subsequent fights with Tyson Fury, he went on to stop an exhausted Dubois in Round 9. But ever since that first meeting in Poland, a lot has changed for both. Usyk survived a pair of grueling fights against Fury to become the pound-for-pound king while threatening inclusion in the all-time heavyweight top 10. Dubois, on the other hand, has undergone a complete rejuvenation that began with a late stoppage of unbeaten Jarrell Miller just four months after the Usyk defeat. It was 2024, however, where Dubois had his true coming out party. Shaking off a reputation for being a quitter in big fights, Dubois adopted a Terminator mindset to produce back-to-back knockouts of Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua, with the former handing him the IBF title that was stripped of Usyk for choosing a Fury rematch over a mandatory title defense. At 38, Usyk is two years older and is being tasked with shaking off the physical toll of two taxing fights against the 6-foot-9 Fury. At 27, Dubois has firmly entered his physical and mental prime and remains an even more dangerous out for Usyk than he was back in 2023. This one should be interesting.

3. Tim Tszyu took the long way in getting back to a rematch with Sebastian Fundora

Tszyu, the Australian star and former 154-pound titleholder, famously lost his title in March 2024 when, after accepting a fight against Fundora on late notice, he fought through a blinding blood from a brutal cut to lose a gnarly split decision. The result saw the apple cart completely flipped at junior middleweight as Fundora, who was fresh off of a knockout loss to Brian Mendoza, captured Tszyu’s WBO belt and the vacant WBC title to become the power player in the division. Tszyu, meanwhile, simply got back on the horse and accepted a title shot against IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev, which ended in a knockout loss so disastrous that some wondered if the 30-year-old Tszyu would keep fighting. Ultimately, the son of Hall-of-Famer Kostya Tszyu did choose to return after first taking a break to get married and he looked strong in stopping Joseph Spencer in his April return. Now, 15 months after his fight-of-the-year contender loss to Fundora, the two will run it back as the co-main event to Pacquaio’s return in Las Vegas. Fundora was forced to vacate his WBO title in order to accept it while Tszyu, who was dominating Fundora during their first bout until an accidental elbow opened a bad cut on the top of his head, returns rebuilt as a slight betting favorite.

4. Nothing but fireworks are expected in Isaac Cruz-Angel Fierro II

In February, the Mexican star known as “Pitbull” looked to rebound from having lost his 140-pound title to Jose Valenzuela when he signed up to face Fierro, the Tijuana slugger who is a protege of Hall-of-Famer Erik Morales. The fight took place close to the anniversary of Morales’ first fight with fellow Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera that kicked off their legendary trilogy. It was also contested with former champion Israel Vasquez’s family as a ringside guest as the two fighters looked to honor the former three-division titleholder who had just lost his battle with cancer. What followed was a back-and-forth war that served as the perfect tribute to the Mexican boxing style that is so beloved within the sport. On Saturday, as part of a loaded four-bout PBC PPV card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the pair of Mexican brawlers will run it back. Even though Cruz received the nod on the scorecards in their first fight as the cleaner puncher on the inside, Fierro benefitted from a three-inch height and seven-inch reach advantage to make it a difficult night by taking Cruz’s best shots and routinely forcing him into a firefight. The loss turned out to be nothing but a win for Fierro as the performance raised his profile and created a need for a second fight. Buckle up.  

5. Does Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez have too much on his plate?

Rodriguez, the pound-for-pound ranked superstar of the lower weight divisions, is still just 25 as the native of San Antonio enters Saturday’s 115-pound unification bout against unbeaten fellow titleholder Phumelela Cafu in Frisco, Texas (7 p.m. ET, DAZN). But the fighter known as “Bam” doesn’t just have Cafu on his mind at the moment. Rodriguez recently signed a deal with powerful adviser Turki Alalshikh, who has already announced Rodriguez’s next fight for November in another title unification bout against unbeaten beltholder Fernando Martinez of Argentina. The fight will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Rodriguez has already interrupted his training camp for Cafu by attending a press event in New York over the weekend to preview the much more difficult Martinez bout. Is Rodriguez, who is a massive betting favorite to defeat Cafu, breaking the cardinal boxing rule by overlooking the opponent right in front of him in order to promote the next fight on his busy calendar? That’s the question that the dynamic boxer-puncher will need to answer this weekend. 

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