00:00So that's kind of the story when it comes to this fight taking place
00:04in Las Vegas tomorrow night at the MGM Grand.
00:08Mario Barrios taking on Manny Pacquiao.
00:11Barrios only 30 years old, Fonseca.
00:14Manny Pacquiao is 46.
00:18His last fight was a loss back in 2021.
00:22So let's start while the Pac-Man is even back in the ring.
00:25Fonseca at 46 after nearly a four-year retirement.
00:29Why is Manny Pacquiao back fighting again?
00:32I think there's two reasons that you can look at.
00:36One, he's not a good politician.
00:39Seriously.
00:46I expected a follow-up and that was good.
00:51Real good.
00:54He's pissed a lot of people off with his politics.
00:56And people don't know he was like a senator in the Philippines or whatever.
01:00Like, yeah, like his regime didn't seem to be doing so well.
01:03Two, I think Amazon Prime needs a banger.
01:06And I said this on my YouTube channel.
01:08It's like, here's the thing.
01:10Amazon Prime hasn't put the same emphasis on boxing as Showtime did.
01:16And this is relevant because Premier Boxing Champions was previously with Showtime and Fox.
01:20And before that, they also had deals with NBC and ESPN and Spike TV and Bounce TV and CBS and seemingly every network possible when they launched in 2015.
01:28Since then, it got whittled down to Showtime and Fox, predominantly Showtime after a while, though, like the Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury events had, you know, Fox pay-per-view, for example.
01:39Now, you have Amazon Prime and you have cards with a lot less frequency.
01:44And if Mario Barrios is going to fight one of the actual contenders in the welterweight division, by the way, probably the worst welterweight division in terms of talent in my lifetime.
01:53And it's going to get worse now that Jaron Boots and it's the best welterweight in the world is probably going to move up to 154 pounds.
01:58You have, in the rankings, not a lot of dudes who are going to be a draw.
02:03And if you're going to sell Mario Barrios main event, his number one contender is Solomayne Sissoko.
02:08Nobody here has seen him fight before.
02:10Number two is Raul Curio.
02:11Nobody here has seen him fight before.
02:13Like, Edmonton Staniones is up there.
02:15Nobody here has seen him fight before except for maybe him getting battered by Jaron Boots-Enders in his last fight.
02:20So if Amazon Prime is going to need a banger for a sport that they're not even that committed to, because here's the thing.
02:26If you had Showtime before, it's probably because you like boxing.
02:29Or at the very least, you liked, you know, one of their shows or whatever.
02:32But there's a good chance.
02:34If you have DAZN right now, you probably like boxing.
02:37If you have Amazon Prime, it's because you like Amazon Prime.
02:40Like, you're not getting it for boxing.
02:43So I think Amazon Prime needs a jolt.
02:46And Manny Pacquiao is the guy to do it.
02:48Because even today, even right now, he's more popular than probably every boxer in the world, except for maybe Canelo Alvarez.
02:54No doubt about it.
02:55I agree with you there, Brian.
02:56If we take a look at the fight itself, too, because I'm just looking at some of the over-unders for rounds.
03:00This isn't one where you expect, like, oh, he's only got three rounds.
03:02Like, he's training like he's rocky late in his career.
03:04He's only got a couple.
03:05Like, this is 11 and a half.
03:07So what are the expectations for the fight style for you between these two?
03:11Well, if Manny Pacquiao could land some of his flurries, that'd be nice.
03:14Four years ago, he looked washed when he fought Jordanus Ugas and landed 16% of his punches.
03:20And Ugas is good, but, you know, Ugas is not.
03:23Like, if Manny Pacquiao won that fight, and maybe upstairs they knew what they were doing.
03:29Manny Pacquiao, if he won this fight, he would have fought Errol Spence next, probably, in a unification.
03:33And thank God that didn't happen, because then, I mean, we would have avoided this.
03:41But, like, here's the thing.
03:42Like, there's a world where, and this is why Mario Barrios is fighting specifically.
03:46I think the thought is, oh, he can take him, because Mario Barrios barely beat Abel Ramos in his last fight.
03:53Abel Ramos, who has several losses.
03:55And, you know, that was a fight that was on the Mike Tyson, Jake Paul card that went to a draw.
03:59So, people actually might have watched that fight.
04:02Ultimately, Mario Barrios only has two losses, and two very good fighters, Keith Thurman and Javante Davis.
04:07But he should not lose this fight.
04:09Manny Pacquiao is 46 years old.
04:10He's closer to 50 than 40.
04:12He looked washed four years ago.
04:13He hasn't looked great in any of his exhibitions.
04:15And, like, I just, like, if Mario Barrios loses this fight, like, it is a travesty.
04:21He probably, like, I don't know what he does if he loses this fight.
04:24Like, he should not lose this.
04:25And he's six feet tall with an A6 reach, a six-foot reach.
04:30A minus 280 favorite.
04:32There's a heavyweight bout tomorrow in London.
04:34We asked Fonseca about that.
04:37A big boxing weekend and then to some basketball with our guy, Brian Fonseca.
04:42We also have a bout tomorrow at Wembley Stadium in London to be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
04:50It is Oleksandr Usyk, who once was the undisputed heavyweight champ, but relinquished his IBF belt to the guy that he is squaring off against in the ring tomorrow, the Brit, Daniel Dubois.
05:03As we will see Fonseca, Usyk, a hefty favorite to be undisputed as the heavyweight champ once more, minus 430.
05:13So break down the boxing match.
05:15Who becomes the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world tomorrow night in London?
05:20So this is the second time these two are fighting.
05:25And the reason why this is happening is because the first one ended in controversy.
05:29Dubois hit Oleksandr Usyk low.
05:32And there's a debate, even to this day, as to whether or not it was a low blow or not.
05:37And to be honest with you, only one man can tell us that it was a low blow, and that's Oleksandr Usyk.
05:42And he maintains it's a low blow, but some people have accused them of getting hit in a borderline area and then kind of overselling it to make it look like a low blow.
05:52Like, he's done this before in different fights against Artur Beturbiev in the amateurs, against Anthony Joshua in their second fight earlier on in his career.
06:00He's done it.
06:01Like, I don't think Oleksandr Usyk is a cheat or anything like that.
06:05That's something that people are saying.
06:07I do not think that.
06:08I think he's the best boxer in the world.
06:09I think he's pound for pound number one right now, number one.
06:12Terrence Crawford, and now you're in a way right there with him.
06:14But he's the best, especially after beating Tyson Fury twice the way that he did, especially the second time.
06:19That being said, you know, it looked like to some a clean body shot that he should have been counted as a knockdown for.
06:27I tend to think that if it was counted as a knockdown, he would have gotten right up and then, you know, proceed with the fight.
06:32Like, to me, this is a massive, massive fight because Daniel Dubois also is coming off a tear where he upsets Philip Herkovich.
06:41Before that, beats Jarrell Miller.
06:43And after that, he beats Anthony Joshua, which is late last year, which is, you know, a knockout that gave us one of the funniest photos of all time.
06:52If you look up the Daniel Dubois, Anthony Joshua knockout, it's hilarious.
06:56I think Oleksandr Usyk ultimately outclasses him, but the odds are shorter than the first time they fought because Daniel Dubois is just on a heater.
07:05And it's entirely possible that maybe he just catches him.
07:09If we take a look at the fight itself here, Brian, look at the over-under for rounds, nine and a half, but also some bets here.
07:14Will the fight go the distance?
07:15Is plus money to run a plus 140 price?
07:17Do we see a knockout that stops this, or do you think that we go the distance here?
07:22Yeah, and this is the thing.
07:23Dubois got stopped.
07:25So he got dropped in round eight and stopped in round nine.
07:28So the over-under at nine and a half is just, like, perfect.
07:30It's like, oh, which way are you going to go?
07:32Usyk also knocked him out with a jab, which gives you an idea of how strong a former cruiserweight undisputed champion is.
07:41But Usyk, he's awesome.
07:42And I think I kind of lean late stoppage.
07:45I don't know if I want to bet method of victory more than I just want to put Usyk in a parlay, probably with Mario Barrios, to be honest, who we just mentioned earlier, you know, and maybe something else, because that won't have a crazy amount of value, I don't think, with just those two.
07:59But yeah, I think Usyk should win this, but I don't want to count out Daniel Dubois.
08:04He's more than just a power puncher.
08:06I think people feel like he's just that.
08:09And he's not a guy where, like, the moment feels too big for him anymore, where that was a criticism of him early on in his career.
08:15I feel like he really turned a corner.
08:17He's also 27.
08:18And Usyk is in his later 30s because Usyk took forever to turn pro because he was tearing it up into amateurs, winning medals, and things of that nature.
08:25But Daniel Dubois, he's, like, in the prime of his career, and he's one of these guys, like, is capable of just putting your lights out with one shot.
08:34It is a big boxing Saturday.
08:37Manny Pacquiao makes his return to the ring against Mario El Azteca Barrios in Las Vegas and in London.
08:44First up here stateside, the heavyweight bout to be the undisputed champion of the world between Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois.
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