One man who knows what it’s like to share the ring with both Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather has revealed his thoughts on the duo’s strength.

Pacquiao and Mayweather are considered two of the greatest boxers of all time, and each had remarkable careers.

Their success led to an iconic battle in May 2015, which Mayweather won by unanimous decision, and more than a decade later they will meet again when they collide on September 19 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

A legendary fighter who has faced each of them is Oscar De La Hoya, who suffered a split decision loss to Mayweather in May 2007 and an eighth-round retirement defeat to “PacMan” in his last fight in December 2008.

In the restored clipDe La Hoya broke down both men’s ability to punch each other, admitting there isn’t much between them.

“We all know Mayweather isn’t known for punching demanding. It hurts. I’d say they’re about the same. It’s amusing because I didn’t feel Pacquiao’s punch. He didn’t do anything to me, so I didn’t really feel his punch.”

“They hit the same. The only difference is Pacquiao can really knock you out, but he has to land the perfect punch and Pacquiao doesn’t have as good a timing as Mayweather.

“It’s a different speed because Mayweather is a guy who has one quick shot. Pacquiao will throw four five six seven punches that rapid. I think both guys could be the same, otherwise I would have to go with Pacquiao.”

Time will tell if there will be a knockout when the two legends meet again in September.

Anthony Joshua has formally moved from the UK to Dubai, as confirmed in corporate documents filed on March 7 for his companies Sparta Promotions Constrained and 258 Investments Constrained. Dubai’s zero income tax environment presents an obvious financial incentive – Sparta Promotions reported profits of over £20m in 2024 – but the boxing implications could be more critical than the balance sheet.

Career at a crossroads

Joshua (29-4, 26 KO) is currently at the most uncertain stage of his professional life. Ten days after stopping Jake Paul in the sixth round on December 19, the former two-time unified heavyweight champion was involved in a devastating car accident on Nigeria’s Lagos-Ibadan highway. Two close friends and members of his inner circle – personal trainer Kevin “Latz” Ayodele and strength and conditioning coach Sina Ghami – were killed. Joshua suffered rib injuries and was taken to hospital before being released on Modern Year’s Eve.

The disaster derailed an ambitious roadmap for 2026: a reshuffle of the season in Riyad in March, followed by the long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury in August. This timeline is now waste paper.

“The original plan for AJ was to fight in March and then fight Tyson Fury in August. That didn’t happen,” promoter Eddie Hearn told the media in February. according to ESPN. “I think he’ll be back in the behind schedule summer, but he’s not physically able to go back to camp yet.”

Hearn has set July as his target return date, although in a separate interview with First Round TV he admitted there is no guarantee Joshua will even fight again.

Dubai as a training base

Joshua’s connection to Dubai is nothing fresh. He has used city facilities to host training camps throughout his career, and in 2017 he was photographed sparring on the Burj Al Arab helipad. He recently trained there in February with former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Making Dubai a enduring base rather than an occasional stopover raises practical questions. Joshua’s long-standing UK squad – built around a network of coaches, sparring partners and support staff who have supported him over the years in the championship – would need to be repeated or reimagined. The loss of Ayodele and Ghami has already broken that support system at the worst possible time.

Dubai’s geographical location actually brings Joshua closer to Riyad, where the Riyad Turki Alalshikh season has hosted many of boxing’s biggest recent events. If Joshua’s remaining fights are financed primarily by Saudi investment – as negotiations with Fury suggest – his proximity to that power center is not a disadvantage.

Fury Fight: Delayed, Not Dead

Fury, who retired after back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, has announced his own comeback and his meeting with Arslanbek Makhmudov is scheduled for April 11 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Hearn left the door open to an all-British showdown, suggesting it could come in behind schedule 2026 or early 2027. Fury, however, has publicly stated his preference for a trilogy fight with Usyk if he beats Makhmudov, which would push the fight with Joshua even further down the calendar.

The fight that British boxing fans have been clamoring for for a decade now hinges on a sequence of events that must end exactly right: Joshua must recover, win July training and stay on Alalshikh’s radar while Fury pursues his own path. As Fury said Heavenly sportsJoshua’s disaster was the catalyst for his return: “Life is very compact, very precious and very frail. Anything can happen at any time.”

What will happen next

Joshua is 36 years elderly and has four defeats under his belt. Keeping Paul was a necessary payoff, but it told the sport nothing about his standing against elite heavyweights. The last time he defeated a ranked opponent was a decision over Jermaine Franklin in April 2023 – almost three years ago.

The fresh address does not change these facts. What may change is the emotional environment around the final chapter of his career. Joshua spoke publicly for the first time since the February crash, describing his return around the friends he lost: “My goal is to continue to support them achieve their goals. Even if they are not here physically when I pray, I know they will support me spiritually.”

This is not the language of a person chasing a payday loan. Whether he moves from a gym in Dubai or Sheffield, the challenge is the same: to prove that, at the age of 36, Anthony Joshua is still one of the best heavyweights in the world. The address you provide on your corporate filing is much less critical than the address you provide when the bell rings.

The winner becomes the next mandatory challenger to the IBF belt, currently held by Lewis Crocker.

Chukhadzhian’s retention at the top of the rankings is noteworthy as he has already had two opportunities against Ennis. Both fights ended in clear decisions for the Philadelphia fighter, but the IBF contender system repeatedly brought Chukhadzhian back into position.

His first title challenge came in January 2023, when Ennis defeated him by decision to win the IBF interim belt. The loss ended a 20-fight winning streak for Chukhadzhian, whose only previous loss came in his second professional fight at the one-day Super 8 tournament.

Instead of falling away from the title picture, Chukhadzhan quickly rebuilt. After the loss, he won three straight fights, including a decision over Harry Scarff in May 2024 that put him back in the image of an IBF contender.

This run earned him another meeting with Ennis. P2M-Box won the bid for the rematch, although the fight ultimately landed on the Matchroom card in Philadelphia. Chukhadzhian was knocked down in the fifth round, but again lasted the distance before taking a second decision.

Since that fight, it has yielded two more victories, including a second-round knockout of Joel Mafauad last October in Riga, Latvia.

These victories earned him a high enough position in the IBF rankings to land him in an upcoming eliminator against Donovan, putting him within one shot of the title again.

Donovan comes to the fight after a tumultuous period during his rivalry with Crocker. He was disqualified in their first meeting last March after knocking down Crocker right after the bell in the eighth round. Their rematch for the vacant IBF belt in September ended in a close victory for Crocker after Donovan was knocked down twice.

The Irish southpaw was later scheduled to face Liam Paro in another qualifying match earlier this year, but withdrew after suffering an illness during training camp. Paro took the mandatory position and secured a title shot against Crocker. This sequence landed Donovan against Chukhadzhian in another IBF eliminator.

Under IBF regulations, both fighters must remain available for the bidding process. If either boxer attempts another fight before the eliminator is decided, the sanctioning body may remove him from the rankings and ban him from participating in IBF-sanctioned fights for six months.