We’re back with our judge’s gavel to determine who has flourished and who has floundered in July across the boxing landscape.
We heard ya' — you want more winners and losers, right?
Well, it’s your lucky day. We’re back with our judge’s gavel to determine who has flourished and who has floundered in July across the boxing landscape.
WINNERS
Oleksandr Usyk
This was a bit of a tap-in for Oleksandr Usyk.
Besides winning the month, the Ukrainian great may be en route to winning the year? The decade? The generation?
His destructive fifth-round knockout of the heavy-handed Daniel Dubois solidified himself as the pound-for-pound king in the sport and answered the few crumb-sized questions that were left under the rug after a controversial first meeting in 2022.
Whether Daniel Dubois was free-styling on the karaoke machine a mere two hours before the ring walks is neither here nor there — the Briton will come again in the division, but Usyk is a class or two above “DDD” and the rest of the division.
Every heavyweight Tom, Dick and Harry will be spouting Usyk’s name over the next couple of months in hope of bagging the juicy paycheck that comes with the undisputed heavyweight championship, but mandatories and Father Time are expected to be the next hurdles to clear.
Manny Pacquiao
Listen, whatever you think of Manny Pacquiao being launched into the WBC’s welterweight rankings at No. 5 after not winning a professional contest for six years — takes deep breath — and then subsequently removed from said rankings after the sanctioning body’s president, Mauricio Sulaiman, admitted there was a mistake and that he was only gifted a world title shot due to his legendary status — takes another deep breath — he did pretty well returning to the ring at 46.
This may be more of an indication of Mario Barrios’ level — sorry if you’ve scrolled down, Mario — but on paper and in the history books, "PacMan" earned a majority draw in a world title contest in 2025.
Of course, there was a natural decline in the athleticism and gas tank of the former eight-division world champion, but there was enough in the old dog to remind us of a few of his legendary tricks.
In an ideal world, Pacquiao has now scratched the itch to return, but the sobering reality is this performance has only fueled the fire to mix it up with one of the better names at 147 pounds — a contest that could end badly for the Hall of Famer.
Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez
If you’re being compared to Vasiliy Lomachenko, then you’re doing something right — and that’s the position Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez has found himself in this July.
The talented 25-year-old southpaw moved to 22-0 in the paid ranks, thanks to a dominant 10th-round stoppage of Phumelela Cafu, underlining his spot at the top of the super flyweight division and turbo-charging him up a majority of pound-for-pound lists.
Rodriguez is on the road to international stardom, and with a thick frame has plenty of weight-class climbs in him.
Hamzah Sheeraz
It took guts from Hamzah Sheeraz to accept the Edgar Berlanga assignment.
This was in the Brooklyn fighter’s backyard, up in a new weight class and fresh off the back of a disappointing (and fortunate) draw to Carlos Adames at middleweight, but the Briton broke out with a career-best performance and punched his ticket to the Canelo Alvarez sweepstakes.
Sheeraz — under the watchful eye of his No. 1 fan, Turki Alalshikh — utilized "Itchy and Scratchy" fighting rather than "Tom and Jerry" boxing, bludgeoning the slight betting favorite inside five rounds.
Under the tutelage of Andy Lee, the future is bright for Sheeraz at 168 pounds.
Katie Taylor
I’ve run out of words to eloquently and sufficiently champion the career of Katie Taylor.
Luckily, all you really need to do is take a look at her glistening trophy cabinet, near-perfect boxing record and memorable collection of wins to hammer home her standing in boxing history.
The Irish superstar moved to 3-0 against Amanda Serrano inside a raucous Madison Square Garden, drawing a line under their history-making rivalry and, potentially, her career.
If Taylor is to bow out then she has done it at the very top of the mountain with nothing left to prove — and now, the one thing that she was missing from her list of accolades is complete: a spot in Uncrowned’s monthly winners column.
Kudos, Katie.
LOSERS
Francisco Rodriguez and the WBC
Mexican flyweight Francisco Rodriguez was allowed to fight twice in seven months despite failing drug tests before both bouts.
Suspicions were raised after the heavy-handed 33-year-old dismantled Galal Yafai for the WBC’s interim title at 112 pounds at the end of June, and since, news surfaced he had incurred a doping violation prior to that contest, as well as before an eight-rounder with Josue Jesus Morales in December.
The result of that December bout has been changed to a “no decision” by the Texas commission, and it’s expected that there will be a similar ruling of his fight with Yafai, sanctioned by the British Boxing Board of Control.
The WBC has accepted Rodriguez’s claim that his use of a performance-enhancing substance was “accidental” and has since ordered a rematch with Yafai, further spotlighting the WBC’s relationship with Mexican fighters and the leeway they are seemingly given after testing positive for a banned substance.
It’s another messy stain on the sport, but, more importantly, spare a thought for the careers and health of Yafai and Morales.
Mario Barrios
If Pacquiao should be nowhere near a professional boxing ring at 46, then maybe the same could be said for Mario Barrios, 30.
The Texan now finds himself in the (probably) unprecedented position of drawing in his only two world title contests, but yet still being able to call himself a world champion after the WBC elevated him in June of last year.
Barrios struggled with the veteran Filipino until he, to his credit, was able to turn the screw in the last three rounds, ultimately doing enough to escape with a draw — and his WBC title at welterweight.
Barrios’ stock has fallen once again, and in a talented and historic weight class, he will be considered low-hanging fruit for a potential successor.
Edgar Berlanga
Berlanga’s typical pre-fight energy is entertaining stuff.
But when this precedes a defeat in the manner that was handed to him by Sheeraz, then it’s nowhere but the Humble Pie Hotel for the Brooklynite.
Berlanga showed bravery in Queens, but was ultimately handed a beating by a powerful and controlled Sheeraz. Forehands, smashes and eventually a drop-shot landed on the chin of the 28-year-old inside the Louis Armstrong Stadium, resigning him to his second defeat and a couple of places back in the queue to ride the Canelo Alvarez money train.
Gervonta Davis
Gervonta "Tank" Davis was arrested July 11 on a domestic violence charge, nearly a month after allegedly assaulting his ex-girlfriend outside her home on Father’s Day.
I mean, I’m not sure much more needs to be said as to his inclusion in this section of the column.
Davis’ arrest is also a loss for Lamont Roach Jr., who was due to rematch "Tank" on Aug. 16 after their majority draw, with Stephen Fulton vs. O'Shaquie Foster the proposed co-main event.
Davis is running out of good will and chances with the boxing public and wider society as a whole.
Turki Alalshikh
Is the mask of the Saudi kingpin beginning to slip?
Following a seventh-round loss to junior middleweight world champion Sebastian Fundora, Alashikh took aim at Tim Tszyu in an unprovoked online attack, posting the following on X:
“I said to you from the beginning, Tim Tszyu does not deserve to be on a Riyadh Season or Ring Magazine card. He can be useful as a sparring partner for a champion in Riyadh Season.”
The Champagne had barely gone flat in the Fundora dressing room, and Alalshikh chose to rub salt in the wounds of the Australian challenger with a classless — now deleted — outburst.
Openly criticizing fighters from a position of power — especially those as all-action and gutsy as Tszyu — is a futile exercise for those who have never laced up a pair of gloves and gives us further indication of what boxing’s future under an Alalshikh dictatorship may look like.
Category: General Sports
