They say Father Time is undefeated. I call BS on those who say that.
This past Saturday, a 38-year-old man confirmed his status as the heavyweight champion of the world by knocking out an opponent more than a decade his junior.
Hours later, a 46-year-old man showed he still has something left en route to getting an arguably unlucky draw against an opponent more than a decade-and-a-half his junior.
And a man approaching his 50th birthday who struggles with undiagnosed narcolepsy endured more than 10 straight hours of boxing broadcasting without dozing once – while joined by three slightly-to-significantly older friends who showed similarly impressive stamina.
Yep, the clock got turned back all over the place on this epic day/night of boxing. And the clock will be our guide as we return to everyone’s favorite post-fight column device, the pay-per-view running diary, to reflect on the Oleksandr Usyk-Daniel Dubois II pay-per-view from Wembley Stadium in London, the Mario Barrios-Manny Pacquiao pay-per-view from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and the Amazon Prime Video undercard in-between those two.
2:16 p.m. ET: Even though the broadcast from Wembley began at 12:30 my time, I’m not especially interested in any of the deep undercard bouts and recognize that there’s a difference between being in shape to watch 10 straight hours of boxing and being in shape to watch 12 straight hours of boxing. So I get home from some early-afternoon errands in time to turn on the TV during the third round of a heavyweight bout between Brit Solomon Dacres and unbeaten Ukrainian Vladyslav Sirenko. I am engaged in internal debate between caffeinating and attempting to power-nap before my guests arrive. Canine companion Otis Dumbledore Raskin has, predictably, opted for the latter.
2:17: The Wembley crowd boos as Usyk is shown on the big screen arriving at the venue. I recognize they’re just doing this because they’re rooting for their countryman to win the heavyweight title, but still, I cannot respect anyone who boos Oleksandr Usyk.
2:24: One of my guests, hardcore boxing fan David Kushin (who was also part of the previous PPV party running diary), texts to inform me he’s leaving his house and will be arriving around 3:40. The window to nap just feels a little too tight. Caffeination it shall be. Time to make a caramel latte (with Lactaid milk, of course, because my digestive system is as washed as the rest of me).
2:53: I pass the time playing PokerStars on my phone and win a tidy $70 in 10 minutes, effectively defraying the costs associated with hosting a PPV party. While I’m getting rich, Dacres is completing an upset unanimous decision over Sirenko.
2:56: Turki Alalshikh’s arrival at Wembley is broadcast on the Jumbotron, in slo-mo, with the words “His Excellency” in the chyron. Surely this was all the result of an independent editorial decision by the director of the DAZN broadcast and in no way a case of money and power influencing the presentation.
2:58: Another guest, veteran boxing writer/editor and my former podcast partner Bill Dettloff, texts: “On my way with C material.” Perhaps so, but Bill’s C material is equivalent to the average person’s C+ material.
3:06: The final guest, former The Ring Editor-in-Chief Nigel Collins, emails to confirm my street address, and unfortunately he has my old address, so I call to set him straight – and thus deprive the current occupants of my previous home of a chance to have their doorbell rung by an International Boxing Hall of Famer.
3:40: David arrives just as the 10th round begins of what had turned into a tremendous light heavyweight scrap between Daniel Lapin and Lewis Edmondson. Not ideal timing, but all is forgiven because David arrives bearing cinnamon buns and life-altering apple pie from vegan bakery Papa Ganache. We hustle into the living room in time to catch the last 30 seconds of the fight, which Usyk stablemate Lapin wins by majority decision.
4:15: Bill arrives early in the dull Lawrence Okolie-Kevin Lerena co-main, armed with homemade cookies – which we will later learn are delicious enough to make up for any substandard comedic material.
4:23: Nigel arrives, potato chips and additional cookies in hand, three minutes too late for all pot jokes I was prepared to fill this running diary with.
4:34: I have to be honest, the fully tattooed head of one of Okolie’s cornermen is freaking me out. Nigel offers a welcome distraction in the form of talk of his recent trip to “Fighter’s Heaven” – Muhammad Ali’s old Deer Lake training camp site – and a handful of Bob Montgomery stories. This leads to a discussion of who is the oldest living former champ, and the internet informs us the answer is 89-year-old Freddie Little. The internet may be destroying civilization, but at least it prevents us from wondering without resolution about trivial boxing matters.
4:55: Bill posits that Lennox Lewis is beginning to resemble James Earl Jones. I don’t see it. During this break before the Usyk-Dubois fight, we all get up to fill plates with salty snacks. Beverages are distributed as well: a beer for Bill, ciders for me and Nigel, nothing for David, water for Otis. He’s the only one drinking out of a bowl on the floor, but that’s subject to change now that the alcohol is flowing and the party vibe is picking up.
5:08: David observes that Bill’s default state is disliking people until they prove worthy of being liked. “That’s exactly my default; you’ve just summed up my entire personality,” Bill responds.
5:13: It’s heavyweight championship of the world time, and Usyk enters the ring by stepping on the second rope and over the top rope, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone do before. Does he always do that and I just never noticed? Whatever the case, it’s cool and bad-ass – because Usyk did it.
5:16: Michael Buffer invites everyone to get ready to rumble. By the way, on the topic of ring announcers, the previous weekend I tweeted about Kody “Big Mo” Mommaerts looking like Barron Trump, and Big Mo was damned cool about it. (However, Mommaerts doesn’t follow me on X, and the tweet didn’t mention him by name, so I’m not sure how it came to his attention. Is he searching the term “ring announcer” after he works a card?)
5:19: The opening bell of Usyk-Dubois II rings. The first round is fought at a tremendous pace, especially for heavyweights.
5:23: One of the commentators says that Usyk is “looking to become a three-time undisputed champion.” Please, I beg everyone, stop with this nonsense. The one and only true heavyweight champion getting stripped of one of his alphabet belts and then reclaiming that belt to begin another undisputed reign is not a meaningful storyline. Everyone associated with the sport should be embarrassed that such things happen.
5:26: Bill marvels of Usyk, “He anticipates every fucking punch.” The champ then lands a left hand late in the second round and Dubois seems bothered by it.
5:28: In Round 3, Dubois lands his best punch so far, a right hand, but I observe that he has barely gone to the body – which everyone knows is your best chance of hurting Usyk. The Ukrainian has already moved from a -300 favorite before the fight to -1100 in the live betting. But Dubois is having his best round, and I score the third in his favor.
5:35: Round 5 begins with “U-syk! U-syk!” chants, and though the champ seems generally to be in charge, none of us have any idea just how close the end is.
5:36: Dubois moves Usyk into the corner, which seems on paper a positive for the challenger, but he gives Usyk precisely the opening he wants, and a right hook high on the head drops Dubois for a seven count.
5:37: Usyk lands a crushing southpaw left cross to the jaw, sending Dubois down again, and this time he can’t quite beat Michael Griffin’s count. It’s all over at 1:52 of the fifth – four rounds faster than Usyk achieved the same result two years ago.
5:38: Hearing the excitement, Otis enters the room, hops up on the couch and attempts to give Nigel a tongue bath. Otis is the John L. Sullivan of this party, out to prove he can lick any man in the house.
5:40: As we’re all enjoying the replays of the magnificent knockout, blow-by-blow man Adam Smith declares Usyk to be in the top 10 of all time, and I’m not sure if he means pound-for-pound or heavyweight. And my gut reaction is to recoil at such pronouncements. But, you know what? With two wins over Anthony Joshua, two wins over Tyson Fury, and now two wins over Dubois, Usyk’s resume in heavyweight title fights is pretty much on par with Rocky Marciano’s, and most historians put “The Rock” in their top 10, so…
5:43: Asked about his age, Usyk declares, “Thirty-eight, it’s a young guy, remember. Thirty-eight, it’s only start!” At Bill’s urging, I attempt an Usyk impression. It’s not on par with my Richard Schaefer, but it’s respectable for a first try. Interviewer Ade Oladipo, meanwhile, somehow manages to complete his interview without asking Usyk a single question about the Dubois fight.
5:51: After Usyk moments earlier listed Joshua, Derek Chisora, and Joseph Parker among his potential opponents, promoter Frank Warren says, “It’s Joe Parker’s time,” and you’ll get no argument here.
5:54: The post-fight festivities continue, but we decide to switch over to the pre-show on Prime Video, where the bout between Mark Magsayo and Jorge Mata is already in progress.
6:05: The conversation veers from the recent documentary about one-handed baseball pitcher Jim Abbott, to Bill’s tale of losing the tip of a finger in a lawnmowing accident, to Joe Frazier once losing a whole toe while mowing and nevertheless finishing the job before heading to the emergency room. Boxers are built different, man.
6:06: Two pizzas are ordered – one with cheese, one without, which some would say means only one pizza was ordered – and my wife will pick them up on her way home from a hangout with a few of her friends (which, shockingly, did not revolve around watching boxing).
6:13: We mute the TV and I play a couple of clips from me and Bill’s original podcast, Ring Theory, which David has never heard. For you RT superfans out there, the clips are “pig’s head on a stick” and “cat food.” I can’t say any more out of fear that Bill and I will both get retroactively canceled. Yeah, back in the early 2010s, we got awfully comfortable behind our paywall.
6:22: Magsayo-Mata concludes with a fun 10th round. Nigel says it was a good fight – apparently he was paying attention while the rest of us were goofing around.
6:43: It’s Round 3 of David Picasso vs. Kyonosuke Kameda, and these guys (a) can both fight, and (b) are really beating the snot out of each other. Despite the excitement, I fall victim to my first yawn of the day.
6:45: I learn from social media that by flipping the channel some 51 minutes ago, we missed out on a staredown between Usyk and Jake Paul. This is the best I’ve ever felt about one of my life decisions.
7:14: Picasso gets the majority decision win (though the 98-92 scorecard is fairly ridiculous) and stays on track for a mandatory shot at Naoya Inoue, and he’s not bad at all – in fact, he’s quite a good little fighter. He’s still probably an underdog to last three rounds with “The Monster.” Twitter’s “Reggie Dunlop” agrees with me.
7:17: After the first two fights both went the distance, with one 10-rounder still to go, it seems they’re really going to have to hurry the ring entrances along to be sure the Gary Russell Jnr-Hugo Castaneda fight is complete before the pay-per-view portion of the card begins at 8 p.m. ET.
7:20: My wife arrives with the pizza and the cheese-less pizza-like object during the ring announcer’s introductions – perfect timing for us to quickly fill our plates in the kitchen and not miss any of the action.
7:26: Russell, fighting for the first time in three and a half years, scores a sweet left-hand knockdown in the second round and can probably make a quick night of it if he wants to, but analyst Abner Mares immediately observes, “It doesn’t seem like he wants to finish him right now” – and indeed, Russell lets Castaneda off the hook.
7:42: Russell floors Castaneda again in Round 6 with a right uppercut, then lands a sizzling left moments later that causes Mares – who apparently holds a medical degree – to declare, “I think he broke his jaw.” I find myself questioning Abner’s medical credentials when he amends his diagnosis between rounds to say of Castaneda that Russell “broke his chin.”
7:50: Mares speculates that Russell’s plan was to get rounds in, and Russell is doing just that, as we’re now in the eighth round of a fight that could have been over 20 minutes ago. Going the distance with Castaneda would not be ideal for making fans want to watch Russell again (ya know, when he returns to the ring in 2029).
7:58: The 10th round begins and Russell drops Castaneda a third time, and it’s all over – saving Russell’s reputation, and saving the PBC production team, which hurries off the air without time for any replays. I think maybe it was a left hand to the body that ended the fight, but I guess I’ll never know for sure.
7:59: I switch apps from Prime Video to PPV.com, and we all head into the kitchen for a dessert break – plus I crack open my second spiked cider because I like to live dangerously.
8:21: It’s Round 2 of Brandon Figueroa vs. Joet Gonzalez, and, what do you know, the fighters are practically standing on top of each other and swapping leather at a rapid pace. In other words, it’s a Brandon Figueroa fight.
8:29: Bill’s phone rings. I don’t mean it vibrates – it, like, actually rings. And loud enough to wake the neighbors. I didn’t know there were people born after WWII who keep their ringers on, but apparently there are.
8:49: The fight is still action-packed, but not quite action-packed enough to prevent us from losing focus and looking up pictures of Sydney Sweeney. (These are strictly pictures of her made up to look like Christy Martin. This is research. We’re professionals, dammit.)
8:53: Good observation by blow-by-blow man Bernardo Osuna that we haven’t seen the referee in this Figueroa-Gonzalez fight – and we haven’t seen the ropes either.
8:58: We’re in Round 11 and Figueroa is coming on, but Gonzalez seemed to have built a big lead, and we wonder aloud if it’s too late for Figueroa to win on the cards.
9:06: It’s over, and a case could be made that Figueroa rallied effectively enough to pull out a draw. As Jimmy Lennon Jnr starts reading the scores, Bill immediately guesses, correctly, that Figueroa has done more than just pull out the draw. Regardless of the official result, Figueroa just doesn’t seem like the same fighter at 126 pounds as he was when he was killing himself to get down to 122. Sometimes, four pounds makes an enormous difference in the impact your punches have. Or maybe “The Heartbreaker” is just a case of a pressure fighter beginning to burn out young, at 28.
9:23: This card (and the washed fellas watching it) could use a quick knockout, and Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz is threatening to provide one as he comes out in Round 1 going absolutely nuts to late sub Omar Salcido’s body. Apropos of nothing, Bill starts doing his Joe Pesci Goodfellas impression, which never disappoints.
9:38: Broadcaster Brian Campbell shares a remarkable stat that I’d never heard: Pitbull scored 50 KOs in 85 amateur fights. That’s an absurd percentage for three-rounders with headgear.
9:43: We wander into a conversation about the late, great referee Frank Cappuccino’s combover. We all agree that if they ever make a movie about Cappuccino, Pesci has to play him.
10:02: We’re going the distance again. Ref Mark Nelson takes a point from Salcido for holding with 36 seconds left in the final round, inadvertently buying Salcido time and helping him hear the final bell. A knockdown with 15 seconds left buys him even more time, and soon Cruz is hearing scores of 100-88 and 99-89 twice – while someone who appears to be made up as Teen Wolf is holding up a belt behind him. And then, I could swear Teen Wolf is parodying the Astronomer CEO Coldplay concert cuddle with someone during the post-fight interview. There’s no other sport quite like boxing.
10:19: As the 6-foot-5½ Sebastian Fundora begins to make his way to the ring for his co-feature rematch with Tim Tszyu, we learn that Nigel shrunk two inches between his two most recent doctor appointments. We all find this fascinating – all of us except Otis, who is snoring audibly.
10:29: Two minutes into the fight, Fundora floors Tszyu with a straight left hand! That was unexpected, as is Campbell calling Fundora “Fonfara” multiple times.
10:30: The live odds shift dramatically, with Tszyu – a -155 favorite before the fight – now +700. I can’t not bet that. But you’ll be happy to know I did so with only a tiny sliver of my online poker winnings.
10:32: Fundora is using his jab more in Round 2 than I’ve ever seen him use it before, while Tszyu, cut over his right eye, is taking shots along the ropes and firing back. Tremendous action, tremendous drama.
10:36: In the third round, Tszyu gets a warning for landing a shot to the mid-thigh – but I tend to forgive it, as average-height junior middleweights have to punch up to reach Fundora’s mid-thigh. Bill observes how low Fundora’s right hand is after he jabs and instructs Tszyu to throw the left hook over the jab, then encourages him with a “that’s it” every time a hook is uncorked.
10:46: I can get a +135 price toward the end of the fifth round on the fight to go over 10.5 rounds, and I make that bet because, apparently, winning at poker made me very bad at betting boxing.
10:53: It’s Round 7, and with under 10.5 rounds now priced at +195, I consider betting that to lock in a guaranteed win on the over/under. But I don’t bet it, because, again, I’ve temporarily turned into the world’s most inept sports bettor.
10:55: Round 7 has been phenomenal – a possible Round of the Year contender. And Tszyu is doing outstanding work until the final few seconds, when Fundora appears to hurt him in the corner. What a round. Tszyu’s odds have closed from a high of +1400 all the way back down to +205.
10:56: And just like that, it’s over. Tszyu was apparently hurt worse at the end of the round than anyone realized. We’d all love to see a replay of the action at the end of the seventh – or a replay of what happened in the corner with full audio – but we get neither.
10:58: In the post-fight interview, without quite saying, “I gave up because I decided I can’t beat this guy,” Tszyu implies as much by declaring that Fundora is “one tough motherfucker,” and, “He’s very hard to land [on]. He’s tall as fuck.” Definitely can confirm on the latter point. Anyway, what a showing by Fundora. He’s always been a tricky puzzle to solve, but he’s never looked like this much of an absolute beast.
11:18: On to the main event – and defending titleholder Barrios is entering the ring first, which is giving me flashbacks to Jesse Ventura freaking out in the broadcast booth at WrestleMania V because Randy Savage came to the ring before Hulk Hogan.
11:22: The crowd pops as Lennon readies to intro Manny. I’ve been down all along on this comeback attempt of Pacquiao’s at age 46, but the man is a living legend, and clearly there are lots of folks in the MGM Grand Garden Arena thrilled for one more chance to see him throw hands.
11:28: After the on-screen graphic lists Pacquiao’s weight as “LBS,” the information for Barrios is entirely wrong. Looks like the DOGE cuts hit the PBC production truck hard.
11:29: The crowd is shrieking with delight every time Pacquiao throws a punch or even bounces in any direction, and while he clearly isn’t as fast as he once was, he’s still pretty darned quick and lands one of his signature left hands before Barrios has time to flinch.
11:33: In the second round, Pacquiao can be seen doing some old-man off-balance lunging. The jury is out on how far gone he is and how awful an idea this all is.
11:45: After Round 4, the broadcast shows the scorecard through three. It seems the graphics guy got his hands on a few of my ciders.
11:53: The fight is half over, I’ve given each fighter three rounds, and I can’t decide whether I’m more impressed with Pacquiao looking about the same as he did five years ago or disappointed by how unimaginative and stuck in first gear Barrios seems to be. For two or three rounds, I figured “OK, Barrios is taking his time, gauging the situation, and will soon get going.” But six rounds of mediocrity goes well beyond a calculated start.
11:54: Pacquiao lands strong combinations to begin Round 7, a round he wins fairly obviously. It’s time for me to own some bad takes. Last August, I compared the mooted Barrios-Pacquiao fight to William Joppy vs. Roberto Duran. Then this April, I compared it to Hector Camacho vs. Sugar Ray Leonard. With “Pac-Man” leading 4-3 on my scorecard, whatever happens from here, I sold Manny way short.
12:05 a.m.: Trainer Bob Santos is trying to motivate Barrios in the corner before Round 10 – but he’s being way too calm about it. Barrios really needs an Emanuel-Steward-screaming-every-swear-word-he-can-think-of assault right now. Moments later, there’s a timeout to fix the tape on Pacquiao’s glove, prompting one of Nigel’s go-to vents: “Nobody’s ever gotten hurt by loose tape in the history of boxing.”
12:10: It’s Round 11. The on-screen graphic says it’s Round 10. Because of course it does. Maybe the guy in the truck needs Steward yelling at him, too.
12:16: It’s all over, and Barrios rallied a bit down the stretch, clearly winning the 11th and seeming to edge the 12th. That leaves me with a 114-114 scorecard. We’re all debating what the official cards will say. Will the judges have Pacquiao winning by wide margins? Bill half-jokingly predicts a 118-110. I remind him that Steve Weisfeld is working the fight, so at least one of the cards will be close and sensible.
12:20: It turns out all three cards are close and sensible and show no sentimental leanings toward the inspiring old man, with a 115-113 for Barrios and two 114-114 cards. It’s a fair result, Barrios’ stock tanks, and Pacquiao has made me look like a fool and proven he can still compete at a high level – if not necessarily the highest level.
12:25: Both fighters tell Jim Gray they’d be up for a rematch. I’m not opposed, but I’m not excited for it either. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I could maybe talk myself into Mayweather-Pacquiao II after seeing this. (Yes, I fought off Father Time by staying awake, but clearly, Father Time has defeated my ability to offer smart takes.)
12:32: Nigel, Bill and David all hit the road, and Otis and I follow them outside so that Otis can pee before bed. Otis is now 63 in dog years, but his prostate seems to be working fine and he still has some pep in his step as he climbs the stairs. “Sixty-three, it’s a young guy, remember,” he tells me with defiance in his voice. “Sixty-three, it’s only start!”
Eric Raskin is a veteran boxing journalist with nearly 30 years of experience covering the sport for such outlets as BoxingScene, ESPN, Grantland, Playboy, and The Ring (where he served as managing editor for seven years). He also co-hosted The HBO Boxing Podcast, Showtime Boxing with Raskin & Mulvaney, The Interim Champion Boxing Podcast with Raskin & Mulvaney, and Ring Theory. He has won three first-place writing awards from the BWAA, for his work with The Ring, Grantland, and HBO. Outside boxing, he is the senior editor of CasinoReports and the author of 2014’s The Moneymaker Effect. He can be reached on X, BlueSky, or LinkedIn, or via email at RaskinBoxing@yahoo.com.
