Boxing
VIDEO: ANDY RUIZ JR TRIMS DOWN FOR ANTHONY JOSHUA REMATCH
Anthony Joshua could be facing a different Andy Ruiz Jr when the two meet again in Saudi rematch.
In their first fight in June, Ruiz was fat and flabby. He has now trimmed down and looks lean ahead of the rematch on December 7.
He has already thrown the first jab, warning Joshua
that he’s now faster and more powerful than when he floored the former champion
in June.
The Mexican who was a last minute replacement for the June
fight as Joshua was originally to fight Jarrell Miller who was disqualified having
failed three drug tests.
Luis Oritz was contacted but he
declined before Ruiz became the last option. He surprisingly floored Joshua
four times in New York resulting in one of the all-time shocks in Heavyweight
boxing history.
And Ruiz has been
working hard as they get set to do battle again and has been showing off his
new and leaner side to his physique.
With just under two months to go until their highly anticipated rematch, Ruiz informed Joshua that he is working to be in better shape then when he beat him in New York.
‘I have a lot of respect for Anthony, outside the ring he is a very good man’, he told ESPN Deportes.
‘But inside [the ring] there are no friends, there is no respect or anything
‘It will not be an easy fight. I think it will be a hard fight, but nothing is easy in life, so we are training very hard. We will be prepared for whatever he bring.
‘I will arrive in better condition…. lighter, faster and more powerful. They will believe that in December they will win.
‘People will always talk like this, but I have faith that we’re going to win and shut up more mouths.’
Ruiz, 30, was a late replacement for June’s fight, after Joshua was originally scheduled to fight Jarrell Miller before the American failed three different drug tests.
When Luis Oritz refused to fight Joshua, Ruiz stepped in a month in advance, with virtually no one in the boxing world giving him any hope of an upset.
But the Mexican captured the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO world heavyweight titles with his seventh-round TKO victory – Joshua’s first defeat in his professional career.
Oleksandr Usyk will put his WBC heavyweight title belt on the line against Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23 at Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza, Ring Magazine announced on Friday.
The Ukrainian three-times undisputed champion holds the IBF, WBA and WBC titles after vacating the WBO belt.
The 39-year-old has not boxed since beating Britain’s Daniel Dubois at London’s Wembley Stadium last July.
“I respect his (Verhoeven’s) journey – he’s truly the ‘King of Kickboxing’. But this is boxing – a different game, with its own rules and its own kings,” said Usyk, who has a 24-0 record.
“I’m ready and looking forward to meeting him in the ring. It’s going to be a unique experience for both of us, and I know the fans are excited too. A big night is coming.”
The ‘Glory in Giza’ fight will be streamed live on DAZN.
“I spent 12 years as the undisputed heavyweight kickboxing champion and accomplished everything I set out to accomplish,” Verhoeven, 36, told The Ring.
“But staying at the top for that long didn’t take away from the hunger; it strengthened it. Usyk is the undisputed champion in boxing. That’s the kind of challenge that motivated me. Undisputed versus undisputed.”
Verhoeven has sparred in the past with former champion Tyson Fury and had one professional bout in 2014, which he won by a knockout.
-Reuters
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Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will face off in a professional rematch at the Sphere in Las Vegas in September, with the bout streaming globally on Netflix, the fighters and promoters announced on Monday.
The fight marks Mayweather’s return from retirement and will be the first professional boxing match held at the Sphere.
Mayweather, who holds a perfect 50-0 record with 27 knockouts, defeated Pacquiao in their 2015 encounter dubbed the “Fight of the Century.”
That bout generated a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys and a $72 million live gate at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“I already fought and beat Manny once. This time will be the same result,” Mayweather said in a statement.
Pacquiao, whose record stands at 62-8-3 with 39 knockouts, expressed confidence he would hand Mayweather his first professional loss.
“I want Floyd to live with the one loss on his professional record and always remember who gave it to him,” the Filipino fighter said.
The rematch will stream to Netflix’s more than 325 million subscribers worldwide, continuing the platform’s push into live boxing.
The streaming platform has recently broadcast several high-profile fights, including Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson, which the company said drew 108 million live global viewers
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Former multi-weight world boxing champion Floyd Mayweather will come out of retirement this year for his first official fight in nearly a decade, his new promotion CSI Sports/Fight Sports said on Friday, though his opponent has yet to be decided.
Before his official return, Mayweather is set for an exhibition bout with fellow boxing great Mike Tyson, with the date and venue still to be announced.
“I still have what it takes to set more records in the sport of boxing – from my upcoming Mike Tyson event to my next professional fight afterwards – no one will generate a bigger gate, have a larger global broadcast audience and generate more money with each event – than my events,” Mayweather, 48, said in a statement on his new promotion’s website.
It will mark the American’s fourth comeback from retirement, following previous exits in 2007, 2015 and 2017 — the last after beating Conor McGregor to extend his record to 50-0. He has, however, fought several exhibitions since.
Across a three-decade career, Mayweather defeated many of his era’s top fighters and headlined the three highest‑grossing bouts in history, against Manny Pacquiao, McGregor and Canelo Alvarez.
-Reuters
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