Boxing
CLASH ON THE DUNES: ANTHONY JOSHUA DELIGHTED AT SAUDI RECEPTION
Saudi news channel, Arab News has reported that World heavyweight challenger Anthony Joshua was full of praise for Saudi Arabia as he said he was fully prepared for his bout with reigning champion Andy Ruiz Jr. in Diriyah on Saturday.
Joshua admitted he has felt “different” since losing to Ruiz in New York in
June, but sent a powerful message to the Mexican-American during the intense
first face off of the week in Saudi Arabia.
“I didn’t lose
heart or fire in my belly,” Joshua said about losing to Ruiz Jr earlier this
year. “There is no fear in my heart, my eyes or my mind.
“I didn’t lose
any commitment. There was a big change and a big shift in the division so it
definitely feels different. I turn this stuff into a positive otherwise it will
eat you up, and will fold into a way that I don’t want it to go.
“I had to own the situation and make it work for me,” he said during
Wednesday’s press conference.
Ruiz Jr.
entered the Riyadh conference wearing the same New York Knicks jersey he wore
in the press conference ahead of their first fight six months ago, during which
Joshua let Ruiz hold the championship belts.
Having taken
them permanently in a victory that shocked the boxing world, Ruiz Jr. did not
extend the courtesy to his challenger.
“You always need a challenger’s mind-set. I said that with the belts around my
waist,” Joshua said.
“Hungry, determined, focused on the goal.
“Will it be a special moment (if Ruiz wins)? No because I know I belong there.
When I regain the belts I will keep cool, and keep a challenger’s mind-set and
move onto the next target. IBF, WBA and WBO champion Ruiz Jr. replied: “AJ will
come with a different game-plan and I know he is prepared, so I will be more cautious.
“He lost weight and will try to box me around.
“I don’t want to let these beautiful belts go. Now that I finally made my
dreams come true, there is no way I will let them go.”
Joshua and Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn praised the welcome they had
received in the Kingdom and the quality of the facilities for their
preparation.
“It’s a complete change and a new dawn for the sport of boxing and we cannot
thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Skills Challenge Entertainment and the
General Sports Authority enough for everything they have done,” Hearn said.
“They have kept their word on everything they said they would do.”
U.S. immigration authorities have arrested Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in Los Angeles and plan to deport him, they said on Thursday, just days after he lost a high-profile bout to American rival Jake Paul.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Chavez was determined to be in the country illegally last week after he made fraudulent statements on a 2024 application for permanent residence. He is married to a U.S. citizen, it said.
Michael Goldstein, a lawyer for Chavez, said more than two dozen immigration agents arrested the boxer at his home in the Studio City area of Los Angeles on Wednesday.
“The current allegations are outrageous and appear to be designed as a headline to terrorize the community,” Goldstein said.
Homeland Security said that the 39-year-old boxer, son of Mexican world champion fighter Julio Cesar Chavez, is suspected of ties to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, which Washington has designated a foreign terrorist organization.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. speaks at press conference in anticipation of his fight against Jake Paul at Avalon Hollywood Theater. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images/File Photo
His wife, Frida Munoz Chavez, was previously married to the son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison. The son, Edgar, was assassinated in 2008.
Chavez is the target of a Mexican arrest warrant on allegations of involvement in organized crime and firearms trafficking, DHS said.
In Mexico, Chavez’ family said in a statement they “fully trust in his innocence.”
Chavez lost to influencer-turned-boxer Paul, 28, last weekend before a sold-out crowd in Anaheim, California, in a unanimous decision after 10 rounds.
He was allowed to enter the United States temporarily in early January under former President Joe Biden, DHS said. He had previously overstayed a tourist visa, it said.
The agency said Chavez was convicted in Los Angeles in 2024 on weapons charges. Goldstein denied he was convicted, saying he pleaded not guilty and was granted mental health diversion which will result in dismissal of the charges.
Chavez won the WBC middleweight championship in 2011, but lost the title the next year.
His career has been overshadowed by controversies including a suspension after testing positive for a banned substance in 2009 and a fine and suspension after testing positive for marijuana in 2013.
His record stands at 54 wins, six losses and one draw, with 34 knockouts.
Reporting by Brendan O’Brien and Bhargav Acharya, Lizbeth Diaz, Angelica Medina, Diego Ore and Kylie Madry in Mexico City, Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Berkrot
-Reuters
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Manny Pacquiao will come out of retirement to face Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight championship on July 19 in Las Vegas, the 46-year-old Filipino boxer said on Wednesday.
Pacquiao is the only boxer to win world championships in a record eight weight divisions while he was also the oldest welterweight world champion in history at the age of 40 in 2019.
A Filipino senator from 2016 to 2022, Pacquiao had retired from boxing in 2021 while he also ran for president in 2022.
“I’m back. On July 19, I return to the ring to face WBC Welterweight Champion Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Let’s make history,” Pacquiao wrote on Instagram.
The southpaw, who has 62 wins, eight losses and two draws in a 72-fight career, was also elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025.
Barrios, a Mexican-American boxer, has 29 wins in 32 bouts, winning 18 by knockout and losing twice.
-Reuters
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The body of Segun Olanrewaju, the Nigerian boxer who slumped and died in the ring in Ghana on Saturday is still in a mortuary in Ghana. The President of the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control (NBB of C), Dr Rafiu Oladipo, informed Sports Village Square that an autopsy will be conducted on Wednesday.
He said that the NBB of C is closely monitoring the events in Ghana, even as the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade has asked for updates on the sad incident.
On Monday, a delegation of the NBB of C visited the family of the late boxer in Sango Otta in Ogun State. Oladipo said he was still in shock at the death of the boxer who he considered fit having fought last December 29.
He revealed that one of the members of the Nigerian delegation to Ghana stayed behind to follow up on the autopsy.
He narrated that the late boxer took part on Thursday in the mandatory weigh-in which is normally conducted 24 hours before a fight. Additionally, a medical check-up is also to be conducted.
“But in this instance, there was no medical check. On this ground, Oladipo blamed the Ghana Boxing Authority.
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