Boxing
MIKE TYSON CALLS FOR JOSHUA/TYSON FURY UNIFICATION FIGHT
Mike Tyson has admitted he would love to see Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua finally come to blows in a mammoth heavyweight unification fight.
Speculation of a big-money showdown between the pair has stepped up following the Gypsy King’s stunning knockout victory over Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas last month.
That win has paved the way for a huge unification fight between the pair with Joshua currently in possession of the WBA, WBO and IBF belts after he defeated Andy Ruiz Jr in their rematch Saudi Arabia in December.
Joshua is scheduled to fight Kubrat Pulev in June while Fury is expected to fight Wilder again but, if they keep hold of their titles, Tyson is backing them to come to blows at last.
Tyson, who was the first heavyweight to hold the WBA, WBC and IBF belts and later became the lineal champion, said in an interview with The Sportsman: ‘They’re in the best shape possible to be in and getting the most out of this sport as they can.
‘I don’t know, but I’d like to see that happen, though.
‘That’d be a great money fight too!’
But any chance of Fury being allowed to compete again is in danger following news that UK Anti-Doping will investigate him and his cousin Hughie Fury after allegations that a member of their team offered a farmer £25,000 to lie about how they each failed a drugs test in 2015.
If the Furys are found guilty of a potential new charge of tampering with the initial investigation – which led to backdated two-year bans for the Furys in 2017 for their nandrolone positives – then they would each be facing possible eight-year suspensions for a second offence.
But Joshua‘s next world heavyweight title defence against Pulev is also up in the air after it emerged it could be pushed back a month to July due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Joshua is scheduled to face the Bulgarian at Tottenham‘s new stadium on June 20, but that date could now be required by the club for a potential extension of the Premier League campaign.
Hearn, whose Matchroom organisation earlier confirmed the postponement of all boxing events in March and April, once again dismissed the prospect of any of his major bouts being staged behind closed doors.
Referring to the June 20 date, Hearn told Sky Sports News: ‘At the moment it’s still in place.
‘Obviously with the news of the Euros being cancelled (Euro 2020 has been postponed until next year) and the possible extension of the Premier League season, Spurs may need that stadium in June.
‘We do have an option to run that fight in July as well at the same stadium. Everything now is really a case-by-case situation and a day-by-day situation of trying to think on your feet.
‘June 20 is a long time away, it’s still in our plans and we have been speaking to Tottenham to make sure we’re all on the same page and that we know we have the same strategy moving forward.’
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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