Boxing
ANTHONY JOSHUA, TYSON FURY BUMP INTO EACH OTHER AT SPANISH RESORT
Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have met in Marbella as both British heavyweight champions holidayed amid rumours of a superfight between the pair.
WBA, WBO and IBF title holder Joshua and WBC king Fury are strongly rumoured to be ready to rumble in one of the richest fights in boxing next year.
The Londoner revealed that he had bumped into Fury as his arch-rival drove along the Spanish coast, even rolling down the window of his car for a chat.
Sharing a photo of the tantalising coming-together on his Instagram page, Joshua added a fist punch and wrote: ‘Sweeeeeeeeeeeet Caroline!! Ohhhh ohhh ohhhhh.’
And Fury responded in kind, with a tantalising nod to next year’s proposed fight, as he promised on his Instagram story: ‘2021 it’s going off’.
Joshua’s song lyrics refer to the classic Neil Diamond hit that has become synonymous with huge sporting events and would undoubtedly ring out should a scrap between the titans materialise.
Joshua wore a facemask and baseball cap as he talked to Fury, who donned sunglasses and a backwards cap for his spin in the sun.
Fury posted the picture on his Instagram story and added: ‘2021 – it’s going off.’
Both fighters are taking a break as they await their next contests, with Fury set to defend his belt in a trilogy fight against Deontay Wilder on December 19 in Las Vegas, when he will be a hot favourite to beat the man he knocked out in February.
Joshua is also expected to see off veteran Kubrat Pulev when the Bulgarian ex-champion challenges him later this year.
Former super-bantamweight kingpin Gamal Yafai, who is signed to the same Matchroom stable as Joshua, and Dave Coldwell, who trained former cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew, were among those to react with excitement to the snap.
Agent Michael Jarman joked that Fury ‘clearly didn’t want to step out of his car.’
Joshua, who is a year younger than Fury at 30, was pictured dining with a group of friends in the resort on Saturday before posing with an 87-year-old super fan.
-Daily Mail
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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