Boxing
‘I NEED WILDER. I NEED FURY. I’M READY FOR THEM. I’M WAITING FOR THEM’; DECLARES ANTHONY JOSHUA
Two-time four heavyweight boxing titles holder, Anthony Joshua is desperate for ‘legacy’ fights against two main heavyweight rivals – Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder.
Fury became WBC champion with a brutal destruction of Deontay Wilder. Now, Joshua wants to face Fury and Wilder in order to cement his legacy in the sport
He has insisted he is pleased Tyson Fury has ascended to the summit of the heavyweight division once again, saying that competition in the ranks can help cement his legacy.
The Gypsy King completed a stunning comeback to the pinnacle of the sport with a brutal destruction of Deontay Wilder in February, having been out of boxing for almost 1,000 days.
Fury’s impressive display against the previously undefeated Bronze Bomber has convinced many that the Mancunian is the No 1 boxer in the heavyweight division, but AJ is happy that his fellow Brit is back at the top and that he wants to take on both Fury and Wilder.
‘I’m happy Fury won — it changed the whole dimension of the heavyweight division,’ the WBA, WBO and IBF champion told Apple Music via The Sun.
‘We’re fighting for legacy. I need Wilder. I need Fury. I’m ready for them. I’m waiting for them.’
But first, AJ has a mandatory contender to deal with before turning his attention to the victor of the Fury-Wilder rematch.
Joshua must face Kubrat Pulev next, with Eddie Hearn, the Brit’s promotor, looking to schedule a date in October for the champion to defend his crown.
AJ last competed in December last year, where he avenged his sole professional defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
There had been hopes that, had AJ and Fury won their respective upcoming bouts, a unification bout later this year could be pencilled in. However, the coronavirus pandemic has meant that that bout is expected to be pushed back into 2021.
AJ and Fury bumped into each other in Marbella, Spain, earlier this month. The pair reportedly told each other to win their next bouts so an all-British showdown could be arranged.
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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