Boxing
“Fury would have beaten Ali” says Deontay Wilder trainer
Deontay Wilder’s trainer Malik Scott has given his view on Tyson Fury’s skills, with a glowing appraisal of the undefeated heavyweight champion.
Malik Scott said that Tyson Fury would have beaten Muhammad Ali as the Manchester born fighter prepares for his expected unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk.
Tyson Fury is expected to face Ukraine’s Usyk with the hope of becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world as he puts his WBC title on the line against the Ukrainian who holds the WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight belts he snatched from Anthony Joshua.
Usyk also holds the lineal Ring Magazine title which was previously held by Fury until last August when he surrendered the belt amid talks of his retirement.
Fury remains undefeated, with his closest brush with defeat coming against Wilder as he rose off the canvas in the twelfth round to secure a stunning win in 2018.
What followed were two more outstanding fights as the pair played out one of the most memorable trilogies in boxing history.
Comparison to one of the all-time greats is a huge compliment to Fury’s skill, with Scott making the claim with Fury currently undefeated with a 33-0-1 record.
By comparison Ali retired with a 56-0-5 record in the ring, but Scott did admit that Fury would have had more difficulties against Ali in his early days as he fought under his birth name Cassius Clay.
Ali was exiled from the sport in 1966 after refusing to join the draft for the Vietnam War in protest over civil rights issues in the US and returned with his new name in 1970 to reclaim the heavyweight championship of the world.
However, he lost his undefeated record in the process. He remains one of the enduring figures in world sport and is dubbed ‘the greatest’ for his achievements.
Scott made the comparison as Fury prepares for what could be the biggest year of his career as he prepares to face Usyk in what is a highly anticipated fight in the heavyweight division.
Speaking to Casinos En Ligne, Scott remarked: “Tyson Fury beats Muhammad Ali but Cassius Clay gives Fury more problems. The Ali that came back to boxing after exile, Tyson Fury beats that Ali. Fury would be too imposing, too fast, too much for Ali.
“Ali was too stationary when he came back. I believe a tricky Fury or the latest version of Fury would beat Ali, but Cassius Clay would give Fury a much better fight.” He added.
Meanwhile, Scott will be preparing Wilder for a potential fight against Andy Ruiz Jr, with the two former heavyweight champions rumoured to meet this year after Wilder returned to the ring with a win against Robert Helenius last year. He gave a strong appraisal of his client, saying that he would have no problem against Ruiz.
He explained: “Andy Ruiz presents absolutely no threat to a disciplined Deontay Wilder. I’ve been going over my notes and from film study I see Andy Ruiz has a problem with disciplined fighters. The only hope Andy Ruiz has is if you give him an opportunity.
“But if you stick to a game plan he’s easy to shut down. He’s a good fighter but we all have our loopholes, Andy’s is he can’t beat disciplined fighters.
“When AJ fought him the first time he was not as disciplined as when he fought him the second time. The minute AJ fought with a systemised game plan it was a shut out.
“An old Chris Arreola, who got with Joe Goosen and stuck with a game plan, beat Ruiz in my opinion by two rounds. Every time I look at the tape, I have Arreola winning by two rounds, it definitely wasn’t as wide as the judges had it.
“Andy Ruiz is going to come to Deontay and when he does he puts himself at risk. We’re going to make him reach, he has to, we’re taller. When he reaches he’s going to pay like he’s never paid before.
“A disciplined, systemised Deontay Wilder has no problem with Andy Ruiz. Does that mean Andy is a bad fighter, absolutely not, but Deontay with a game plan; high hand up, chin behind the left knee, patience knowing he’s going to have his big moments – it’s a shutout, a painful, scary shutout.”
Boxing
Fury furiously vows to go ‘destroy mode’ in rematch with Usyk
Briton Tyson Fury said he will throw caution to the wind when he faces heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and aim for a knockout victory in their rematch.
In their first bout in May, Fury hit his stride in the fourth round and engaged in some showmanship as he caught Usyk with vicious body shots, but the Ukrainian battled back and turned the tide in the eighth round.
Usyk’s powerful punches to the head left Fury reeling and the previously undefeated boxer struggled through the final rounds of the fight before losing by split decision and relinquishing his WBC heavyweight championship.
The rematch will take place on Dec. 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the WBC, WBO and WBA titles on the line.
“I’m going to go in there with destroy mode. Last time I went to box him, I was being cautious. I boxed the head right off him,” Fury told TNT Sports on Saturday.
“Let’s talk facts. Anyone can get caught, as we’ve seen in a lot of these heavyweight fights, but this time I’m not going for a points decision.”
Fury added that he is still keen on facing fellow Briton Anthony Joshua, despite the former champion’s knockout defeat at the hands of Daniel Dubois in an IBF title fight last month.
Joshua and Fury had been set to face off in a proposed ‘Battle of Britain’ bout in 2022, but the fight fell through.
“At the end of the day, it would be a travesty if we didn’t fight,” Fury said.
“No matter if he loses 20 more fights. If he doesn’t win another fight and has 10 years away from the game, it doesn’t matter, we have to fight.”
-Reuters
Boxing
Anthony Joshua addresses retirement talk
After Saturday’s night defeat to Daniel Dubois, Anthony Joshua’s boxing career looked heading to an end as the former two-time world champion was knocked out in the fifth round of their heavyweight bout at Wembley Stadium.
But a determined Joshua has said that he would not quit easily. He has played down any talk of retirement following his defeat.
His defeat ended any immediate hope of becoming a three-time world champion. A British-record crowd of over 96,000 people saw Dubois retain his IBF World Heavyweight title with a victory that shocked the boxing world
The 27-year-old put in a dominant performance, flooring Anthony Joshua in the first round with a strong overhand right that he never truly recovered from.
Despite coming forward in the fifth round with a big straight right-hand, Dubois countered with devastating knockout blow.
“Always walk with your head high, we rolled the dice, for the third time, 13 world title fights, not every one has been successful, but they’ve all been fun and entertaining,” Joshua was quoted by Independent as saying.
He was talking about his future. “You’re probably asking if I still want to consider fighting? Of course I want to continue fighting.
“We took a shot at success and we came up short. What does that mean now? That we’re going to run away? We’re going to live to fight another day. And that’s what I am – I’m a warrior.
“There were a few mistakes in there but that’s the name of the game. Fine margins will cost you at the top level.
“Also before I finish, we have to give credit our opponent Daniel. When I sign up to fight opponents, I don’t really like them in my head any more. But now that it’s done, I take my hat off to him and say well done.”
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn, according to Manchester Evening News, admitted this was the first time he’d seen the former two-time world champion hurt during their 11-years working together.
“It’s probably the only time in his whole career I’ve seen him really hurt, it’s not bad, having won two world championships and 13 world title fights, to the point he couldn’t get up,” Hearn added.
“It’s the first time in his career that he’s been properly hurt, you never want to carry on too long, but AJ doesn’t have many miles on the clock. When Ben comes to me and says, ‘he doesn’t look the same fighter any more’, and AJ will make that decision.
“We’ve seen the best AJ over the last year, it’s difficult to say that’s it. These are the closing chapters of his career. We have another fight with RS, Dubois is part of that plan. So too is Tyson Fury or another heavyweight. 2025 is going to be an interesting year for Joshua, against whoever, you’ll be entertained.
“Our interests are that he leaves this sport with legacy, money and his health in tact, knocked out like that you have to look at that. That was just a shot, trading with a huge right hand, it doesn’t matter who you are, you’re getting knocked out.”
Boxing
How dynamite Daniel Dubois demolished Anthony Joshua to retain IBF heavyweight belt
Britain’s Daniel Dubois destroyed Anthony Joshua’s dream of becoming a three times heavyweight world champion with a fifth-round knockout to retain his IBF belt at a packed Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Dubois dropped his compatriot to the canvas in the opening round with a stinging right, the referee delivering a standing eight count, and the 27-year-old proceeded to tear up the pre-fight predictions as swiftly as he ripped into his opponent.
Joshua, 34, took another hammering in round two but managed to ride out the storm before round three came crashing down around him again.
With Dubois landing more fizzing right-handers, Joshua was literally on the ropes before being saved by the bell.
He could barely stand at the end of the fourth, after going down again with two minutes remaining, and then it was all over in the fifth with the painstaking rebuilding of his career suddenly in ruins.
After landing a few promising blows, any signs of a fightback faded with a right to the chin that sent Joshua down, the former IBF, WBA and IBO champion this time unable to get back on his feet.
“I’ve only got a few words to say: Are you not entertained?,” declared Dubois after the biggest win, and first at Wembley, of a 24-fight career with two defeats.
“I’m a gladiator, I’m a warrior to the bitter end. I want to get to the top level of this game and reach my full potential.
“I’ve been on a rollercoaster ride. This is my time, this is my redemption story, and I’m not going to stop until I reach my full potential.”
RECORD CROWD
Organisers said a British post-World War Two record of 96,000 spectators attended the Saudi-funded fight at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Among them were Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, singing three songs on his 52nd birthday ahead of a reunion next year, and Ukraine’s WBC, WBA and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk has beaten both Joshua and Dubois already and will fight Britain’s Tyson Fury, also present, in a rematch in Saudi Arabia in December.
Joshua might have hoped to have a crack at the winner of that fight but instead faces an uncertain future with Dubois sending a seismic ripple through the familiar heavyweight landscape.
Dubois said he hoped for another shot at Usyk, who beat him in nine rounds in Wroclaw, Poland, last year.
Usyk previously held the IBF belt but vacated it for the Fury rematch, with Dubois the interim holder and upgraded to world champion in June.
“Credit to him and his team. We rolled the dice of success, but we came up short,” said Joshua after his 13th world heavyweight title fight left him with a record of four defeats from 32 bouts.
He had first won the IBF belt in 2016 from Charles Martin at London’s O2 Arena. Joshua then lost it to Andy Ruiz in 2019 but won it back later that year. Usyk then took it from him in 2021.
“We keep rolling the dice. I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent and a lot of mistakes from my end, but that’s the game.”
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said he expected to exercise a rematch clause.
“It’s a dangerous fight because he’s growing in confidence all the time but he’ll believe he can beat him,” he said.
-Reuters
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