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.”
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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