Boxing
Ngannou Will Struggle To Derail In-form Joshua, Says Swede Boxer, Wallin –
Heavyweight Otto Wallin was just as shocked as the rest of the boxing world when Francis Ngannou floored Tyson Fury but the Swede says it’s unlikely there will be a repeat against Anthony Joshua when the two meet in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou lost to Fury in his first professional boxing match in Riyadh last October in what many expected would be an easy win for the giant British boxer.
However, the mixed martial artist managed to down Fury in the third round, sending shockwaves through the boxing world.
“A guy like Ngannou, who is that big and who hits that hard, always has a chance, but I’m having a hard time seeing him beating Joshua,” Wallin told Reuters from his home in New York where he is back in training.
The 33-year-old Wallin, who rose to prominence by going the distance before losing a world title fight to Fury in 2019, suffered only the second loss and first KO defeat of his pro career last December as Joshua out-boxed him over five rounds.
“Since boxing against Joshua, I have a lot of respect for him,” Wallin said.
The career of Joshua, 34, had hit a rocky patch as he lost his world titles to Andy Ruiz in 2019 before winning them back and then lost them again to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 before another defeat in a rematch with the Ukrainian the next year.
Against Wallin, however, the Briton was back to his imperious best, a stinging jab and lightning left hook doing the damage before the Swede’s corner called it quits after the fifth round.
“Joshua was good – big, strong, long reach, he countered well,” Wallin explained.
“There were some concrete things that he did well that I don’t want to talk about, I want to keep them to myself, but there’s other concrete things that I need to practise and do better, and that’s what I’m working on now.”
SPLIT DECISION
Ngannou’s knockdown of Fury made little difference to the end result as he lost a split decision but the Cameroon-born French mixed martial artist won the respect of the boxing world.
“I was very surprised that Ngannou did as well as he did against Fury,” Wallin said.
“I thought he wouldn’t be able to do anything at all. He did very well, but at the same time I think Fury underestimated him a lot as everyone else did, including me.”
Ngannou’s rags-to-riches story saw him leave Cameroon for Europe to pursue his dream of being a professional boxer before pivoting to MMA and eventually becoming UFC heavyweight champion. The 37-year-old has worked hard to get to this point.
“I don’t think you can say that Ngannou was lucky, it was probably good timing for him against Fury,” Wallin said.
“No-one knew how good he was, no-one knew he was going to do as well as he did. Even if Fury didn’t underestimate him intentionally, it can easily happen – boxing is very psychological.”
Ngannou now faces an arguably bigger challenge against in-form Joshua on Friday and, even if Wallin was somewhat won over by the performance against Fury, the Swede says it’s unlikely he can derail Joshua’s attempt to get back to the very top.
“If Joshua wins I’d say they’ll aim for the winner of Fury-Usyk, but that can take time if there’s a rematch – in that case Joshua will meet someone else in the meantime, he’s been very active the last while,” Wallin added.
“But it’s going to be exciting to see what happens on Friday – we’re going to see how good Ngannou really is.”
–Reuters
Finland’s Robert Helenius has been banned for two years due to Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) for the presence and use of a prohibited substance for his bout against Britain’s Anthony Joshua in August 2023, UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) said on Friday.
Former heavyweight world champion Joshua beat stand-in Helenius with a seventh round single-punch knockout at the London O2 Arena.
But Helenius’s sample from a voluntary drug test the day before the bout tested positive for clomifene, which the Finnish boxer said may have originated from consuming eggs and chicken.
Helenius, now 40, was provisionally suspended and UKAD said he was unable to provide proof that “the eggs and chicken meat he had consumed in advance of the bout originated from hens that had been administered clomifene”.
“Mr Helenius was therefore unable to identify the source of clomifene in his sample and therefore unable to reduce the applicable period of ineligibility of two years,” UKAD added.
However, UKAD said that since Helenius was provisionally suspended on Sept. 18, 2023, he has already served 10 months of his ban which will expire on Sept. 17, 2025.
-Reuters
It promises a tough time for Anthony Joshua if the words of Daniel Dubois are anything to go by, as both will clash in September.
“I’m aiming to be the best. AJ (Joshua) has been the King for a long time but on the night I need to be the ‘King slayer’. That’s the goal, the mission I have,” Dubois said at the news conference on Wednesday.
“I’m ready to let my fists do the talking. I’m 100% ready to go and to train like a beast.”
Dubois has a 21-2 record with 20 knockouts while 34-year-old Joshua’s record is 28-3, including 25 knockouts.
Usyk beat two-times heavyweight champion Joshua twice – first in 2021 to seize the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts and again in 2022 when he defended the belts – but the Briton has won his last four fights.
“I went out to watch his last fight… Dubois has been on my mind for a while and he will be for the next 12 weeks,” Joshua said.
“Whoever was going to be there, I was ready to fight in September. It just happened to be him.”
When questioned about the age difference, Joshua said: “It don’t matter, we’re in peak condition. Age is just a number.”
Usyk had knocked out Dubois in nine rounds last year in a bout overshadowed by a low blow controversy when the Ukrainian went down gasping for breath after he was hit on the band of his shorts.
“Anthony and Daniel, I know the IBF title is important to you. It is my present to you on September 21,” Usyk said on X, opens new tab when he vacated the belt.
The winner of the bout between Joshua and Dubois could then get a crack at the undisputed champion after Usyk and Fury have their rematch.
The undercard will have five bouts, including two for the IBF super-featherweight title and the WBO interim light-heavyweight title.
“This is probably the most stacked card in British boxing history, certainly in my lifetime, headlined by Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua,” Queensberry promoter Frank Warren said.
“Where better to do it at the national stadium, Wembley?”
Oleksandr Usyk has vacated the International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight belt, the Ukrainian said on Tuesday, five weeks after becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion.
The announcement comes after Usyk’s mandatory IBF title defence against challenger Croatian Filip Hrgovic was left pending and Daniel Dubois became the new interim IBF heavyweight champion by beating Hrgovic earlier this month.
The 37-year-old Usyk requested not to be stripped of his IBF belt to contest the undisputed champion title when he takes on Fury in their December rematch, where only the WBC, WBO and WBA titles will now be on the line.
The heavyweight IBF title, which Usyk held since 2021, will be up for grabs when Anthony Joshua takes on Dubois in September at Wembley Stadium.
“Anthony and Daniel, I know the IBF title is important to you. It is my present to you on 21 September,” Usyk said in a video message on X.
Last month Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 2000 as he claimed the WBC title by beating Tyson Fury by a split decision in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Usyk said he may return to the cruiserweight division following his rematch with Fury.
-Reuters
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