Boxing
Anthony Joshua weighs a career heaviest in tonight’s fight
Anthony Joshua and Jermaine Franklin fight on Saturday night. (Photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Anthony Joshua will head into Saturday’s fight with Jermaine Franklin at a career heaviest.
Joshua – who suffered his second successive defeat to Usyk in August 2022 – weighed in at 255.4lbs on Friday afternoon.
The former champion will be hoping his added weight will help him make a statement on Saturday and register his first win since against Kubrat Pulev in December 2020.
Meanwhile, Franklin has dropped 23lbs from his points defeat to Dillian Whyte in November 2022 and looked visibly learner in the torso and face as he took to the stage. He tipped the scales at just over 234lbs.
Franklin’s weight loss provides a clear indication of his game plan heading into Saturday’s bout. The American will be looking to match Joshua’s output – with the British heavyweight being forced to work 40 per cent harder in his second fight to Usyk than any of his previous fights.
Joshua’s weight has been a topic of conversation ever since he made the step up to professional boxing in 2013. Fans and pundits have often criticised the British heavyweight for being ‘too big’, ‘too heavy’ and ‘too sluggish’.
Some insist the 33-year-old has bulked up too much since the amateur days when he beat Roberto Cammarelle in 2012 to become Great Britain’s 29th and final gold medallist at London Olympic Games.
However, Joshua’s coaches are adamant he’s in perfect condition for facing Franklin at the O2 Arena on Saturday evening.
Meanwhile, Franklin weighed in 23lbs lighter than he was against Whyte in November 2022. His coaches insist the American’s weight loss will help him overthrow the two-time heavyweight champion.
Jesse Addison told Sportsmail earlier in the week that Franklin is heading into this fight ‘stronger, faster and more focused’ than ever.
While Lorenzo Reynolds said the American heavyweight is more conditioned than he was against Whyte and shut down claims his weight loss has diminished his power.
Reynolds told Sportsmail: ‘We are really happy with his [Franklin’s] weight. We are happy with his commitment. We are looking forward to an awesome fight this Saturday.’
When asked what the secret to his weight loss was, Reynolds said ‘time’. He said Franklin has had longer to prepare for his fight against Joshua than he did for the Whyte fight in November 2022.
Reynolds said: ‘This time we went down to a good state that has a lot of heat in Florida. We took advantage of every training opportunity. We had a very focused Jermaine.
‘We put him on a strict diet. He answered every test that we gave him. So we are expecting for him to do great on the final exam on Saturday night.’
Reynolds also said Franklin was lacking fitness heading into the Whyte fight – which he lost 115-115, 116-112 and 116-112.
However, Franklin’s strength and conditioning coach is confident that the American has ‘premium gasoline in his fuel tank’ this time around.
He told Sportsmail: ‘The Dillian Whyte fight showed us that he has a lot of heart. A lot of fighters lack heart but Jermaine showed that he had a lot of heart. But, the conditioning was lacking.
‘So, we went back and we made his weakness his strength. We had time to do that so we are confident in his cardiovascular system. We are confident that if the fight goes the distance, he has a lot of premium gasoline in his fuel tank.’
There have been concerns that Franklin’s weight loss could affect his power. However, Addison is adamant that his fighter is ‘stronger, faster and more focused’ than ever.
When asked whether Franklin’s weight loss will impact his power, Addison said: ‘Absolutely not. If anything he has gotten stronger.
‘He’s gotten faster and he’s more focused. We feel like the weight loss will be an advantage for Jermaine against Joshua.’
-Daily Mail
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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