Boxing
ANTHONY JOSHUA TO FIGHT KUBRAT PULEV IN LONDON
Anthony Joshua confirmed on Monday that he will defend his world heavyweight titles against Kubrat Pulev in London on June 20.
The British boxer posted a picture of himself wearing his belts on his Twitter feed with the words “June 20th”.
The 30-year-old regained the WBA, IBF and WBO titles with a unanimous points win over Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia in December.
That victory saw the Briton avenge the first defeat of his professional career, in New York last June.
He is set to face Bulgaria’s Pulev, 38, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London for what will be the 62,000 capacity football ground’s first boxing bout.
Pulev, who is the mandatory challenger for Joshua’s IBF title, pulled out of a scheduled meeting with the Briton in 2017 due to injury.
But in a Facebook post on Monday, Pulev’s camp said: “The contract between the two countries is already officially signed and the battle between the Bulgarian boxer, who is a mandatory contender for the belt of the International Boxing Federation (IBF)… is guaranteed!”
Pulev added: “I am happy that I will be able to show the world how strong I really am.”
A seasoned campaigner, Pulev last challenged for a world title in 2014 when he was stopped in five rounds by Wladimir Klitschko.
The prospects for a much-anticipated all-British “superfight” between Joshua and Tyson Fury suffered a setback when American Deontay Wilder said he would trigger a clause in his contract for a third meeting with Fury, the new WBC champion.
Wilder has officially exercised his right to another fight against Fury and the plan is to stage the bout on July 18 at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, US media reported on Sunday.
“We received a letter from Wilder’s team on Friday night, and we agreed with the networks and the hotel that July 18 was the optimal date,” promoter Bob Arum told the Los Angeles Times newspaper.
Fury stopped Wilder in the seventh round of their heavyweight title rematch in Las Vegas last week – the American’s first defeat of his career – after a draw between the two boxers in 2018.
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren had urged Wilder to ditch his re-match rights in return for a payment in order to pave the way for a lucrative unification bout between the self-styled “Gypsy King” and Joshua later this year.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said last week they would do “everything we can” to bring about a fight with Fury.
The 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium could host a potential Joshua-Fury bout but it could take place overseas for financial reasons, with Saudi Arabia reported to be a potential venue.
“You go back to (Muhammad) Ali fighting (George) Foreman in Zaire when a lot of money was put up, you go back to the ‘Thrilla in Manila’, where money was put up. That happens in boxing,” Warren told the Daily Telegraph. “All I can say at our end is that if we can do it we’ll do it, for obvious reasons.”
–AFP
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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