Boxing
Could this be Anthony Joshua’s year? …Usyk reveals ‘strange’ behaviour amid Tyson Fury fight hopes
Oleksandr Usyk has identified some “strange” behaviours that could give him the upper hand ahead of his rematch with Anthony Joshua.
The Ukrainian is set to face Joshua again in 2022 after beating the former world heavyweight champion in London earlier this year to claim his titles.
A date is yet to be agreed, although the pair are set to go head-to-head for a second time in the spring, with the bout holding plenty of importance for the heavyweight division.
The winner of the rematch could well go on to face Tyson Fury in a unification bout, with Usyk looking to once again upset hopes of an all-British affair.
And the former welterweight champion has been busy doing some homework on Joshua as he prepares for next year’s huge encounter.
Usyk revealed in an interview with Forbes how he’d been studying Joshua’s body language, and the abnormal behaviour he’d spotted not only in his fight against the Brit, but in Joshua’s only other defeat to Andy Ruiz in 2019.
“Of course, me and my team pay attention to that. They observe and analyse,” Usyk said.
“We try to make our observations work, I did notice that he was quite tired after the fight.
“I noticed that before the first fight with Ruiz, he looked strange. But I don’t think about why it happens.
“Maybe it’s for some internal reasons. I don’t want to think about the reasons. The hands on the ropes, it was not quite that unusual – there might be very different reasons for that.
“I was more surprised because he was kind of distracted, chewing on the mouthguard like he was.
“That’s why I thought it was strange, but everybody behaves in their own way.”
https://get-latest.convrse.media/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.manchestereveningnews.co.uk%2Fsport%2Fboxing%2Foleksandr-usyk-anthony-joshua-rematch-22586759&cre=center&cip=23&view=web Usyk will be determined to hold onto his heavyweight belts next year, unlike Ruiz who lost them in his rematch with Joshua.
The 34-year-old is eager not to make the same mistakes as Ruiz, who struggled to maintain his weight and discipline after his win in 2019.
“Maybe it’s for some internal reasons. I don’t want to think about the reasons. The hands on the ropes, it was not quite that unusual – there might be very different reasons for that.
“I was more surprised because he was kind of distracted, chewing on the mouthguard like he was.
“That’s why I thought it was strange, but everybody behaves in their own way.”
https://get-latest.convrse.media/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.manchestereveningnews.co.uk%2Fsport%2Fboxing%2Foleksandr-usyk-anthony-joshua-rematch-22586759&cre=center&cip=23&view=web Usyk will be determined to hold onto his heavyweight belts next year, unlike Ruiz who lost them in his rematch with Joshua.
The 34-year-old is eager not to make the same mistakes as Ruiz, who struggled to maintain his weight and discipline after his win in 2019.
“My mental state was fine before the fight with Joshua as it was after, I always knew what I was working toward and I was going straight up to my goals.
“Of course, it can change, that’s how things are. The victory happens and people are changing their [perceptions], and it’s their right.
“However, I felt before Joshua that I would just keep working on my state of being prepared.”
-MEN
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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