Boxing
Dillian Whyte bars Anthony Joshua from his fight with Tyson Fury
Dillian Whyte has told Anthony Joshua he is not welcome at Saturday’s dust-up with Tyson Fury.
The Body Snatcher wants Joshua to snub a ringside seat at Wembley to focus on saving his own career in his July rematch with Ukraine’s Olesksandr Usyk.
Whyte, who battles Fury for his WBC heavyweight crown, said: “I don’t want AJ at my fight. He needs to fight Usyk and focus on that.
“In the build-up to the last Usyk fight he was too worried about re-matching me and telling people he wanted to beat me up.
“I wanted to shout out ‘bro, leave me alone and focus on Usyk’. And then look what happened, he got in the fight and looked spaced out, clueless.
“He needs to focus on what he has to do, he needs to forget becoming undisputed and worry about Usyk, because if he doesn’t beat Usyk then where does he go?
“Now is the best time to face Usyk, who knows where the poor guy’s head is at. If you can’t beat Usyk now – with what he has been through – then you never will.
“I don’t want Anthony Joshua to retire because I want to fight him again.”
Whyte beat Joshua in 2009 during their amateur days before losing to him in their pro fight in 2015.
Joshua, 32, has backed Whyte to win but only because he “hates” his fellow Londoner and wants to “smash him”.
Whyte is far kinder to Joshua – who is set to challenge Usyk for his old WBA, IBF and WBO belts in Saudi Arabia on July 23 – in the hope of getting the chance to settle scores.
If Whyte can upset Fury in front of 94,000 fans will be able to pick any opponent he wants and spark a bidding war in England and America.
He added: “If I wake up on Sunday morning as the heavyweight champion of the world, AJ won’t be my first thought.
“I will be running around the whole hotel and streets with nothing but my belt on, naked… doing the helicopter!”
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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