Boxing
BOXING GREAT, GEORGE FOREMAN ADVISES ANTHONY JOSHUA TO COPY MUHAMMAD ALI IN ANDY RUIZ JR REMATCH
George Foreman has urged Anthony Joshua to copy Muhammad Ali when he takes on Andy Ruiz Jr in their rematch on Saturday night, Metro of UK reports.
Joshua is seeking revenge over Ruiz Jr for his first pro defeat and is the favourite heading into the highly-anticipated heavyweight showdown.
Boxing legend Ali employed a strict game plan against Leon Spinks in their rematch in 1978 after his inexperienced rival sprung a surprise with a split decision victory.
Ali employed a cautious, point-scoring strategy in the second fight and Foreman thinks Joshua should reproduce that game plan against Ruiz Jr.
‘In my mind, if Anthony Joshua looks at the tape of Ali-Spinks 2 and just goes to pat him round by round, he can recapture the title,’ Foreman told the Athletic. ‘Don’t go looking for a knockout, and you’ll be champion of the world.’
‘All he needs to do is box,’ Foreman continued. ‘One round, box. Second round, box. Each round…forget about anything else but that and you’ll be champion of the world again.’
Joshua has given little away about his plans for Ruiz Jr, but the Mexican expects a completely different version of his rival on fight night. ‘If he wants to bang, it’s better for me. I love to bang because that’s the fighter that I am,’ Ruiz Jr said.
‘We have to pressure, work the body, break him down. Especially his mentality. ‘We’ve got to see where he’s at because all the pressure is on him. ‘The pressure isn’t on me because I followed my dream, made my dreams come true. Of course I want more though – I want the legacy of Andy Ruiz
‘People haven’t seen me cut off the ring. I actually break them down even faster when they try to box me around.
‘We all have a plan until we get hit, like Mike Tyson would say. I’m pretty sure he will want to box me around. ‘One punch can change the fight. That’s what happened on June 1. It might be a little harder than the first time. I’ve got to show my skills, my talent.’
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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