Boxing
DOCTOR RECOMMENDS REVOLUTIONARY MOUTHGUARD FOR ANTHONY JOSHUA
Following the recent tragedies on boxing rings which is highlighted by four deaths, a professor of medicine, Mike Loosemore is spearheading development of the technology that can help stall fatal injuries.
According to Daily Mail, a chip inserted into a mouthguard to provide live analysis of blows to the head. The initiative has reportedly received the backing of the British Boxing Board of Control.
On that account, Anthony Joshua’sdoctor wants the
heavyweight to use the revolutionary new mouthguard that could help boxing’s
fight against fatal head injuries.
Professor Mike Loosemore, who is also GB Boxing’s chief medical officer, is spearheading development of the technology and hopes it could be introduced into Joshua’s camp after his upcoming rematch with Andy Ruiz Jnr.
Boxing has been rocked by four deaths in recent months. American Patrick Day passed away last week after suffering a brain injury, and Russian Maxim Dadashev, Argentina’s Hugo Santillan and Bulgaria’s Boris Stanchov have also all died since July from injuries sustained in the ring.
The latest tragedy came just weeks after Joshua’s trainer Rob McCracken claimed he knew the heavyweight was concussed in his defeat by Ruiz in June.
And Loosemore is advocating new technology which uses a chip inserted into a mouthguard to provide live analysis of blows to the head, sending the data to a nearby computer.
‘From a personal point of view, I’d like to get Anthony involved in using this,’ Loosemore said of the technology developed by Swansea-based company Sports & Wellbeing Analytics. ‘The product is what we’ve been looking for, really. We’ve been looking for something where we can measure the real impact on the head.
‘I could see it being used in boxers’ sparring. If they take some heavy shots, you could call the sparring off for the day or you could rest them up for a couple of days or a week, or until they’ve made a recovery. It would give us a better idea of the concussive blows the boxer was taking during sparring because at the moment we have really no idea.
‘We haven’t had those discussions with Anthony yet so I can’t say whether he’d be interested or not but I’d like to get him involved.’ From there, Loosemore hopes the technology — which has been trialled in rugby — could also be rolled out on fight night, providing coaches and ringside doctors with invaluable live insight into the health of each fighter.
‘You may be able to get to the point where you can say, ‘He’s had a certain impact, therefore it’s time to stop the fight’,’ Loosemore added. ‘It could change the dynamics of the way the fight was measured because you’d be able to tell if someone was taking a lot of heavy impacts or if they’d taken a very hard impact.’
Loosemore’s ambitions to introduce the technology have received the backing of the British Boxing Board of Control.
‘Anything that looks after boxers is good so we would be supportive of anything like that,’ BBBoC general secretary Robert Smith told Sportsmail. ‘Mike is a good man, I know him really, really well. We will be very supportive of anything he’s doing, absolutely.’
The technology is ready to use and the hope is that one day the mouthguards would be tailored to individual fighters and their own concussion threshold.
Daniel Dubois came back from two knockdowns to deal Fabio Wardley a brutal and bloody first defeat as a professional and take the WBO heavyweight title in a thunderous all-British clash on Saturday.
Referee Howard Foster finally stepped in at the start of the 11th round to signal the end of the fight, with Wardley bleeding heavily from the bridge of the nose and with his right eye almost closed.
Dubois rose twice from the canvas, including being dropped by a right hook in the first 10 seconds of the fight, to pulverise Wardley and become a world heavyweight champion for the second time in his career.
“It was a war. We came through the sticky moments. Thank you, Fabio, for that,” said Dubois, who was previously IBF champion after the belt was vacated by Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, with the Ukrainian winning it back in July 2025.
“What a great fight. What a great battle, man”.
The win was Dubois’s 23rd as a professional in 26 fights, while Wardley now has a 20-1-1 record.
Veteran promoter Frank Warren, who manages both men, said it was the best heavyweight fight he had ever put on and confirmed there was a rematch clause in the contract.
For some viewers, however, it was also an uncomfortable watch that could have been stopped earlier.
The 31-year-old Wardley, who was promoted to WBO champion last November after Usyk vacated the title, was making his first defence and showed immense heart as he took a tremendous beating yet refused to capitulate.
He had his opponent on the floor, a blow Dubois, 28, later dismissed as a ‘flash knockdown’, almost with the opening bell still sounding.
Dubois was back on one knee in round three but came close to a stoppage in the sixth with the reigning champion bleeding heavily and on the ropes.
The Londoner continued to land blow after blow on Wardley, who wobbled but refused to give up.
His corner inspected the facial wounds after the eighth, and doctors and the referee took a look in rounds nine and 10, but still the fight continued, with Wardley increasingly struggling to stay on his feet and fighting on instinct.
“You witnessed something special tonight,” Warren told the BBC. “Two men baring their hearts and souls in the ring gave everything, didn’t leave one bit outside the ring.
“They were getting hit with bombs that would take people out, and they stood it.”
-Reuters
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World heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has backed Anthony Joshua to defeat Tyson Fury in their long‑anticipated clash later this year and has been helping him with his game plan.
Usyk, who holds the IBF, WBA and WBC belts, has been working with former opponent Joshua in recent months and said he has been impressed by the Briton’s development.
He added that 36-year-old Joshua deserves to beat compatriot and fellow ex-champion Fury, 37, after changing his approach.
“Fury is an unbelievable fighter, and Fury is a very dangerous guy, but I look at how Anthony works and how he has changed,” Usyk told the BBC.
“I like Fury, he is my greedy belly’s best friend, he’s an amazing fighter, but I want Anthony to win – he deserves it.”
Joshua, a former two‑time world heavyweight champion, is scheduled to return to the ring against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on July 25. The bout will be his first since a car accident last December in which two close friends were killed.
Usyk said his recent work with Joshua has focused on technical and mental preparation.
“We speak about strategy, boxing skills and psychology. We speak about fights, our fights, and I say ‘champ, come on, don’t stop’,” he said.
The Ukrainian is set to defend his world titles against Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23 in Egypt.
-Reuters
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- Summary
- *Joshua to face Kristian Prenga in Riyadh after car accident hiatus
- *Fight marks start of Joshua’s multi-fight deal in Saudi Arabia, announced by Turki Alalshikh
- *Promoter Hearn says Joshua vs Fury is signed for later in the year
Former world heavyweight boxing champions Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have signed up for a long-awaited clash later this year, promoter Eddie Hearn said on Monday.
“Signed, sealed, delivered! AJ v Fury is on!,” Hearn posted on Instagram.
The announcement came after confirmation that Joshua will return to the ring against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on July 25 in the Briton’s first fight since he was in a car accident last December that killed two close friends.
U.S.-based Albanian Prenga, 35, is a former kickboxer with a ring record of 20 wins and one defeat since he turned professional in 2016.
The fight, billed as “The Comeback”, was announced by Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Alalshikh and will be broadcast live worldwide on DAZN.
Turki also posted on X a message “to my friends in Great Britain – it’s happening. It’s signed” while his Ring Magazine said the fight would happen in Q4 2026 on Netflix.
SIXTH-ROUND KNOCKOUT
Joshua, 36, has a record of 28 wins and four losses with his most recent fight a sixth-round knockout of American Jake Paul on December 19 in Miami.
“It’s no secret I’ve taken some time to consolidate and rebuild to be ready for stepping back into the ring, and today is the next step on that journey,” said Joshua.
“I’m delighted to have agreed a multi-fight deal starting with July 25th in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I’m looking forward to competing and picking up where I left off. The landlord will collect his rent. That is certain.”
Hearn told Sky Sports television he wanted a “tune-up bout” in July before facing Fury potentially in November.
“July and November are the two dates that have been presented to us now and we expect to move forward,” he said. “Fury has just had his tune-up fight with 12 really vital rounds to get him sharp for the next one and I expect us to do the same.”
Fury called for a showdown with Joshua after he outclassed Russia’s Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11.
“Next, I want to give you the fight you’ve all been waiting for. I want you AJ, Anthony Joshua, let’s give the fight fans what they want, the Battle of Britain,” he said then.
-Reuters
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