Boxing
ANTHONY JOSHUA RETURNS TO GYM FOR MANDATORY TITLE DEFENCES
Two-time world heavyweight boxing champion,Anthony Joshua, has cut short the expected vacation from his profession after his last Saturday victory over Andy Ruiz Jr.
Barely 12 hours after his victory, the WBO, one of the four belts he is holding, announced through its president, Paco Valcárcel, announced that Joshua has within 180 days to defend his title.
That means he must fight on or before May 30, 2020. The boxer that WBO is putting forward is Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk who is the famous ‘Pound-for-Pound’ star.
He was reportedly at the ringside at Diriyah Arena last Saturday when Anthony Joshua fought Andy Ruiz Jr.
Joshua has resumed training less than a week after regaining his titles and he is aware of a possible loaded schedule in 2020, which could entailmega bouts against Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder.
According to Daily Mail of UK, the Nigerian born British boxer has been seen putting in the hard yards at the gym only four days after his victory in Saudi Arabia, before tucking into a calorie-heavy meal after a tough workout.
The Olympic champion’s strength and conditioning coach, Sina Ghami, posted to his Instagram footage of AJ performing shoulder rolls on Wednesday night, while other members of his entourage hit the weights.
The rigorous gym session was shortly followed by a big meal for the team, with meat, salad and pasta on the menu for the heavyweight champion.
Joshua opted to cut down on the carbs before his rematch with Ruiz Jr, in a bid to come in lighter and better conditioned to last the full 12 rounds against the Mexican.
And his plan worked a treat. AJ was elusive and boxed smartly for the full 12 rounds to leave The Destroyer chasing shadows and losing his grip on the heavyweight crown.
Joshua has since been ordered to face his mandatory challengers by the WBO and IBF. Oleksandr Usyk and Kubrat Pulev are therefore in pole position to secure a shot at AJ next Spring.
However, in between his next high profile bout, the boxer is expected to visit Nigeria again, this time to present the world title belts he regained last Saturday to President Muhammad Buhari in Abuja next year.
There are also plans to ensure that the boxer will stage one of his future bouts in Nigeria to become the second time a World Heavyweight boxing title bout is staged on the continent of Africa after the 1974 ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ in Congo Democratic Republic then Zaire when Legendary Muhammed Ali regained his title from Goerge Foreman.
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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