Boxing
PROMOTER WANTS ANTHONY JOSHUA TO VACATE WORLD TITLES
Boxing promoter, Frank Warren has advised Anthony Joshua to give up his four world heavyweight title belts and wait to face the winner of either Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder.
Undefeated heavyweight rivals Wilder and Fury have confirmed they will meet again on February 22 at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, in a repeat of their thrilling draw back in 2018.
Joshua regained his WBA, IBF and WBO belts from Andy Ruiz Jr on December 7, 2019.
He now faces a mandatory defence of his IBF title against Kubrat Pulev from Bulgaria, which could possibly be staged in March.
But Warren believes Joshua is so vulnerable to another shock defeat against a lesser opponent that he is better off staying out of the ring until he can fight the winner of Fury vs Wilder, and finally prove once and for all who is the number one heavyweight in boxing.
Speaking on Monday’s Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, Fury’s promoter said: “Joshua did tremendously well to get his titles back after losing them in such bad fashion, he came back and did what he had to do.
“But he did it against a guy who didn’t even train!
“If I was him, I’d be looking for that big mega fight, let’s find out who is the number one in the world.
“I would love to see the winner of Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder in with Anthony Joshua.
“If I was AJ I would sit tight, let them fight and then fight the winner.
“That’s what I’d do. Get everybody around the table, get rid of all their obligations, their mandatories and their rematch clauses and make the fight the fans want to see.
“We’ve all got an opinion who is number one, but let’s see who is the number one, let’s find out, let’s get the real deal done.
“I’m not interested in Joshua sparring with Tyson as he volunteered to do, I’m interested in him getting in the ring with Tyson.
“That’s what matters. That’s where it counts.”
Speaking recently about his future plans, Joshua talked about the possibility of having to vacate one of his titles, and revealed just how many fights he has left in his career.
He told Sky Sports: “14 or 15 – that would take me to 35, 40 fights maybe
“I would hate it [to vacate one of his titles] because it’s so hard to go round and collect all these belts, it’s really difficult and I’ve kept hold of them for so many years.
“So to have to vacate because of the boxing politics would be annoying, but there’s things that are out of my control.
“If I do lose one, I know I’ll be able to get it back.”
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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