Boxing
DESPITE CONTACT WITH CORONAVIRUS VICTIM, PRINCE CHARLES, ANTHONY JOSHUA SAYS HE’S OKAY
Two time world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua has said that he remains ‘fit and healthy’ despite coming into contact with Prince Charles only a couple of weeks before the heir to the throne tested positive for coronavirus.
The world heavyweight champion is following government guidelines around self-isolation but has shown no symptoms of the deadly disease, which threatens to derail his upcoming fight with Kubrat Pulev.
On Wednesday, Prince Charles became the most high-profile member of the British establishment to contract coronavirus, with Clarence House announcing that the 71-year-old had been showing mild symptoms ‘but otherwise remains in good health’.
It remains unclear when he caught the illness but on March 9, Prince Charles spent the day with the Queen, prime minister Boris Johnson and stars of sport and entertainment – including Joshua – at the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.
An official spokesman said: ‘AJ is at home following government guidlines, he is fit and well. He wishes everyone affected a speedy recovery and a huge thank you to all the front line key workers.’
Joshua is due to defend his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles against mandatory challenger Pulev at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 20.
Amid the nationwide lockdown, he is keeping busy at home to remain in shape but with upcoming fights being shelved across the board, AJ’s hopes of meeting fellow Briton Tyson Fury for the undisputed crown face being pushed back to 2021 at the earliest.
It remains unclear when he caught the illness but on March 9, Prince Charles spent the day with the Queen, prime minister Boris Johnson and stars of sport and entertainment – including Joshua – at the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.
An official spokesman said: ‘AJ is at home following government guidlines, he is fit and well. He wishes everyone affected a speedy recovery and a huge thank you to all the front line key workers.’
Joshua is due to defend his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles against mandatory challenger Pulev at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 20.
Amid the nationwide lockdown, he is keeping busy at home to remain in shape but with upcoming fights being shelved across the board, AJ’s hopes of meeting fellow Briton Tyson Fury for the undisputed crown face being pushed back to 2021 at the earliest.
The British Boxing Board of Control have already cancelled every show under their jurisdiction until the end of April and a decision will be made next week over the fate of Joshua vs Pulev, with a postponement expected.
As Sportsmail reported, a contingency date of July 25 has been pencilled in and provisionally agreed between Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn and Tottenham, though it remains to be seen if even that option would be possible.
With the Premier League yet to be concluded and no firm plan for its remaining games announced, Tottenham could need their stadium for either of those dates, even if the pandemic has been brought under control.
Hearn is expecting to make a call on the June 20 slot by the end of next week, with Joshua aiming to fight twice this year.
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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