Boxing
‘BOXERS NEED TO EAT’: CONTROVERSIAL BOUT HELD AS FIGHTERS ARE SPRAYED WITH DISINFECTANT
Boxing continued in a surprise location on Saturday night with Nicaragua hosting a controversial event that saw fighters sprayed with disinfectant and ring girls donning face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic.
With the world pretty much devoid of sports events because of the spread of the deadly disease, an eight-fight card was televised in front of a live, though sparse audience in Managua.
Promoter Rosendo Alvarez, a former two-time world champion, had dismissed the threat of the virus, insisting that the need for fighters to provide for their families outweighed the implications of spreading the disease.
‘Here we don’t fear the coronavirus, and there is no quarantine. The three deaths (reported so far by the Ministry of Health) came from outside and nobody within the country has been contaminated,’ Alvarez, known as ‘El Bufalo,’ said before the event.
‘Nicaragua is a poor country and the boxers have to eat. They can’t stay shut up in their house,’ he added.
Alvarez’s offer of free tickets appeared to fill only about a tenth of the 8,000 seats in the Alexis Argoello gym. Officials did not announce attendance figures.
The fights, which included four six-round bouts and an eight-round main event between lightweight rivals Ramiro Blanco and Robin Zamora were broadcast by Nicaragua’s state-owned Canal 6 and ESPN Latin America through its ESPN KnockOut program.
Nicaraguan boxing sensation Roman Gonzalez was in attendance for the event, having defeated Britian’s Kal Yafai earlier this year to clinch the WBA super flyweight title.
The government insists Nicaragua has been barely touched by COVID-19. The Ministry of Health reports only 11 positive cases and the three deaths. Meanwhile, in neighbouring or nearby countries the regional Central American Integration System has reported roughly 13,000 cases and about 500 deaths.
The Nicaraguan baseball and football leagues are still playing, and Saturday’s local sports pages included stories on a triathlon and school wrestling tournaments. President Daniel Ortega recently ordered 1.8 million students back to school and 170,000 state employees back to work following a 15-day vacation.
This month alone, the government Tourism Institute promoted at least 81 mass events, including carnivals and parades. The government’s approach has prompted expressions of concern from the Pan American Health Organization and alarmed local experts.
‘Popular celebrations, massive funerals, marches and similar activities increase the risk of multiple simultaneous outbreaks in the whole country,’ warned epidemiologist Alvaro Ramirez. ‘I still don’t understand what the government is betting on.’
Alvarez said his organization was taking protective measures at the bouts. Spectators were told to stay at least 2 meters (6 1/2 feet) from the ring, and medics checked temperatures when they entered. Face masks were required.
Boxers also had to have ‘a rigorous medical checkup,’ he said. But he said there were no tests for the coronavirus, because ‘none of them have symptoms nor have they gotten sick in training.’
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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