Boxing
ANTHONY JOSHUA VS TYSON FURY UNIFICATION FIGHT BECOMING REAL
A blockbuster showdown between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury appears to be nudging closer to reality after talks between the two heavyweight’s management companies officially began, reports Daily Mail of UK.
The boxing world is desperate to see the two British stars face off in the ring, following Fury’s dismantling of Deontay Wilder in February.
Both men have expressed a desire to do battle, and now Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has admitted the first steps have been made to secure a mega-fight to be arranged in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
‘We’re talking to MTK about where that fight would take place,’ Hearn revealed to ESPN. ‘At the moment, the main focus for everybody [is] the contractual situations.
‘The conversations between myself and MTK are that we’ve had the approach.
‘We’ve had a number of approaches from territories to stage that fight. So the only discussions at the moment are where this fight takes place – and we don’t even know when this fight could take place,’ he added.
Hearn has conceded, however, that a lucrative fight between the pair would be more likely to gather pace quicker next year, given that boxing expects to be short on finances after taking a hit from coronavirus.
‘We’re certainly open to have discussions about the possibility of this happening this year or in the next fight,’ he added.
‘There’s more chance at the moment that the bigger money could come next year because we don’t even know if we can do live crowds in November, December.’
It is understood that mandatory challengers Kubrat Pulev and Wilder, who are set to face Joshua and Fury respectively next, remain unwilling to give up their fights despite the mass disruption to the boxing calendar.
Pulev was pencilled in to take on Joshua at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 25 before the pandemic struck, yet no fresh date has since been arranged.
Likewise, Wilder wasted no time in activating his rematch clause to set up a trilogy clash with Fury, though their agreed October 3 meeting now looks set to be put back considerably.
As revealed by Sportsmail on Saturday, boxing expects to be given the go-ahead, probably as soon as next week, to resume behind closed doors in late June or early July.
Frank Warren is in discussion with government and the British Boxing Board of Control for fights to take place in a TV studio or a purpose built temporary facility.
Britain’s longest-standing promoter revealed: ‘We are ready to get boxing moving again and I believe we will be given the green light in the next few days for shows under agreed health controls in a TV studio or a purpose built temporary facility.’
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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