Boxing
PULEV CLAIMS ANTHONY JOSHUA IS AFRAID OF HIM
Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev, the mandatory challenger to the IBF heavyweight title that Anthony Joshua is holding has accused the British-Nigerian of being scared of him. The IBF title is one of the four heavyweight titles that Joshua is holding.
Fellow Briton, Tyson Luke Fury, holds the fifth heavyweight title organized by WBC. Joshua was originally given a 20 June date to mandatorily defend his IBF title against Pulev, but the fight has been called off owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
But The Sun of Britain has reported that there have been rumours that Joshua and his Matchroom tean are hoping Pulev steps aside so their man can face Fury in an undisputed heavyweight clash.
But Pulev is adamant he is going no where and he is furious that a date has not been set in stone for the title fight.
Speaking about the idea of letting Fury in, the 39-year-old said: “I wouldn’t accept it.
“I did it once when I didn’t have to do it for him (Joshua) to have his second match against Ruiz Jr.
“Everything was against IBF’s rules, but I compromised.
“I see how people are afraid of me and are trying to face someone else before me.
“Thats not how a real world champion should act.
“Even Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield are coming back to the game to show that they are real warriors, not like him.”
PULEV FUMES WITH DELAY
Joshua, 30, defeated Andy Ruiz Jr in a December rematch in Saudi Arabia to win back his IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO titles.
Six months earlier he had lost them when the Mexican delivered one of boxing’s biggest ever shocks with a seventh-round KO win.
Now Pulev is ready to spring his own surprise – and he wants to get the date and venue sorted.
He added: “Enough is enough.
“I cant understand why we are still postponing instead of fixing a date and venue and getting to work? I cant wait to win this fight.
“A year has passed, and they always have a reason to postpone, not to fight against me.
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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