Boxing
BRITISH DAILY MAIL’S ANALYSTS TIP TYSON FURY TO DETHRONE ANTHONY JOSHUA
Both Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have signed financial contract that will see the two in world heavyweight unification clash next year.
In the analysis and interviews with experts conducted by Daily Mail of UK, the clash would most likely see Anthony Joshua losing his four titles while Tyson Fury, holder of one title would be holding all the five as an undisputed world champion.
Joshua is headlined as a boxer with explosive power while Fury is believed to posses boxing IQ and stamina.
Joshua, 30, holds the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight belts, while Fury, 31, is the WBC champion. Finally, we will know who is the undisputed world heavyweight champ.
The Daily Mail experts predict thus:
- Jeff Powell, Daily Mail Boxing Correspondent
“Another passing year or more may weary them and alter the perception. For example if they fought this weekend Tyson Fury would bury an Anthony Joshua with a busted knee. And who knows where Fury’s head will be some time next year.
“But if both are in perfect nick do not expect a knock out. Fury will not be able to bully AJ the way he did the smaller Deontay Wilder in their second fight and Joshua has now adopted a safety first box and dodge strategy similar to the evasive athletic mobility to which the Gypsy King will probably revert.
A draw is not out of the equation but at the moment a split decision in favour of Fury looks more likely.
VERDICT: Fury by split decision
- Ricky Hatton, former light-welterweight world champion
“It will be a very close fight. We are very fortunate to see Tyson at close quarters in my gym and I think he is on a different level.
“I think with his boxing IQ, he can fight on the inside as he did in his last fight or he can box from a distance. He has got movement, the hand speed, the jab, the defence and I think his last fight showed he has got the talent.
“I think he has too much in his Arsenal for AJ. Yes, AJ has the punching power to hurt him and knock him out but whether he gets him is another thing. If you are asking me where my money is going, I’d have to say Tyson Fury.”
VERDICT: Fury
- Lee Selby, Welsh featherweight boxer
“I like both guys and I think it’s a real 50-50 fight. Anthony Joshua has the power and the explosiveness to end the fight at any moment and Tyson Fury has the stamina and the boxing brain and the hand speed.
“I think it’s a real 50-50 fight and I wouldn’t be surprised if either man won by either way. If Tyson Fury won by a stoppage or points or if Joshua won by a stoppage or points too. I think it’s a genuine 50-50, whoever turns up on the night and performs to the best of their ability wins the fight.
VERDICT: Anyone’s guess
- Riath Al-Samarrai, Daily Mail Chief Sports Feature Writer
“It’s tricky and that is why it’s brilliant. My instinct for years had been that Joshua would stop Fury, owing to the lack of deterrent for Joshua in coming forward and getting his shots off.
“But the recent fights from each man has dropped that theory on its backside. Fury, in two fights with Deontay Wilder, showed he has the punch resistance and the power to beat anyone, not to mention a style and range unlike any other active fighter.
“Joshua has the power to hurt and drop Fury but after watching his fights against Andy Ruiz, I worry about his chin and, more fundamentally, whether he has the movement and nouse to get close enough.
“I can see Joshua winning with a stoppage but I feel Fury on points in a scrappy fight is more likely.”
VERDICT: Fury on points
- Matthew Macklin, British-Irish former middleweight boxer
“I think Fury wins on points. I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion, I know a lot of people are really favouring Fury now because of his great win over Wilder and with AJ, the Ruiz loss took the shine off him a little bit.
“I think it’s a great fight. Joshua is definitely a better fighter than Wilder all-round, he is much better on the inside and up close.
“But I think Fury is the man in the heavyweight division, his smartness, his jab, his mobility and his all-round general boxing IQ, I definitely think that Fury is the favourite and I would pick him to win on points.
VERDICT: Fury on points
- Daniel Matthews, Daily Mail sports reporter
“On paper, it would appear Tyson Fury holds most of the cards. He has the advantage in height, weight, reach and in movement. He is the slicker boxer, with better punch variety and defensive foundations.
“AJ possesses neither the one-punch power of Deontay Wilder, nor the world’s sturdiest chin. He does, though, have excellent fundamentals and a sponge-like mind. His improvement over a decade in the sport has been remarkable.
“AJ hits hard, boasts great tacticians in his corner, and has exceptional mental strength. Only a special athlete could climb off the canvas and exact immediate revenge against Andy Ruiz. Only a fool would write him off.
“The mind could be Fury’s undoing. His reliance on reflexes requires immense concentration and he has lapsed before.
“But the most intriguing aspect of this match-up is that both are still improving. Few thought Fury would break with his jittery, defensive brilliance to dismantle Wilder so savagely.
“Few thought AJ would be able to box with such discipline to win back his titles in the desert. Who knows how another 12 months and another fight could alter the heavyweight landscape?
“As it stands, though, you’d have to side with Fury, most likely on points.
VERDICT: Fury on points
- Charlie Edwards, British flyweight boxer
“Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua will be a great fight. It will be a close and 50-50 fight.
“If it goes early and AJ starts fast, maybe he can get him out of there. I also believe Fury could out-box him and get him out there late.
“It’s a really good match-up, I am edging more towards Fury off the back of his last performances. I’m really looking forward to seeing it happen.
VERDICT: Fury
Jordan Seward, MailOnline sports reporter
“I’ve always fancied Tyson Fury in this fight. He is the more talented fighter in my book and he’ll have height, reach and speed advantage over Joshua.
“I liked how AJ performed at a leaner weight for his last fight against Andy Ruiz Jnr. He showed his experience and proved that he is adaptable and has the discipline to stick to, and execute a game plan.
“Joshua’s coach Rob McCracken is a great strategist and will already have an idea of how Joshua goes about winning this fight. I just can’t see it happening though.
“Fury has too much skill, depth and know-how. Although Fury is naturally more of a boxer than a puncher, I’ve always felt that he hits a lot harder than perceived and he showed it against Deontay Wilder that when he sits down on his shots, he can do some real damage.
“I could envision him hurting Joshua and potentially stopping him in the mid to late rounds or claiming a fairly wide points decision.
VERDICT: Fury on points
Boxing
Fury furiously vows to go ‘destroy mode’ in rematch with Usyk
Briton Tyson Fury said he will throw caution to the wind when he faces heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and aim for a knockout victory in their rematch.
In their first bout in May, Fury hit his stride in the fourth round and engaged in some showmanship as he caught Usyk with vicious body shots, but the Ukrainian battled back and turned the tide in the eighth round.
Usyk’s powerful punches to the head left Fury reeling and the previously undefeated boxer struggled through the final rounds of the fight before losing by split decision and relinquishing his WBC heavyweight championship.
The rematch will take place on Dec. 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the WBC, WBO and WBA titles on the line.
“I’m going to go in there with destroy mode. Last time I went to box him, I was being cautious. I boxed the head right off him,” Fury told TNT Sports on Saturday.
“Let’s talk facts. Anyone can get caught, as we’ve seen in a lot of these heavyweight fights, but this time I’m not going for a points decision.”
Fury added that he is still keen on facing fellow Briton Anthony Joshua, despite the former champion’s knockout defeat at the hands of Daniel Dubois in an IBF title fight last month.
Joshua and Fury had been set to face off in a proposed ‘Battle of Britain’ bout in 2022, but the fight fell through.
“At the end of the day, it would be a travesty if we didn’t fight,” Fury said.
“No matter if he loses 20 more fights. If he doesn’t win another fight and has 10 years away from the game, it doesn’t matter, we have to fight.”
-Reuters
Boxing
Anthony Joshua addresses retirement talk
After Saturday’s night defeat to Daniel Dubois, Anthony Joshua’s boxing career looked heading to an end as the former two-time world champion was knocked out in the fifth round of their heavyweight bout at Wembley Stadium.
But a determined Joshua has said that he would not quit easily. He has played down any talk of retirement following his defeat.
His defeat ended any immediate hope of becoming a three-time world champion. A British-record crowd of over 96,000 people saw Dubois retain his IBF World Heavyweight title with a victory that shocked the boxing world
The 27-year-old put in a dominant performance, flooring Anthony Joshua in the first round with a strong overhand right that he never truly recovered from.
Despite coming forward in the fifth round with a big straight right-hand, Dubois countered with devastating knockout blow.
“Always walk with your head high, we rolled the dice, for the third time, 13 world title fights, not every one has been successful, but they’ve all been fun and entertaining,” Joshua was quoted by Independent as saying.
He was talking about his future. “You’re probably asking if I still want to consider fighting? Of course I want to continue fighting.
“We took a shot at success and we came up short. What does that mean now? That we’re going to run away? We’re going to live to fight another day. And that’s what I am – I’m a warrior.
“There were a few mistakes in there but that’s the name of the game. Fine margins will cost you at the top level.
“Also before I finish, we have to give credit our opponent Daniel. When I sign up to fight opponents, I don’t really like them in my head any more. But now that it’s done, I take my hat off to him and say well done.”
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn, according to Manchester Evening News, admitted this was the first time he’d seen the former two-time world champion hurt during their 11-years working together.
“It’s probably the only time in his whole career I’ve seen him really hurt, it’s not bad, having won two world championships and 13 world title fights, to the point he couldn’t get up,” Hearn added.
“It’s the first time in his career that he’s been properly hurt, you never want to carry on too long, but AJ doesn’t have many miles on the clock. When Ben comes to me and says, ‘he doesn’t look the same fighter any more’, and AJ will make that decision.
“We’ve seen the best AJ over the last year, it’s difficult to say that’s it. These are the closing chapters of his career. We have another fight with RS, Dubois is part of that plan. So too is Tyson Fury or another heavyweight. 2025 is going to be an interesting year for Joshua, against whoever, you’ll be entertained.
“Our interests are that he leaves this sport with legacy, money and his health in tact, knocked out like that you have to look at that. That was just a shot, trading with a huge right hand, it doesn’t matter who you are, you’re getting knocked out.”
Boxing
How dynamite Daniel Dubois demolished Anthony Joshua to retain IBF heavyweight belt
Britain’s Daniel Dubois destroyed Anthony Joshua’s dream of becoming a three times heavyweight world champion with a fifth-round knockout to retain his IBF belt at a packed Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Dubois dropped his compatriot to the canvas in the opening round with a stinging right, the referee delivering a standing eight count, and the 27-year-old proceeded to tear up the pre-fight predictions as swiftly as he ripped into his opponent.
Joshua, 34, took another hammering in round two but managed to ride out the storm before round three came crashing down around him again.
With Dubois landing more fizzing right-handers, Joshua was literally on the ropes before being saved by the bell.
He could barely stand at the end of the fourth, after going down again with two minutes remaining, and then it was all over in the fifth with the painstaking rebuilding of his career suddenly in ruins.
After landing a few promising blows, any signs of a fightback faded with a right to the chin that sent Joshua down, the former IBF, WBA and IBO champion this time unable to get back on his feet.
“I’ve only got a few words to say: Are you not entertained?,” declared Dubois after the biggest win, and first at Wembley, of a 24-fight career with two defeats.
“I’m a gladiator, I’m a warrior to the bitter end. I want to get to the top level of this game and reach my full potential.
“I’ve been on a rollercoaster ride. This is my time, this is my redemption story, and I’m not going to stop until I reach my full potential.”
RECORD CROWD
Organisers said a British post-World War Two record of 96,000 spectators attended the Saudi-funded fight at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Among them were Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, singing three songs on his 52nd birthday ahead of a reunion next year, and Ukraine’s WBC, WBA and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk has beaten both Joshua and Dubois already and will fight Britain’s Tyson Fury, also present, in a rematch in Saudi Arabia in December.
Joshua might have hoped to have a crack at the winner of that fight but instead faces an uncertain future with Dubois sending a seismic ripple through the familiar heavyweight landscape.
Dubois said he hoped for another shot at Usyk, who beat him in nine rounds in Wroclaw, Poland, last year.
Usyk previously held the IBF belt but vacated it for the Fury rematch, with Dubois the interim holder and upgraded to world champion in June.
“Credit to him and his team. We rolled the dice of success, but we came up short,” said Joshua after his 13th world heavyweight title fight left him with a record of four defeats from 32 bouts.
He had first won the IBF belt in 2016 from Charles Martin at London’s O2 Arena. Joshua then lost it to Andy Ruiz in 2019 but won it back later that year. Usyk then took it from him in 2021.
“We keep rolling the dice. I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent and a lot of mistakes from my end, but that’s the game.”
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said he expected to exercise a rematch clause.
“It’s a dangerous fight because he’s growing in confidence all the time but he’ll believe he can beat him,” he said.
-Reuters
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