Boxing
EDDIE HEARN PLOTS ANTHONY JOSHUA/KUBRAT PULEV MEGA FIGHT FOR DECEMBER
Eddie Hearn is splashing more than £5million on his open-air but closed-doors Fight Camp but his superstar Anthony Joshua will now have to wait until December for his return to the ring against Kubrat Pulev.
So massively higher are the pay scales for truly elite boxers that while even Dillian Whyte will appear in next month’s last of Hearn’s four fan-less promotions in his (very large) back garden, even a discounted purse for Joshua cannot be met short of a crowded 02 Arena.
Whyte is taking a wage cut for his world heavyweight championship eliminator against Alexander Povetkin at the end of August to accommodate the loss of a potential £1million in gate revenue.
But for Joshua to come even close to his usual eight-figure pay night will require at least a £5million live attendance.
Since crowd sizes for boxing are not expected to be raised by the government to 50 per cent capacity until mid-winter, Joshua’s defence of his world heavyweight titles has now been pushed back from October to December 5 or 12.
By then he will have been out of action for a full year, since he regained those belts in his Saudi rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr.
Hearn explains: ‘I’ve just spoken to Josh and although he’s champing at the bit to fight again he gets it.
‘The most we could hope for in October or November is a crowd of about 2,000. We can’t even rely on going somewhere abroad like Saudi for a big site fee because every country has a coronavirus problem.
‘One upside of December is that Fury will be having his trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder six days before Christmas so both events will spice things up for a fight between Tyson and AJ next year….as long as they both win. ‘
Meanwhile Hearn is investing in helping to bring boxing back before the TV public.
The garden setting for a ring beneath a Wembley-size canopy is hilltop in Essex with dramatic views over London.
Hearn’s outlay includes more than £1million on isolated accommodation and meals at a nearby hotel for all involved.
‘It’s worth us blowing a few quid,’ says Hearn, ‘because it looks spectacular and that’s good for us during this time out.
‘It also gives work and good exposure to some of our other fighters, which they need even it means them taking a bit of a purse reduction.’
That includes Sam Eggington, who kicks off the Fight Camp series this Friday night with a defence of his IBF international super/welterweight title against Ted Cheeseman.
The customary raft of pandemic protocols will be in place.
Hearn is also using his time in the sanitised bubble to push for major world title fights abroad for other stars.
He had made an offer for Hull’s golden Olympian Luke Campbell to make a third world lightweight title bid, against Mexican/American sensation Ryan Garcia.
Hearn remains hopeful that Callum Smith – and if not John Ryder – will be granted the choicest plum. A super-fight against Mexican legend Canelo Alvarez.
But although he says that ‘Canelo wants Callum’s super-middleweight belts’ he expects any fight for Alvarez to also be delayed, from September to later in the 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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