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
U.S. immigration authorities have arrested Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in Los Angeles and plan to deport him, they said on Thursday, just days after he lost a high-profile bout to American rival Jake Paul.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Chavez was determined to be in the country illegally last week after he made fraudulent statements on a 2024 application for permanent residence. He is married to a U.S. citizen, it said.
Michael Goldstein, a lawyer for Chavez, said more than two dozen immigration agents arrested the boxer at his home in the Studio City area of Los Angeles on Wednesday.
“The current allegations are outrageous and appear to be designed as a headline to terrorize the community,” Goldstein said.
Homeland Security said that the 39-year-old boxer, son of Mexican world champion fighter Julio Cesar Chavez, is suspected of ties to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, which Washington has designated a foreign terrorist organization.
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. speaks at press conference in anticipation of his fight against Jake Paul at Avalon Hollywood Theater. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images/File Photo
His wife, Frida Munoz Chavez, was previously married to the son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison. The son, Edgar, was assassinated in 2008.
Chavez is the target of a Mexican arrest warrant on allegations of involvement in organized crime and firearms trafficking, DHS said.
In Mexico, Chavez’ family said in a statement they “fully trust in his innocence.”
Chavez lost to influencer-turned-boxer Paul, 28, last weekend before a sold-out crowd in Anaheim, California, in a unanimous decision after 10 rounds.
He was allowed to enter the United States temporarily in early January under former President Joe Biden, DHS said. He had previously overstayed a tourist visa, it said.
The agency said Chavez was convicted in Los Angeles in 2024 on weapons charges. Goldstein denied he was convicted, saying he pleaded not guilty and was granted mental health diversion which will result in dismissal of the charges.
Chavez won the WBC middleweight championship in 2011, but lost the title the next year.
His career has been overshadowed by controversies including a suspension after testing positive for a banned substance in 2009 and a fine and suspension after testing positive for marijuana in 2013.
His record stands at 54 wins, six losses and one draw, with 34 knockouts.
Reporting by Brendan O’Brien and Bhargav Acharya, Lizbeth Diaz, Angelica Medina, Diego Ore and Kylie Madry in Mexico City, Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Berkrot
-Reuters
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Manny Pacquiao will come out of retirement to face Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight championship on July 19 in Las Vegas, the 46-year-old Filipino boxer said on Wednesday.
Pacquiao is the only boxer to win world championships in a record eight weight divisions while he was also the oldest welterweight world champion in history at the age of 40 in 2019.
A Filipino senator from 2016 to 2022, Pacquiao had retired from boxing in 2021 while he also ran for president in 2022.
“I’m back. On July 19, I return to the ring to face WBC Welterweight Champion Mario Barrios at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Let’s make history,” Pacquiao wrote on Instagram.
The southpaw, who has 62 wins, eight losses and two draws in a 72-fight career, was also elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025.
Barrios, a Mexican-American boxer, has 29 wins in 32 bouts, winning 18 by knockout and losing twice.
-Reuters
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The body of Segun Olanrewaju, the Nigerian boxer who slumped and died in the ring in Ghana on Saturday is still in a mortuary in Ghana. The President of the Nigerian Boxing Board of Control (NBB of C), Dr Rafiu Oladipo, informed Sports Village Square that an autopsy will be conducted on Wednesday.
He said that the NBB of C is closely monitoring the events in Ghana, even as the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade has asked for updates on the sad incident.
On Monday, a delegation of the NBB of C visited the family of the late boxer in Sango Otta in Ogun State. Oladipo said he was still in shock at the death of the boxer who he considered fit having fought last December 29.
He revealed that one of the members of the Nigerian delegation to Ghana stayed behind to follow up on the autopsy.
He narrated that the late boxer took part on Thursday in the mandatory weigh-in which is normally conducted 24 hours before a fight. Additionally, a medical check-up is also to be conducted.
“But in this instance, there was no medical check. On this ground, Oladipo blamed the Ghana Boxing Authority.
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