Boxing
FURY MAKES MASSIVE ANNOUNCEMENT ON HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE SHOWDOWN AGAINST JOSHUA IN SAUDI ARABIA ON AUG 14
Tyson Fury on Sunday (May 16) said his long-awaited world heavyweight title unification bout against Anthony Joshua would take place in Saudi Arabia on Aug 14.
“Massive announcement FURY VS JOSHUA IS ON AUGUST 14 in The kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The worlds (sic) biggest sporting event all eyes on us,” Fury tweeted.
Between them, the two British boxers hold all four major versions of the heavyweight title.
Saudi Arabia staged the 31-year old Joshua’s rematch against Andy Ruiz, when he regained his World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organisation titles in December 2019, putting him on a collision course with Fury, who became the World Boxing Council champion shortly afterwards.
In a video posted to Twitter, Fury said: “I have got some massive news. I have just got off the phone with Prince Khalid of Saudi Arabia and he told me this fight is 100 per cent on, Aug 14.”
Fury, a year older than Joshua, added: “All eyes of the world will be on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“I cannot wait, I repeat, cannot wait to smash Anthony Joshua on the biggest stage of all time.
“This is going to be the biggest sporting event ever to grace the planet Earth. Do not miss it.”
What is widely expected to be the richest fight in British boxing history started to loom into view when Fury stopped Deontay Wilder to win the WBC title in February last year after Joshua had avenged the only loss of his professional career by defeating Ruiz.
Joshua retained his three belts in December with a ninth-round knockout of mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev.
Meanwhile a third fight between Fury and Wilder has failed to take place, meaning the “lineal champion” has been inactive in more than 12 months since stopping Wilder in Las Vegas.
Fury’s co-promoter Bob Arum recently said a fight in July or August was “dead in the water”.
But earlier this week, Eddie Hearn, who promotes Joshua, said the two camps were close to securing a date as well as a venue.
“Aug 7, Aug 14,” Hearn told Sky Sports when asked about a date for Joshua-Fury. “It’s a very bad secret that the fight is happening in Saudi Arabia. I don’t mind giving that information, Bob Arum’s already done it.”
Hearn added: “It’s the same people we did the deal with for Andy Ruiz, that event was spectacular. As partners, they were fantastic as well, so we’re very comfortable.
“We’re very comfortable. Anthony’s comfortable, he knows those people. They delivered on every one of their promises last time – we’re ready to go.”
Hearn indicated then that Aug 14 was the more likely date so as to avoid a clash with the Olympics, which are scheduled to finish six days earlier provided the coronavirus pandemic does not force a change or even scupper the already delayed Tokyo Games completely.
Joshua warned on Twitter on Monday he was “tired” of waiting around for Fury and demanded “less talk, more action” from his rival.
That in turn led Fury to tell Joshua: “Come get some then you big ugly Dosser???? YOUR (sic) NO TALK NO ACTION.”
-AFP
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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