Boxing
ANTHONY JOSHUA’S BOUT WITH TYSON FURY IN SAUDI ARABIA NOW DOUBTFUL
Tyson Fury has been ordered to fight Deontay Wilder for a third time, casting doubt over a proposed August super bout with Anthony Joshua.
Fury, 32, won the WBC world heavyweight title from Wilder in a rematch in February 2020 after an initial draw.
The pair were due to fight again but delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic prompted Fury to seek an alternative.
On Monday a US judge ruled in mediation that Wilder has a right to face Fury for a third time before 15 September.
The American’s team had long argued their fighter had a contractual right to a third fight with Fury.
But after delays caused by the pandemic led to a July 2020 contest being postponed, Wilder’s team sought to move the bout to 2021.
Fury refused the 2021 date and said he would move on. That prompted mediation overseen by American judge Daniel Weinstein, who has now sided with Wilder and set a 15 September deadline for a third contest.
“Until we can reach an accommodation with Deontay Wilder’s people, I can’t say that [Fury’s fight with Joshua] will definitely happen,” Fury’s promoter Frank Warren told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.
“But we are working hard to get that over the line. We were talking last night and hopefully we can do that. If not then Tyson, if he wishes, will go to the fight with Wilder. They’re the only two options.”
Fury’s US promoters Top Rank did not wish to comment on the development when contacted by BBC Sport.
Just 24 hours before Monday’s arbitration hearing, Fury confirmed he had agreed to fight fellow Briton Joshua – holder of the IBF, WBA and WBO belts – for all four heavyweight world titles in Saudi Arabia on 14 August.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has also said several times that the August bout was in place, with terms agreed.
The mediation outcome does not necessarily mean a Fury-Joshua fight cannot take place in August but fresh deals will now need to be struck for it to do so.
That could mean Wilder being offered money to allow Fury-Joshua to take place.
“It’ll cost quite a bit of money. He will want as much as possible so I think it’ll be about the negotiation if we go down that road,” said Warren.
Saudi authorities are reportedly putting forward around £106m just to stage the Fury-Joshua contest.
Pay-per-view sales and ticket sales will serve to substantially add to the total revenue of the contest.
If it goes ahead, Joshua versus Fury will be the first bout in heavyweight history where all four world titles are on the line.
Just 24 hours after Fury said he had been in conversation with Saudi organisers and agreed to seal the deal, this Wilder news will come as a blow.
How big of a blow is not yet clear.
With so much money to be made from Joshua v Fury, one would think a deal will be struck with Wilder whereby he steps aside and perhaps even gets told he can face the winner in 2022.
It may suit him to do so given he can pocket a sizeable sum and prepare against an opponent of his choosing short-term – he has been out of the ring for 15 months.
There were already countless moving parts to a Joshua-Fury deal, with three promoters, several broadcasters, four sanctioning bodies and a host venue all needing to co-operate to get the fight done.
But any postponement would be highly damaging for the sport given so many fans from outside boxing’s hardcore support will tune in to watch it. It is a golden opportunity to draw new people into the sport, and fights with such a crossover appeal are rare.
-Reuters
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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