Boxing
Boxing fans smell rat in Anthony Joshua’s bout with Usyk
Could there have been conspiracy? The poser comes to light following a deluge of social media comments insisting that Anthony Joshua’s fight with Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk was stopped seconds earlier than regulation time to avert a possible knock out of Joshua in the 12th and final round.
Last Saturday night, Joshua suffered a second career loss at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Usyk stunned the boxing world with a decisive and unanimous points victory to become the new heavyweight champion of the world.
The Ukrainian had an exhausted Joshua up against the ropes in the final 30 seconds of the bout and what has not gone unnoticed is the discrepancy between the nine seconds left on the on-screen clock and how rapidly the fight concluded.
As shown by DAZN, the final nine seconds – as per the clock – seemed to end in just three seconds with Joshua all at sea and on the verge of being knocked out.
It was noticed by fans online, with one asking: ‘Anyone notice at the end of the 12th round the bell range seven seconds early, was this to save Joshua getting {sic) knocked out?’
Another said: ‘They rang that bell five second early lol, saved Anthony Joshua from a 12th round KO.’
Another added: ‘Is it just me or did the bell go early in the 12th round? It could be a mismatch between the on-screen time and the actual fight clock but just seems a little suspicious, especially in London.’
Joshua’s rival Dilian Whyte also noted the seemingly early stoppage and added the referee should have stopped the fight, telling iFL TV: ‘I thought Usyk was going to win by TKO in the last round.
‘I thought they gave Joshua way too much time. He was just sat on the ropes, stood there and didn’t do anything. I thought that Usyk deserved a TKO victory.’
However, having watched the final round through bell-to-bell, Sportsmail can confirm that the 12th round did go a full three minutes.
Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, confirmed as much after the fight as he looked to quash the rumours: ‘I don’t believe it did, I saw that it did on the DAZN clock but I remember specifically the 10 seconds came and it was 10 seconds.
‘Because I remember hearing when there was 10 seconds to go, it wasn’t three seconds after the clock went so I don’t believe that was an early bell.
‘One for the BBBofC, not for me, but it wasn’t like “he is in trouble here let’s ring the bell”, again it is one for the board but what I do know is he got hit by a couple of shots but it wasn’t early.’
Hearn has confirmed Joshua will look to take on Usyk again in a rematch, with the hope that he can exact his revenge in much the same way he did against Andy Ruiz Jr, who handed the Brit his first career defeat.
The Matchroom supremo said after the fight: ‘He will want to go back in that rematch, and he will be the underdog in that fight but he has just been beaten by a pound-for-pound great.
‘Joshua lives and breathes boxing, he is already talking about training again and he will be in the gym and ready to get back in again.
‘You can criticise Anthony Joshua, but he has just fought a great and he is fighting the very best, and tonight he came off second best.’
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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