Boxing
Boxing Day Special: Tyson Fury proof, Oleksandr Usyk shock and the best boxing moments of 2021
It’s been a fantastic year for boxing and there’s plenty of highlights to look back on including Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and Canelo Alvarez victories.
It’s been a year of two halves for boxing, with the first half seeing numerous bouts behind closed doors while the second half has seen a number of high-profile fights taking place in front of thousands of fans.
While many may remember it as the year when the planned fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua fell apart, with questions as to whether we’ll ever get to see that bout, we have at least had plenty of stand-out moments to remember fondly.
about:blank Expectation for 2022 is high, which includes Fury‘s return to the UK to fight Dillian Whyte and Joshua vs Usyk 2, but the bar has been set at an impressive level by the past 12 months.
From world-title bouts and history-making success to surprising results and great entertainment, we’ve run down our best five boxing moments from 2021.
Fury’s 11th round KO on Wilder
After an American judge ruled in favour of Deontay Wilder, Fury had to honour his rematch with the Bronze Bomber – which led to frustrations for the supporters as it saw a proposed fight between Fury and Joshua collapse.
Further frustrations followed when an initial fight date was pushed back after cases of Covid in Fury’s camp but, when the pair finally came to blows once again in October, fans witnessed a fight that will go down in history.
Fury proved his quality by maintaining his unbeaten record with an 11th round knockout upon Wilder but encountered problems of his own during the bout, hitting the canvas, in what was a thrilling contest for the millions watching worldwide.
Usyk’s triumph over Anthony Joshua
With a unification bout against Fury off, Joshua instead faced-off against Oleksandr Usyk in September – and was completely outboxed by the Ukrainian at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The fight went the full distance and was decided by the judges scorecards but the winner was clear from the early rounds, with Joshua unable to get a foothold in the bout and losing his three heavyweight belts with a whimper.
Usyk’s performance has rightly earned rave praise and the general consensus is that he’ll now be the likely opponent for Fury in a unification bout next year.
Canelo’s undisputed triumph
While much of the talk has orientated around heavyweight unification, Canelo Alvarez made history by becoming the first-ever undisputed champion at super middleweight.
That milestone was achieved in November with victory against Caleb Plant in Las Vegas, securing his triumph with an eleventh-round technical knockout.
The Mexican is widely regarded to be the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world and is now set to fight Ilunga Makabu next year for the WBC cruiserweight title, as he looks to become a five-weight world champion.
Lara stuns Warrington
February 2021 may seem like a million years ago now and it was the month of one of the biggest upsets of the year, when a relatively unknown Mauricio Lara stunned Josh Warrington.
It was a first career defeat for the Leeds fighter and came in his long-awaited return to the ring, having last fought in October 2019, having hit the canvas twice in the bout.
The fight was eventually called in the ninth round after the second knockdown and shattered Warrington’s hopes of facing off against one of the big names in his weight division.
-MEN
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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