Boxing
Dillian Whyte bars Anthony Joshua from his fight with Tyson Fury
Dillian Whyte has told Anthony Joshua he is not welcome at Saturday’s dust-up with Tyson Fury.
The Body Snatcher wants Joshua to snub a ringside seat at Wembley to focus on saving his own career in his July rematch with Ukraine’s Olesksandr Usyk.
Whyte, who battles Fury for his WBC heavyweight crown, said: “I don’t want AJ at my fight. He needs to fight Usyk and focus on that.
“In the build-up to the last Usyk fight he was too worried about re-matching me and telling people he wanted to beat me up.
“I wanted to shout out ‘bro, leave me alone and focus on Usyk’. And then look what happened, he got in the fight and looked spaced out, clueless.
“He needs to focus on what he has to do, he needs to forget becoming undisputed and worry about Usyk, because if he doesn’t beat Usyk then where does he go?
“Now is the best time to face Usyk, who knows where the poor guy’s head is at. If you can’t beat Usyk now – with what he has been through – then you never will.
“I don’t want Anthony Joshua to retire because I want to fight him again.”
Whyte beat Joshua in 2009 during their amateur days before losing to him in their pro fight in 2015.
Joshua, 32, has backed Whyte to win but only because he “hates” his fellow Londoner and wants to “smash him”.
Whyte is far kinder to Joshua – who is set to challenge Usyk for his old WBA, IBF and WBO belts in Saudi Arabia on July 23 – in the hope of getting the chance to settle scores.
If Whyte can upset Fury in front of 94,000 fans will be able to pick any opponent he wants and spark a bidding war in England and America.
He added: “If I wake up on Sunday morning as the heavyweight champion of the world, AJ won’t be my first thought.
“I will be running around the whole hotel and streets with nothing but my belt on, naked… doing the helicopter!”
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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