Boxing
Boxer Tommy Fury, younger half brother to Tyson Fury denied entry into U.S. for press conference
Tommy Fury, the younger half brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury on Tuesday said he was barred at Heathrow airport from boarding a plane bound for the United States for a press conference to promote his Aug. 6 bout against Jake Paul.
“Me and my team this morning arrived at Heathrow airport ready for the press conference, ready to fly out, and as soon as I entered the airport I got pulled to one side and I was told by a Homeland Security officer that my ESTA (travel authorization) had been denied and I wasn’t able to travel to the USA,” he said in a video posted to social media.
Fury said officials at the airport told him that he knew the reason he was being denied entry into the United States. The 23-year-old Briton said he had no knowledge of why he may have been denied entry.
“I can stand here and say I have done absolutely nothing wrong and I have no clue why I am not allowed to travel to the USA,” he said.
“I’ve been training for a fight this whole time and that’s all I’ve been doing.”
Fury added that he was “shocked” by the development and that his team is working towards reaching a resolution.
Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) said the press conference for the fight at New York’s Madison Square Garden had been postponed due to Fury’s inability to attend.
“Despite many assurances by Tommy Fury and his team that he was able to come to the U.S., and knowing that Tommy was in California just last month, we were surprised to learn that he had an issue at Heathrow airport on Monday,” MVP said on Twitter.
Fury (8-0) is the younger half brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
The 25-year-old Paul (5-0) is a YouTube-celebrity-turned-boxer looking to make a name for himself inside the ring by fighting Fury, who will be his first opponent that is a professional boxer.
-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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