Boxing
Anthony Joshua set to sign fight contract with Tyson Fury on Monday
There is “no chance” the contract for a proposed all-British heavyweight world title fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will be signed on Monday, says promoter Eddie Hearn.
Monday is the deadline set by WBC champion Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren.
On Friday, Fury said Joshua “does not want to fight” him, with 3 December being mooted as the date for the bout.
“If he [Fury] really wants to fight, he’ll let the teams deal with it,” said Joshua’s promoter Hearn on Seconds Out.
Later on Sunday Joshua said “of course I’m going to sign that contract” but that it is “with some lawyers at the moment”.
Fury, 34, offered Joshua the fight despite the 32-year-old suffering a second successive defeat by Oleksandr Usyk in August and failing to regain the WBA (Super), WBO and IBF belts he lost to the Ukrainian in September 2021.
Joshua’s team said they have “accepted all terms” to the offer.
Warren said “there shouldn’t be a reason” why the contract could not be signed on Monday.
“I am hoping on Monday we’ll be able to get it over the line. I don’t think there’s a lot of issues and the only thing I think can hold it up at the minute is the broadcasters,” he told BBC Sport on Saturday.
“AJ said he wanted the fight. We’ve agreed the financial terms and we’ve told them they can be involved in all the contracts, setting the budgets for the undercard, everything.”
However, Hearn said his team was getting the contract checked, claiming it was “all over the place” after waiting nine days to receive it.
“If he doesn’t [want to fight Joshua], and I guess he doesn’t, then he’ll do what he’ll do and the fans might even fall for it,” Hearn said.
“But what I am seeing, the fans aren’t falling for it.
“We have a meeting on Monday, with DAZN, with BT, with everybody but it’s going to take time. If he wants to put a time frame of Monday on it then it’s clear to the whole public he doesn’t want the fight.
“It’s not getting signed on Monday so if he is walking away on Monday the fight is off.”
Joshua, speaking in a video released on iFL TV’s YouTube channel, reiterated Hearn’s point, saying the contract “ain’t in my hands, it’s with the legal team”.
“You know the history of boxing, make sure you’ve got your legal terms right – that’s why you have good management and good lawyers.”
-BBC
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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