Boxing
“Fury would have beaten Ali” says Deontay Wilder trainer
Deontay Wilder’s trainer Malik Scott has given his view on Tyson Fury’s skills, with a glowing appraisal of the undefeated heavyweight champion.
Malik Scott said that Tyson Fury would have beaten Muhammad Ali as the Manchester born fighter prepares for his expected unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk.
Tyson Fury is expected to face Ukraine’s Usyk with the hope of becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world as he puts his WBC title on the line against the Ukrainian who holds the WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight belts he snatched from Anthony Joshua.
Usyk also holds the lineal Ring Magazine title which was previously held by Fury until last August when he surrendered the belt amid talks of his retirement.
Fury remains undefeated, with his closest brush with defeat coming against Wilder as he rose off the canvas in the twelfth round to secure a stunning win in 2018.
What followed were two more outstanding fights as the pair played out one of the most memorable trilogies in boxing history.
Comparison to one of the all-time greats is a huge compliment to Fury’s skill, with Scott making the claim with Fury currently undefeated with a 33-0-1 record.
By comparison Ali retired with a 56-0-5 record in the ring, but Scott did admit that Fury would have had more difficulties against Ali in his early days as he fought under his birth name Cassius Clay.
Ali was exiled from the sport in 1966 after refusing to join the draft for the Vietnam War in protest over civil rights issues in the US and returned with his new name in 1970 to reclaim the heavyweight championship of the world.
However, he lost his undefeated record in the process. He remains one of the enduring figures in world sport and is dubbed ‘the greatest’ for his achievements.
Scott made the comparison as Fury prepares for what could be the biggest year of his career as he prepares to face Usyk in what is a highly anticipated fight in the heavyweight division.
Speaking to Casinos En Ligne, Scott remarked: “Tyson Fury beats Muhammad Ali but Cassius Clay gives Fury more problems. The Ali that came back to boxing after exile, Tyson Fury beats that Ali. Fury would be too imposing, too fast, too much for Ali.
“Ali was too stationary when he came back. I believe a tricky Fury or the latest version of Fury would beat Ali, but Cassius Clay would give Fury a much better fight.” He added.
Meanwhile, Scott will be preparing Wilder for a potential fight against Andy Ruiz Jr, with the two former heavyweight champions rumoured to meet this year after Wilder returned to the ring with a win against Robert Helenius last year. He gave a strong appraisal of his client, saying that he would have no problem against Ruiz.
He explained: “Andy Ruiz presents absolutely no threat to a disciplined Deontay Wilder. I’ve been going over my notes and from film study I see Andy Ruiz has a problem with disciplined fighters. The only hope Andy Ruiz has is if you give him an opportunity.
“But if you stick to a game plan he’s easy to shut down. He’s a good fighter but we all have our loopholes, Andy’s is he can’t beat disciplined fighters.
“When AJ fought him the first time he was not as disciplined as when he fought him the second time. The minute AJ fought with a systemised game plan it was a shut out.
“An old Chris Arreola, who got with Joe Goosen and stuck with a game plan, beat Ruiz in my opinion by two rounds. Every time I look at the tape, I have Arreola winning by two rounds, it definitely wasn’t as wide as the judges had it.
“Andy Ruiz is going to come to Deontay and when he does he puts himself at risk. We’re going to make him reach, he has to, we’re taller. When he reaches he’s going to pay like he’s never paid before.
“A disciplined, systemised Deontay Wilder has no problem with Andy Ruiz. Does that mean Andy is a bad fighter, absolutely not, but Deontay with a game plan; high hand up, chin behind the left knee, patience knowing he’s going to have his big moments – it’s a shutout, a painful, scary shutout.”
Tyson Fury wants to fight Anthony Joshua in a long-awaited clash of British former heavyweight world champions if he wins his comeback against Canada-based Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov in London on Saturday.
Fury, 37, has come out of retirement for the fifth time in his career to get back into the ring at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium and is looking well beyond the weekend.
“I’ve got Arslanbek Makhmudov to think of on Saturday night, but all going well (Joshua is) the fight I want next,” he told BBC radio on Wednesday.
“I know he just had his fight with Jake Paul, whatever… a fight’s a fight, really. So yeah, I’ll be ready for that straight away after this.”
Joshua, 36, last fought in December when he dealt American Jake Paul a reality check with a savage sixth round knockout in Miami.
A few days after that, the former WBA, IBF and WBO champion was taken to hospital in Nigeria following a car accident that killed two close friends.
American former WBC world champion Deontay Wilder has also called out Joshua for a long-awaited matchup after beating Briton Derek Chisora on a split-decision last Saturday.
Fury, who has not fought since losing to Ukraine’s reigning world champion Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024, dismissed the idea of that happening.
“I’ve never seen two men slide as much as these two,” he said of the Wilder v Chisora bout. “They look like a couple of club fighters from a white-collar match in a local leisure centre. It was sad for me to watch.”
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Former world champion Deontay Wilder sent Derek Chisora into retirement by edging their engaging yet chaotic heavyweight fight in London, United Kingdom.
The boxers, aged 40 and 42 respectively, threw hopeful knockout punches and barely jabbed. Both slipped and fell to the canvas frequently during the bout at the O2 Arena on Saturday.
Wilder got the only knockdown in the eighth round, sending Chisora through the ropes, but the American was deducted a point in the same round for pushing. Chisora was rattled, but Wilder did not press his advantage.
Wilder dominated the early rounds, and Chisora rallied late. The judges were split in their scoring: Wilder received scores of 115-111 and 115-113, and the third picked Chisora by 115-112
Wilder said the fight was fun and suggested he didn’t want to knock out Chisora.
“Tonight, I looked out for him. I want him to live for his kids,” he told broadcaster DAZN. “It’s time for us to take care of each other.”
Chisora said in the build-up that the fight was to be his last, but the Londoner was reluctant to confirm it afterwards.
“I’m going to go home with the boss lady and see,” he told DAZN. “I’m going to go home and drop the kids, do the school run.”
It was the 50th fight for both in the professional ranks.
Wilder improved his record to 45-4-1. The WBC titleholder from 2015 to 2020 came to London having lost four of his last six fights.
Chisora’s record since 2007, when he turned pro a year before Wilder, dropped to 36-14. He lost his only two title shots against Vitali Klitschko in 2012 and Tyson Fury in 2022.
-The Associated Press
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Manny Pacquiao said he has signed a contract for a fight with Floyd Mayweather and that he would not get back into the ring with the American if it was an exhibition bout.
Mayweather, 49, and Pacquiao, 47 announced last month that they would meet at the Sphere in Las Vegas in September, with the bout streaming globally on Netflix.
However, Mayweather told Vegas Sports Today last week that it would be an exhibition bout, not a real fight, and that a venue had yet to be decided.
“If that’s what he is feeling but he signed for a real match. The contract that we signed is for a real fight,” Pacquiao told local media on Thursday. “He has to remember that.”
Mayweather, who holds a perfect 50-0 record with 27 knockouts, defeated Pacquiao in a 2015 encounter dubbed the “Fight of the Century”.
Jas Mathur, CEO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions and a producer for the event, said the agreement was for a fight.
“No one in these last three months has brought up anything related to the venue or related to the fight not being a professional fight,” Mathur told ESPN.
“His team has had all the contracts. He signed all the contracts.”
Reuters has requested comment from Mayweather’s camp.
The 2015 bout between the boxers generated a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys and a $72 million live gate at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- World Cup1 week ago
Infantino promises FIFA backing for Iran to play at World Cup
- AFCON2 days ago
Motsepe in Dakar: CAF Intensifies Diplomatic Push After AFCON Final Dispute
- Governing Bodies5 days ago
The Building of Another Sports Dynasty: From Fahmy to Adamu
- Boxing4 days ago
Wilder edges retiring Chisora in chaotic heavyweight boxing fight
- Nigerian Football1 week ago
NFF to inaugurate electoral committees ahead of September elections
- World Cup6 days ago
Italy federation chief resigns after another World Cup failure
- AWARDS4 days ago
Night of Stars: Dikko, Oshodi Lead Roll Call of Honour at 2026 Sportsville Awards
- World Cup5 days ago
Seven Nations End Long World Cup Droughts Ahead of 2026 Tournament