Boxing
Anthony Joshua and Wilder to fight separate opponents in Dec. 23 Saudi mega-show
Former world heavyweight champions Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua will fight separate opponents on the same bill at a mega-show in Saudi Arabia on Dec. 23, promoters said on Wednesday.
Britain’s Joshua, the former WBA, IBF and WBO champion, will take on Sweden’s Otto Wallin while American Wilder, the former WBC champion, faces New Zealand’s Joseph Parker at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena.
Parker is also a former WBO champion.
Joshua and Wilder could fight each other next year if both win in Riyadh.
The Dec. 23 show will also feature two world title clashes, with WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol scheduled to fight Britain’s Lyndon Arthur while Australian WBC cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia takes on Britain’s Ellis Zorro.
British heavyweight Daniel Dubois, who lost to WBA, IBF and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk in Poland in August, will be back in the ring to fight undefeated American Jarrell Miller.
Ukrainian Usyk had been due to fight WBC champion Tyson Fury for the undisputed crown in Riyadh on Dec. 23 but that has been put back to give the Briton more time after a bruising non-title fight with Francis Ngannou.
A date for that fight is due to be announced on Thursday, with February looking likely.
Joshua told reporters last month that a fight between him and Wilder could be staged on the undercard of the Usyk v Fury clash.
Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn said the Riyadh show, led by Queensberry Promotions’ Frank Warren, had come together in record time thanks to the Saudi authorities.
“This is the fastest I’ve ever seen a fight card come together,” Hearn told a London news conference.
“We’re talking about conversations that started 10 days ago, max, and that wasn’t even necessarily AJ (Joshua) at the time. That was Dmitry Bivol, that was Jai Opetaia and then it went into AJ.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. I think the speed of it actually benefited everybody because no-one really had time to fall out.”
-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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