Boxing
Ngannou Will Struggle To Derail In-form Joshua, Says Swede Boxer, Wallin –
Heavyweight Otto Wallin was just as shocked as the rest of the boxing world when Francis Ngannou floored Tyson Fury but the Swede says it’s unlikely there will be a repeat against Anthony Joshua when the two meet in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou lost to Fury in his first professional boxing match in Riyadh last October in what many expected would be an easy win for the giant British boxer.
However, the mixed martial artist managed to down Fury in the third round, sending shockwaves through the boxing world.
“A guy like Ngannou, who is that big and who hits that hard, always has a chance, but I’m having a hard time seeing him beating Joshua,” Wallin told Reuters from his home in New York where he is back in training.
The 33-year-old Wallin, who rose to prominence by going the distance before losing a world title fight to Fury in 2019, suffered only the second loss and first KO defeat of his pro career last December as Joshua out-boxed him over five rounds.
“Since boxing against Joshua, I have a lot of respect for him,” Wallin said.
The career of Joshua, 34, had hit a rocky patch as he lost his world titles to Andy Ruiz in 2019 before winning them back and then lost them again to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 before another defeat in a rematch with the Ukrainian the next year.
Against Wallin, however, the Briton was back to his imperious best, a stinging jab and lightning left hook doing the damage before the Swede’s corner called it quits after the fifth round.
“Joshua was good – big, strong, long reach, he countered well,” Wallin explained.
“There were some concrete things that he did well that I don’t want to talk about, I want to keep them to myself, but there’s other concrete things that I need to practise and do better, and that’s what I’m working on now.”
SPLIT DECISION
Ngannou’s knockdown of Fury made little difference to the end result as he lost a split decision but the Cameroon-born French mixed martial artist won the respect of the boxing world.
“I was very surprised that Ngannou did as well as he did against Fury,” Wallin said.
“I thought he wouldn’t be able to do anything at all. He did very well, but at the same time I think Fury underestimated him a lot as everyone else did, including me.”
Ngannou’s rags-to-riches story saw him leave Cameroon for Europe to pursue his dream of being a professional boxer before pivoting to MMA and eventually becoming UFC heavyweight champion. The 37-year-old has worked hard to get to this point.
“I don’t think you can say that Ngannou was lucky, it was probably good timing for him against Fury,” Wallin said.
“No-one knew how good he was, no-one knew he was going to do as well as he did. Even if Fury didn’t underestimate him intentionally, it can easily happen – boxing is very psychological.”
Ngannou now faces an arguably bigger challenge against in-form Joshua on Friday and, even if Wallin was somewhat won over by the performance against Fury, the Swede says it’s unlikely he can derail Joshua’s attempt to get back to the very top.
“If Joshua wins I’d say they’ll aim for the winner of Fury-Usyk, but that can take time if there’s a rematch – in that case Joshua will meet someone else in the meantime, he’s been very active the last while,” Wallin added.
“But it’s going to be exciting to see what happens on Friday – we’re going to see how good Ngannou really is.”
–Reuters
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
- AFCON4 days ago
Motsepe in Dakar: CAF Intensifies Diplomatic Push After AFCON Final Dispute
- World Cup1 week ago
Italy federation chief resigns after another World Cup failure
- Governing Bodies1 week ago
The Building of Another Sports Dynasty: From Fahmy to Adamu
- Boxing6 days ago
Wilder edges retiring Chisora in chaotic heavyweight boxing fight
- Nigerian Football5 days ago
A Battle at Both Ends as NPFL Heads Into Home Stretch
- World Cup1 week ago
Seven Nations End Long World Cup Droughts Ahead of 2026 Tournament
- UEFA Champions League4 days ago
‘Fans More Friends’- Heineken Takes UEFA Champions League Fever Nationwide with Multi-City Fan Experience
- Golf4 days ago
Thai Golfer Named After FIFA, Fifa Laopakdee Set for Masters Debut in FIFA World Cup Year