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Joshua will decide Dubois bout – Okolie

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Anthony Joshua

WBC Bridgerweight World Champion Lawrence Okolie believes Anthony Joshua’s performance will largely determine the outcome of his next month’s IBF heavyweight title clash with Daniel Dubois.

According to the Nigerian-born British pugilist, who has sparred with both fighters, Joshua’s consistency will be key to winning the bout.

Joshua will battle Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title on September 21 at Wembley Stadium in a potentially explosive showdown that is occasioned by Oleksandr Usyk vacating the title following his victories over Joshua and Dubois due to a mandatory rematch with Tyson Fury.

Dubois, who recently claimed the title by defeating Filip Hrgovic, will defend his belt against Joshua in what will be a high-stakes showdown.

Anthony Joshua

 

In his analysis, Okolie praised both fighters’ abilities but emphasised that Joshua’s consistency could be the deciding factor.

“Dan, I have much respect for him. We’ve trained together, and from an objective standpoint, he’s someone you can’t underestimate. He’s got serious power, grit, and determination.

“But if Joshua can maintain one thing, consistency, using his long, straight punches effectively, he should come out on top,” Okolie said,

Okolie highlighted two critical moments in Dubois’ career: his stoppage loss to Joe Joyce and his tumultuous victory over Kevin Lerena.

Against Lerena, Dubois was knocked down three times in the opening round before eventually winning, while he suffered an eye socket injury that led to him taking a knee in the Joyce bout.

“We’ve seen it happen a few times with Dan. In the Joe Joyce fight and the Kevin Lerena fight, there were moments where you could spot a weakness in his armour. Despite all his strength and power, if you stay consistent, I think you can get the job done. And AJ, out of all the heavyweights, is known for his consistency. That’s why I’m leaning towards him,” Okolie added.

The upcoming fight is expected to draw massive attention, with Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority seeking to increase the capacity at Wembley Stadium due to high ticket demand.

The fight, part of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh season, aims to set a record for the largest boxing attendance at Wembley, surpassing the previous record of 94,000 set during Tyson Fury’s 2022 victory over Dillian Whyte.

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BOXING

Heavyweight Who Knocked Anthony Joshua Out In Sparring Predicts Dubois Fight: “He’ll Stop Him”

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Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua versus Daniel Dubois is a superb all-British heavyweight clash that takes place as part of Riyadh Season’s first UK promotional effort at Wembley in September.

It finds two boxers at a pivotal time in their careers. Hard-hitting Dubois is coming off the back of the two best wins of his campaign – both stoppages. Last December he overcame the volume punches of Jarrell Miller to finish the American in the last seconds of the 10th round, then stopped Fillip Hrgovic on a cut in March.

Those victories were much-needed after a setback loss to Joe Joyce early in his career and then being stopped by Oleksandr Usyk last August. Rightly or wrongly, both performances raised questions about the young fighter’s determination.

Meanwhile, after back-to-back defeats to Usyk left him without any belts, former two-time champion Joshua has beaten Robert Heinous, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou via knockout in the last 18 months.

Speaking to iFLTV, former heavyweight and sparring partner of ‘AJ’s, David Price, was asked if Dubois stood a chance in the fight.

Price has previously told the story of knocking a young Joshua out in sparring. ‘AJ’ later corroborated the session, adding the details that he had spent the previous night in jail. Price was in his early days as a pro at the time whilst Joshua was still an amateur on the GB Squad.

The fight is Dubois’s first defence as IBF World Champion after Usyk vacated so he could rematch Tyson Fury rather than face his mandatory.

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BOXING

Crawford’s trainer makes it clear to Canelo: they want glory, not money

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Terence Crawford

Terence Crawford is hungry for a mouth-watering fight with Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez as Saudi Arabia bids to create one of the biggest events in recent boxing history by pitting the triple-weight champion against the most profitable name in the sport.

Canelo, known for his durability and excellent counterpunching skills, is boxing’s big fish in the post-Floyd Mayweather era and he’s racked up an incredible 61 wins from 65 fights, with just two losses showing how formidable he is.

As a result, many throw their hands at him, and many miss their shot but Crawford feels claiming the scalp of the 34-year-old would catapult him into boxing greatness as his trainer says how eager he is for the punch-up.

“That’s how he is,” Brian McIntyre said of Crawford’s strive for greatness to BoxingScene. “He has to know. He wants to press to that next level. Always.”

The discussion comes after Saudi Arabia’s chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, Tuki Alalshikh vowed to make good offers to both candidates for the bout, which would be forecast to happen in early 2025 based on current schedules.

 

Crawford already boasts an exceptional record with 40 fights, 40 wins and 31 knockouts. It has seen him become a champion in the lightweight division as well as undisputed king in the light-welterweight and welterweight class.

He also boasts wins over Errol Spence Jr., Shawn Porter, Kell Brook and Amir Khan showing that the 36-year-old is not afraid of facing the best and hasn’t just padded his record with easy fights against non-threatening opponents.

Who does Terence Crawford fight next?

Crawford is next in action on Saturday, August 3 when he faces Israil Madrimov at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California for the WBA Super-welterweight title as he seeks to become a four-class champion.

Alalshikh will be present as part of the Riyadh Season card, despite the fight happening in North America, giving him a close-up perspective of one half of a Canelo vs. Crawford event.

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BOXING

Why is Canelo fighting Berlanga? What about Crawford and Benavidez?

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Canelo Alvarez, boxing’s top star, is set to defend his super middleweight championship against Edgar Berlanga on Sept. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, sources told ESPN.

Alvarez, ESPN’s No. 5 pound-for-pound boxer, will be a heavy favorite to dispatch Berlanga, who will fight on the upper echelon for the first time. Mexico’s Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) is the undisputed champion at 168 pounds but it’s possible the IBF title won’t be on the line as his fight with the IBF mandatory challenger is overdue, sources said.

Alvarez, 34, is coming off a May decision victory over Jaime Munguia. Canelo hasn’t scored a knockout since November 2021 but has scored knockdowns in each of his last three fights.

Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs) is a 27-year-old from Brooklyn, New York of Puerto Rican descent. He’s best known for starting his career with 16 first-round KOs. However, as his competition stiffened, Berlanga’s next five opponents lasted the distance. Berlanga’s last in-ring action was a sixth-round KO of Padraig McCrory in February.

David Benavidez has been the public’s top option for fighting Alvarez for years, but Canelo has shown no interest in the WBC interim super middleweight champion.

How did the Alvarez-Berlanga matchup materialize? Who else was considered? Let’s take a look as Alvarez prepares for another Mexican Independence Day weekend fight:

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BOXING

Errol Spence Jr Confirms His Plan To Get The Terence Crawford Rematch

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Errol Spence Jr has not fought since his bruising loss to Terence Crawford last July.

Up to that point, he was one of the most revered welterweights on the planet. Known for his ram-rob jab and ability to boss fights on the front foot, the Texan had beaten the likes of Brit Kell Brook, former world champions Shawn Porter, Yordenis Ugas and Danny Garcia and was the unified WBA, WBC and IBF champion when he stepped into the ring with ‘Bud.’

Crawford had already proven himself at 135 and 140 and rarely struggled with the threat of welterweight Spence in the fight, putting him down once in round two and twice in round seven before ultimately stopping him in the ninth.

Crawford himself hasn’t fought since that historic win made him undisputed in a second weight-class, but this weekend he moves up to 154 lbs for the first time and takes on Israil Madrimov for his WBA Super-Welterweight World Title at BMO Stadium, Los Angeles.

Spence Jr did have the right to a rematch but never exercised it in time, though has now said he hopes to one day get Crawford back in the ring with him.

In a video shared by Backmansports, he laid out his plans including a fight with the WBO and WBC 154 champion Sebastian Fundora.

Fundora has confirmed the fight with Spence – which has been discussed since his world title win and was opted for over mandatory Crawford – could be for November.

Crawford has also considered things playing out that way and has said that both men holding belts at super-welterweight is the only way the rematch is likely to happen. However, if he beats Madrimov this weekend, he is expected to continue to call out super-middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.

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BOXING

Eddie Hearn expects Gervonta Davis to fight Shakur Stevenson

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Gervonta-Davis-Shakur-Stevenson
Eddie Hearn expects Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Shakur Stevenson to agree to a unification lightweight title fight after talks with Vasiliy Lomachenko stalled.
Hearn has been competing with the world’s leading promoters to sign Stevenson after the 27-year-old became a free agent at the conclusion of his agreement with Top Rank.
Davis had seemed set to face fellow 135lbs champion Lomachenko, but the Ukrainian withdrew from negotiations. An alternative between the 29-year-old and Stevenson is highly sought-after, and Hearn thinks that it is likely that it will happen.
“I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tank [Davis] vs. Shakur [Stevenson] because situations and circumstances are everything,” Hearn told IFL TV. “Tank’s got all his eggs in the basket for a Vasiliy Lomachenko fight, and then that falls through.

 

“You’re left holding your dick at that point going, ‘Who am I gonna fight?’ Shakur’s a free agent, he’s ready to do a deal. Timing’s everything.”
Hearn and Stevenson have been in talks over a promotional deal since the WBC champion made an appearance at a Matchroom promotion earlier in July.
“I met with Shakur, a great team, but really honest conversation,” the promoter added. “The conversation was, ‘I would love to sign you but I need to deliver the right fights for you, and if I can’t deliver those fights for you then maybe I’m not the guy to be with’. We all agree with the right fights; I’m the right man for the job, but I’ve got to deliver the right fights.”
“He will be here on Saturday, as will the rest of the world. If we can work with Shakur, I would love to work with Shakur, but it’s got to be right for him, it’s got to be right for us as well. On my part, I would love to be Shakur’s promoter because I think he’s a great fighter.”
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BOXING

Claressa Shields Certain Who Wins Shakur Stevenson-Gervonta Davis: “He’s Had Harder Fights”

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Gervonta Davis and Shakur Steveson

Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta Davis are two signatures away from an all-American lightweight unification clash.

The elite defence of Stevenson could be matched against the explosiveness of ‘Tank’ Davis next if both sides can agree terms since Vasiliy Lomachenko dropped out of talks with Davis.

There has long been a debate as to who would come out on top and indeed who is the best in those stacked weight classes.

In an interview with Cigar Talk, the recently crowned heavyweight champion Claressa Shields said Stevenson was top dog.

The four-weight world champion then predicted that Stevenson beats ‘Tank’ and said he has faced tougher opposition on his route to lightweight.

‘Tank’s co-trainer, Kenny Ellis, says that there will be only one reason if the fight doesn’t happen next – fear on Stevenson’s part.

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CELEB NEWS

Isaac Cruz will be ready if Gervonta Davis comes calling

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Gervonta Davis

With Vasiliy Lomachenko seemingly unwilling to face Gervonta “Tank” Davis this November, Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz says he’s ready to step in.

First, Cruz, the WBA junior welterweight titleholder, must get past the dangerous Jose “Rayo” Valenzuela (13-2, 9 KOs) on Aug. 3, in the co-feature to the Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov 154-pound title headliner at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

“It is surprising because I thought it was almost a done deal, but then again, if he didn’t want to fight him, you’ve got to respect Lomachenko’s decision,” Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) told BoxingScene. “And then that just means that I’m in top condition to be able to be considered to fight Gervonta on whatever date is available at the end of the year, and if it happens, I will be ready.”

PBC representatives for Davis (30-0, 28 KOs) negotiated for weeks with Top Rank and Lomachenko manager Egis Klimas to put together what might have been the biggest fight of 2024. The 135-pound unification was targeted for November in Las Vegas. All of that came to a halt when Klimas announced that his fighter had turned down the fight, opting instead to take the rest of the year off and spend more time with his family.

“I don’t know, but you got to respect his decision,” said Cruz. “I don’t know what other names you can bring to the table for Gervonta, but I only hope it can be attractive to the fans.”

Cruz is no stranger to Davis. As a late replacement for Rolando “Rolly” Romero in December 2021, Cruz gave the undefeated three-division champion the toughest bout of his career, going the distance with and losing a close decision to arguably the hardest pound-for-pound puncher in boxing. Cruz has been calling for a rematch ever since. Now there is a strong chance of it finally happening, provided Cruz gets by Valenzuela – no easy task.

“I’m going to be ready to go from the opening bell up to the final second of the fight,” Cruz said. “And my goal is to give fans a great show and to come out on top in the end.”

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BOXING

Super lightweight champion ready for Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis fight

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One fighter wants a shot.

Issac Cruz is ready to step in to fight Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.

Davis had apparently been on course for a unification fight with Vasyl Lomachenko, but he has stepped back from fighting for the rest of the year, leaving the WBA lightweight champion looking for a new opponent.

Cruz is the WBA super lightweight belt holder, and the pair fought once in 2021 event which saw Tank emerge victorious after a tough bout.

Speaking to BoxingScene , Cruz was taken aback that Lomachenko did not make a fight with Tank, but is ready to take advantage.

“It is surprising because I thought it was almost a done deal, but then again, if he didn’t want to fight him, you’ve got to respect Lomachenko’s decision,” he said. “And then that just means that I’m in top condition to be able to be considered to fight Gervonta on whatever date is available at the end of the year, and if it happens, I will be ready.”

He continued: “I don’t know, but you got to respect his decision.

“I don’t know what other names you can bring to the table for Gervonta, but I only hope it can be attractive to the fans.”

First of all, Cruz will have to get past Jose Valenzuela (live on DAZN on August).

“I’m going to be ready to go from the opening bell up to the final second of the fight,” Cruz said. “And my goal is to give fans a great show and to come out on top in the end.”

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BOXING

Errol Spence Jr gets told to stop waiting around and step into ring by former world champion rival

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Errol Spence

While some of the biggest names in boxing bide their time and wait to announce their next moves, many peoples’ pick as the pound-for-pound king is set to fight in a week’s time. Terence Crawford will be debuting at 154 pounds, challenging Israil Madrimov for his WBA super welterweight title.

While Crawford gets ready to fight, the opponent he last faced is struggling to make a decision on his future. Errol Spence Jr. has been eyeing a fight against light middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora, but Fundora is waiting to see if he can get a fight with Crawford first.

Is Errol Spence letting his prime slip away?

While Spence stays patient, Shawn Porter is imploring him to get off the couch and into the ring.

The issues Porter mentions come from a pair of lawsuits against and by Derrick James, Spence’s trainer who he split with after the Crawford fight. James has claimed he’s owed over $5 million from working in Spence’s corner.

Spence has a lot on his mind right now. The best medicine could very well be sitting down at the table with Fundora, setting a date and throwing hands.

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