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Anthony Joshua And Deontay Wilder Saudi Card Takes A Hit As One Fight In Jeopardy

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Anthony Joshua and Deontay

The Day of Reckoning card in Saudi Arabia on December 23 will feature the likes of Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, Daniel Dubois and two world title fights – or at least that was the plan.

Fans were initially disappointed that Joshua and Wilder would fight different opponents on the night, their long-awaited clash still being kicked down the road.

However, solid match-ups in the form of Otto Wallin for ‘AJ’ and Joseph Parker for Wilder did a little to curb the disappointment, as did the introduction of some other huge names in the sport.

Only two fights set for the card were not to take place in the heavyweight division – Dmitry Bivol defending his WBC Light-Heavyweight World title against Lyndon Arthur and Aussie sensation Jai Opetaia putting his IBF Cruiserweight strap on the line against Ellis Zorro.

Anthony Joshua

Ben Damon of Fox Sports Australia is now reporting that the IBF has decided Opetaia will be stripped of his belt should he go ahead with that fight against the unranked Zorro.

As per the news, the sanctioning body says Opetaia must face his mandatory challenger, Mairis Briedis, next – the man who he won the IBF title from back in July of 2022 in a twelve-round war.

It leaves the champion in a predicament. He has made no secret of looking to unify the cruiserweight division and losing his one belt will set that back some way, but an appearance on a card of this magnitude can do wonders for his marketability in the future.

Whether or not his team can discuss the decision with the IBF and Briedis’ side remains to be seen, but there’s little time to do it.

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BOXING

Francis Ngannou wants to fight Anthony Joshua but under a different set of rules

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Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou

It’s safe to say that after fighting Tyson Fury, Francis Ngannou proved the entire world he has the necessary chops to be considered a boxer. In fact, he was added to the WBC rankings right after that fight. But looking at the effect this fight had in his life and his career, Ngannou is ready for more. Only this time, he wants to propose his own set of rules and bring a boxer into his arena. The one he decided to call out was none other than Anthony Joshua, who is set to fight next December in Saudi Arabia. Francis was a guest on the ‘Club Shay Shay‘ podcast to talk about the future and what his career will be like over the next few months. Ngannou decided to diretly challenge Anthony Joshua in a fight with different rules.

Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou

Here’s what Francis said: “Anything that he wants. Ring or octagon. The good thing is I’m the one that can go everywhere comfortably. My comfort zone will be the octagon, but I’m going to the ring and putting them in a bad spot in the ring. I have my territory [in MMA] where they cannot mess with me. If they come, they will need something like some favour, like, ‘I’ll give you this, we’ll take kicks out.’ I have to give him something, but when we step in the ring, they don’t give me anything and I still get them in trouble. Even Tyson Fury said the same thing and Tyson Fury is better than Anthony Joshua. What do I care about what people say? I’ve been in this game for so long. I’ve seen so much. I’ve heard so much what people intend to do. There’s a difference between wanting to do and be able to do.”

Would Anthony Joshua accept Francis Ngannou’s challenge?

No disrespect for Anthony Joshua but it is highly unlikely he would accept the challenge from Francis Ngannou under mixe rules. If it was a boxing match, perhaps promoter Eddie Hearn would try to convince Joshua but only if it was a boxing match. Joshua is not an MMA fighter, he would struggle a little too much with take downs or kicks from anybody. However, this challenge from Ngannou and being placed under Tyson Fury as a fighter has to sting.

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BOXING

Jarrell Miller Says Anthony Joshua Is ‘Not A True Champion’ But Tyson Fury Is

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Anthony Joshua

Jarrell Miller has still got plenty to say about Anthony Joshua in the run-up to them appearing on the same card together on December 23 in Saudi Arabia.

Miller is one boxer who has managed to get under ‘AJ’s skin more than most. There were heated verbal altercations and even some pushing at the weigh-in for their ill-fated fight at Madison Square Garden in New York back in 2019.

Due to Miller then failing drugs tests in the weeks leading up to it, the fight never happened, but that hasn’t stopped ‘Big Baby’ from constantly firing shots at the two-time world champion.

Although he recently claimed that Joshua ‘called to apologise’ after the first press conference to announce the huge card in Saudi where the Brit faces Otto Wallin and Miller comes up against Daniel Dubois, he has continued to lay into him.

Oleksandr Tyson ANTHONY Deontay

During an interview with Boxing News, Miller explained why he doesn’t see Joshua as a true champion, but feels that Tyson Fury is.

Joshua will be hoping to prove MIiller wrong as, should he get past Wallin, he will have eyes on Deontay Wilder who could well be the man he needs to beat to become the mandatory challenger for the WBC belt.

That will be held by one of Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk once they have settled their differences in their undisputed fight on February 17.

Whether or not he and Miller will ever come to blows given how their first proposed fight fell apart is unknown. For now, Miller has plenty on his hands with Dubois.

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BOXING

Inside Tyson Fury and Paris’ extravagant trip to Saudi as they fly in luxury private jet with double bed and shower room

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Tyson Fury

PARIS and Tyson Fury have shared footage from inside their lavish private jet ride to Saudi Arabia.

The WBC heavyweight world champion, 35, is currently preparing for his eagerly-anticipated unification showdown with Oleksandr Usyk.

Trips to the Middle East are becoming a regular occurrence for the Fury family.

The Gypsy King and Usyk were due to fight on December 23, but that was put on ice as the Brit fought and beat UFC legend Francis Ngannou in late October in Saudi instead.

Now the pair will collide on Saturday 17 February in Riyadh – almost a year after his 24-year-old younger brother Tommy Fury beat Jake Paul in Diriyah.

Ahead of that, Fury has headed out to Saudi Arabia along with his family and a huge entourage – and they travelled in some style.

Paris, 33, posted a video clip on Instagram that was shot by her husband from on-board the aircraft, and it revealed the incredible facilities at their disposal.

The video started with a shot looking out of the window before the camera turns to show their daughter, five-year-old Valencia, flat out asleep on a double bed.

Fury then marches into a bathroom located in the bedroom, revealing an impressive shower.

He then makes his way out into the spacious main cabin, where Paris was sitting with two of their sons and the boxer’s brother Shane, 31.

Fury continued the tour, getting thumbs up from more of his guests, as the rest of his children entertained themselves by playing games.

After walking past a table of four on his left and two comfy-looking chairs on his right, which were being used by another child, he then entered another room at the back of the plane that was occupied by another three kids.

And in the background a waitress could be soon holding plates of food, ready to serve the travelling group.

Paris captioned the footage, which was accompanied by Nickelback’s hit song Rock Star, with the words: “Just took a little trip….. Saudi Arabia.”

 

One fan reacted to the video by commenting “living the dream” as another wrote: “Love this – Dream big and live the dream.”

“This is gangster,” joked a fellow fan, as another declared: “That’s how you do it.”

Since Fury, who is believed to have banked up to £65m for the crossover clash while Ngannou, married his childhood sweetheart Paris in 2008, the couple have welcomed a huge brood of kids.

They now have seven children together after welcoming their latest baby boy on September 18.

Before that, second youngest daughter Athena was born on August 8, 2021, and faced a tough start in the intensive care unit.

Together, the couple have five other children, with their eldest being a daughter named Venezuela, born on September 27, 2009.

This geographical theme for the sisters was continued with Valencia, born on December 4, 2017.

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BOXING

Crawford on Changing Boxing Business: ‘That Eliminates A Lot of Things, Like Promoters, Managers … People Not Gonna Like That’

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Terence Crawford

Welterweight champion Terence Crawford thinks structural changes could be coming soon to the boxing business.

Omaha, Nebraska’s Crawford, who holds all four 147-pound titles, was asked in a recent interview to give his thoughts on the recent rift between Ryan Garcia and top brass at his promotional company, Golden Boy, namely founder Oscar De La Hoya and his partner Bernard Hopkins.

Crawford—no stranger to promotional battles, having had his own conflicts with his former promoter, Top Rank—was somewhat coy in his response but he hinted nonetheless that the usual way in which business is conducted in boxing needed to change.

“Well, you know, hey there’s a lot of things that I can say right now that I’m not gonna say,” Crawford told FightHype.com. “But there’s a change that needs to be made in the sport of boxing, and I think that change is coming soon.”

terence bud crawford

“There’s always that thing for us fighters to come together but it’s always when you turn around it’s ego, you know, when you got a lot of fighters that got big ego and pride, issues, it’s hard to talk to them about things of that nature,” Crawford continued. “Especially if we’re talking about change. That’s a big thing in boxing. That eliminates a lot of things, like the promoters, managers, things like that, and people not gonna like that. But when everything is put out in front of you, how can you go against it?”

Crawford’s apparent critique of promoters and managers is not new, having told De La Hoya himself a couple of months ago on social media that boxers needed a “seat at the table.”

De La Hoya insisted that fighters needed to focus on fighting, while letting their handlers take care of business, prompting a swift rebuke from Crawford.

“This is EXACTLY the point,” Crawford wrote in a post on X. “I say we need boxers at the table and @OscarDeLaHoya says sit down and shut up. U really think we better if yall keep running things. U don’t get it. We need to do things different, like other sports. We have the power and y’all can’t keep us from using it.”

Crawford made those comments in the wake of the news that Showtime was shutting down its entire sports department at the end of the year, thus capping its near four-decade involvement in boxing.

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BOXING

Gervonta Davis sparring partner fell out of the ring and ‘Tank’ jumped out to mock him

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Gervonta Davis

Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis showed his sparring partner no mercy during their training session.

As Davis stalked his opponent around the ring, beating him up, he found himself up against the ropes and almost fell out of the ring at one point.

Rather than allowing his sparring partner to take a second to sort himself out, ‘Tank’ mocked him by stepping out of the ropes himself.

And before his opponent had even readied himself, Davis jumped back into the ring and landed a body shot, as the pair continued sparring.

Davis posted this to his Instagram four years ago alongside the caption of three devil emojis.

This demonstrated ‘Tank’s’ ruthless streak that has helped him achieve huge success in the sport of boxing.

From an accolades perspective, he is 29-0, with 27 KO’s, and he has been world champion in the super featherweight division.

Gervonta Davis

In terms of financial success, last time out Davis KO’d Ryan Garcia and the event reportedly brought in over $100 million in pay-per-view buys, sponsorship’s and ticket sales, resulting in a career high payday for ‘Tank’.

And the money looks like it’s going to keep coming as Davis’ promoter, Premier Boxing Champions, recently signed a broadcasting deal with Amazon Prime.

The agreement will see PBC stage 12-14 fights a year and Davis is expected to headline their first pay-per-view event in March.

As for who the opponent could be, there are a number of potentially lucrative options around his weight class, from Devin Haney to Teofimo Lopez, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Shakur Stevenson among others.

 

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BOXING

Regis Prograis Shuts Down Gervonta Davis Catchweight Fight: ‘140 Pounds Or Nothing’

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Gervonta Davis

Should Regis Prograis beat Devin Haney on Saturday, a series of super fights could be in store for the WBC junior welterweight champion.

Some of the top 140 pounders who can make a big time fight with Prograis include Teofimo Lopez Jr. and Ryan Garcia. Prograis would also consider a rematch to avenge his lone career loss to date against Josh Taylor if the price was right.

But if the likes of Gervonta Davis were to be interested in fighting him, Prograis said it would have to take place at the junior welterweight limit.

“Nope, no catchweight [for Davis]. It’s 140. That’s it. I want to be the Marvin Hagler of my division. It’s going to be 140 and that’s it,” Prograis told BoxingScene.com and other media in an interview. “Of course [Davis is the biggest fight for me]. He and Canelo [Alvarez] are the face of boxing. Either [Davis], or a Ryan or Teo [for my next fight].”

Davis has fought once before at 140 pounds against Mario Barrios but now considers himself a lightweight fighter. In his last fight against Garcia, Davis enforced a 136-pound catchweight en route to a seventh-round knockout win.

Prograis can be in an advantageous position if he scores one of the biggest upset wins of the year. Many sportsbooks peg Prograis as a near +350 underdog.

Prograis believes he’s on the brink of superstardom; a win will certainly earn him more recognition.

Win or lose, however, Prograis will be fighting at the super lightweight limit for the foreseeable future.

“I feel like I am going to stay at 140 for the rest of my career. This is my weight class. They can come to me … I hired a nutritionist and I started making weight his way and it’s been easier and easier,” said Prograis.

“From 135 to 147, it’s that glamor division. There are so many good fights that could be made around us. It’s going to be all big fights.”

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BOXING

Anthony Joshua told what sets Tyson Fury apart as forgotten foe unleashes scathing rant

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Anthony and Tyson

Jarrell Miller believes Anthony Joshua is ‘not a real world champion’ like Tyson Fury as he has never successfully defended his titles in America. AJ has only boxed across the pond once in a losing effort to short-notice replacement Andy Ruiz Jr at Madison Square Garden, New York.

The Mexican-American puncher was stepping in for Miller, who had failed a pre-fight drugs test for three separate performance enhancers ahead of his scheduled clash with Joshua back in 2019. Miller was issued with a six-month suspension by the WBA and was then handed a further two-year ban by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for failing another drug test before his next bout with Jerry Forrest.

He has since returned to the ring and is now campaigning for a bout with the Watford powerhouse. But he will have to get past Daniel Dubois first, who he is set to face on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card in Saudi Arabia, headlined by Joshua and Otto Wallin.

“AJ’s a punk b****. Eddie Hearn has been protecting him long enough,” Miller told Boxing News. “It’s about time he came back to America. He came to America, Andy Ruiz – I call him Taco Bell, not racist because I’m half Mexican – whooped his ass and he has not been back since.

Anthony Joshua

“At least give me a chance to knock you out in America at some point. You can’t be a true champion if you come to America, get your ass whooped and never come back. Tyson came to America, conquered and left. He’s a real world champion.”

Fury has fought in America six times, tallying up a record of 5-0-1 stateside including three world title fights. His first bout in the United States came against former cruiserweight world champion Steve Cunningham in 2013, where he rose from the canvas to stop the crafty veteran in round seven.

Five years later, he picked himself up off the deck once again at the Staples Centre, Los Angeles to go all 12 rounds with then-WBC champion Deontay Wilder. Many felt he had done enough to get his hand raised but the judges scored it a draw triggering an iconic trilogy that saw Fury go on to win and defend the green belt in Wilder’s backyard.

In preparation for their rematch Fury took on Tom Schwarz and Wallin in Las Vegas. The Schwarz fight ended up being a routine demolition job for the Gypsy King but Wallin was anything but a walkover. The tricky Swede cut Fury above his right eye and proved to be a sturdy test over 12 rounds.

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BOXING

Floyd Mayweather buys a McLaren to make everybody envious: I’m sorry, I just had to sting you guys

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Floyd Mayweather

Floyd Mayweather has once again indulged himself with wheels by buying what he calls “one of my toys”. The former American boxer, who is used to show us from time to time his huge collection of cars (including Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Maybach…) wanted to share on social networks his new McLaren 750 S Spider.

It is a car that breaks with what he usually accumulates in his garage.

Reaches 332 km/h

What does not change is that it is a supercar. The McLaren has a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine anchored to the rear of a carbon fiber monocoque structure.

The engine delivers 750 hp and 800 Nm of torque to the rear wheels, thanks to which it takes only 2.8 seconds to go from 0 to 100 and reaches a top speed of 332 km/h.

Floyd Mayweather

But why does he show it off? On occasions he has publicly stated that he shows his cars off to make his ‘haters’ envious, and on this occasion he has admitted that “I’m sorry, but I had to sting you all with this killer bee”.

Neither black nor white

More than just to tease (we want to assume), this multimillionaire who always appears spending huge amounts of money on clothes, jewelry and watches has shown it because he owns a huge amount of white or black cars.

But he has never (except once when he showed his first car, which was also yellow) been seen driving a car of another color. Mayweather acknowledges that he owns a couple of cars in these “crazy colors,” as he calls them.

In any case, the madness is the price of the car, and it is more than worth it: about 350,000 dollars.

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BOXING

“I know that I won” – Francis Ngannou discusses his rematch goals against Tyson Fury and his confidence in winning after close first bout

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Tyson and Francis

Francis Ngannou has made his intentions very clear as he continues to lobby for a rematch against Tyson Fury.

The former UFC heavyweight champion shocked the world on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ngannou put on the performance of his lifetime in what was his professional boxing debut against arguably the greatest heavyweight of this generation.

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk

In a recent interview with Shannon Sharpe, he spoke about what’s next for him in boxing after almost beating Tyson Fury:

Francis Ngannou is very confident that he won the first fight and that Tyson Fury was ‘gifted’ the win. However, he believes the rematch will be tougher, because Fury will look to erase any doubts that arose from the first fight and try to prove he is, in fact, the better boxer.

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