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Anthony Joshua will have another new trainer in his corner when he takes on Otto Wallin on December 23.

Joshua has gone through three different trainers in his last four fights and will make that four in five when he steps in the ring against Wallin.

Joshua parted ways with long-time coach Robert McCracken after his first defeat to Oleksandr Usyk. ‘AJ’ employed the services of Robert Garcia for the rematch, but suffered the same fate.

Derrick James was then chosen as the man to build the former champion back into world title contention. The 34-year-old has since had two back-to-back wins against Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius.

Anthony Joshua

Joshua now looks set to take on Swedish heavyweight, Wallin, on a mega card in Saudi Arabia that will also feature Deontay Wilder, Daniel Dubois, Jarrell Miller, Jai Opetaia and Dmitry Bivol.

According to a report from the Daily Star, ‘AJ’ will have former Tyson Fury trainer, Ben Davison, guiding him against Wallin – a decision made for logistical reasons before he returns to James’ camp.

Speaking to SecondsOut last month about Joshua ‘ticking over’ with Davison, Wallin says something is ‘not right’ if you have to keep switching up your team.

James is currently training Ryan Garcia prepare for his fight against Oscar Duarte on December 2.

After her victory over Maricela Cornejo inside the squared circle, Claressa Shields recently re-signed with the PFL. Responding to her fans who wanted her “back in the cage,” Shields declared that she and the PFL “signed a great seven-figure deal“. While the undisputed Middleweight champion was excited to “return to a fighter-first organization,” Peter Murray, the CEO of the Professional Fighters League announced that it was a “privilege” to re-sign ‘T-Rex’ to a “new multi-year agreement“.

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In the wake of re-signing with the PFL, energetic and happy Shields even stated that within two years, she would win the PFL championship belt. Undoubtedly, on the surface, everything seemed to be fine with Shields. However, while everyone expected the champ to enjoy the time of her life, the 28-year-old recently uploaded a post of her crying.

Fans react as “Champ” Claressa Shields releases negative energy through crying

Taking to Instagram, the undisputed champion shared a brief clip of her crying. According to her, crying is simply a method of getting rid of negative energy. While Shields did not go deeper into why she was crying, the 28-year-old informed her fans that she was “okay“. “Crying is just releasing negativity energy,” Shields wrote. “I’m Okay!” exclaimed Shields.

Claressa Shield

Reacting to Shields’ post, one said, “Crying is the weakness leaving the body. You know you got warriors behind you

Similarly, one said, “Love you @claressashields let it out so you can activate your superpowers!!!

Finally, one fan assured Shields that she was beautiful in “any kind of way“. “YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL. @claressashields Now cheer up and do what you do and kick some butt,” they added.

What do you make of Claressa Shields crying? Do you see a particular reason behind posting the clip on Instagram? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below. For all the latest boxing updates, follow EssentiallySports!

The 31st annual ESPYS Awards held on July 12, 2023, turned out to be a memorable night for sports enthusiasts worldwide. The prestigious event, held at the iconic Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, brought together an array of legendary athletes from various disciplines. However, among the star-studded guest list, one name shone brighter than ever – boxing legend Mike Tyson. Despite battling with a medical condition, Tyson graced the red carpet, captivating fans with his presence. Moreover, here he had a memorable encounter with undisputed middleweight champion Claressa Shields.

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As the night progressed, a viral video began to capture the attention of fight fans everywhere. The video featured not only Tyson but also UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones along with Shields. In addition, both Shields and Jones were honored with prestigious awards – Shields winning the Best Boxer award and Jones clinching the Best Fighter award. This was not all as the undisputed champion also posed with ‘Iron Mike’ in an iconic picture that has taken over the internet.

Fan frenzy: Mike Tyson and Claressa Shields’ unforgettable encounter sparks social media eruption

The two boxing greats took center stage for a photograph, symbolizing a rare and powerful bond between two generations of fighters. The viral photograph shared on Shields’ social media account, instantly became the talk of the town. With the caption “GWOAT  Uncle,” Shields paid a touching homage to Tyson, referring to him as a mentor. Moreover, she referred to herself as the “Greatest Woman of All Time,” a title that fans and athletes alike have lovingly bestowed upon her.

A user  touted Tyson as the ‘GOAT’ and Shields as the ‘GWOAT’. “The GOAT and GWOAT Go Champs, The Game,” he wrote.

Claressa Shield

Another user named Carmencita Smith claimed that these two legends were the best to ever compete in the sport. “2 legends, 2 of the best to ever do it,” she wrote.

According to a user named Mandy Mayers, while Tyson was a symbol for men, Shields was a role model for female boxers. “Well Alright CHAMPS Mike did it for the Men and Mz Claressa T-Rex Shields is doing it for the Ladies,” she wrote.

A user even went as far as declaring this picture to be the best one of 2023. “Boxing pic of the year,” he wrote.

Lastly, a user stated that the two will go down as pioneers when everything is said and done. “When it’s all said and done these are 2 of the greatest to ever do i,” he wrote.

The meeting of the two boxing greats at the ESPYS Awards was a monumental event. This encounter demonstrated the undeniable impact of legendary figures in sports. In addition, they will continue to inspire the next generation of athletes. As the video of their encounter continues to garner attention, the message it carries is clear, greatness transcends time, and the bond between past and present champions remains unbreakable.

Anthony Joshua will change trainers on a one-fight basis.

Joshua’s training situation has been an ongoing discussion since his first fight with Oleksandr Usyk. Following the unanimous decision loss, he split with Rob McCracken – the man who guiding him to Olympic Gold and the unified heavyweight world titles.

For the rematch Joshua would link up with Robert Garcia. A split-decision loss paired with some comments Garcia made to the media post-fight led the fighter to end that relationship early.

Derrick James – Texan trainer who won some best of the year awards recently – was then appointed.

Joshua moved his camp to the States to join the likes of Errol Spence Jr, Jermell Charlo and, most recently, Ryan Garcia in the World Class Boxing Gym. The partnership has overseen a unanimous decision win against Jermaine Franklin and a knockout of Robert Helenius.

Whilst Joshua was out of camp but still training, it was reported that he was ‘ticking over’ in Ben Davison’s gym.

Davison rose to fame when he coached Tyson Fury for his comeback, but the Morecambe man split with him before a rematch wIth Deontay Wilder in which he won the WBC World Title.

Anthony Joshua

Promoter Eddie Hearn recently told Boxing Social that Davison wasn’t only providing the facilities.

Now, the Daily Star reports that Joshua will be entirely under the tutelage of Davison for his next fight against Otto Wallin, set to be announced today. It’s said to be a logistical decision, and will see the former champion train in the UK for the Saudi Arabia bout on December 23.

‘AJ’ will then move back to James as his head coach, but many online are speculating that a good showing under Davison – who trains Leigh Wood, has worked with Devin Haney and has recently been a part of British Heavyweight Champion Fabio Wardley’s team – will make it a permanent move.

In an intriguing twist, Davison’s final bout with Fury was against Otto Wallin – a tougher-than-expected night that saw ‘The Gypsy King’ cut badly with the potential to have it waved off in Wallin’s favour. He won, but would require 47 stitches to recover.

  • Timothy Bradley believes that Gervonta Davis will soon be exposed in the boxing ring against a worthy opponent.
  • Bradley points out that inactivity is a common pattern with PBC fighters and they tend to struggle when faced with tough opponents.
  • He specifically mentions Shakur Stevenson, Devin Haney, and Teofimo Lopez as fighters who could potentially expose Davis.

Timothy Bradley asserts that Gervonta Davis has been sheltered by his handlers, who carefully select his opponents. Bradley believes Davis will soon be exposed by a formidable adversary, such as Shakur Stevenson, due to his response to pressure in the ring. He also suggests that Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez could challenge Davis. Bradley claims Davis hasn’t faced someone with a similar fighting mentality. According to Bradley, Davis’ team is wary of the potential threats and thus avoids putting him in the ring with formidable opponents.

A Hall Of Fame fighter and former world champion has claimed that Gervonta Davis ‘doesn’t like toughness.’

Davis hasn’t fought since his marquee win over Ryan Garcia back in April of this year. He had Garcia down early before knocking him out in the 7th round with a body shot.

It was a catchweight fight at 136lbs, just 1lb higher than lightweight, where he holds the WBA Regular Title. ‘Tank’ has also held belts at super lightweight and featherweight.

Despite being undefeated and seemingly on the path to being one of the best in the sport, former world champion turned pundit Tim Bradley told FightHype he has seen things that mean the Baltimore boxer will be ‘exposed’ in the future.

Bradley then cited Davis’s fight with Isaac Cruz in December 2021 as evidence.

A fight with two-weight world champion Shakur Stevenson – perhaps soon to be three – is one that fans would love to see. Davis is set to return in early 2024 with his eyes on that fight, as well as one with Devin Haney, whom he recently took aim at for past sparring rumours.

LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 01: Anthony Joshua looks on prior to the Heavyweight fight between Anthony Joshua and Jermaine Franklin at The O2 Arena on April 01, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)

Anthony Joshua has reportedly agreed to fight Otto Wallin in Saudi Arabia on 23 December with Deontay Wilder set to face off with Joseph Parker on the same night.

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk were set to meet in their historic undisputed heavyweight title fight on that date in Riyadh. But ‘The Gypsy King’s bruising night at the office against Francis Ngannou last month has seen that date pushed back to February.

Boxing officials in Saudi have decided the show will go on however and are in the process of assembling a huge night of boxing for that night just before Christmas.

Both Joshua and Wilder are ‘working to finish deals’ with Turki Alalshikh of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, the man most responsible for bringing Fury and Ngannou together last month.

While the plan is for the heavyweight rivals to face each other in 2024, the December card will have them in action in separate fights.

Should those deals be finalised this week, two-time heavyweight champion Joshua will take on Wallin in the main event, Dan Rafael reports.

The Swedish southpaw has won 26 of his 28 professional fights with his only blemish coming against Fury in 2019.

Read Also: Joshua breaks silence on links with models

Wallin turned in an impressive display that night, opening a large cut above Fury’s eye with a well-timed right hand before falling to a decision defeat.

Wilder meanwhile would take on former WBO champion Parker in the co-main event. The American has fought just one round of boxing in two years, knocking out Robert Helenius inside three minutes in October last year – his first and only fight since his trilogy defeat to Fury.

Parker meanwhile has rattled off three victories in 2023, part of the Fury vs Ngannou undercard last month where he knocked out Simon Kean in three rounds.

Talks are also underway for British heavyweight Daniel Dubois to join the card. A deal for the Londoner, who fell short in his world title fight against Usyk in August, to fight Jarell Miller is currently in the works.

Miller infamously failed a string of drug tests that saw him 2019 showdown with Joshua scrapped.

Other heavyweight fighters who could be involved in the card are Filip Hrgovic, Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sanchez and Junior Fa. Light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, who is still to fight in 2023 is expected to be involved, as could cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia.

 

The infamous Gervonta Davis vs. Devin Haney sparring session continues to be discussed.Tank’ and ‘The Dream’ are two of the biggest stars in the sport of boxing today. While the two are far from friendly these days, they have sparred and trained together on various occasions. In fact, Bill Haney recently reflected on one of those sessions.

In a recent interview, the father and coach of the lightweight champion alleged that the two had a legendary sparring session. Haney also alleged that his son stopped Davis in the heated gym war. He alleged:

It took all of a day for Gervonta Davis to respond to Bill Haney’s comments. In a since-deleted tweet off of X, the champion stated:

Gervonta Davis

Could Gervonta Davis vs. Devin Haney happen in 2024?

Gervonta Davis vs. Devin Haney is a possibility for next year, but both men have business to handle until then.

This exchange is just one of many between ‘The Dream’ and ‘Tank’ over this last year. Davis became one of the stars in boxing with his knockout win over Ryan Garcia earlier this year and was quickly called out by many.

Haney was one of those names, and he later added to his own legacy with a win over Vasyl Lomachenko over the summer. Again, the lightweight champion called out Davis, but he was dealing with law issues at the time.

As a result, Devin Haney’s next fight is slated to be a brawl with Regis Prograis next month. That will be the lightweight champion’s first bout up in weight, as he will attempt to become a two-weight champion.

Meanwhile, Gervonta Davis’ return is yet to be formally announced. However, ‘Tank’ has been linked to a January return on pay-per-view. That being said, there’s been no opponent linked to Davis as of now.

Nonetheless, a fight between Davis and Haney remains one of the bigger bouts that could be booked for 2024.

Sometimes, bouts outside the ring become the main draw. How implausible! However, if the Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney feud undergoes scrutiny, even skeptics might find themselves leaning toward the thought. An old conversation about Haney stopping Davis seems to have found a new lease on life. But like last time, a quick reply from Davis arrived, questioning the logic behind such a claim.

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@HowBoxingWorks had tweeted, “Stop making excuses; you look goofy. I don’t care what his excuse is; he got stopped regardless. Devin Haney indeed stopped Tank; get off his n*ts and look at the facts of the situation.” Just like the last time, Davis didn’t waste any time responding. He said, “M*****f***er can’t even stop someone with 8 Oz on you think he stop someone  w 14 or 16 yo boy.” Later, the Baltimorean southpaw added that the only reason they are picking on him is because he is a good publicity stunt for their match.

Devin Haney sparring rumors, Gervonta Davis’ snappy comeback

The Boxing Voice shared the tweets through an Instagram post early today. As could be expected, a slew of comments flew in. Both boxers enjoy the support of a die-hard group of fans. Many voices believed that both boxers should enter the ring and settle the argument for good.

Gervonta Davis

One fan expressed his frustration at the confusion. According to their comment, first, it was Gervonta Davis who came close to preventing Haney from continuing. Now it appears that it was Haney who turned the tables on the former. The best solution, according to the fan, would be to make a fight between the two happen. Whatever the outcome, that alone would put the debate to rest.

As they said, “At first it was tank who almost stopped Haney. Now it’s Haney who almost stopped tank? Just make the fight happen and that outcome will be the only one that matters. In the ring. Like the professionals they claim to be.”

According to one fan, Davis has a strong chin. On the other hand, Haney is not particularly known as a powerful puncher. Hence, expressing their disbelief, the fan in fact considered the claim total garbage, “Yeah, I’m calling bull**it. Tanks got a surprisingly good chin, and Devin ain’t exactly Mr. power-puncher.” For another fan, the narrative sounded unbelievable despite being a Devin Haney fan. However, they pointed out that ‘The Dream’ deserves credit for challenging the best. Hence, it’s high time ‘Tank’ started facing legitimate challenges. “Even as a Haney fan, I don’t believe that story. But respect to Haney for taking on the best. Tank needs to start taking on real challenges.

Approaching the issue a bit more directly, one fan stated that Davis would knock down Haney. Moreover, the Baltimorean isn’t lying when he says that the unified champion hasn’t knocked out any of his recent opponents: “Devin going to sleep, and Tank ain’t lying because we have yet to see him stop anyone recently.” Echoing almost similar thoughts, another user also pointed out that Devin Haney hasn’t knocked out any fighters in the last few years. Hence, they proposed to wait and watch if knocks out any future opponent like Gervonta Davis does. They wrote, “He ain’t knocked out in real fights in years; see if he gonna knock somebody out like Tank in the springs.

Clearly, given his immense popularity, most fans are finding it hard to believe in someone halting Gervonta Davis.

Enter Adrien Broner: An Insider’s Perspective

Adrien Broner, who seems to have some knowledge on the matter, spoke about it on the podcast ‘Million Dollaz Worth of Game.’ As most know, ‘AB’ is close to both Davis and Floyd Mayweather Jr. He said, “He sparred Devin. It’s packed, it’s hot. They get in there. Tank hit that n****. He hit him, boom! Then he hit him again, and he like went out… Tank got a little bit more fatigued….and once they kept going, Devin got, you know, Devin got the best of them, okay, but in a real fight time with eight-ounce gloves on, Bye.

As far as the actuals are concerned, Davis, after the Ryan Garcia fight, has yet to return to the ring. Incidentally, he even had to spend 44 days in prison for a 2020 case. Various rumor mills speculate that he might make a return by the first quarter of 2024. Devin Haney, on the other hand, after a successful title defense against Vasyl Lomachenko, has now moved to 140 to challenge Regis Prograis. The duo will meet on December 9 at the Chase Center in San Francisco. Time alone will tell whether he will stay back and fight other champions in the light welterweight division or return to the lightweight division. If he comes back, then a fight with ‘Tank’ might be in the offing.

 

Amir Khan has predicted who would win if multi-weight world champion Manny Pacquiao and Gervonta Davis ever met in the ring.

Although this very much sounds like a fantasy fight between boxers from very different generations, Pacquiao has actually said he would fight Davis at welterweight. He hasn’t fought since August 2021 when he lost to Yordenis Ugas, which was the 72nd fight of a long and decorated career.

He recently said to FightHub TV, however, that, ‘If he [Davis] wants to and comes up to 147, then we can fight. 145, maybe. It’s not a problem for me, I’m an experienced fighter.’

In light of that unlikely call out, Khan was asked by ESNEWs about the fight. At first, he was shocked at the proposition before rationalising the finances of it.

Gervonta Davis

He was then pushed for a prediction and comes down on the side of the man he has long wanted to face himself.

Davis, however, is in his prime right now. He has marquee wins over Ryan Garcia and Leo Santa Cruz and has won the IBF and WBA world titles at super-featherweight.

At 44-years-old, many would say Pacquiao should confirm retirement and that, even if he did come back, a fight with a young knockout artist like Davis seems a step too far.

Should he be able to find a way to fight in the Paris 2024 Olympics, that would represent a more realistic challenge for the legendary vetran.