Boxing Archives - Page 19 of 183

Oleksandr Usyk has stepped in with Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, but neither gave him his heaviest knock.

Usyk is the current reigning undisputed heavyweight champion after making history with a decision win over Fury in Saudi Arabia.

It was a monumental achievement to hand Fury his first defeat, and adds on to his back-to-back wins over Anthony Joshua in 2021 and 2022.

The Ukrainian has also been in with two other Britons in the shape of Daniel Dubois and Derek Chisora, but he believes the latter packed the most power he has faced.

Usyk responded on the Three Knockdown Rule podcast when asked who was his toughest and hardest hitting opponent: “Toughest fight – yes it was [Fury].

“Biggest punch – no. Because Derek Chisora, very tough guy.

“[One punch landed] on the gloves and I said, ‘Oh my God.’ Like a baseball bat.”

Chisora was Usyk’s second test in the blue-riband division, after he stepped up and vacated his status as undisputed champion at cruiserweight.

‘WAR’ put up a brave fight against Usyk, and even looked on top in earlier parts of the fight, using his relentless work rate and body shots to rough up the champion.

This outing led to many doubts over the Ukrainian’s size at heavyweight, but those concerns have been proven complete

He has become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999, and has dismantled some elite fighters in the process.

Now, an immediate rematch lays in wait on December 21, where Usyk will look to preserve his undisputed status.

But it is expected he will be stripped of his IBF belt before that date, despite filing an ‘exemption’ to the rule through his team.

Usyk did find himself under the pressure in the sixth round of their maiden encounter, after Fury landed a huge uppercut.

He was able to reverse momentum, but has now admitted it was a moment of real adversity.

The 37-year-old continued: “When I get the uppercut it was very pain.

BOXING

Anthony Joshua Waiting on Verdict From IBF Before Choosing September Foe

The status of the IBF heavyweight title could yet determine Anthony Joshua’s next opponent.

Joshua is expected to fight at Wembley Stadium in September, and after his fellow Briton Daniel Dubois so impressively stopped Filip Hrgovic he became the favourite to be stood in the opposite corner.

Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren has already said that that is what they are “working on” – Joshua was ringside in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to watch Dubois beat Hrgovic, aware that the winner was to be his likeliest opponent on September 21 – but had Deontay Wilder beaten Zhilei Zhang he would have represented another potential opponent, and Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed that Zhang is also in contention.

In 2018 Joshua defeated Joseph Parker, and after Parker’s victories over Wilder and Zhang he, similarly, is another Hearn says is under consideration. Zhang and Parker are perhaps also less dangerous opponents than is the 26-year-old Dubois.

The winner of May’s undisputed heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk had long been on course to be stripped of the IBF title so that it could be contested by Hrgovic, the organisation’s long-term mandatory challenger, and Dubois. Usyk regardless followed his victory that night by requesting that he retain it so that he and Fury can again fight for the undisputed title in their rematch on December 21; the consequences of whatever decision the IBF take could therefore directly impact Dubois.

How relevant it is that the IBF harmed their reputation in 2023 when stripping Terence Crawford, then the undisputed champion, of their welterweight title remains unclear, but Hearn said: “Ultimately His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] will decide who the opponent is, with myself, with ‘Josh’, with 258 [Management], but the key for ‘AJ’ is for him to become world champion again.

“If that’s Dubois for the IBF, that’s probably the frontrunner; if the belt’s not on the line, it might be Zhang, or it might be Parker. Those three, I think, are decent names, but no decision’s been made yet, and I don’t think it will be for another week or so.

“There’s a press conference on the 26th of June, and that’s when we’ll announce, but either or any of them – we don’t really care.

“[What the IBF do will] be part of our decision.

“Yeah, there is [value in Usyk retaining their title], but also a mandatory’s due, and it’s been due for a long time. Having won that fight, Usyk ‘must’ face [interim champion] Dubois next, and he’s not going to, so it’ll likely free up [the title].”

Joshua, 34, also has an agreement to fight the winner of the rematch between Fury and Usyk. In the event of him winning the IBF title in September he will hope that that later fight will be for the undisputed title; there is also the consideration of jeopardising that future date.

“Yeah, for sure, ‘cause he’s got confidence,” Hearn responded when asked if seeing Dubois beat Hrgovic meant he had come to consider him a more dangerous opponent.

“It’s a very good fight. Dubois’ coming off the [Jarrell] Miller win and Hrgovic – Hrgovic is an absolute, undebatable, top-10 heavyweight. Might even be top five or six, so that was a massive win for him, and he proved that he’s tough enough now. We know he can always punch. He’s very strong. It’s a dangerous fight, and it’s two Brits.

“I mean, [Joshua] sells out against anyone. But if it’s for Britain – if it’s for the world [IBF] heavyweight title – [Dubois] starts to become a huge fight.

BOXING

Gervonta Davis Says He’ll Whoop All Comers But One Bitter Rival Will Be ‘Slaughtered’

Gervonta Davis is one of boxing’s biggest names and one of few true pay-per-view stars, which is why he is not short on confidence when speaking about his own abilities in the ring.

Baltimore banger Davis has very much backed up the huge potential he showed early in his career with increasingly impressive performances against ever-better opponents.

One of his early coming-out parties was an impressive one-shot stoppage win over Leo Santa Cruz, and then last April he took things up to another level with a early finish against Ryan Garcia that came via a body shot.

Garcia has since gone on to beat two weight-world champion Devin Haney – although the victory is current shrouded in controversy due to a failed doping test – which has only seen ‘Tank’s stock rise once more.

Following a time out of the ring due to legal and personal issues, ‘Tank’ is back in action this month against Frank Martin when he will defend the WBA belt he’s held since being upgraded to full champion when Haney vacated and moved up to super-lightweight.

Ahead of that bout, Davis was asked by ES News about how he would fair against several of his peers. He claimed he would ‘ass whoop’ Teofimo Lopez, Frank Martin and Ryan Garcia, would ‘spank’ his former mentor Floyd Mayweather and a fight with former welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr would be a ‘headlock.’

When asked about Shakur Stevenson, with whom he has been linked many times in recent years and has an increasingly savage war of words, he took things up a notch.

‘Tank’ reserved the same judgement for Haney.

One man Davis has been linked with always reserved respect for is four-weight and two-time undisputed champion Naoya Inoue, though the difference in weight between the two might be too much to ever bridge.

BOXING

Gervonta Davis Predicts Knockout Round for Frank Martin Fight

Baltimore native Gervonta Davis will return to action after a more than 15-month hiatus following his match with Ryan Garcia. ‘Tank’ is slated to square off against Frank Martin within days. Both boxers have perfect records and have never lost a fight in their professional careers. Ahead of their showdown on June 15th, there is a lot of buzz among fans surrounding the contest.

Davis has recently stirred up a conversation online as he set a particular round to knock out Martin. ‘Tank’ is one of the finest lightweight boxers of today’s generation, with a 29-0 record, and an astonishing 27 knockout victory count. But it takes something else to predict the knockout round of your opponent days before the fight. It requires the genius of Muhammad Ali.

Gervonta Davis follows the footsteps of boxing, great Muhammad Ali

Former world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali was notorious for foreseeing his opponent’s knockout round before the fight. He was really accurate about it. Similarly to the legendary boxer, ‘Tank’ also predicted Martin’s knockout round.

Recently, Davis took to X and just wrote, “9!!”. Boxing fans quickly understood the boxer had mentioned the round when he would send Martin to sleep. Interestingly, this knockout saga has a twist in between.

During several interviews leading up to the fight day, both boxers asserted they were ending the bout through a knockout. Not too long ago, Martin was asked if he still stands by his words, and he said, “Yeah, you know like, Tank can be knocked out. You know, he ain’t exempt from getting knocked out. So if he getting there, act up, he gonna run into something. Or I might go get him.”

Both men sound confident to end the clash via knockout. Amidst this banter between the two, Ryan Garcia has also stepped in to give his verdict on the subject.

Ryan Garcia picks his side

Ryan Garcia came off a spectacular victory against Devin Haney in April. It is still unclear, though, who won the fight as Garcia tested positive for using a banned performance-enhancing drug. However, it is still being looked at. So, for the time being, Garcia can consider it a win. Moving on, he even took to his X account and predicted who would get knocked out between Davis and Martin.

‘King Ryan’ wrote in a post, “I will bet 1 million that Gervonta will KO frank martin within 7 rounds I love frank but the truth is the truth”. Garcia also seized this opportunity to challenge Errol Spence Jr. for a battle. Coming back to the topic, Garcia believes Tank’s powerful blow would put Martin to sleep on the ground. Although Tank is the betting favorite, Martin has never been defeated in his professional career, and has an 18-0 record, with 12 knockouts. So, the fight can go either way.

The stage is set for the June 15th clash at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas. American fans can also stream the fight on Amazon Prime PPV. Meanwhile, what do you think about the banter? Who will knock out whom? Put down your thoughts in the comments below.

BOXING

Gervonta Davis Names His Dream Opponent: “He’s A Complete Fighter”

Gervonta Davis is one of the most explosive punchers and watchable fighters in the sport of boxing. He’s well qualified to spot someone in the same category.

‘Tank’ is undefeated in 29 and has finished 27 of those opponents inside the distance. Usually the smaller man, the Baltimore boxer uses timing and patience to his advantage in the ring.

Although he has been embroiled in plenty of beef with fellow fighters, one can look to the the lower weight classes to find a man he truly respects in the sport – Naoya Inoue.

The 27-0 Japanese phenomenon became two-time undisputed last year by collecting all the belts at super-bantamweight. Despite being in the 122lbs ranks, there’s rarely a fighter who makes it twelve against Inoue.

Although Davis is currently campaigning at 135, there has been talk amongst fans and even promotors about the two stars meeting in the ring, either at 130 or a catchweight.

Speaking to the press in mid-2023, Davis branded a match-up against Inoue as ‘a dream fight.’

He continued to praise the undefeated knockout artist in a more recent interview with Boxing News.

Unfortunately for fans who want to see it, ‘Tank’ ended that more recent interview by casting doubt on the fight and Inoue has said similar previously.

Davis is next out this month against fellow undefeated southpaw Frank Martin, in which he will put his WBA Lightweight World title on the line.

BOXING

“It’s Over for the Heavyweight Division”: Jared Anderson Training With Terence Crawford Gets Fans All Hyped Up for Martin Bakole Fight

ESPN Ringside has shared a few snapshots of Jared Anderson and Terence Crawford. It shows the former undisputed welterweight champion watching with rapt attention while the young heavyweight contender trains. Since the time they came, the photos have been gaining considerable traction among fans.

On August 3, Terence Crawford will kick off his campaign in the 154-pound weight class. He will face WBA light middleweight champion Israil Madrimov. The event, conducted under Riyadh Season’s auspices, features quite a few exciting cards. It seems there are two non-title fights, both in the heavyweight division. Aside from the bout between Andy Ruiz Jr. and Jarrell Miller, upcoming contender Jared Anderson squares up against Martin Bakole.

Terence Crawford and Jared Anderson, Understanding Sweet Science Together

The tweet read, “Bud and Big Baby in the lab.” 24-year-old Anderson defended his regional title against Ryad Merhy on August 13 last year. In Bakole, he faces a formidable opponent with a justified pedigree. The Congolese boxer stands as the as the number one ranked boxer on the WBA’s heavyweight list. Clearly, ‘The Real Big Baby’ doesn’t want to leave any stone unturned.

Understandably, the Toledo-born boxer may perhaps want to retain his unbeaten streak. Additionally, a win over another ranking heavyweight promises a better standing in the hierarchy. There were talks of fighting against Deontay Wilder. But as it appears, the showdown may now have a negligible chance of happening, given how ‘The Bronze Bomber’ suffered his fourth defeat at the hands of Zhilei Zhang.

BOXING

WBC Downgrades Terence Crawford to Welterweight Champion in Recess

Terence Crawford’s days at welterweight appear to be numbered, and sanctioning bodies seem to feel the same way, too.

On Monday, the WBC downgraded the former undisputed 147-pound titleholder to “champion in recess.”

Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) has not fought since dominating Errol Spence Jr. in a ninth-round stoppage last July for all of the division’s titles.

The Nebraska native Crawford’s next fight is scheduled for Aug. 3 at 154 pounds, against WBA titleholder Israil Madrimov. A WBO interim belt will also be on the line, and by the time the fight takes place, it could be for the full belt, as current champion Sebastian Fundora (who also holds the WBC junior middleweight title) is expected to be stripped of his WBO status as he eyes a showdown against Spence instead of moving forward with his mandatory fight.

“The WBC Board of Governors has voted in favor of accepting our proud WBC welterweight champion, Terence Crawford, to be placed as champion in recess in the welterweight division,” the WBC said in a statement. “The WBC Board also voted in favor of officially sanctioning Crawford vs. Madrimov as a final elimination bout for the mandatory position in the super welterweight division. Terence Crawford will inform the WBC which division he wishes to compete in after the August fight.”

The WBC did not outline the next steps for its current interim welterweight titleholder Mario Barrios, who earned the belt in September during a unanimous decision win against Yordenis Ugas. Barrios defended his interim title against Fabian Maidana in May.

Crawford, 36, has fought as a welterweight since 2018 and maintained that a move to 154 pounds was imminent.

In November, the IBF stripped Crawford of his title and elevated Jaron Ennis to its titleholder.

Last week, Brian Norman knocked out Giovanni Santillan and was awarded the WBO interim welterweight title.

Eimantas Stanionis is currently the WBA “regular” welterweight titlist, and the sanctioning body is the next organization set to make their ruling around Crawford’s status as division titleholder.

BOXING

American Knockout Artist To Face ‘Most Avoided Heavyweight’ On Terence Crawford Card

Heavyweights Martin Bakole and Jared Anderson are the latest additions to Riyadh Season’s first card on US shores – headlined by Terence Crawford – after Tim Tszyu versus Vergil Ortiz Jr was cancelled.

Turki Alalshikh promised a big replacement and, in terms of power, he has delivered. Tszyu’s cut from the Sebastian Fundora fight turned out too bad to fight again so soon, meaning fans miss out on what was an excellent piece of matchmaking, at least for now.

To keep the hype high, the promotion has decided to step undefeated Anderson up against Bakole – the Congolese heavyweight fighting out of Scotland that his promoter and trainer claim is the most avoided in the division.

Bakole is coming off an impressive stoppage of heavyweight stalwart Carlos Takam in Saudi Arabia, and recently missed out on a fight with Joe Joyce. His record is lacking big names, something he believes is due to the beatings he puts on fighters in the gym being enough to convince them against a pro bout.

Anderson has been consistent in saying he wants to take on all comers. The 24-year-old has stopped fifteen in seventeen wins, but did show some vulnerabilities when he stepped up against former world champion Charles Martin.

Terence Crawford tops the bill in his debut at 154lbs challenging for Israil Madrimov’s WBA title and the vacant WBO. The card also features Isaac Cruz vs Jose Valenzuela for Cruz’s WBA super lightweight title, an intriguing heavyweight bout between Andy Ruiz and Jarrell Miller, David Morrell against Radivoje Kalajdzic and Cuban sensation Andy Cruz vs Antonio Moran.

BOXING

In Defeated Deontay Wilder, Eddie Hearn Sees Anthony Joshua at His Lowest

Eddie Hearn, who acted as promoter for former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in his crushing fifth-round loss to Zhilei Zhang in Saudi Arabia last Saturday, witnessed a psychologically crushed fighter in the dressing room after the fight.

The Matchroom Boxing boss had seen something similar before: It was behind the scenes, following Anthony Joshua’s second consecutive loss to Oleksandr Usyk.

“The reaction that I saw from Wilder after the [Zhang] fight was similar to when AJ lost to Usyk in the second fight,” Hearn said. “It looked to me like a guy who had given everything in camp and just completely set his mind and focus on victory …

“It was frustration.

“Obviously AJ performed well against Usyk, but Deontay didn’t look himself.”

The showings were indeed different. Joshua had lost a close decision, performing better in the rematch than he had in the first fight. Wilder, however, was knocked out in five rounds, and the 38-year-old was slow to pull the trigger throughout.

“I’ve seen Deontay fight live twice, against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, and, for me, it’s difficult to say he’s not the same fighter because I’ve not [often] seen him live,” Hearn said. “But the confidence to let his hands go is not there anymore – and that’s what made Wilder.

“If you’re getting pushed back by Zhang and you’ve got the right hand cocked, you’ve got to let it go, and he couldn’t let it go. When he did, it didn’t look like it had the zip that it used to.”

Hearn stopped short of saying Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) should now walk away.

“I don’t think anyone has the right to say he should retire,” Hearn said. “But at the level you would expect he wants to box at, I don’t think he can perform there anymore. If he said, ‘I’m done,’ I think that would be the right call.

“At a lower level, he could go on for another two or three years, but I don’t think that’s his motivation.”

Hearn nonetheless enjoyed working with “The Bronze Bomber” at last. For many years, efforts from both sides to get Joshua and Wilder together came to nothing.

But the promoter saw a fighter who still believed in his future in the fight build-up. One that was understandably crushed, as he digested the realization of his defeat, in the aftermath.

“I know how much he wanted to win,” Hearn said. “When I saw [his trainer] Malik Scott the next morning, he was saying, ‘We had a good camp and we were expecting it to happen for us,’ but sometimes that’s the way it goes.

“When your time is up, your time is up.”

BOXING

Anthony Joshua has three potential opponents for September but must wait to decide for one reason

Anthony Joshua isn’t at the tail end of his career yet, but he’s certainly at a point where he must be meticulous and make the proper decisions in order to maximize what he has left in the tank.

The 34-year-old has bounced back from back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk with four straight victories, the last three of which have been simply dominant. That has put Joshua in a great spot for a big fight or world title shot.

Anthony Joshua isn’t at the tail end of his career yet, but he’s certainly at a point where he must be meticulous and make the proper decisions in order to maximize what he has left in the tank.

The 34-year-old has bounced back from back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk with four straight victories, the last three of which have been simply dominant. That has put Joshua in a great spot for a big fight or world title shot.

Daniel Dubois should be Joshua’s opponent if IBF title is on the line

There are essentially three names that he must choose between, but his decision still hinges on Usyk, according to Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn.

Hearn concedes that the IBF‘s decision whether to strip Usyk of the belt will play a major part in their opponent selection. Usyk taking the rematch against Tyson Fury has put the IBF in a tough position. Although they have said they could potentially grant an exception for Usyk to keep his belt, it’s not a given.

If it gets freed up, Dubois is the mandatory challenger, and that would set up an epic British showdown for the title at Wembley Stadium in September with Joshua. Of all of the options, that one is the most tantalizing, at least for boxing fans.