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Roy Jones Jr Gives Clear Verdict On Canelo-Terence Crawford Fight: “He Understands Boxing”

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Terence Crawford wants to face undisputed super-middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez before he calls time on his campaign.

The 36-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska last fought to win all four belts at welterweight, so his calling out of the Mexican has been dismissed by some as too big of a jump in weight. Others believe he has the skills to pull it off.

Speaking to FightHype about the last time Canelo welcomed a fighter up the weight classes – the Jermell Charlo fight – multi-division champion Roy Jones Jr said he was highly impressed with the Mexican

The questions then turned to Crawford, who would be making a similar jump to Charlo if he gets the fight.

It won’t be Charlo he’s facing, but Crawford is following the pattern Jones would like to see. He fights WBA Super-Welterweight Champion Israil Madrimov on August 3, providing a good measuring stick for how he’d fare a further two divisions up.

Should he win, ‘Bud’ will either continue to push for the Canelo fight next or look to unify the titles in that division. The Mexican is out in September against Edgar Berlanga, but will be holding only three of the four belts by then.

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CELEB NEWS

Bob Arum Makes Confident Gervonta Davis-Shakur Stevenson Prediction: “I Really Believe That”

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The path is clear for Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson to make an all-American lightweight unification fight.

Davis was elevated to full WBA Champion when Devin Haney moved up a division and successfully defended his belt with a clean knockout of fellow-southpaw Frank Martin.

Stevenson fought for the vacant WBC belt against Edwin De Los Santos and then defended it against Artem Harutyunyan, both wins coming comfortably over the distance but being criticised by some for being less than entertaining. Shakur hit back at the doubters by saying he would perform at his best when he faces the best.

Enter ‘Tank’ Davis, who is now without an opponent due to IBF Champion Vasiliy Lomachenko backing out of early negotiations.

What makes things simpler still is the fact that Stevenson has now entered a period of free agency after a long stint with promotional giant Top Rank. Head honcho Bob Arum, although he may not be involved in making it happen at this stage, predicted the fight earlier this year.

He told Boxing Scene that not only does he believe Stevenson beats Davis, but Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez do too.

‘Tank’s co-trainer, Kenny Ellis, recently said that the only way the fight won’t happen is down to fear on Stevenson’s part.

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BOXING

Gervonta Davis keeps his promise as he has arrived at the Paris 2024 Olympics

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Gervonta Davis

Olympic boxing in Paris 2024 will begin July 27 with the preliminary rounds and the United States is a favorite to win multiple medals with fighters such as Joshua Edwards, Jahmal Harvey and Roscoe Hill.

All American boxers will have a great mentor in the figure of Gervonta Davis. It was reported that the WBA lightweight champion was going to be present at the summer event to support his compatriots and that is the case.

A story image on Instagram shows Gervonta Davis at the Inaugural Ceremony at the Olympic Games alongside with his family enjoying all the festivities with his loved ones and now it seems that the youngsters will be taking all his knowledge in.

The young boxers will be ready to fight

Joshua Edwards, in the 92 or more kilograms category, will face the Italian Diego Lenzi in the round of 16 and if he wins he will face the winner of the duel between Nelvie Raman Tiafack and Mahammad Abdullayev.

Jahmal Harvey is already scheduled to face LG Oliveira in the sixteenth round at 57 kilograms. For his part, Roscoe Hill, a candidate to win a medal in the 51 kilograms, will face Omid Ahmadisafa in the first round and if he wins he will fight Billal Bennama in the round of 16.

Other boxers who will also be in Paris to accompany their compatriots will be the Uzbek Gennadiy Golovkin and the Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk.

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BOXING

Roy Jones Jr Gives Honest Verdict On Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury As Fight Edges Closer

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Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury

There is real hope that Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will end up facing off in the ring sometime soon.

The careers of the two British heavyweight rivals have long been running in parallel but have yet to cross paths. Both men have been world champions for a number of years but politics and, in the case of Fury with Deontay Wilder, court rulings have kept them apart, much to the frustration of the fans.

Right now, both men have big fights to win in the coming months. In December, Fury has to try and reverse the result of his first fight with Oleksandr Usyk in which he failed to claim the undisputed title back in May.

Joshua meanwhile is hoping to become a three-time world champion when he takes on the newly elevated IBF belt holder Daniel Dubois in September.

The Fury-Usyk rematch will once again take place in Saudi Arabia, and the man behind boxing in the region Turki Alalshikh recently got ‘The Gypsy King’ on a FaceTime with AJ, confirming he wants to make the fight if the Brit can avenge his sole career defeat.

Speaking to talkSPORT Boxing, former multi-weight king Roy Jones Jr believes we might see the clash even if Fury loses again to the Ukrainian and says the fight is a pure 50/50 battle.

The ideal scenario would be both Fury and Joshua winning and then an undisputed fight between the two could well be on the cards.

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BOXING

Oleksandr Usyk Makes Final Anthony Joshua-Daniel Dubois Prediction After Beating Both

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Anthony Joshua faces Daniel Dubois on September 21 in a bid to become a three-time heavyweight champion.

The circumstances have seen Dubois, 26, elevated to IBF World Champion after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt having held onto it since 2021.

Both men’s most notable opponent in common is the Ukrainian, who beat Joshua twice over the distance to retain and defend his titles and stopped Dubois the year later to keep hold of them.

As such, Usyk, with his elite boxing brain and experience of both men in the ring, is well-placed to pick a winner. Speaking to Boxing King Media, the recently undisputed champion backed ‘AJ.’

The bookmakers agree that Joshua is most likely to get the win at Wembley Stadium, but Dubois and his team are confident they can force a changing of the guard on the British heavyweight scene.

Promoter Frank Warren believes it comes down to ‘the battle of the jabs’ and backs his man to hurt the more-experienced Joshua, however many feel the way Dubois fought in his last outing – a win over Filip Hrgovic – could see him hurt early against the big-hitting former champion.

As for Usyk, he will rematch Tyson Fury in December, this time only for three of the four belts. There is talk of the winners of the two bouts being matched-up in 2025 but that will depend largely on who and how.

The most lucrative outcome for the promotion would be for ‘AJ’ to get the better of Dubois and Fury to get revenge against Usyk, setting up a long-awaited all-British grudge match.

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BOXING

Fans In Shock At Madrimov’s New ‘Hulk’ Physique For Crawford Fight: “It’s Over If He Hits Him”

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Terence Crawford looks to become a world champion in a fourth division on August 3 when he steps up to Israil Madrimov.

Crawford has won honours at 135, 140 and 147, and will challenge Madrimov for the WBA 154 World Title in Los Angeles as part of Riyadh Season’s first promotional offering in the US. The fight is also for the WBO and WBC Interim titles, meaning ‘Bud’, should he be victorious, could look to unify and eventually become undisputed in a third weight-class.

The muscular Madrimov, a career long super-welter, is 10-0 with seven early finishes and won the belt last time out by stopping Magomed Kurbanov.

He will step through the ropes a considerable underdog with bookmakers, but is younger, fresher and bulkier than the pound-for-pound star.

The size difference was analysed by fans recently when an in-gym picture of Uzbekistan’s Madrimov did the rounds on social media, leading the poster to brand him ‘The Incredible Hulk.’

Whilst some fans said Crawford was in for a real challenge based on the picture, ‘massive, ‘he gonna beat Crawford, ‘it’s over if he hits him’, many also said the muscular frame could work to the American’s advantage.

‘His punches are too slow and wide to trouble Bud,’ said one, whilst another said his bulk could lead to gassing early – a crucial factor against the elite Crawford who has been known to expose any mistakes or openings from both the orthodox and southpaw stances. Madrimov did tend to leap in and drop his guard on occasion in his title-winning effort, something the 36-year-old from Omaha will have spotted.

Madrimov does have the clear upper-hand in activity having fought in March of this year whereas Crawford was last out in the career-defining Errol Spence Jr win in July.

The fight doesn’t just represent a legacy-building opportunity for ‘Bud’ but also a measuring stick for his ultimate goal of facing Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez. Intriguingly, Madrimov was used as a sparring partner by light-heayvweight champion Dmitry Bivol when he became just the second man to beat Canelo.

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BOXING

Top Trainer Robert Garcia Changes His Gervonta Davis-Shakur Stevenson Prediction As Fight Nears

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The collision course Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson have been on since rising through the ranks may just be ready to reach its end.

The two Americans are now champions in the lightweight division, both yet to be defeated and considered to be amongst the elite in the sport of boxing.

Fans have debated if the defensive skill of Stevenson can trump ‘Tank’s devastating power for some years now and, since Vasiliy Lomachenko recently pulled out of talks with the hard-hitting Baltimore boxer, they may find out soon.

World-class trainer Robert Garcia – who corners pound-for-pound star Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez among others – recently told FightHype that he felt Davis was unbeatable at 135.

His latest prediction on the fight with ES News – which comes just one month later – makes it a pick ’em and he highlights the skills of Shakur as to why.

There are likely many in and around the sport who are going back and forth on this one, so it’s a good thing there’s a ‘huge chance’ of it being made, that is according to Davis’ co-trainer Kenny Ellis, who says the only way it doesn’t happen is ‘fear’ on Stevenson’s part.

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BOXING

Devin Haney Roped In $10,000 Wager to Prove Why Shakur Stevenson Can’t Beat Gervonta Davis

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Even Shakur Stevenson has admitted that Gervonta Davis is a special fighter. On Cigar Talk, the boxer from Newark did not hesitate to state that Davis was blessed with a God-given ability to knock out his opponents 90% of the time. Simultaneously, opposing all the doubters, Shakur argued he could give ‘Tank’ a run for his money. However, ShowBizz the Adult remains unconvinced.

Since Vasyl Lomachenko is not “in the mood” for ‘Tank,’ Team Shakur Stevenson is ready to negotiate with Gervonta Davis. Following Lomachenko’s unprecedented exit which has been compared to Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race, Shakur’s co-manager told BoxingScene, “It’s all up to ‘Tank.’ The one thing about Shakur [is] he will take anyone you put in front of him.”

However, ShowBizz the Adult just cannot see a way Shakur can possibly beat Gervonta Davis! “Shakur has slickness but he’s not slick. The best way to explain this is Devin Haney. Devin Haney is not slick, he’s athletic. But, he’s not slick,” he began. So, who has got the slickness?

“Tank“, answered ShowBizz the Adult. “Tank was in there swimming without getting wet. And countering, he’s actually the slick fighter,” he added. In his opinion, Shakur Stevenson is more “elusive“. “He also doesn’t hit hard enough to hurt Tank,” ShowBizz continued, fearing Stevenson would be intimidated by Davis.

“Tank will knock him out. I put $10,000 on Tank for the knockout,” he concluded confidently on his stream. Although ShowBizz the Adult expected Shakur to be intimidated by Davis, Shakur’s co-manager felt otherwise.

Shakur Stevenson is not afraid of Gervonta Davis

Other than ShowBizz the Adult, Kenny Ellis, one of Gervonta Davis’ coaches, claimed that only fear could prevent Shakur Stevenson vs. Tank Davis. “The only thing that can stop that fight is fear,” Ellis said, doubting if Shakur was serious about facing ‘Tank.’ But, Shakur’s co-manager, Josh Dubin is confident that the WBC Lightweight champion truly wants the fight. “He’s been begging for it for a long time,” Dubin said.

“What Shakur wants to do – let me say it plainly – is to unify at 135,” he added. In Dubin’s opinion, as Lomachenko understood he would potentially lose against Davis, the Ukrainian boxer walked away. However, it is not the same with Shakur. “Shakur’s own enemy is his own greatness and other peoples’ fear of him,” Dubin added. With that said, do you expect Shakur Stevenson to put Gervonta Davis in a fix? Or, do you align with ShowBizz the Adult?

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BOXING

The Heavyweight Fight On Terence Crawford’s Undercard That Could Shape The Future Of The Division

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Terence Crawford

Terence Crawford and Israel Madrimov top Riyadh Season’s first card on US soil. The undercard, in typical fashion, has a standout heavyweight bout.

With the current crop of big men soon set to make way for the younger contenders, perhaps no man brings about as much hope as Jared Anderson (17-0, 15 KOs). The enigmatic 24-year-old from Toledo, Ohio has made no secret of the fact that he’s in boxing to secure a comfortable future for his family – the sport can keep the legacy and plaudits. Despite that, he could have the talent to do it all.

Like any watchable heavyweight, Anderson brings some vulnerabilities with him in the form of a strikingly open out-of-the-ring battle with the pressure on his shoulders. He also had a chin-check via former champion Charles Martin last year – one he passed but not enough to send out a warning that he can’t be hurt. Away from that, Anderson’s quick come-up has been close to punch-perfect, but that’s not unusual with a top prospect in his first dozen-or-so fights. This is, for a well-managed fighter, where the tests begin.

Enter Martin Bakole (20-1, 15 KOs), Congolese born big man fighting out of Airdrie, Scotland. According to him, he has hurt or dropped all of the best fighters in the division. Unfortunately for fans, those moments have come behind closed doors in the gym during sparring. Still, what has been witnessed is impressive – a solid gas tank for a 280lbs + man and relentless, thudding power. His one loss came to former cruiserweight Michael Hunter, perhaps a sign that Anderson’s athleticism could be key but not to be bought into if you believe Bakole’s post-fight explanation that he was under the weather for the defeat and shouldn’t have been fighting that night. Most recently he broke down and stopped former world title challenge Carlos Takam, swallowing and being stung by a bee while doing it.

Both have fight-ending power, both can be hit, the styles should gel and there’s a considerable amount of pressure – more than a token title – on each man, whether that’s becoming America’s next heavyweight hope after the downfall of Deontay Wilder or proving years of claims that you’re the division’s biggest boogeyman. Fans will struggle to find a confident prediction outside of the respective camps.

The pair face off on August 3 before Crawford attempts to become a four-weight world champion, the fluid and athletic movement of Anderson up against its most stern test in the form of brick-wall Bakole. The latter is 31, closer to the end of his campaign than Anderson but still with the time to top the division for a few years. As such, the fight could be very telling in terms of what the heavyweight landscape will look like as the current top dogs start to plan for a well-earned retirement. It’s not to be missed.

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BOXING

Shakur Stevenson Breaks Silence On ‘Negotiations’ As Tank-Loma Collapses: “My Dreams Are Near”

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Gervonta Davis and Shakur Steveson

Talks between Gervonta Davis and Vasiliy Lomachenko fell apart last week, opening the door for a more intriguing bout between ‘Tank’ and Shakur Stevenson.

Despite initial positive talks, it was confirmed that the Ukrainian, who holds the IBF World Title, had backed out due to a lack of motivation.

That leaves Davis – who is coming off an impressive knockout win over Frank Martin to retain his WBA belt – in need of an opponent. As one of the biggest stars in the sport, he shouldn’t be short of options.

The best out there in the minds of fans and pundits is Stevenson, who is the WBC Champion and would present an interesting clash of styles with the power-punching ‘Tank.’

Shakur, who has been active on social media of late defending criticism of his last two wins, first appeared to react to the news with a simple smirk emoji, but has now posted to assure fans ‘his dreams are near’ and that ‘negotiations don’t happen on Twitter.’

in a seperate post, Stevenson invited ‘Tank’s team to reach out

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