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Eddie Hearn ending Deontay Wilder feud could offer huge Anthony Joshua hint

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Deontay Wilder

Eddie Hearn and Deontay Wilder have buried the hatchet following the boxer’s surprise partnership with the promoter’s Matchroom Boxing. Wilder will face off against Zhilei Zhang on June 1 in Riyadh – with a possible fight against Anthony Joshua perhaps looming on the horizon

On Monday, rival promoters Hearn and Frank Warren revealed the rosters for their highly anticipated five-versus-five card between Matchroom and Queensberry Promotions. The team battle will be featured on the undercard of the undisputed light-heavyweight contest between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.

A union between Hearn and Wilder – his team captain – took many people in the boxing world by surprise. The pair have often been at odds with one another over the last five years, with each publicly bashing the other on multiple occasions.

Their tumultuous relationship is largely due to disagreements surrounding a potential mega-fight between Wilder and Joshua. The “Bronze Bomber” has alleged in the past that Hearn is the reason for why the fight has not happened. The 44-year-old has repeatedly clapped back at the accusations, claiming Wilder is unserious about the bout and has never beaten a formidable opponent.

It appears as though Hearn has undergone a change of heart, as he praised Wilder during Monday’s press conference. “I think this man has long been one of the most dangerous punchers in the [heavyweight] division,” he said. “This was the obvious pick to make. Deontay Wilder against Zhilei Zhang is a massive, massive heavyweight fight between two punchers.

“We’ll see what the future holds, but for one night only, we work together,” he continued. “And I believe this man’s gonna make a real statement and get back on the heavyweight scene.”

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BOXING

Anthony Joshua plans Saudi-backed September fight in London

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British heavyweight Anthony Joshua looks set to headline a major fight at London’s Wembley Stadium in September.

Promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren confirmed on Tuesday that Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s general entertainment authority and driving force behind some of boxing’s biggest fights, intends to host a show in London later this year.

With the biggest heavyweight fights being held almost exclusively in Saudi Arabia in recent times, fans in Britain have been calling for their fighters to appear on home soil more often.

It appears they may get their wish in September.

Heavyweight Filip Hrgovic, who will fight Daniel Dubois on June 1, said he has been told it is likely that the winner of their bout will fight for a world title against Joshua in London.

“The plan is for the vacant IBF title to be on the line against Dubois,” Hrgovic said.

“It should be me against Dubois for the vacant IBF belt. Then the winner should fight Joshua, but you never know in boxing.

“Joshua is the dream fight and I hope I will beat Dubois and then fight him in Wembley in September. That would be perfect.”

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will face off for the undisputed heavyweight championship on May 18, with a rematch set to follow. However, Hrgovic accepts plans can change in boxing, with fans long calling for a fight between Fury and Joshua.

“I think if Fury wins, he will do everything to fight Joshua next, he won’t want to fight Usyk again,” Hrgovic said.

“If Usyk beats Fury then they will go for a rematch so the winner of me and Dubois will fight Joshua instead. That’s my opinion.”

Warren said he intends for the September bout to be a major event.

“We’re going to do this show at Wembley together and we’ve got to make the books balance. There’s going to be a proper business approach to it and there’s going to be some major fights on it,” Warren said.

Hearn has said he expects Joshua’s next fight to be for a world title, with Dubois or Hrgovic now the likely opponent.

“Yeah it’s been mentioned to me a few times but my team deal with all that stuff,” Dubois said.

“It’s been mentioned and it’s a huge fight a huge opponent for me, the world title as well it’s huge all round.

“Two London boys fighting for the world title that would be mad.”

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BOXING

Efe Ajagba Could Face Anthony Joshua In Heavyweight Bout

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Anthony Joshua

Nigerian boxer Efe Ajagba could now face Anthony Joshua in the coming months after win against Guido Vianello.

Nigeria’s Efe Ajagba triumphed over fellow Olympian and longtime sparring partner Guido Vianello of Italy.

Nigerian boxer Efe Ajagba gets a split decision win against Guido Vianello.

After ten heavyweight rounds, Ajagba was awarded a split decision victory by two additional judges, with Vianello being pronounced the winner by one judge, 96-94.

They did a great job; Vianello got out to a fast start, and Ajagba came back to win the middle rounds.

Ajagba outperformed Vianello in terms of total punch count, mostly thanks to his jab, while Vianello won with power strikes.

The Silent Roller is now among the top 10 in the WBC rankings.

It means he now has a short-to-face British Boxer of Nigerian descent, Anthony Joshua.

Tyson Fury is the reigning WBC champion and there is expected to be a mandatory after his first fight with Oleksandr Usyk.

If stripped, Ajagba will be one of the contenders to face the number one ranked Joshua for the WBC title.

Efe Ajagba is the new WBC Silver heavyweight champion as Nigerian boxer gets disqualification against Zhan Kossobutskiy

Nigerian monster Efe Ajagba takes on Zhan Kossobutskiy on August 26th

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BOXING

‘It hasn’t healed properly’ – Tyson Fury warned cut will re-open against Oleksandr Usyk by veteran cutwoman

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Veteran cutwoman, Sammy Morris, believes the gash below Tyson Fury’s right eye will plague him for the rest of his career.

‘The Gypsy King’ had 11 stitches put in just below his eyebrow after being caught by an elbow in sparring prior to the initially proposed February 17 date for his undisputed clash with Oleksandr Usyk.

Due to the severity of the cut, organisers had no option but to push the four-belt shootout back to May 18 to allow adequate time for Fury’s eye to heal.

However, Morris, who has worked as a cutwoman in bare-knuckle boxing, MMA and gloved boxing for over ten years, believes the laceration is very likely to re-open due to it being a ‘double wound site’.

Fury previously sustained two cuts in the same area during his blood-soaked bout with Otto Wallin in 2019.

“If he did that five years ago [against Otto Wallin] and the wound has come open again five years later in exactly the same place then it hasn’t healed properly and now it’s double wound site,” Morris told talkSPORT.com.

“He’s been cut and cut again in the same place. It just goes to show that after five years it hasn’t knitted back together.

“Even by coming back in after 100 days, which is the basic recommendation of when you should fight again after a cut is meant to have healed, he runs the risk of it reopening against Usyk.”

Asked if this will be a problem that could affect Fury for the rest of his career, Morris replied: “Yes. You would have thought after five years that it wouldn’t come back open but it obviously has.

“With age, your skin loses elasticity and the collagen underneath it, so it becomes much easier for you to get cut.

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BOXING

Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk – Popular trainer makes his prediction

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Oleksandr Usyk
The heavyweights fight next month.

Shane McGuigan has made his prediction on next month’s heavyweight epic between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.

The pair clash for all the glory as four world titles will be up for grabs with the winner set to become undisputed champion.

Fury enters the bout on the back of the most disappointing career after he was dropped by Francis Ngannou before securing a controversial split decision.

That performance has made some within the boxing community favour Usyk, and that includes McGuigan.

“On recent form Usyk, I think he might nip it,” said Mcguigan when speaking to The Stomping Ground podcast.

There’s not long to wait to find out if McGuigan’s call will be correct as the rivals meet on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.

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BOXING

Crawford Vs. Ennis Bout Possible Within A Year, Says Former Champ Bey

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Mickey Bey anticipates a potential clash between Terence Crawford and Jaron Ennis facilitated by Ennis’ Matchroom Boxing deal.

A bout between Terence Crawford and Jaron “Boots” Ennis, according to former champion Mickey Bey, might occur within a year. Bey believes that the recent signing of IBF welterweight champion Boots Ennis with Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn will aid in bringing former three-division world champion Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) into the picture.

Even if he currently has no options that will guarantee him a sizable payoff, Crawford, 36, is a money-focused fighter in the latter stages of his career and doesn’t see any reason to take a risky bout against the undefeated phenom Boots (31-0, 28 KOs) unless he can make a lot of money.

“I think him being with Matchroom and being busy, I think in a year it might make sense, even for Crawford because Boots could end up fighting two or three times at least,” said Mickey Bey in media reports.

By winning the next three titles and claiming the title of indisputable champion, Boots, 26, hopes to bring the 147-pound weight class together. He might be able to accomplish that aim in a year with Hearn’s assistance.

Even if Boots does manage to accomplish that, it won’t be worth the more than a year he will spend attempting to get noticed by the casual fans. Additionally, Boots Ennis won’t be facing any well-known boxers in his quest to become the ultimate champion.

It would be more beneficial for him to concentrate on attempting to arrange fights with Crawford, Conor Benn, and Devin Haney—assuming the latter has the guts to take him on. I don’t believe Haney wants to ever fight Boots Ennis. He and his father, Bill, are extremely selective about who they fight, and because Devin is nearly as big as him, it is clear that they evaluated Boots and thought he was beyond their level of skill rather than size.

“I think it would happen at the very end of Crawford’s career. I think Eddie [Hearn] can make it happen. Maybe he can get Crawford at that weight [154] or maybe not,” said Bey on a possible battle between Boots Ennis and Crawford at 154.

It’s reasonable, to state that Crawford, 36, is still in a holding pattern, awaiting word from Canelo Alvarez on whether or not to pursue him. Crawford will be open to a bout with Boots Ennis once he sees that it’s not happening.

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CELEB NEWS

Anthony Joshua waits for winner of Tyson Fury- Usyk fight

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Anthony Joshua joked that he barely had time to enjoy Christmas before fight brokers reminded him ahead of New Year’s Eve that he would soon be turning from his late-December stoppage of Otto Wallin to meet former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou in March.

Joshua’s destructive second-round knockout demonstrated that his activity was high and the union with trainer Ben Davison was going swimmingly.

And now Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) will wait to see what transpires May 18 when the man he lost his three heavyweight belts to, Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs), steps into a ring in Saudi Arabia against Joshua’s countryman, Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs).

Although a rematch clause exists between Usyk and Fury, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has said he would like to stage the long-awaited Joshua-Fury bout in the interim, should Fury defeat Usyk.

In discussing Joshua’s future on Friday’s episode of Pro Box TV’s “Deep Waters,” analyst and former welterweight champion, Paulie Malignaggi said that he believes Joshua has fully resurrected himself from those consecutive losses to Usyk in 2021 and 2022.

“The new-look Joshua with [former Fury trainer] Davison … I’m buying what they’re selling,” Malignaggi said. “I really feel he’s a threat to Usyk if they fought a third time.”

Joshua’s ability to so convincingly defeat a problematic southpaw in Wallin, who opened up a gash on Fury that required 47 stitches to close, and then destroy Ngannouy after the former UFC heavyweight champion knocked down Fury and took the bout to the scorecards, is a significant turn.

“I’m back on the Joshua train,” said Chris Algieri, another “Deep Waters” analyst. “If I’m making a video game character of a heavyweight, I’m making that guy. He’s got everything: the look, the power, the technique; the attitude is back.”

While Joshua lost some luster in losing his U.S. debut in a stunning TKO loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. at Madison Square Garden in 2019, his revival in this Saudi doubleheader makes him the top challenger to whoever emerges victorious May 18.

The wrinkle is the Usyk-Fury rematch clause, and if that takes precedence following a tightly contested May 18 bout, then Joshua should turn to unbeaten Croatian Filip Hrgovic (17-0), should he defeat Daniel Dubois on June 1 in Saudi Arabia, said Malignaggi.

“Can we start mentioning Filip Hrgovic and make this an actual sport?” Malignaggi roared. “Hrgovic has been avoided. The Joshua-Hrgovic and Fury-Usyk winners should fight.”

Algieri agreed that if Hrgovic “washes, dismantles” Dubois, then he deserves that opportunity to test Joshua’s chin.

“We’ve seen Joshua be inconsistent, and that inconsistency starts here,” Algieri said, motioning to his head.

A heavy blow to Joshua’s head “can happen anytime, and it’s like what Mike Tyson said: your life changes with one punch. It’d be very easy for [Joshua] to revert to that guy who struggled against Andy Ruiz.”

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BOXING

Devin Haney and his desire for Ryan Garcia to own up to Gervonta Davis loss

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Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia

Devin Haney, the undefeated WBC-recognised super lightweight champion, is determined to maintain his unblemished record in the ring. On April 20, he will face his former amateur rival, Ryan Garcia, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

In the world of elite boxing, Devin Haney stands out as one of the fittest fighters in the world today. His flawless performance in December against former undisputed lightweight champion Regis Prograis earned him the WBC 140-pound title, cementing his position as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.

Fight against Prograis

According to CompuBox stats, in his fight against Prograis, Haney landed 129 of 367 punches, while his opponent only managed to land 36 of 323. The latter was a CompuBox defensive record for a 12-round fight, and Prograis was only able to get over two punches in more than four full rounds.

Haney told The Sporting News: “I was definitely able to show more of my repertoire in that fight. I think people are starting to realise how great I am. Every fight, I’m constantly improving, and this fight will be no different. The world will recognise my talent again after this and they will see how exceptional Devin Haney is once again. I just keep progressing, getting stronger and maturing. The lightweight division is where I belong.”

Although the fight against Prograis marked Haney’s debut in the super lightweight division, he managed to knock the bigger man down with a single right hand in the third round. After that blow, Prograis showed no rush to close the distance, allowing Haney to comfortably dominate the remainder of the fight.

Move to super lightweight

The champion is certain that his move to super lightweight has been hugely beneficial to his performance, especially after struggling to make 135lbs. However, he refuses to accept that Garcia’s weight cut to 136lbs for his fight against Gervonta “Tank” Davis is a valid excuse for his knockout defeat last April.

“I’m much stronger and faster. I feel comfortable and I don’t have to kill myself in camp,” Haney said. “I don’t focus on weight, I focus on improving and perfecting my craft. That’s the main thing, it’s not just a weight-cutting camp.

It’s been more than four years since Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) has had a knockout victory. That came in his showdown against Zaur Abdullaev (TKO 4), just before he was crowned world champion. Since then, he has racked up eight unanimous decision wins, with only Vasiliy Lomachenko being a real challenge in that time.

When talking to him, it’s clear that Haney would like to end the knockout drought and sees “King Ry” as the perfect match. “We’ve seen Ryan get reckless. We know he gets reckless and too anxious. If he gets too anxious, he’ll run into something.”

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BOXING

Ryan Garcia Given a Knockout Chance against Terence Crawford; Curmel Moton Lashes Out at Fantasy Matchmaker

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Terence Ryan

The one punch that Ryan Garcia has greatly boasted of is his left hook. Ahead of the fight against Gervonta Davis aka Abdul Wahid, ‘KingRy’ argued that he would put ‘Tank’ to sleep provided he touched the boxer from Baltimore with his favorite punch. But, ‘Tank’ knocked out ‘KingRy’ in the 7th round. Anyway, against Devin Haney on March 30th for the WBC Super-Lightweight title, Ryan Garcia will likely depend on his left hook again for the win.

In this context, Ray Jackson wondered about a fantasy match between Garcia and former two-time undisputed champion Terence Crawford. As Jackson hoped Garcia would land his left hook on ‘Bud’, Floyd Mayweather’s protege Curmel Moton intervened. Here is what happened.

Can Ryan Garcia’s left hook KO Terence Crawford?

Lately, Terence Crawford told Boxing Social that Ryan Garcia vs. Devin Haney was a “great fight“. Although he thought both were hungry, Crawford believed Devin Haney had the edge. In his opinion, ‘The Dream’ was “more polished” and “well rounded”. Of course, Crawford’s statements upset ‘KingRy’. For the same reason, Garcia recently wrote on X, “I respect Crawford and what he has reached but I want to kick his a** just cause.” On that note, Ray Jackson now argued that ‘KingRy’ could KO ‘Bud’ with his left hook.

“Bud did get ROCKED by Gamboa so it’s a small possibility Ryan could land that left hook and KO him,” wrote Ray Jackson, referring to Yuriorkis Gamboa vs. Terence Crawford which ‘Bud’ won via a 9th-round TKO. But, as soon as the tweet came to Curmel Moton’s notice, he said, “You tryna p*ss boxing twitter off today.”

In other words, Moton fails to believe that Ryan Garcia can survive against ‘Bud’ Crawford relying on his left hook. In this connection, one must mention that while Garcia favors his left hook, Roy Jones Jr. recently advised ‘KingRy’ to have more “weapons” against Devin Haney.

Roy Jones Jr. thinks Ryan Garcia’s left hook is not sufficient

According to former Cruiserweight champion Roy Jones Jr., between Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney, the more mature and developed fighter will win. In his opinion, it is a matter of who can “hold on the longest”. And while he knows that ‘KingRy’ is familiar with Devin Haney’s skills as they fought six times as amateurs, Jones Jr. wants Garcia to have more than a left hook.

“You can’t just depend on the left hook. Everybody knows about your left hook now,” he said. “I think he should develop more tools. His right hand, jab, body shots. Develop a few more weapons,” Roy Jones Jr. added. Hopefully, Garcia will take Jones Jr.’s advice into consideration and exhibit better tools against Haney. But, do you think Ryan Garcia has a chance against Terence Crawford in the ring?

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BOXING

Frank Martin Cautions ‘People Are Going To See The Unexpected’ When He Fights Gervonta Davis

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Though Frank Martin versus Gervonta Davis has not been confirmed, Martin last week did nothing to cool the rumors during Ryan Garcia’s public workout in Dallas.

There has been long-term speculation that the WBA lightweight world champion Davis will next fight Martin on Saturday, June 22, on Prime Video PPV.

Martin, 18-0 (12 KOs), a gym-mate of Garcia – who trains with Derrick James in Dallas, Texas – appeared at the gym during Garcia’s workout and the No. 2 contender for the lightweight world title held by Davis, 29-0 (27 KOs) hasn’t fought since last July, when he won a unanimous decision over Artem Harutyunyan.

Since that bout, Martin more rumors implied that he would face Shakur Stevenson, but the fight fell through. Now, the 29-year-old known as “The Ghost” could be getting a fight against one of boxing’s brightest stars in 29-year-old Davis.

“A lot of people are going to see the unexpected,” Martin said to FightHub TV. “Everybody knows who Tank [Gervonta Davis] is – he is a star. A lot of people don’t really know who I am in the boxing world.”

Martin views the potential fight as an opportunity and, with a nod to a rehydration clause that Garcia apparently suffered from when he fought Tank last April, Martin would not have to agree to the same terms.

Martin confirmed: “No rehydration clause or catchweight”, with a nodding approval, implying that it would be a standard lightweight bout.

“It is one of my opportunities for me to wake the world up,” added Martin.

Davis has not boxed since last April, when he knocked out Garcia in the seventh-round of their PPV hit.

Davis was sentenced to 90 days of house arrest as well as three years of probation after the fight, stemming from a Baltimore hit-and-run case. On June 1, 2023, Davis was deemed to have violated the terms of his house arrest and ordered to fulfil the remainder of his sentence behind bars and was released 44 days later – but he has yet to have a fight announced.

Martin made it clear that he has started preparation to face Davis, who is one of the biggest stars in the sport.

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