Breaking
Tag

Boxing

Browsing
BOXING

“He made the highlight film”: Bill Haney Targets Floyd Mayweather for Creating Devin Haney vs Gervonta Davis Sparring Fiasco

By
Gervonta Davis

The lead-up to the fight between Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney is filled with name-calling. The latter’s father-cum-trainer, Bill Haney, has now roped in Floyd Mayweather and his business aide, Leonard Ellerbe, accusing the duo of recording a controversial sparring video of his son, that went viral earlier this month.

Hostilities percolate deep within for the 20th April matchup. ‘Ry’ in his means of pulling down his opponent, leaked a video of Gervonta Davis causing serious damage to ‘The Dream’ in an old sparring session at the Mayweather Gym. While it looked like the controversy had died down in light of Ry’s other internet antics, it seems like senior Haney is still sore about it.

Bill Haney speaks up for his son!

When asked about the video that showed his son taking some major beating, a riled-up Bill Haney blamed Mayweather and his promotion company’s CEO Leonard Ellerbe for recording the video. He remarked to Fight Hub TV, “He didn’t leak the video, he made the highlight film and then gave it to Ryan Garcia to leak it.”

As per reports, the video dates back to when Devin, now 25, was almost 17 and ‘Tank’, now 29 was 21. In the video, Tank can be seen going hard at Haney, leaving him hardly any moment to recuperate. While it showed the 2-division champion under heavy pressure, he claimed that the fight was edited to omit the last few moments of it.

Why did they not release the entire video, though? Senior noted, “Same reason why Floyd didn’t show the video of Devin when he got in his a**. Imma tell you this one time, I guarantee you, after Floyd got in there with Devin, he rethought boxing from a professional standpoint and not an exhibition standpoint.”

In an earlier interview, Senior Haney claimed that when ‘Money’ and his son sparred, the former welterweight champion was not even close to making it equal to Devin Haney. He noted, “He should’ve showed the sparring video of him and Devin while he’s showing all those sparring videos. And it was 6-0, it wasn’t close.” 

The Haneys and Mayweather are not on good terms. Post the ‘KingRy’ fight, if he successfully dominates it, Haney will strongly push for a fight against the WBA light titlist, Tank. While he is no longer associated with ‘Pretty Boy’, there are worries if his cordial relationship with the latter implicates the fight against Haney. To these concerns, Bill Haney has an answer.

‘Money’ cannot harm Devin Haney vs. Gervonta Davis

In the conversation, Bill Haney observed that his beef with Mayweather and Ellerbe would not jeopardise a fight between his son and Davis. After all, it is the audience that seeks this fight, and their wish is his command.

He explained, “No, the people pay the bills. Leonard don’t pay the bills. Floyd don’t pay the bills. The people, all you guys, pay for the fight. They can’t, we don’t dictate that. You guys put the bullseye on a fighter’s back. Leonard don’t dictate nothing.”

Keep Reading
By
BOXING

“They want to see a rematch” – Isaac Cruz says fans want to see him fight Gervonta Davis once again

By
Gervont Davis

When the time comes to look back on their biggest nights in the ring, they will want to tell you stories of success and glory, not tales of regret where they were remembered as the nearly man or woman.

Isaac Cruz, 25-2-1 (17), is now into his 10th year as a pro. A blip in his sixth fight losing to Luis Montano Alvarez over eight rounds was a lesson for Cruz about discipline, commitment, and improvement.

His progression, though, continued and the Mexican’s career took off in America by putting his pressure tactics to good use to beat Thomas Mattice in 2020. This was followed by a spectacular performance against Diego Magdaleno with the fight finishing in 53 seconds. The momentum continued in 2021 with a physically tough win against veteran Francisco Vargas.

Later that year “Pitbull” Cruz faced the challenge of emerging superstar Gervonta “Tank” Davis. This was to be the defining night in the career of Cruz, at lightweight, in front of over 15,000 fans inside the Stapes Centre in Los Angeles. The Mexico City battler used his strength and pressure to give Davis the toughest night of his career and ended the Baltimore boxer’s 16-fight knockout streak. Despite his best-efforts Cruz lost by unanimous decision but his reputation and credibility had increased.

Twenty-five months later and Cruz is back in the world title picture and his debut at super-lightweight will see him compete for the WBA’s 140lbs world title against Rolando Romero. Their bout acts as chief support to Tim Tszyu vs. Sebastian Fundora in what is Amazon Prime’s first night as broadcast partner to Premier Boxing Champions.

Cruz lost out against Davis and to this day is still best known to fans for his performance. A showing which bettered the efforts of Romero – who lost to Davis in 2022 – and Ryan Garcia’s defeat during his modern-day super-fight against Davis last April.

“I’m focused on March 30 but it’s impossible to have people forget about the Gervonta Davis [fight] because they want to see a rematch,” Cruz told Boxing News.

“So, becoming a world champion will give me a greater possibility of obtaining a rematch but first thing’s first, March 30 and getting the win there.”

Rolando Romero, 15-1 (13 KOs) has typically tried to get under the skin of Cruz during the build-up with his own brand of trash talking. The 28-year-old won his belt 10 months ago in an underwhelming effort against elder statesman of the lightweight division Ismael Barroso. The ninth-round stoppage was a bizarre ending after referee Tony Weeks waved the contest off when very few, if any, punches landed on the Colombian.

BN asked Cruz that regardless of his low opinion of Romero does he think his opponent is a good fighter.

“I respect everybody and he’s a champion for a reason and that’s all I have to say about that.”

Moving on, then…

Earlier this month on March 19 marked the ninth anniversary of Cruz’s professional debut at just 16 years old. A one-round knockout victory against Luis Yan Revilla was the beginning of his adventure and described the time since then as “amazing”.

“They’ve been nine amazing years and we have been evolving and achieving what we want to achieve. There’s also been nine tough years but out of those tough parts we took the best from them, and I’ve been able to become a better person and a better fighter for it.”

“Winning the world title will be a dream come true,” he added. “A culmination of years of effort and it will be about seizing the opportunity after so much time and it will be the confirmation of everything I’ve strived for in my career.”

Defeat to Romero borders on unthinkable for Cruz. He hasn’t come this far to be beaten by someone he has disdain for. And while winning his first major title would mean everything the hopes of landing a financially rewarding rematch against Gervonta Davis will be shredded if he doesn’t beat “Rolly” on Saturday night.

“It will be a huge disappointment,” Cruz said of the possibility.

“I will be basically throwing [away] everything that I’ve done and strived for nine years of my career. And the last three months of preparation will go straight in the trash. I don’t want that to happen.”

Keep Reading
By
BOXING

“We Literally Talk for Five-Five and a Half Hours”: Leonard Ellerbe Explains How He Motivated Rolly Romero After Gervonta Davis Fight

By
Gervonta Davis

Gervonta Davis proved his might when he dethroned a rising star with a thunderous knockout victory over Rolly Romero. The sixth-round left-hand blast extinguished Romero’s perfect record and solidified Davis’ dominance in the lightweight division. Before the explosive finish, the fight lived up to its bad blood billing.

Romero, considered Davis’ biggest threat, surprised many by holding his own. One judge even had him leading on the scorecards. But Davis, known for his knockout power, turned the outcome in his favor. Besides this, Romero sat down for an interview with his promoter Leonard Ellerbe, who recalled the conversation they had right after his fight against ‘Tank’.

Leonard Ellerbe goes back to the memory lane

In a candid conversation with the boxer Rolly Romero and his promoter Leonard Ellerbe on Fight Hub TV, details emerged about their discussion following Romero’s defeat to Gervonta Davis on May 28, 2022. Ellerbe revealed the depth of their conversation. He further highlighted Romero’s initial dejection and the subsequent pep talk aimed at lifting his spirits. He stated, “I give you another great example. After the Tank fight, we were on the plane together, we sat next to each other and we literally talk for five-five and a half hours…”

Then he also added, “Yeah, and we talked the entire time. And obviously he was dejected, you know. Coming off of his first loss, and the magnitude of what it was. And I was just like, ‘Yo like, pick your damn head up. Yo, it’s like you lost to the best motherf***er in the entire world, okay. You’re not going to fight anybody else like him. Nobody’s going to be better than him that you ever step in the ring with in this generation right here.”

He stated that the best boxer won that night, and he shouldn’t be making any excuses because he did his best as a fighter. Moreover, Romero even compared his upcoming opponent Isaac Cruz‘s fight against Davis with his fight against Tank.

Rolly Romero gives a perfect comparison

Super lightweight champion Rolly Romero throws shade at Gervonta Davis ahead of his own fight with Isaac Cruz. Romero claims Davis’s struggle against Cruz wasn’t a sign of Cruz’s brilliance, but Davis’s limitations. Romero points to a hidden injury and Cruz’s shorter stature as reasons for Davis’s lackluster performance.

Davis is known for his power, but Romero suggests Cruz’s height threw him off balance, causing confusion and hindering his ability to unleash his left hand. “Everybody says Pitbull did this and that,” Romero scoffs, implying the praise for Cruz is overblown. For Romero, the only reason for the hype is Davis’s failure to secure a knockout.

He contrasts this with his dominant performance, which ended abruptly with a knockout loss in round 6. Though the loss stung, Romero maintains a positive spin. He highlights the experience as a catalyst for growth, both in the ring and as a person.

Keep Reading
By
BOXING

Usyk tipped to make Tyson Fury look ‘HORRENDOUS’ with slick skill he used against Anthony Joshua

By
Oleksandr Tyson

TYSON FURY could be made to look “horrendous” in his long-overdue showdown with Oleksandr Usyk, it’s been claimed.

The Wythenshawe warrior faces the undefeated Ukrainian for all the heavyweight marbles in a lucrative Saudi showdown in May.

Fury, 35, will possess significant height and reach advantages against the former undisputed cruiserweight king, who many believe will get run over.

But Usyk’s former foe Tony Bellew reckons the slick southpaw’s counter-striking – which he used to great effect against Anthony Joshua – could prove to be Fury’s undoing.

He told Spinbet: “On the technical side of things, Tyson Fury has always struggled with smaller movers and is horrendous when it comes to counter-punchers.

“If you go on the backfoot against Fury, he is lost.

“A complete boxing novice Francis Ngannou went on the backfoot against Fury and caused him all kinds of problems.

“And I mean a raw, complete novice in Francis Ngannou.

“He gave him fits which is crazy to think a man with a boxing record of 0-0 went in there and pushed the heavyweight champion of the world to the absolute limit.

“Some people even think he won. You can’t really dispute that.”

Fury and Usyk were supposed to have thrown down in a Riyadh rumble last month but their clash was rescheduled due to a horror cut in sparring for the Brit.

The duo are now set to trade blows on May 18, although Usyk’s manager and promoter Alex Krassyuk is sceptical about the fight coming to fruition

Keep Reading
By
BOXING

Tyson Fury faces new worry for Oleksandr Usyk fight after ‘horrendous’ warning

By
Oleksandr Usyk

Tyson Fury will fight Oleksandr Usyk with all the heavyweight titles on the line – but one of the Ukrainian’s previous opponents is concerned for the ‘Gypsy King’

Both Usyk and the ‘Gypsy King’ will also put their undefeated records on the line at the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia. As the boxing world prepares for this titanic bout, Bellew, who retired in 2018, is confident that Usyk, the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO champion, will claim victory.

“On the technical side of things, Tyson Fury has always struggled with smaller movers and is horrendous when it comes to counter-punchers,” Bellew told Spinbet. “If you go on the backfoot against Fury, he is lost.” Despite being the smaller and shorter man in the fight, Bellew thinks Usyk has the ideal style to cause Fury problems.

Bellew, who ended his career with a defeat to Usyk, used Francis Ngannou as an example to illustrate how the 35-year-old could struggle. When competing in his very first boxing match in October 2023, the Cameroonian dropped Fury and gave him problems throughout their encounter

Bellew then elaborated on the keys to Ngannou’s performance which he thinks Usyk can utilise to end Fury’s undefeated streak. “A complete boxing novice Francis Ngannou went on the backfoot against Fury and caused him all kinds of problems,” he added. And I mean a raw, complete novice in Francis Ngannou.

“He gave him fits which is crazy to think a man with a boxing record of 0-0 went in there and pushed the heavyweight champion of the world to the absolute limit. Some people even think he won. You can’t really dispute that.” Usyk has to wait less than two months to battle Fury, but his promoter Alexander Krassyuk doubts that the Mancunian will show up.

This fight was originally scheduled for February, but the WBC Heavyweight champion pulled out after sustaining a nasty cut above his eye while sparring. Now Krassyuk is unsure it will happen this time, let alone a rematch which is part of the contract.

Keep Reading
By
BOXING

Promoter Insists Tim Tszyu Won’t Wait Around For Terence Crawford, If The Time Comes

By
Terence Crawford

As is often the case with big-time boxing, talk turns to the next big boxing night before the nearest one is already complete.

Not long after Keith Thurman withdrew against Tim Tszyu ahead of this weekend’s fight at the T-Mobile in Las Vegas on Saturday (March 30) than Sebastian Fundora was upgraded from the undercard and talk began to center around what might happen for the winner, specifically Tszyu, in his next steps to conquer America.

The WBO announced that pound-for-pounder and welterweight king Terence Crawford would be in line to face the victor, should the Omaha star opt to box at super welterweight, and that is a marquee fight that Tszyu’s No Limits team would not hesitate to accept.

With a tricky assignment ahead of him on Saturday night against the 6ft 5 1/2in southpaw Fundora, there are some apprehensive faces in the Australian press pack, but George Rose, of No Limits, admits it is hard not to be enthusiastic about his fighter being mentioned in the same breath as the brilliant Crawford.

“Very excited. Very excited,” Rose said, of a possible fight with the Nebraskan genius. “We’re big fans of what Crawford does as a fighter, he’s brilliant. He’s pound for pound champ for a reason, and it’s a great challenge.”

Would Tszyu be ready, if all goes well on Saturday, to go straight in against Crawford?

“I think it’s a timing thing for Tim,” Rose added. “Tim doesn’t like to sit around and wait for fights, so if there’s nothing happening in the next few months, he’ll be straight back in the ring again. He’ll be defending these two belts he wins on Saturday.”

Tszyu, who defends his WBO title and fights for WBC recognition on Saturday – is hoping to make a splash against the late replacement. He’s talked of not wanting just to be in the best fight of the night, or even a fight of the year, but a historic battle that is watched over and over by future generations.

Tszyu is universally respected within the sport, and he has a country behind him, too. Despite fielding their share of divisive boxers over the years – think Jeff Fenech (when he was active), Danny Green and Anthony Mundine – Tszyu, 29, has only served to unite on his way to being unbeaten in 24 fights with 17 stoppage victories.

“He’s the king of Australian boxing,” Rose added. “What he does back there, the vibe, the atmosphere that he builds around boxing in Australia, Tim Tszyu is the face of Australian boxing and he has been for a number of years. The fact that we haven’t been able to come across to the States until just recently, it’s something we were looking at doing just before Covid, but things happen and it gave Tim a chance to keep building in Australia.”

It is Tszyu’s courageous and somewhat bullish nature that has endeared him to fans. He could have sat in a top spot and waited for a title chance, but he stayed active and kept learning against good fighters. He could have rejected Fundora, but he kept the show alive and simply promised to batter a very different opponent instead. No matter.

“Tim’s a guy who never backs down, he will take any fight anytime, and he fights regularly,” Rose said, of how Tim has cultivated his reputation. “He stays in the spotlight. He stays in front of people. Tim fights three or four times a year. Now I know that’s not something champions usually do, but for Tim, he’s not a guy to sit around and look at his belts in the house. He’s a guy who wants to get out there, defend his belts, win more, take big fights, take the opportunities, because you can’t do this forever, unfortunately. So he’s going to make the most of it while he’s a young man.”

Plenty have understandably heaped praise on Fundora for taking the fight, having had a camp preparing further down the bill against Serhii Bohachuk, but Tszyu deserves his credit, too, for taking on a fight against a very different shape and type of fighter. For Rose, he said it’s all in a day’s work for fearless Tszyu.

“You ask any man in the world if they’d take Sebastian Fundora on with 12 days’ notice, any man in the world,” Rose smiled, proudly. “I don’t care who you are, you’re not prepared for a guy that is a foot taller than you, that is a southpaw, that’s completely different than you’ve prepared for… That’s a fight that you need 12 weeks or 12 months to prepare for. He [Fundora]’s an anomaly in the super welterweight-junior middleweight division, but Tim’s turned it around, 12 days’ notice, he’s now got to fight a guy who no one else would take on in that time.”

But for Rose, there is no doubt about how Saturday plays out. It plays out he same way as if Tszyu faces any of the other big names at 154, according to the promoter.

“Look, I absolutely believe that Tim can beat any man. I absolutely believe that,” Rose said. “I believe that he’s the best in the division, and any opportunity that presents itself I always know for a fact that they will always take it – and I’ll always support him 100 per cent.”

Keep Reading
By
BOXING

Rolando Romero Wants to Fight Terence Crawford at 147 If He Gets Beyond Isaac Cruz

By
Roland

One of the stories of the week is that the big winner in Las Vegas on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena could be lined up to land a bout with Terence Crawford.

But Crawford is not just in the sights of the main-event victor of the unified super welterweight bout between Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora. He is also a target for one of the fighters in the co-main event, a junior welterweight clash between Rolando Romero and Isaac Cruz.

At 36, Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) remains one of the best fighters in the world. Romero, who this week talked about stepping up in weight beyond 140 – despite claiming how comfortable making weight has been – wants to fight the man from Omaha, Nebraska.

“I want 147. I want Terence Crawford. Craw-fish, yeah!” barked Romero ahead of today’s final press conference.

Then, asked about making weight for Saturday’s opponent, Romero said: “Does it look like I’m struggling right now? I look happy. You should see the other guy.”

Romero (15-1, 13 KOs) is one of the most divisive figures in the sport today. A 28-year-old from Las Vegas, “Rolly” doesn’t care whether he is the hero or villain. And despite the smack talk between him and “Pitbull” Cruz, Romero was staying professional ahead of their meeting on stage Thursday.

“Michael Corleone said it best: It’s nothing personal, son, it’s strictly business,’” Romero said of his feud with Cruz.

Then, asked about whether he is loved or hated, Romero offered an interesting take.

“I like what likes me,” he said. “I’d tell it like this: They loved Jesus, they hated Jesus. But guess what? He’s the most well-known figure in history.”

It is thought that Cruz will bury his head on Romero’s chest and make Romero work throughout their fight. Does Romero have the power to put a dent in Cruz?

“I will probably put a dent in his forehead,” Romero said.

Keep Reading
By
BOXING

Ryan Garcia makes incredible ‘scared’ statement regarding Gervonta Davis fight

By
Gervonta Davis
Ryan Garcia fought Gervonta Davis last year.

Ryan Garcia has a huge opportunity next month when he faces Devin Haney in what promises to be an explosive encounter.

Garcia will have the opportunity to become world champion against the reigning WBC super-lightweight ruler, and he’s got some experience at the highest level.

Last year, in one of the biggest fights of 2023, Garcia suffered his first defeat when he was stopped by Gervonta Davis. Garcia was dropped early before getting back into the fight, but a body shot in the seventh ended the contest and now Garcia has said that things could’ve been different with one change to his fight with ‘Tank.’

“If I was 140lbs, Tank would have got knocked out, and Tank knows that,” said Garcioa during a recent face off with Haney on DAZN.

“You know how scared he look in his eyes when I hit him in the second-round? I swear I have never seen anybody more scared in my life.”

Keep Reading
By
BOXING

Former Gervonta Davis rival expects his next fight to be ‘easy’

By
Gervonta Davis
A big fight takes place this weekend.

Rolando Romero is looking to make a successful defence of his world super-lightweight title this weekend when he faces Isaac Cruz.

The Las Vegas fighter has been linked to numerous big showdowns

in recent months and he can take a step closer to one with victory over Cruz.

In 2022, Romero burst onto the scene when he faced Gervonta Davis in a huge encounter that eventually saw him stopped in the ninth session.

Cruz is expected to provide Romero with a stern test, but the champion is predicting an easy night.

“Everybody thinks this is gonna be a difficult fight, but I think this is gonna be an easy fight. He’s gonna run right into something, because he’s stupid,” said Romero at the final press conference.

“He’s gonna throw and throw and throw again. He does the same stuff over and over again. I’m ready for it.”

Keep Reading
By
BOXING

Errol Spence teases next opponent for first fight since Terence Crawford loss

By
Errol Spence
The former welterweight champion is planning a return to the ring.

Former unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr appears to be planning a return to boxing.

Spence’s last fight was in July when he faced Terence Crawford for the undisputed title at 147lbs in what was one of the biggest fights of 2023.

Unfortunately for Spence, he was comprehensively beaten by Crawford who managed to bring the contest to an end in the ninth round.

Despite a rematch being rumoured for a number of months, it appears that Spence and Crawford will go their separate ways, and now the 34-year-old has revealed who he would like to face next in a post on X.

“Headed to Vegas. I want the winner!! #TszyuFundora,” Spence wrote.

The fight Spence is planning to attend will be Tim Tszyu’s WBO light middleweight title defence against Sebastian Fundora, which is set for this coming Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

If Spence does indeed face the winner of this particular contest next, it will be his first fight at 154lbs.

Keep Reading
By