Boxing

TYSON FURY has vowed to “smash Oleksandr Usyk in FOUR rounds” in a cheeky Instagram post.That’s after setting a deadline of September 1 for a fight to be agreed.
Tyson Fury predicts he will KO Oleksandr Usyk in just four roundsCredit: PA
Fury wants an agreement with Usyk to be reached by September 1 – and wants £500MILLIONCredit: Reuters
Fury, 34, is ready to come out of retirement and unify the heavyweight division after being called out by Usyk.
The Ukrainian is flying high after defending his belts in last weekend’s rematch against Anthony Joshua.
And Fury is now set to accept another bout after beating Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium in April.
The Gypsy King is set to tell the WBC he WILL fight again, with a clash being touted for December.
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However, Fury insists he wants a major payday for the bout, calling on promoters to pay him a record £500MILLION.
And he appears confident an agreement is close after declaring he will make light work of Usyk in just four rounds.
Fury wrote on Instagram: “I’m sure I’ll smash him in four rounds, because the Gypsy King said so.”
One man who has fought both Fury and Usyk is American heavyweight Michael Hunter.
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And he reckons Usyk is more than capable of putting an end to Fury’s dominance of the division.
He told Sky Sports: “I think Usyk would need to make a couple of adjustments, but I don’t think the weight will make as much of a difference as people think.
“He’s an endurance athlete, he’s going to move a lot. It’s a styles-make-fights thing, a little different tactics to Usyk-Joshua.
“I think it would be an interesting fight. I’m pretty sure that Usyk would do very well.” More

EDDIE HEARN insists a “riot” would have broken out if he tried to stop Anthony Joshua’s fiery post-fight speech after his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.A furious and heartbroken Joshua went on an x-rated rant following his split-decision defeat to the unified heavyweight champion in Jeddah last weekend.
Anthony Joshua suffered a lopsided points defeat to Oleksandr Usyk last weekendCredit: GETTY
Joshua was enraged during his post-fight chat with UsykCredit: MATCHROOM BOXING
A fired-up AJ went on an x-rated rant following the loss
Promoter Eddie Hearn believes taking the mic away from AJ would’ve sparked a ‘riot’Credit: PA
Joshua’s team have since been criticised for not cutting him off and allowing Usyk to have his moment, an act Hearn believes would’ve done more harm than good.
He told DAZN: ”There are so many idiots out there who have got an opinion and go, ‘Oh I can’t believe no one went over to him and grabbed the microphone.’
“When he’s in that mood, someone going over to him and taking the microphone off him would have been the worst thing [that could have happened].
“There would have been a riot in that ring and it would have escalated terribly.”
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Hearn admits Joshua’s post-fight antics weren’t on but understands why he blew his lid.
He continued: “It’s all very well, people being smart after the fact, saying this and that but the truth is, he reacted badly in the ring.
“He was frustrated, he’s worked 11 months to try and win this fight, he wanted to win more than anything in the world and he behaved in a way that he knew he shouldn’t have.”
An emotional Joshua apologised for his behaviour in the post-fight press conference, where he broke down in tears.
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He said: “When you’re trying to do things from the heart and everyone is just not understanding. It was just from the heart. I was mad at myself. Not anyone else, just myself.
“So I thought, I’ve got to get out of here because I’m mad. Like anyone, when you’re angry, you might do stupid things.
“I was mad and then I realised, ‘Oh s***, this is sport. Let me do the right thing and come back.’
“I just spoke from my heart. It’s been so tough.
“You see AJ holding it together, yeah, and I’m a hustler so I try to put things together.
“Try to work hard and put things together and make sure my team’s good.
An emotional Joshua apologised for his actions in the post-fight press conferenceCredit: PA
“But it comes at a cost, a big cost. It’ll never break me, but it takes real strength for it not to break me. And tonight, there’s a little crack in the armour when I took a loss.
“And I think you just saw me just upset. And with the speech, I was just speaking about where I come from. I was on the roads, really.
“And I made a transition to boxing that really changed my life and brought me closer to God and brought me closer to meeting so many people.
“And I just kind of laid it all on the line with my speech. But let’s not forget the champ Oleksandr Usyk. He put on a phenomenal performance as well. So credit to him.
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“I can’t remember what I said in the ring because it was just so passionate.
” But I just want to say thank you to him for taking part in a great historical fight as well. It takes two to tango. I was just so upset.”
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BOXING continues to embarrass itself.No matter how disappointed and frustrated he was, it was embarrassing to see Anthony Joshua asking this cash-strapped country to feel desperately sorry for him after he had just made £32.5million for 36 minutes of boxing.
Joshua made £32.5m from his second bout with UsykCredit: Getty
The Brit suffered another defeatCredit: Getty
It was equally embarrassing to hear Tyson Fury’s witless trash talk about “Ukrainian dossers” Oleksandr Usyk and Wladimir Klitschko when Ukrainian men, women and children are being raped, murdered and bombed.
I admire AJ and Fury. They have transformed and invigorated the sport I love.
Tyson spoke incredibly movingly about knife crime when his cousin was murdered.
But please show a little imagination, will you?
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Don’t ask us to feel sorry for you when you have more money than you will ever know what to do with, AJ.
Not when 22million people in your own country will not be able to pay their energy bills this winter.
And please dial down the trash talk about “Ukrainian dossers”, Tyson, at least for the duration of a war that is destroying the lives of millions of Ukrainians.
There is a real world beyond the boxing ring and people are suffering.
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And the boxing industry should not meekly allow Saudi Arabia to replace Las Vegas and London as the venue of choice for big fights.
How many millions do the greedy b******s who run the fight game need? More