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    Johnny Famechon dead aged 77: Tributes paid to former boxing world champion who had just been honoured by Queen

    FORMER boxing world champion Johnny Famechon has died at the age of 77.The ex-featherweight king, who finished his 20-year professional career in 1970, passed away in Melbourne.
    Australian fighter Famechon passed away in his home countryCredit: Getty
    Famechon was hit by a car in Sydney back in 1991Credit: Getty
    He boasted a professional record of 56 wins, six draws and five losses.
    Famechon’s most famous victory came in 1969 when he beat Cuban Jose Legra at the Albert Hall in London to claim the featherweight world title.
    His passing comes just months after he was honoured in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, becoming a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to boxing at the elite level.
    Reacting on social media, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said: “I am so sorry to learn of the passing away of Australian boxing icon Johnny Famechon. May he rest in eternal peace.”
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    While others also reacted, with one person saying: “Australia has lost a sporting icon. May the legendary Johnny Famechon rest in peace.
    “The former world champion has passed away at 77.”
    And another added: “So sorry to hear about the passing of legendary Aussie boxer Johnny Famechon world featherweight champion. May he RIP 🙏.”
    Famechon was born Jean-Pierre Famechon in Paris in 1945 but moved to Australia at the age of five.
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    He is widely regarded as a legend of Australian boxing and was handed Keys To The City of Melbourne after his 1969 triumph.
    He defended his WBC world title on two occasions against Fighting Harada of Japan.
    But after losing his title to Mexican Vicente Saldivar in 1970, he decided to retire at just 24 years of age.
    More than two decades after hanging up his gloves in 1991, Famechon was hit by a car in Sydney.
    The collision caused a stroke which subsequently caused an acquired brain injury.
    In 2003, he was named as the Inductee for the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame’s modern category.
    Nine years later, Famechon became the third boxer to be elevated to legend status – showing he remains one of Australia’s greatest ever fighters. More

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    Tyson Fury to decide whether to come out of retirement after watching outcome of Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Usyk

    TYSON FURY will decide whether to come out of retirement after Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk 2, claims his promoter.The Gypsy King hung up his gloves after beating Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium in April.
    Tyson Fury will watch AJ vs Usyk 2 with interestCredit: Getty
    Anthony Joshua will fight Oleksandr Usyk again on August 20Credit: Getty
    He quickly teased a return against Francis Ngannou, although no date has yet materialised.
    A title unification bout with the winner of Joshua and Usyk could still be on the table, should Fury want to end his retirement and fight.
    And his US promoter Bob Arum believes that the mouthwatering bout could be on the cards.
    He told Lance Pugmire: “Tyson is touring the UK, going from place to place, entertaining people — which he is very entertaining.
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    “I think really he’s on hold pending the outcome of the Usyk fight with Joshua, which takes place on the 20th. So, again, let’s see what happens.
    “We know that the Saudis have put up a lot of money for the Usyk vs Joshua fight and we’ll see who wins that fight, and I know deep down that Fury would want to fight the winner.
    “And then the question is where the fight will be and all that sort of stuff, and that will take care of itself after Aug. 20.”
    Quizzed if he thinks Fury would fancy a crack at Joshua, should AJ triumph and reclaim his belts, Arum replied: “I think whoever wins.
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    “Either guy, unify all the titles and then maybe decide that he would retire. But I think he doesn’t want to leave that unfinished.
    “But again, that’s up to him and I haven’t pressed him, neither has Frank (Warren), but we will once the Usyk vs Joshua fight has happened.”
    Fury, 33, has cooked up two other crazy ideas for comeback fights.
    SunSport revealed this week that the Gypsy King would fancy a Tottenham Hotspur Stadium bout with Game of Thrones strongman Hafthor Bjornsson.
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    As a backup plan, Fury is also believed to be interested in a trilogy fight with popular British veteran Derek Chisora.
    The 6ft 9in star already possesses two easy wins against Chisora, with a third fight not hugely appealing to fans.
    A potential Fury vs Chisora 3 hasn’t gained much interestCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd More

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    Jake Paul offered MMA fight debut by PFL as CEO Pete Murray hails ‘ambitious’ YouTuber-turned boxer

    JAKE PAUL has been offered a route into MMA by the Professional Fighters League. Paul is 5-0 as a boxer but has teased a switch to the cage before, having had a successful high school wrestling career.
    Jake Paul has been offered a route into MMA by the Professional Fighters LeagueCredit: Getty Images – Getty
    Olympic champ Kayla Harrison, boxing legend Mike Tyson and PFL CEO Pete MurrayCredit: Professional Fighters League
    But a debut in the UFC appears off the cards due to the YouTube star’s ongoing feud with Dana White.
    Paul is spoken highly of by Pete Murray, PFL’s CEO who is refusing to close the door on working with the prizefighter one day.
    Murray said on The MMA Hour: “We have a relationship with Jake.
    “And listen, you think about what Jake has built for himself, now as an athlete versus where he came from.
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    “What he’s taken on and the opponents and the platform he’s built, it’s nothing short of impressive.
    “And he’s ambitious, from a business perspective as well as an athlete.
    “And should he want to take on MMA, that’s something that we’d certainly be excited about.”
    The PFL consists of a two-bout regular season, where points are earned per method of victory.
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    Then, the top four in each weight division progresses through to a semis and final format, with eventual victors winning a $1m prize cheque.
    But money is no object for Paul, who made $40m in boxing alone last year.
    He was due to return on Saturday in New York, one day after PFL’s first semi-final of the year.
    But his bout with Hasim Rahman Jr, 31, was cancelled amid a weight disagreement between the two.
    Jake Paul and Hasim Rahman Jr’s fight was cancelledCredit: GETTY More

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    Who is boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk’s wife Yekaterina and how many children do couple have?

    OLEKSANDR USYK is less than three weeks away from the biggest boxing match of the year – and his wife Yekaterina will be cheering at the top of her lungs from his corner.The cat has his mind solely set on the highly anticipated heavyweight clash with British icon Anthony Joshua.
    Oleksandr Usyk’s wife Kateryna have been married since 2009Credit: Instagram @usykaa
    And Usyk will be eager to make his long-term partner proud yet again by stunning AJ for a second successive time.
    But who is the drive force behind Oleksandr Usyk’s success story?
    Who is Oleksandr Usyk’s wife Yekaterina?
    Yekaterina, commonly known as Kateryna has decided to keep her personal life completely private.
    But reports suggest that the celebrity spouse is very popular in her birth country of Ukraine.
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    It has been claimed that Yekaterina had been close to Oleksandr Usyk for several years before becoming Mrs. Uysk in 2009 and she now runs the foundation which belongs to the heavyweight champ.
    Kateryna makes rare appearances on social media, but she opened up on her husband’s physical state during the Russian war on Ukraine.
    Kateryna told PravdaTUT: “Sasha lost 10 kilograms in a week of the war. He was so horrified, in such shock, he was so torn apart.”
    Reason being that Mrs Usyk has a Russian citizenship and the Oleksandr uses Russian as his first language.
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    Do Oleksandr Usyk and his wife Yekaterina have children together?
    The long-term lovebirds have three children together – Kyrylo, Mykhalio and Yelizaveta.
    And they were unfortunately involved in the family house incident where it was overrun by Vladimir Putin’s ram sackers.
    Usyk’s children were involved in the horrific family house incident during the war
    Usyk moved his family out of Ukraine immediately after the incident
    Every material element Usyk had worked for and earned was up in smoke and the wannabe-Hollywood-actor-turned-unified-heavyweight-king had no script to lean on.
    Oleksandr said: “My children are asking: ‘Daddy, why do they want to kill us?’ I don’t know how to answer that.
    “My family are not in Ukraine now but a lot of people I know and a lot of my close friends are inside the country. 
    “I am in touch with them every day, I am asking them for updates.
    “I didn’t want to leave the country. I want to live there, still. Straight after the fight I will go back to Ukraine.”
    When is Joshua vs Usyk 2?

    Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk 2 will take place on Saturday, August 20.
    It is scheduled to begin from around 9pm UK time – 11pm local time.
    The fight is going to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia which can hold around 62,000 spectators.
    Joshua last fought in Saudi Arabia in December 2019 when he beat Andy Ruiz Jr at the second time of asking by a unanimous decision.

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    Hasim Rahman Jr to STILL weigh in on Friday despite Jake Paul fight cancellation in bid to prove he could make 205lb

    HASIM RAHMAN JR plans to STILL weigh in on Friday despite his fight with Jake Paul being cancelled – bidding to prove he can make 205lb. The pair were due to headline at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden on the weekend.
    Hasim Rahman Jr plans to still weigh in on Friday despite his fight with Jake Paul being cancelledCredit: Getty
    But following a weight disagreement between the two, the entire pay-per-view event was axed.
    Rahman signed to fight at the 14st 4lb cruiserweight limit of 200lb, despite being 16 stone in his last fight in April.
    So the New York State Athletic Commission wanted to track his weight cut.
    And after Rahman struggled to drop the pounds, the fight weight was changed to 205lb.
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    But Paul claimed his opponent demanded it be at no lower than 215lb, which prompted the YouTube star to scrap the whole event.
    Rahman has now insisted he was willing to fight at 205lb and will prove it by hitting the scales on Friday, their scheduled weigh-in day.
    He said: “We can fight at 205lb that is no problem to me, we can get it on.
    “I’m definitely highly interested in hurting this man and it would not be at a detriment to me to do it at 205lb.
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    “I am ready to do that I will make 205lb on Friday.”
    After the fight weight change, a fresh contract had to be signed, but Rahman claimed the bout was cancelled before he could agree terms.
    In a statement by Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions company, they say the son of former heavyweight champ Rahman Sr wanted to fight no less than 215lb.
    MVP said: “Upon receiving this new contract Saturday morning, Rahman’s camp indicated for the very first time that he planned to weigh 215lb at the official weigh-in and would not agree to weigh in at 205lb and informing Most Valuable Promotions that they are pulling out of the fight unless the fight was agreed to at 215lb.”
    Jake Paul and Hasim Rahman before their fight cancelationCredit: Getty Images – Getty More

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    British heavyweight Joe Joyce set to fight ex-world champ and Tyson Fury’s good friend Joseph Parker on September 24 PPV

    JOE JOYCE and Joseph Parker have made another U-turn with their fight back on. The pair were in negotiations to box each other having come face-to-face at Tyson Fury’s last fight in April.
    Joe Joyce and Joseph Parker appear to have made another U-turn with their fight back onCredit: Getty
    Former WBO champion Joseph ParkerCredit: Getty
    But suddenly, Parker signed with Boxxer and Sky Sports, seemingly ending hopes of a BT bout against Joyce.
    Promoter Frank Warren blasted the former WBO champion for scuppering their deal.
    But now the fight is back on and set for September 24 on BT Box Office.
    The heavyweights were first due to fight in July but Parker’s trainer Andy Lee was expecting a child, meaning it got scrapped.
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    And in between negotiating a new date, Sky swooped in to sign the New Zealander.
    Joyce, 36, later returned in July, beating Christian Hammer, 34, in four rounds of his keep-busy bout.
    Bizarrely, Sky could not find Parker, 30, a worthwhile opponent in their own stable, with rival stars on separate networks.
    So the Kiwi has now been sent over enemy lines where he will be the underdog as the away fighter on a Joyce and Warren show.
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    Londoner Joyce is currently the WBO mandatory challenger for the title held by Oleksandr Usyk, 35.
    But the Ukrainian is already tied down to a rematch with Anthony Joshua, 32, on August 20 in Saudi Arabia, following his win last year.
    And even after the rematch, the winner is expected to then force Fury, 34, out of retirement for an undisputed decider.
    Joyce is therefore left to play the waiting game but appears unwilling to do so against no-named opponents.
    Parker won the title in 2017 but lost it to AJ a year later in his first defence.
    Joseph Parker is set to fight Joe Joyce in September More

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    Anthony Joshua works up sweat in training after brutal workout as Brit ramps up preparation for Oleksandr Usyk rematch

    ANTHONY JOSHUA worked up a sweat with a brutal training workout as the days tick down to the first bell.The British star, 32, is just over two weeks away from his huge heavyweight showdown with Oleksandr Usyk.
    Anthony Joshua is working hard in the gym ahead of the big fightCredit: https://www.instagram.com/anthonyjoshua/
    He took to Instagram to show fans the graftCredit: https://www.instagram.com/anthonyjoshua/
    A stretch to cool down is an important part of the workoutCredit: https://www.instagram.com/anthonyjoshua/
    And Joshua proved he is putting in the hard yards as he ramps up his preparation for fight night.
    Decked out in his Under Armour gear, AJ shared the snaps on Instagram.
    He was drenched in sweat on the exercise bike then was cooled down by a member of his team squirting water down his neck and then looked a lot fresher as he stretched out at the end of the session.
    He captioned the post: “Warm up âžĄïž war âžĄïž warm down #TheOnlyWayIsThrough.”
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    Joshua is aiming to win back the WBA, IBF and WBO titles he lost to Usyk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September.
    The rematch takes place on August 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – dubbed the Rage on the Red Sea.
    And plenty used the comments section to send their encouragement.
    One said: “Come on!! Get those belts back. You can do it.”
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    Another added: “Can’t wait for you to become three-time heavyweight champion.”
    Joshua is already in Saudi after heading out on a private jet to train in the country and get fully prepared for Usyk.
    His gym set-up was done by Ringcraft and includes a ring for sparring, punchbags, speedballs, treadmills, bikes, weights and an air-conditioning unit to ensure he keeps cool.
    The 24-2 fighter has brought in Robert Garcia and Angel Fernandez to train him, having parted ways with Rob McCracken after his first defeat to Usyk.

    đŸ„Š AJ vs Usyk 2 date, live stream and TV channel for blockbuster rematch
    Former world champ David Haye told AJ he must rough his opponent up so much that he risks disqualification after he was outclassed in North London.
    The Hayemaker told Gareth A. Davies: “I’m going to go with Anthony Joshua again.
    “He applied probably the worst tactics you could do against a southpaw. Gave him range, was respectful inside, in close.
    “There were no warnings from the ref about deducting points because he never imposed himself.
    “He should be this close to getting a point deducted or disqualified, that’s how physical he needs to be because he’s a specimen like no other in the heavyweight division.
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    “He is physically the supreme heavyweight right now.
    “He just needs to apply that into a style that’s useful and last time round it wasn’t very useful at all and this time around he really has to do it. And I believe he will do it.”
    AJ and Usyk will step into the ring again in Jeddah on August 20Credit: Getty More

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    Paige VanZant looks incredible as she works out in the gym just weeks before bare knuckle showdown

    BARE-KNUCKLE boxer Paige VanZant wowed fans as she worked out in the gym ahead of her upcoming fight.VanZant, 28, was seen lifting heavy weights in preparation for her bout against Charisa Sigala.
    Paige VanZant lifts weights during her training routine
    VanZant has previously captioned posts outlining ‘booty gains’
    VanZant will hope she can finally bag a win when she fights on August 20
    VanZant stunned fans with a zebra swimsuit
    She has not left much to the imagination in the past
    VanZant, right, during her bare knuckle bout against Britain HartCredit: Getty
    She will fight Sigala in just her third bare knuckle fight on August 20.
    The former UFC star lost her first two BKFC tear-ups against Britain Hart and Rachael Ostovich.
    But she is hoping three is the magic number when she visits Wembley next month.
    And if all goes well VanZant has vowed to celebrate her first win with a pint of beer.
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    She told SunSport: “I have not had British beer! I had a lot of Guinness while I was in Ireland, a lot. 
    “But I will be ready for my first drink after this fight, so definitely someone in London is going to see me in a pub.”
    VanZant, who is a part-time wrestler, has 3.2million followers on her Instagram page.
    Her fans have been given behind-the-scenes peeks into her preparations with a number of posts online.
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    The American has previously left fans stunned with a number of raunchy pics on her account, with a string of recent posts seeing her don just a bikini or swimsuit in the jungle.
    SunSport revealed she was set to make her big-screen debut by starring in a horror movie alongside TikToker Bryce Hall.
    VanZant set up an exclusive OnlyFans page last year after a large volume of requests.
    But she revealed earlier this year she earns more money from her Instagram than her OnlyFans or from any earnings when she fought in the Octagon. More