Boxing

ANTHONY JOSHUA could accept an interim bout next with his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk in doubt. The pair are contracted to a second fight this year following Usyk’s 12-round upset at Tottenham last September.
Anthony Joshua could accept an interim fight next with his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk in doubtCredit: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing
But the unbeaten two-weight champion is currently defending Ukraine amid the invasion of Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Promoter Eddie Hearn revealed finding a tune-up opponent for Joshua, 32, is not out of the question if Usyk, 34, is otherwise out of the picture.
So here SunSport runs down five candidates suitable for the job.
Otto Wallin
If AJ is to stay busy he will likely be scouting for a southpaw opponent to help him best prepare for Usyk.
Wallin’s profile is big enough to help Joshua sell tickets and pay-per-views – after he gave Tyson Fury 47 stitches in 2019.
He was deemed a low-enough risk for Dillian Whyte, 33, to face last October while the Brit already had a guaranteed shot at Fury, 33.
And although it fell through, Joshua has formerly sparred and boxed lefty Wallin in the amateurs, giving him enough knowledge of the Swede.
Tyson Fury beat Otto Wallin in 2019Credit: Getty Images – Getty
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Luis Ortiz
The Cuban was once the most feared southpaw in the division, but two losses to Deontay Wilder appear to have taken its toll.
Ortiz, now 42, most recently beat Charles Martin, 35, in January but had to pick himself off the canvas to do so.
He still has massive name value and has an equally tricky style to Usyk.
Joshua came close to fighting Ortiz in 2019 but the contender instead opted to chase a rematch with Wilder.
Deontay Wilder has twice beaten Oleksandr UsykCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Zhilei Zhang
At 6ft 6in, the Chinese heavyweight does not cut the same frame as Usyk but is at least a southpaw.
He is also signed to Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing stable, making negotiations easier.
Not only that, Joshua has history with Zhang dating back to their amateur days, winning in the quarter-finals of the 2012 London Olympics.
Zhang, 38, is unbeaten as a professional but in February 2021 drew to Jerry Forrest, giving AJ the confidence the task would not be too risky.
Anthony Joshua beat Zhilei Zhang in the London OlympicsCredit: Getty
Jerry Forrest
The aforementioned American is the most under the radar of the lot but would certainly offer Joshua some valuable southpaw rounds.
Forrest, 33, has lost to contenders such as Jermaine Franklin, 28, and Carlos Takam, 41, in recent years.
But his two most recent fights were draws, against Zhang and then the highly-touted Michael Hunter, 33.
Joshua could expect a tough enough runout against Forrest, who has only ever been stopped once.
Jerry Forrest is a southpaw alternative for Anthony JoshuaCredit: Triller
Deontay Wilder
The Bronze Bomber is quite possibly the only big fight Joshua and Hearn would consider taking before a rematch with Usyk.
Their history, opposing styles and recent losses makes the clash a box office blockbuster and arguably as big as anything involving Usyk.
The ex-WBC champ at 36 is yet to confirm whether he will retire or not but it appears clear if he returns it will only be for big fights.
AJ and Wilder could sellout just about any stadium or arena worldwide and would be the biggest fight for either of them to take at this point.
Deontay Wilder has not returned since defeat to Tyson FuryCredit: Getty More

EDDIE HEARN proved he can walk the walk and talk the talk by showing off his own boxing skills. The Matchroom Boxing chairman got stuck in with a body spar against his right hand man, Frank Smith.
Eddie Hearn proved he can walk the walk and talk the talk by showing off his own boxing skills
Eddie Hearn got stuck in with a body spar against right hand man Frank Smith
Smith has been touted as the man to replace Hearn when the promoter packs it in, but the son of Barry proved his is still the boss.
Hearn landed a perfect left hook to Smith’s stomach which floored the Matchroom CEO.
But credit to Smith – who has been with Hearn since he was 14 – as he got to his feet and boxed on.
Perhaps Hearn always had the upper hand in the spar, after all he boxed three times for Billericay Amateur Boxing Club as a teen, winning them all.
He was introduced as ‘Eddie Hills’ as his famous dad feared their surname would cause opponents to ‘take liberties’.
But in a 2017 interview with Boxing Social, the future boxing matchmaker admitted he was not cut out to be a fighter after all.
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Hearn said: “They introduced me as ‘Eddie Hills’ and I was devastated. I told my dad and I found out it was all his idea.
“He thought if they knew who I was, they would really put it on me and take liberties.
“I had some skills, I fancied myself a bit, I thought I was Sugar Ray Leonard, but you can’t be a fighter if you grow up in a nice house and go to public school.
“The other lads were much tougher than me.
“I remember seeing one of my opponents in the changing room before we boxed and telling my dad: ‘Great, I’ve got the fat kid.’
“But he almost took my head off.”
Eddie Hearn pictured with Matchroom No2 Frank SmithCredit: @franksmith More

GENNADY GOLOVKIN will fight Ryota Murata in Japan on April 9 – with a trilogy against Canelo Alvarez to follow. The Kazakh was set to face Murata in a middleweight unification in December but it was scrapped amid coronavirus restrictions.
Gennady Golovkin will fight Ryota Murata in Japan on April 9Credit: @gggboxing
Ryota Murata will fight Gennady Golovkin in a middleweight unificationCredit: Getty
Now the pair will fight next month back in Saitama where the IBF and WBA titles will be unified.
Golovkin, 39, said: “I am glad that the date has finally been set.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the organizers from Japan for their hard work and full support of the upcoming unification fight. ”
“Ryota Murata is an outstanding champion. I believe that boxing fans from this beautiful country and around the world will see an exciting event.
“I look forward to getting back in the ring and bringing the Big Drama Show to Japan.”
Murata, 36, has held the WBA title since 2019 but welcoming GGG to the Far East will be the biggest fight of his career.
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He said: “It is an honour to share the ring with the great champion Gennadiy Golovkin.
“I am extremely pleased to be part of this historic middleweight title unification fight here in Japan.  
“On April 9th, victory will be mine and Japan will have a unified world middleweight champion.”
Canelo, 31, who drew with GGG in 2017 but won the rematch a year later, has recently signed a two-fight deal with DAZN.
He returns on May 7 to challenge Dmitry Bivol, 31, for the WBA light-heavyweight title.    
But a trilogy bout with Golovkin is set to follow in September, if the pair win their interim fights.
Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin are set for a trilogy bout this yearCredit: Getty Images – Getty More

JACK CATTERALL believes ‘boxing is run by dinosaurs’ as he stated there is ‘corruption’ in the sport following his controversial defeat to Josh Taylor.The super-lightweight star, 28, was denied becoming the undisputed world champion on Saturday after he was robbed of a points decision in Glasgow.
Jack Catterall (left) outclassed Josh Taylor on Saturday, but failed to get the decisionCredit: Kenny Ramsay
Fans instantly took to social media to express their anger at the scoring, as they labelled it as ‘one of boxing’s worst ever decisions’.
And WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has demanded NO British judges to score his bout against Dillian Whyte next month.
The shocking result led to the British Boxing Board of Control to investigate the outcome, with the ringside judges to be asked to explain their cards.
However, BBBofC chief Robert Smith has declared that the decision cannot be overturned.
That is despite him admitting he thought Catterall had won the fight, but only by a small margin.
His comments infuriated Catterall, who told talkSPORT: “After listening to Robert Smith, it’s sickening.
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“I’ve got a lot of respect for Rob and the British Boxing Board, but I’m losing confidence in them now.
“Robert Smith saying the fight was close – there’s not one other person, promoter, journalist, broadcaster, fight fan who even had it remotely close.
“For him to say the fight was close, it just sickens me.
“I don’t know what fight he was watching, we all saw the reaction ringside from the promoters, from Sky, from the commentators. It’s just sickening.”
He added: “You heard Robert Smith then say the decision isn’t going to be overturned.
“That was something I’ve worked for for 18 years – for my family, for my legacy.
“It was life-changing what would’ve come off the back of that – huge PPV fights. It’s all just been dragged from underneath me now.
“I find myself now back down the pecking order, back in square one, where I was two/three years ago, not knowing what the future holds.”
Catterall, who dropped super-lightweight world champion Taylor, lost on a split decisionCredit: Getty
Catterall continued: “I think there’s a lot of incompetence in boxing and how it’s regulated. And I also do believe there’s some kind of corruption.
“I’m not quite sure where it’s coming from right now. I’ve got a lawyer working with us and hopefully we’ll get some kind of justice.
“It’s never gonna bring back Saturday night, but something needs to be done, somebody needs to find out where the corruption is coming from and how we can get rid of it from the sport.
“Boxing is run by dinosaurs, nothing’s changed over the last 50/100 years.
“We’ve seen it in fights before that we’ve all watched and said, ‘The wrong man got the decision.’
“They said, ‘Oh, we’ll have an investigation.’ Nothing has ever come from it and it can’t keep happening.” More