Boxing

TYSON FURY has drafted in Anthony Joshua’s sparring partner Martin Bakole ahead of his fight with Dillian Whyte.The Gypsy King will defend his WBC crown against Whyte at Wembley on April 23 in an all-British heavyweight bout.
Anthony Joshua’s sparring partner Martin Bakole is being drafted in for Tyson Fury’s training campCredit: John Kirkby – The Sun Glasgow
Fury wants Bakole to send a message to AJ about how good he isCredit: Rex
And Fury is already making preparations ahead of an eight-week training camp in Morecambe.
The ace will draft in several big names to help him get ready for Whyte.
Jarod Anderson and David Adeleye are both set for sparring sessions with Fury.
But interestingly, he will also turn to Bakole, who is good friends with fierce rival Joshua.
He is currently looking to win back his belts from Oleksandr Usyk, putting a unifier against Fury on hold.
And the Gypsy King insists AJ will receive a report from Bakole after the training camp ‘telling him how good I am’.
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Fury declared: “I will bring in Jarod Anderson from the US, one of their best heavyweights.
“I will use one of Frank’s young heavyweights, David Adeleye, and Martin Bakole.
“He’s AJ’s mate, they have done a lot of sparring rounds together so he can go back and tell AJ just how good I am.
“Bakole has even done interviews where he has said he has sparred us all.
“And I’m the only one he cannot land a glove on.” More

MIKE TYSON reckons social media sensation Jake Paul has fooled boxers into thinking he’s not talented.The YouTuber has become one of the biggest names in the sport in the last two years – despite only having five professional fights to his name.
Jake Paul has ruffled plenty of feathers during his brief stint as a professional boxerCredit: AFP
Although The Problem Child has yet to fully earn the respect of the boxing communityCredit: Showtime
But boxing legend Mike Tyson believes Paul good surprise a some pros inside the ringCredit: INSTAGRAM@JAKEPAUL
Paul laid out former UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley in his last outing but has yet to gain the respect of the boxing community.
But former undisputed heavyweight king Tyson reckons The Problem Child has pulled the wool over people’s eyes.
He told former NFL star Shannon Sharpe: “I think he should too [fight a boxer], but these guys are very emotional and they want him to fight him so bad they forget that he’s a trained fighter.
“He’s going to make them believe that they can really beat this guy because he’s white with blonde hair and blue eyes, and then they go in the ring and something different happens.”
Tyson believes the divisive Paul has given boxing a much-needed boost by bringing new eyes to the sport.
He said: “We started a genre and now we’ve got guys like Logan (Jake) Paul doing this stuff.
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“I think Logan (Jake) Paul is a big shot in the arm for boxing.
“No boxer has ever brought that many people to the network like Logan (Jake) Paul did and I think he’s good for boxing, he brings money to boxing.”
Paul, 25, hasn’t fought since his viral KO of ex-UFC star Woodley but is contemplating a September return to the ring.
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, he said: “There’s a lot going on in other aspects of my life.
“I’m going to do these press conferences over the next two weeks here to help with the promotion around Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano and I’m very busy on the business side of things with my venture capital fund.
“So I haven’t even got back into the gym or been training at all.
“I need to have a discussion with my coaches but probably I would say August-September maybe. Maybe later. I’m trying to figure it out.
“Obviously if the stars align in some sort of way or I have a change of heart, then things can obviously move around but right now I don’t feel like that motivated to just go right back into another training camp.”
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Jake Paul is eyeing a September return to the ringCredit: AP More

A student powerlifter was left stunned when ex-world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua casually strolled past her in the gym.Chiz Egbuziem admitted she ‘crumbled’ after making eye contact with Joshua as she attempted to prepare for a bench press.
The powerlifter spots AJ as he approachesCredit: TikTok @liftinwitchiz
Joshua smiles at her which she admitted caused her to ‘crumble’Credit: TikTok @liftinwitchiz
Joshua is claimed to have said “Get them weights in girl” as he strolled past the powerlifterCredit: TikTok @liftinwitchiz
In a video posted to TikTok, viewed over 2.5million times, 6ft 6in AJ is filmed walking past the regular gym goer.
He look at her and smiles as she sits on the Loughborough University bench working out, with Egbuziem left giggling after seeing the two-time world champ.
The 22-year-old powerlifter captioned the post: “I crumbled girls I crumbled,” alongside a crying emoji.
She went on to reveal AJ joked to her as he walked past: “Get them weights in girl.”
Social media users reacted with tongue-in-cheek comments about her shocked reaction, with one saying: “The woman was too stunned to speak.”
And another added: “All composure fell out the window.”
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Joshua’s next fight is yet to be confirmed, but he’s expected to do battle with Oleksandr Usyk again in the spring.
Usyk outpointed AJ in a boxing masterclass at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in September, stealing the Brit’s world title belts off him.
AJ surrendered the unified WBA, IBF and WBO belts before invoking his right to a rematch with the Ukrainian.
A high-stakes second bout is expected to be pencilled in for May, with the pair set to come to blows in the UK again.
Promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed deals for the fight to be held in the US and the Middle East have been snubbed.
But an official announcement of Joshua vs Usyk II is still yet to be made. More

MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA is excited by the prospect of a legend versus legend clash with Ricky Hatton – but he feels ‘weird’ about facing his old pal.SunSport revealed earlier this month that preliminary talks over an exhibition bout between the former world champions had taken place.
Ricky Hatton is gearing up for a shock return to the ring aged 43Credit: THE SUN
Former three-weight champ Marco Antonio Barrera is being lined up as The Hitman’s next opponentCredit: AP
El Barreta is relishing the chance to throw down with his old palCredit: NEWS GROUP NEWSPAPERS LTD
But Mexican mauler Barrera, 48, will find it strange sharing the ring with the Manchester Hitman after years of friendship.
He told SunSport: “Ricky Hatton was one of the best from the UK fighters there ever was, our friendship was so close that even I went to all of his fights and he came to all of my fights.
“Ricky Hatton’s style is very similar to the Mexican style, just going forward throwing punches there’s no running, not a lot of waste of movement in throwing punches.
“Yes, Ricky Hatton and I are great friends, we haven’t seen each other in years, so going on and getting in the ring will be weird, but we’ll kind of sit down and talk a little bit.”
Should the fight come to fruition, Barrera plans to break out the training regime he used when he was at the peak of his powers.
He revealed: “I would do a very similar style of training when I was preparing for my fights.”
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But the former three-weight world champ isn’t expecting an easy return to full training after 11 years of retirement.
He said: “Ricky is a very good fighter.
“He’s a fighter who goes forward, so it would be a tough camp.
“Ricky’s 43, I’m 48, he’s five years younger than me but he is very good. Since I’ve retired I’ve been running every single day and keep fit.
“Mental preparation is way more important than physical preparation.
“As a matter of fact, as an example, when I was fighting Eric Morales I was telling myself no one can beat me, any boxer in this world can’t beat me, and he won’t beat me.
Marco Antonio Barrera is looking forward to facing the Hitman HattonCredit: GETTY
“Same thing with Naseem Hamed – I signed to beat him, I signed to win and that’s exactly what I did.
“You have to prepare yourself mentally when you step into the ring and you’ve go to do exactly what you put into the training.”
He added: “For me to fight Ricky Hatton, I will need to get into good shape and be in physical form so people can see I’m in good form.
“Also in exhibition fights, there’s no winner. It’s to entertain the people and it will be a very good fight for the people.”
As much as El Barreta is looking forward to sharing the ring with his old buddy, he wouldn’t mind having a catch-up with him before they try to take each other’s heads off.
He said: “My regards to Ricky I’ve not seen him for a long time and second, call me!
“It’s an honour to know that he talked about me and considered me for his comeback fight so we’re excited to make this happen.”
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