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      Game of Thrones star Hafthor Bjornsson names his top five favourite boxers including two Brits and Canelo Alvarez

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      TYSON FURY is among Hafthor Bjornsson’s favourite fighters along with British boxing legend Lennox Lewis. Game of Thrones star Bjornsson has been learning the sweet science for over a year now after calling out strongman rival Eddie Hall in May 2020.
      Hafthor Bjornsson’s top five favourite boxers
      The actor – nicknamed ‘Thor’ – has had three boxing exhibitions in preparation for his grudge match with Hall, now set for March 2022.
      They were against cruiserweight Steven Ward, 31, heavyweight Simon Vallily, 36, and most recently Canadian arm wrestler Devon Larratt, 46.
      And in an interview with SunSport, Bjornsson revealed England’s Fury, 33, and Lewis, 56, are two of his favourite all-time boxers.
      American heavyweight icon’s George Foreman, 72, and Mike Tyson, 55, are also on that list.
      And lastly, boxing’s current pound-for-pound No1, four-division champion Canelo Alvarez, 31, makes up Bjornsson’s selection.
      His super-heavyweight fight with Hall, 33, was set for September, until his rival pulled out with a bicep injury.

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      It allowed Bjornsson, 32, one more exhibition tune-up, which he won in the first round, weighing a career-low 23 STONE.
      That is NINE STONE, lighter than his days as a 450lb strongman competitor.
      Hall has opted against warm-up fights of any sorts, instead focussing on behind-closed-door bouts and hard sparring.
      But Reign Total Body Fuel ambassador Bjornsson backed his decision to learn on the job in front of the lights.
      He said: “I’ve been in sports my whole life, and for me at least, but most people agree with me here that when you compete and step into the ring with referees with the lights on and the pressure, that’s how you get better. 
      “That’s how you gain experience and when you’re able to learn from your mistakes as well. 
      Hafthor Bjornsson incredible nine stone weight loss
      “I can train hard and spar extremely hard in training sessions but competing the way I’m doing, this was my third match, that gives me the most experience I could ever ask for. 
      “That’s the reason why I’m doing it, because I want to be as prepared as possible before the Eddie fight. 
      “If I was him, I would definitely do exhibition matches and try to learn as fast as possible because neither of us want to lose this fight. 
      “He obviously want to win against me and I obviously want to win against him.
      “So, I truly believe he is doing everything he believes is the best. He doesn’t believe in those exhibition matches, but I do and that’s fine.
      “He has his training ways to do things and I have my training ways to do things.” 

      Hafþór Björnsson is a Reign ambassador, he will fight Eddie Hall in March 2022. For more information, please visit http://reignbodyfuel.com/en-gb #ReadyToReign

      Hafthor Bjornsson slams Eddie Hall as the biggest bully on internet More

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      Tyson Fury saw his ‘massive’ fight with Anthony Joshua ‘going down the drain’ as he watched Oleksandr Usyk masterclass

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      TYSON FURY saw the biggest payday of his career go ‘down the drain’ as he watched Oleksandr Usyk outbox Anthony Joshua.The undefeated Ukrainian put on a boxing clinic last weekend in his Tottenham tussle with AJ, which he won via unanimous decision.
      Anthony Joshua suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Oleksandr Usyk last weekendCredit: GETTY
      Victory over AJ saw Oleksandr Usyk become unified heavyweight championCredit: GETTY
      Tyson Fury’s co-promoter – Frank Warren – was baffled by AJ’s choice of tacticsCredit: PA
      And WBC king Fury was the most interested observer on the planet as Usyk danced rings around his countryman and scuppered the biggest fight in the history of British boxing.
      His co-promoter Frank Warren said: “I spoke to Tyson during the fight and we were both of the same opinion.
      “All Tyson could see was a massive big fight going down the drain, which is what happened.”
      Queensbury Promotion’s chief Warren was stunned by Joshua’s decision to try and outbox the fleetfooted Usyk.
      He added: “You would’ve thought the bigger man would have imposed himself.
      “He just did not do it and didn’t do it in any part of the fight. Not in any part of that fight was he dominant.”

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      The Ukrainian’s schooling of Joshua reaffirmed Warren’s belief that Fury would wipe the floor with the former unified heavyweight champion.
      He continued: “All Usyk was doing was just totally outboxing him.
      “I said to Tyson, ‘Can you imagine if you were in there with him, how long that would’ve lasted?’
      “Tyson’s got as fast hands as Usyk’s got, as good a boxing brain as Usyk’s got and as good footwork as Usyk’s got.
      “But he’s a bigger puncher and he’s got a better chin.”
      Joshua, 31, has exercised his rematch clause and is set to renew his rivalry with former undisputed cruiserweight king Usyk early next year.
      All Tyson could see was a massive big fight going down the drain, which is what happenedFrank Warren
      And he’s adamant he’ll get the better of his fellow Olympic gold medallist second time around.
      When asked why he’s confident of success in the rematch, Joshua said: “Just being a quick learner.
      “Understanding the positive from the negative.
      “If you look at it from a negative point of view, you’re never going to have that mindset that you can make a difference because you’re down anyway.
      “But if you look at it from a positive point of view, and realise, ‘Yeah, I took a loss.
      “‘But that’s a lesson, that’s a blessing. I can use it as fuel to get better.
      Anthony Joshua has vowed to bounce back from his second professional defeatCredit: PA
      “‘And use it as fuel to right my wrongs.’ You can only get better from there.
      “So I’m not gonna hold myself down from the mistake I made, I’m only gonna uplift myself and say, ‘Actually, you know what? That was a tough fight.
      “‘But from that fight, I’m gonna go away, get my notepad out and find ways to improve.”

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      Alexander Krassyuk says Anthony Joshua has activated his world title rematch clause against Usyk after crushing defeat More

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      Chris Eubank Jr vs Anatoli Muratov tale of the tape: How fighters compare ahead of Saturday’s fight

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      CHRIS EUBANK JR is preparing for the next stage of his career with a tune-up bout against late replacement Anatoli Muratov. The middleweight contender returns to the ring on Saturday night, as the new face of Sky Sports Boxing.
      How Chris Eubank Jr and Anatoli Muratov compare
      Eubank Jr was lined up against 18-1 Sven Elbir, until the German tested positive for coronavirus.
      It led to his countryman, little known Muratov, filling in as a substitute at the last minute.
      But for Eubank Jr, the opponent does not matter, with the goal the same; win and move on to a big fight by December.
      His last was a ten round beating of Manchester’s Marcus Morrison, an exercise to dust the cobwebs off and get the ring time banked.
      But at 32, the son of a legend now has to press forward with world title ambitions.
      His promoter Kalle Sauerland has already teased an end of year pay-per-view, with Billy Joe Saunders, 32, and Liam Williams, 29, targeted.

      But IBF middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, 39, will have to wait until next summer, with the Kazakh unifying against Ryota Murata, 35.
      Eubank Jr, who has only lost to Saunders and the now-retired George Groves, 33, wants to fight GGG at Brighton’s Amex Stadium.
      He said: “I’ve been told that he’s looking to fight in the UK again. So that’s a stadium-filler.
      “How amazing would it be to get that fight at the Amex or something like that in Brighton, I’ve always wanted to fight there. We’ve got to get it done.”
      Boxing’s pound-for-pound No1 Canelo Alvarez, 31, who has left Saunders considering retirement after his win, is also on Eubank Jr’s radar.
      And it is again another one fitting for Britain’s largest audiences.
      Eubank Jr told Sky Sports: “I mean who else is there? Beats Saunders, beats Callum Smith, there’s nobody else. It would fill the biggest stadium.”
      The only man standing in Eubank Jr’s plans is Muratov, 33, a man beaten only twice, with one draw and 24 wins.
      This year already he has beaten Gyorgy Varju as well as Malkhaz Sujashvili and takes 17 knockouts into the fight.
      Chris Eubank Jr says Billy Joe Saunders rematch ‘will be made’ and slams rival for ‘quitting’ against Canelo Alvarez More

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      Usyk reveals he didn’t KO Anthony Joshua as he didn’t want to take a ‘big chunk of his health’ in front of his family

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      OLEKSANDR USYK decided against knocking out Anthony Joshua because he didn’t want to seriously hurt the former heavyweight champ in front of his loved ones.The Olympic gold medallist ended the Watford warrior’s second reign as unified heavyweight champion last weekend with a masterclass at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
      Oleksandr Usyk ended Anthony Joshua’s reign as unified heavyweight champion last weekendCredit: GETTY
      The Ukrainian put on a boxing clinic at the Tottenham Hotspur StadiumCredit: REUTERS
      Usyk refrained from knocking out AJCredit: GETTY
      Usyk, 34, hurt Joshua on multiple occasions in the Tottenham tussle but refrained from going in for the kill as he didn’t want to take a ‘big chunk of health’ from the Brit.
      When asked why he didn’t stop AJ, the Ukrainian said: “Why are you so bloodthirsty?
      “There is victory, everything is fine.
      “Why is it necessary for a person to fall? He has relatives, friends, a mother and a father.
      “This is a big chunk of health if a person falls. I’m not for that.”
      According to the newly-crowned unified heavyweight king, his corner urged him to refrain from going for the stoppage.

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      He said: “I had no objective to knock him out because my trainer, in my corner, pushed me not to do that.
      “In the beginning, I hit him hard and tried to knock him out. But then my trainer said: ‘Just stop, and do your job.'”
      Usyk is set to renew his rivalry with Joshua early next year after the Brit activated the rematch clause in their contract.
      His promoter – Alexander Krassuyk – said: “The rematch was specified in the contract.
      “It has already been activated in principle, from the side of Joshua.
      “So I remember when we discussed with Oleksandr the issue of rematch, he was delighted and said ‘Wow, cool, I will beat Antokha [Anthony] twice.”
      Usyk is hoping to make the first defence of his heavyweight titles in front of a capacity crowd at Kiev’s Olympic Stadium.
      He said: “I would love to have the rematch at Olympiyskiy Stadium in Kiev.”
      Oleksandr Usyk wants to defend his newly-acquired titles on home soilCredit: REUTERS

      Joshua, 31, is more than willing to take the fight on enemy territory, saying: “Yeah, of course. Anywhere.
      “Wherever the opportunity is. As I said, anywhere. Wherever the opportunity may be. I would love to just compete again.
      “I’ll speak to the promotion and the management team.”

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      Alexander Krassyuk says Anthony Joshua has activated his world title rematch clause against Usyk after crushing defeat More

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      Richard Riakporhe ‘almost died’ before fighting back to star on Chris Eubank Jr undercard

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      CRUISERWEIGHT Richard Riakporhe still bears the scars from the night he almost died when he was stabbed in the chest.The 31-year-old takes on Krzysztof Twardowski at Wembley Arena this weekend and has his eyes on a bout with world champ Lawrence Okolie.
      Riakporhe in unbeaten in his 11 professional fights with six knockouts to his nameCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      The 31-year-old had Lawrence Okolie in his sightsCredit: Richard Pelham
      However, 16 years ago, when Riakporhe was a schoolboy he was stabbed at a party in Old Kent Road in South East London, and nearly died.
      Riakporhe told SunSport in 2018: “I got involved in this street culture from around the age of 12, for about ten years.
      “This led me to find pain, havoc, endless want, and paranoia.
      “I began to get in trouble with the police then eventually ended up in prison.
      “In addition, I suffered a traumatic near-death experience when I was stabbed in the chest at the age of 15.
      “I was at a party and a guy came out claiming that he lost his phone.

      “He then started to demand me and my friend give him our phones and started to stab us all if we responded in a hesitant manner.
      “He progressively stabbed three of us – with my injuries unfortunately being the worst.
      “The stabbing was extremely life-changing for me and my family.
      “I couldn’t do what normal teenager do for instance go out to parties for a while in case this incident repeated itself.
      “I couldn’t participate in activities like playing football or play fighting or I would feel faint it was so traumatic as I think back.
      “But because I was so young and lacked understanding of the severity of this situation, I thought of as a life experience not knowing how close to death I was.”
      The teenager needed emergency surgery due to internal bleeding and was left hospitalised for five days.

      Due to blood around the lungs, he could barely breathe.
      Riakporhe does not know what happened to the stabber – and the aftermath is still a fog of confusion.
      He added: “Despite being stabbed, the lure of the streets still pulled me in.
      “And when the streets pull you in, it’s hard to resist. As a result, I kept getting in trouble.”
      After experiencing such trauma at an age where most teenagers are thinking about their GCSEs, Riakporhe went in search of self-discipline and respect – this led him to the Lynn Amateur Boxing Club in Camberwell.
      Riakporhe said: “I was always competitive and was vacillating whether to get involved with football or boxing.
      The unbeaten prospect has eight KOs in his 11 victories so farCredit: r_riakporhe
      [/caption]
      “But then decided to take the boxing route, as I always thought I was built to fight.
      “I wanted to get into a sport that demanded respect from the public so boxing was perfect.”Riakporhe claims, like many with a similar story to his, that boxing changed his life.
      However, it is not the Haringey Box Cup gold medal nor his undefeated professional record that the Londoner ranks as his biggest life achievement.
      In 2012 Riakporhe enrolled into Kingston University and graduated with a BSc in Marketing and Communications, something he did not believe was possible.
      Riakporhe graduated Kingston university in 2015 having enrolled in a Bachelors of Sciences degreeCredit: r_riakporhe
      The boxer posing with school children – he often gives speeches talking about his storyCredit: r_riakporhe
      He said: “I went to uni after receiving advice from friends and family and thought it would be great to have something to fall back on in case sport didn’t work out.
      “It was extremely important to me because I never thought I ever would’ve attended uni so it was like breaking through a mental barrier.
      “That was my greatest life achievement up to date.”
      The 6ft 5ins cruiserweight has shared the ring with the likes of Chris Eubank Jr and  Okolie while also spending time training with good friend and ‘mentor’ Dillian Whyte and his trainer Mark Tibbs.
      He has also sparred with the unified world heavyweight Anthony Joshua who he first met way back in 2011.
      Their first spar took place during Joshua’s preparation for the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Baku, and Riakporhe revealed he knew AJ was destined to be a world champion.
      Riakporhe said: “He’s a hard puncher and with great speed in the upper body. It was an amazing experience.
      “I knew he would be because even after finishing camp up Sheffield he would still do extra training on the weekend. Even then he was committed to mastery.” More

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      Watch Deontay Wilder training for ‘war’ in Tyson Fury trilogy and as trainer Malik Scott tries to motivate ex-champion

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      DEONTAY WILDER has been motivated by his coach Malik Scott to train for ‘war’ against Tyson Fury in their trilogy bout. The American will finally get his shot at redemption on October 9, sharing the ring with Fury for a third time.
      Deontay Wilder training for his trilogy with Tyson FUryCredit: YouTube
      Deontay Wilder on the pads with coach Malik ScottCredit: YouTube
      Malik Scott told Deontay Wilder to train for ‘war’Credit: YouTube
      Firstly, the heavyweight rivals drew in 2018 before Wilder suffered defeat in the rematch two years later.
      A contracted trilogy was expected, until Fury, 33, tried to walk away from it to instead fight Anthony Joshua, 31.
      All meanwhile Wilder, 35, took his right to revenge to arbitration and at the 11th hour was awarded the verdict.
      Fury’s ploy to freeze out the former champion has not been forgotten, and Scott, 40, warned the bad blood has gone way past just a fight.
      Captured by PBC, he told Wilder: “It’s not a boxing match, brother, they turned it into something else, baby.
      “They tried to bury you alive. We’re going to war.”
      Wilder is then seen throwing combination punches and body shots, something not previously showcased in his arsenal before.

      After defeat to Fury, he sacked assistant trainer Mark Breland, who rightfully threw in the towel after seven one-sided rounds.
      Wilder also promoted Scott – who he knocked out in 2014 – from sparring partner and team member to full-time head coach.

      The odds are stacked against The Bronze Bomber, who reigned as WBC king from 2015-2020 with TEN title defences.
      But, that is just how the hard-hitting Alabamian likes it.
      Wilder said: “A lot of people when the tough gets going, they tend to give up. Everybody wants things easy in life, it’s just not how it works.
      “Certain things need to be tough. You’d never appreciate things if they came easy. You’ll never be perfect, but don’t mean you can’t practise it.
      “We’re going to be targeting the body, targeting the arms, we’re going to be targeting the neck, we’re going to be targeting the head.
      “There’s no body part that’s not going to be hit. In the end, my hands will be raised high in the sky, not because I whooped his ass in 12 rounds, but because I knocked him out.”
      Tyson Fury beat Deontay Wilder in their rematchCredit: Getty More

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      Jake Paul has ‘so many advantages’ over Conor McGregor in boxing and can ‘absolutely’ beat UFC star, says Khabib’s coach

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      JAKE PAUL has ‘so many advantages’ over Conor McGregor in a boxing match and can ‘absolutely’ beat him. That is the view of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s trainer Javier Mendez, who coached the UFC legend to a win over McGregor in 2018.
      Jake Paul during his win over Tyron WoodleyCredit: Getty
      Floyd Mayweather beat Conor McGregor in 2017
      Paul, who is unbeaten at 4-0, has continued to call out the Irishman, who lost his boxing debut to Floyd Mayweather in 2017.
      But also on his recent ‘hit-list’ of opponents was boxing’s pound-for-pound No1 Canelo Alvarez.
      Mendez has warned Paul, 24, against ever fighting Canelo, 31, and instead urged him to use his size and experience against McGregor, 33, instead.
      He told Betway Insider: “Jake has got so many advantages on Conor.
      “Size being one of the big major ones, and the fact that he’s been boxing for three plus years with really good boxing professionals that know what they’re doing.
      “So no, he shouldn’t have to fear Conor whatsoever. Instead, he has to fear people like Canelo.

      “He would just smash him in one round, it would be embarrassing.
      “He hasn’t got a chance against those kinds of guys, he really should stay away from him – but against Conor, absolutely he has a chance.”
      Paul beat online rival ‘AnEsonGib’ on his debut before knocking out ex-NBA star Nate Robinson and retired UFC welterweight Ben Askren, both 37.
      But his biggest win to date came in August against ex-UFC champion Tyron Woodley, 39, over the eight round distance.
      McGregor is yet to return to the ring since defeat to Mayweather, 44, despite failed talks to fight the now-retired Manny Pacquiao, 42, late last year.
      Paul has an almost THREE STONE weight advantage, has three inches of height over the former UFC champ and has more in-ring experience.
      He hasn’t got a chance against those kinds of guys, he really should stay away from him – but against Conor, absolutely he has a chance.Khabib’s coach urges Jake Paul to fight Conor McGregor not Canelo
      Mendez has seen the YouTuber’s secret sparring and training sessions and believes beating McGregor is more than achievable.
      He explained: “Looking at the two, Jake’s got big advantages in size and power.
      “Yes, he doesn’t have fight experience but he’s been strictly just boxing for a long time now. Conor’s not been strictly boxing.
      “I have first-hand knowledge of seeing Jake do his stuff.
      “I have videos that his coaches were sending me and I have had words with the people that he was sparring with.

      “The guy’s legit, he’s the real deal. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not a top level guy.
      “You can’t be top level with three pro fights – but he has skills and he has power and he has great coaching, he really does.
      “And he’s a good athlete so combine all those together and he’s gaining momentum.”
      Jake Paul watches Anthony Joshua’s loss to Usyk with wide eyes More

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      Top ten boxing P4P list updated as Ring Magazine move Oleksandr Usyk up to two behind Canelo after Anthony Joshua win

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      OLEKSANDR USYK has jumped to second in Ring Magazine’s top ten pound-for-pound list after victory over Anthony Joshua. It leaves only Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez ahead of the new unified heavyweight champion.

      Usyk had been in fourth, with Japanese Naoya Inoue, 28, second and American Terence Crawford, 34, third.
      But the unbeaten pair have now dropped down a place each to make way for Usyk, 34, following his 12 round masterclass against AJ.
      Still, it has not been enough to knock off boxing’s top attraction Canelo, who has won titles in FOUR divisions, and currently reigns at super-middleweight.
      Scotland’s Josh Taylor, 30, is as high as fifth, above 27-0 Texan Errol Spence Jr, 31, who has not fought since September 2020.
      Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn agreed that only Canelo deserves to be ahead of masterful southpaw Usyk in the mythical rankings.
      Asked where he ranks, Hearn said: “Two, after Canelo.

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      “I mean, when he was at cruiserweight, everyone called him a top five pound-for-pound.
      “But then when he went to heavyweight, he went off everyone’s radar. After that win, he has to be on everyone’s top pound-for-pound.”
      Tyson Fury, 33, is Ring’s highest-rated heavyweight but does not feature on the pound-for-pound list.
      He faces Deontay Wilder, 35, in a trilogy bout on October 9, and Usyk, set to rematch Joshua, 31, fancies an undisputed fight with the winner.
      He said: “Oh cool, I get to beat up Anthony Joshua twice.
      “I have three of the main belts and Tyson Fury has the fourth, at the moment.”
      New world champion Oleksandr Usyk wants unification bout with Fury vs Wilder winner after rematch against Anthony Joshua More