Boxing

DEONTAY WILDER believes boxing fans are being deprived of the best bouts because fighters are making ‘excuses’ not to face one another.The biggest criticism the sport has received over the last decade is that big fights aren’t being put together or are being made too late.
Deontay Wilder is frustrated by the lack of big fights taking place in boxingCredit: PBC
Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao is one of the fights that took forever to makeCredit: AP
The Bronze Bomber admits he can’t wait to retire from the sportCredit: Ryan Hafey/ Premier Boxing Champions
The long-awaited Fight of the Century between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao is a testament to the latter fact, with the fight being made after the pair’s primes.
That trend, sadly, has continued, much to the frustration of former WBC champ Wilder.
He told 78SPORTSTV: “You have so many guys coming up with excuses to avoid fighters, the best not fighting the best.”
Wilder’s frustration with the fight game is so strong that he’s looking forward to hanging up his gloves.
He continued: “Sometimes I’m just like, ‘I can’t wait for the point in time where I do retire.’
“I don’t think I’m gonna miss it… Once I retire, they’re gonna miss me.”

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Wilder, 35, is currently gearing up for a Las Vegas trilogy fight with bitter rival Tyson Fury, whom he’ll meet on October 9.
The Bronze Bomber suffered a seventh-round TKO defeat to The Gypsy King in their February rematch.
And he’s taken their war of words to the next level by branding the Wythenshawe warrior ‘one of the biggest cheats in boxing’.
He said: “Look at Tyson Fury’s rap sheet, he’s one of the biggest cheats in boxing, but do you ever hear about it?
You have so many guys coming up with excuses to avoid fighters, the best not fighting the bestDeontay Wilder

“They don’t care.
“When it’s all said and done, all over for me, I can look myself in the face, in the mirror and say, ‘I did it the right way.”
Olympic bronze medallist Wilder is hellbent on avenging his first professional loss in devastating fashion, saying: “My mind is very violent.
“We built a whole facility to commit a legal homicide and that’s just what it is, my mind is very violent at this time.
How Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder stack up ahead of the trilogy fight
“I can’t wait, when you’re contemplating and pre-meditating about harming a man and you see that person, what you’ve been thinking and feeling will come out.
“The only thing about it is, at that point in time, I have to wait until I get in the ring to really release because I can’t do it on the outside, it’d defeat the purpose.
“The baby’s got to eat, but when I do get in the ring, this is what I love about it, I’m able to release everything I’ve been feeling, everything I’ve been thinking, and get paid to do it.”

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TYSON FURY insists rival Anthony Joshua hasn’t fought a heavyweight in his prime as tensions continue to rise between the two Brits.AJ has met several big names in the ring during his illustrious career, but the Gypsy King doesn’t believe any of them were in tip top shape.
Tyson Fury has questioned Anthony Joshua’s boxing CVCredit: PA
The Gypsy King has a victory against Wilder to his nameCredit: Reuters
Speaking to Manchester United icon Gary Neville on The Overlap YouTube channel, Fury, 33, discussed the prospect of a fight with Joshua, 31.
He said: “I do think that the best boxers do fight each other eventually, but it’s not gonna happen when everyone calls for it.
“It only happens when, say, one boxer’s on the slide and one’s in his prime. Then you get them wanting to fight each other.
“But you very rarely get two prime fighters fight each other. Because one of them is always a bit wary that they’re gonna lose.”
Boxing fans are desperate to see Fury and Joshua face each other in a massive heavyweight clash for the undisputed world title next year.
But Fury will need to overcome American Deontay Wilder in their trilogy fight on October 9 before he can begin planning for Joshua.

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And AJ must defend his belts against undefeated and undisputed former cruiserweight champ Oleksandr Usyk on September 25.
Fury then questioned Joshua’s boxing CV, adding: “Anthony Joshua’s fought not one heavyweight in his prime.
“They’re all former good men, back in the early 2000s, late 2000s, but not in 2020-odd. They were good men 10 years ago.”
AJ has defeated several big names during his career, including Dillian Whyte, Joseph Parker, Andy Ruiz Jr and Wladimir Klitschko.
But the latter, then 41, was already on the decline when he faced Joshua after Fury ended his long reign as world champ two years earlier.

The Gypsy King also boasts a win against Deontay Wilder, widely regarded as one of the top three fighters in the heavyweight division.
Fury is also concerned a fight between him and Joshua will never happen, even though AJ has called his British rival out on numerous occasions.
Fury added: “I was never optimistic about AJ happening. This was always going on in the background and they knew all that.
“Eddie Hearn knew it, Joshua knew it – they all knew it. All of a sudden, it’s my fault because I’m a s***house, please.
“I don’t think the fight will happen. We’ve been trying to do this fight since we were 22 years old and I’m now 33.”
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OLEKSANDR USYK’S manager has revealed that the Klitschko brothers have not reached out ‘even once’ ahead of his heavyweight showdown with Anthony Joshua. Usyk, 34, will aim to follow in the footsteps of his countrymen Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko by beating Anthony Joshua to become a world heavyweight champion for the first time.
In 2018, Usyk became the fourth male boxer in history to become the unified cruiserweight champion of the world by holding the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO titles simultaneouslyCredit: Getty
Usyk’s last fight was when he beat British heavyweight Derek Chisora by unanimous decision at the SSE Wembley Arena back in October 2020Credit: Getty
The Ukrainian takes on the two-time unified world heavyweight champion, 31, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday 25 September for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles.
The Klitschko brothers successfully won and defended all four major world heavyweight titles until Vitali retired in 2013 and Wladimir was beaten by Tyson Fury in 2015.
They are among the most successful champions in boxing history and their support could have given Usyk a huge advantage against Joshua ahead of their highly-anticipated title fight.
Wladimir was beaten by Joshua by TKO in their title fight at Wembley Stadium in 2017 and would be able to give Usyk some useful tips if he had reached out, as many expected he would.
Speaking to My Betting Sites, Usyk’s manager Sergey Lapin claimed that the Klitschko brothers’ silence will make no difference to Usyk’s preparation.
Lapin said: “Oleksandr has worked incredibly hard in training and will prove against Joshua that he is the best around, helped by the addition of trainer Anatoly Lomachenko who has brought his game to the next level.

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“As for the advice from the Klitschko brothers, our fellow Ukrainians, we haven’t seen them in our training camp even once.
“Oleksandr has his own story, and he has been writing it for a long time, from the moment he came to the gym at a young age. He does not need anyone else.”
Lapin is confident of his client’s ability to beat Joshua, despite the world champion from Watford being the favourite going into the fight.
“More than two years have passed since Oleksandr’s transition to heavyweight – and today he is in optimal physical and mental condition to face Anthony Joshua.
“In our world, everyone always needs to prove themselves, which is what Usyk does time and again when everybody doubts him.
“And we, his team and loved ones, believe in his victory for two reasons – one, because he has one of the best techniques in boxing and two, because he uses his legs to the maximum which makes him so tough to face.
“But of course, AJ is a great boxer, he has passed a difficult path in his career. So we wish him good preparation and are waiting for him in the ring.”
MUTUAL RESPECT
Joshua is also known to have a good relationship with Klitschko, with the pair demonstrating a great mutual respect when speaking about one another since their fight in 2015.
He even went as far as saying Wladimir Klitschko is the hardest puncher he has ever faced, despite losing by TKO to Ruiz Jr. He said: “This guy’s a beast, he’s a beast.”
After his defeat, Klitschko took to Twitter to post the message: “Really enjoyed the fight, I hope you did too. Thank you for your amazing support. I can truly feel it. Respect&congrats to @anthonyfjoshua.”

Usyk has won 13 of his 18 professional fights by knockout and remains undefeated, compared to Joshua who has won 22 of his 25 fights by knockout but was beaten by Andy Ruiz Jr. in a shock defeat in 2019.
Tyson Fury’s co-promoter Frank Warren recently backed Usyk to win if the fight goes to 12 rounds, saying: “Anthony Joshua must be the favourite for the fight. He’s the bigger guy, much bigger, and he’s a bigger puncher.
“Having said that, if he [Joshua] doesn’t get rid of him, and if he’s still there after five or six rounds, then it gets to the end of the fight, if that goes 12 rounds, I would fancy Usyk to get the decision because to get there, he’s going to have to outbox him.”
AJ bounced back from his defeat against Ruiz to win the rematch and then beat Bulgarian heavyweight Kubrat Pulev by knockout in December 2020Credit: PA
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