Boxing

ANTHONY JOSHUA has revealed he turned down a £10million offer to LEAVE promoter Eddie Hearn in 2015.Just months before he won his first heavyweight world title, AJ was headhunted for a mega offer.
Anthony Joshua has been guided to the very top by long-time promoter Eddie HearnCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
But the 31-year-old, who according to the Sunday Times Rich List is worth £115m, kept his focus and turned down the mega-money on offer.
Joshua then went and battered American Charles Martin in April 2016 to be crowned IBF champ.
When discussing money in boxing and how promoters work, Joshua told Manchester United legend Gary Neville on The Overlap: “It truly depends on your marketability.
“I could just offer you a fee, so it’s not like I own you but I could buy your image rights and say I want to buy rights to all of your future earnings.
“So you could go to any Tom, Dick or Harry or any network, and I’ll always own a little piece of you and I was offered that twice in my amateur career.
“There was one guy who was always around the amateur gym and then one day when I was in court one day for a legal issue, someone came up to me with a contract for £250,000.
“I was like ‘where’s that pen?’ But I love the documentaries and I’d studied a lot of the horror stories so I swerved that.
“Then I was offered £10m for someone to sign me, probably in about 2015, but nah it wasn’t tempting, I said no straight away because I just backed myself.”

DREAM TEAM IS BACK! SIGN UP NOW FOR THE 21/22 SEASON FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN £100,000

Joshua is next in action in September, when he defends his WBA, WBO and IBF belts against Oleksandr Usyk.
Provided he comes through that challenge against the former unified cruiserweight king, all eyes will turn to finally sorting the Tyson Fury clash.
The ‘Battle Of Britain’ was scheduled to take place this summer, but that spectacularly collapsed when Deontay Wilder won his case for a trilogy scrap against Fury.
That will happen on October 9.
Meanwhile Joshu’s promoter Hearn has has dismissed suggestions talks over an undisputed heavyweight title fight between Joshua and Fury have resumed.
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)
The Matchroom Boxing chief told iFL TV: “Someone said, ‘When do you think that fight will happen when it happens?’”
“I’m giving you what you want, clickbait. Let’s deal with Oleksandr Usyk.
“That’s the focus, that fight [Anthony Joshua vs Usyk], and then we worry about the rest after.
“I didn’t say there were any talks [between Joshua and Fury].
“I said if that fight was to happen, I guess that’s the time that it would happen. It is [a formidable task for Joshua facing Usyk].”
Joshua has become one of the biggest stars in boxing and worth an estimated £115millionCredit: EPA
Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury has new ‘realistic’ fight date More

DEONTAY WILDER has been urged by his sparring partner to take a leaf out of Tyson Fury’s book and ‘take the fight’ to his heavyweight rival. Fury drew with Wilder in 2018 after largely outboxing but twice being floored by the American.
Heavyweight contender Stephan Shaw with Deontay Wilder
Deontay Wilder was beaten in his rematch with Tyson FuryCredit: Reuters
But when they rematched two years later, the Brit piled on a stone and switched tactics to aggressively go on the offensive.
It saw Wilder twice dropped himself and then beaten in round seven as he surrendered his WBC title and unbeaten record.
But he has salvaged a crack at redemption after winning his right to a trilogy bout after an arbitration case.
To prepare for the fight, he recruited the help of heavyweight contender Stephan Shaw, who was used before the two prior Fury fights.
And he called on Wilder to gain revenge on Fury by using his own game plan against hum.
Shaw, 28, told SunSport: “I’d take the fight like Fury approached it
“Try and make the best adjustments, because at that level when you have two elite guys in there, it’s all about adjustments.
‘DEONTAY’S LOOKING SHARP’
“Who can make those adjustments? The other guy might come out with a better jab, so I’d have to make the adjustments to get away from that jab.
“You have to be ready to make adjustments, because Tyson Fury, he might not be the most skilled fighter but he’s big, he’s kind of awkward and he’s a smart fighter.
“He’s a great thinker in there and especially with the minds of (trainer) SugarHill Steward added to his team, that’s only going to make him even better, like he did in the second fight.”
Shaw was brought in to Wilder’s camp for two weeks to help give a Fury-esque look.
But that was before the trilogy bout was postponed from July 24 to October 9 due to the Gypsy King testing positive for coronavirus.
It put a halt to Wilder’s preparation, which had been going to plan, 14-0 Shaw reports.
He said: “It’s been great work, Deontay’s looking sharp, he’s looking pretty good.”
Shaw is on a path of his own, but has also already shared the ring in sparring with the likes of Andy Ruiz Jr, 31, and Dominic Breazeale, 35.

How Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder stack up ahead of the trilogy fightCredit: SUNSPORT
DREAM TEAM IS BACK! SIGN UP NOW FOR THE 21/22 SEASON FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN £100,000

He said: “From going with Andy Ruiz or Deontay Wilder, it shows me what I want in my camp or what I don’t want, how to construct it.
“Going down there with Deontay, it definitely let me know how to conduct myself as a world champion.
“It shows me how a training camp from a world champion’s perspective is run. How they conduct everything.”
Dream Team 2021/22PLAY DREAM TEAM FOR THE 2021/22 SEASON!

£100,000 in prize money up for grabs
£50million budget to build your best XI
Play in Mini Leagues against your mates, colleagues, etc
Click here to play for FREE
Dream Team app available through Apple Store and Google Play Store More

EDDIE HEARN has dismissed suggestions talks over an undisputed heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have resumed.The long-awaited Battle of Britain was due to take place in Saudi Arabia next month before an American judge ordered Fury to have a trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder.
Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua were meant to fight in Saudi Arabia next monthCredit: AFP
But Eddie Hearn has dismissed claims talks over an early 2022 showdown between the pair have been heldCredit: Matchroom Boxing
Reports have suggested preliminary talks over an early 2022 showdown between the pair have taken place, a claim Hearn insists is not true.
The Matchroom Boxing chief told iFL TV: “Someone said, ‘When do you think that fight will happen when it happens?’”
“I’m giving you what you want, clickbait. Let’s deal with Oleksandr Usyk.
“That’s the focus, that fight [Anthony Joshua vs Usyk], and then we worry about the rest after.
“I didn’t say there were any talks [between Joshua and Fury].
“I said if that fight was to happen, I guess that’s the time that it would happen. It is [a formidable task for Joshua facing Usyk].”
I didn’t say there were any talksEddie Hearn on rumours talks over a 2022 showdown between Joshua and Fury being underway
Joshua, 31, must come through his WBO mandatory bout with former undisputed cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk in order to preserve the biggest fight in the history of British boxing.
AJ will defend his unified titles against Usyk on September 25 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while Fury meets Deontay Wilder for a third time on October 9.
And if both he and Fury come through their respective bouts, Hearn is hopeful the pair will finally share the ring early next year.
He told iFL TV: “I think that was pretty much the case anyway.
“But fighting September 25, it’s very difficult to do a fight in December.
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)

“And a lot of our conversations now about the undisputed fight are end of January, February.
“So it probably helps. Fury might’ve wanted to do another fight in November or December.
“And then the whole thing is, like, never-ending.”
Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury has new ‘realistic’ fight date More

TYSON FURY has been warned he can’t afford to ‘slip up’ in his upcoming trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder.The WBC heavyweight champion of the world will renew his rivalry with the American on October 9 in Las Vegas.
Tyson Fury will renew his rivalry with Deontay Wilder on October 9Credit: AFP
And Frank Warren has warned The Gypsy King he can afford to ‘slip up’ in the trilogy fightCredit: AFP
A blockbuster undisputed heavyweight title unification fight with fellow Brit Anthony Joshua awaits Fury should he get past Wilder.
And The Gypsy King’s promoter Frank Warren admits he can’t afford to lose his third clash with the Bronze Bomber, telling Unibet: “This is a fight he can’t afford to slip up on.”
Fan favourite Fury, 32, knocked out Wilder in the seventh round of their Sin City rematch last February.
And Warren is confident the lineal heavyweight champ will get the better of his rival again, after thier first bout ended in a contentious draw.
He added: “I’ve been thinking about it a lot, the fight. And the only person who can beat Tyson is Tyson.
“That’s the only person that can beat him at the moment. So providing he’s focused and he’s okay, I think he’ll do a job on WIlder.”
This is a fight he can’t afford to slip up onFrank Warren on Tyson Fury’s trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder
Fury is brimming with confidence ahead of his third meeting with Wilder, who he’s promised to run over like an ’18-wheeler’.
He said: “I gave my game plan away the first time because he wasn’t good enough to do anything about it.
“And I’ll do the same thing this time because he’s not good enough to do anything about it.
“Deontay Wilder is a one-trick pony. He’s got one-punch power, we all know that – great.
“But what I’m going to do to Deontay Wilder this time is I’m going to run him over as if I’m an 18-wheeler and he’s a human being.
“I guarantee he does not go past where he did before [the seventh round].
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)

“Because before, I only had five or six weeks practicing what I’m going to do to him. This time, I’ve had 18 months of practicing what I’m going to do to him.
“So I anticipate it’s going to be like an 18-wheeler running over somebody, and that’s what you’re gonna see.
“I’m building my weight up, trying to get up to 300lbs for this fight. Because I’m looking for a big knockout straight away.”
Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury has new ‘realistic’ fight date More

EDDIE HEARN has slammed Floyd Mayweather’s recent fight with Logan Paul, branding it a ‘disgrace’ to the sport of boxing.Former five-weight world champion Mayweather went the distance with the YouTuber in an eight-round exhibition in Miami last month and was ridiculed for failing to put away the novice.
Floyd Mayweather went the distance with Logan Paul last monthCredit: Getty
And Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn has branded the fight a ‘disgrace’Credit: Getty
Hearn was among those baffled by the fight, which he reckons shouldn’t have been given then the time of day.
During an appearance on talkSPORT, the 42-year-old said: “Floyd Mayweather vs Logan Paul was the biggest joke I have ever seen.
“It was a disgrace that it was even broadcast, to be honest.”
Matchroom Boxing chief Hearn, however, has no issue with Paul’s younger brother Jake fighting former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
He added: “Now if there’s a fight between someone who is taking boxing seriously and someone that can fight, I’m talking about Jake Paul against Tyron Woodley coming up, I’m not offended by it.”
Hearn himself has dabbled in the world of YouTube boxing, promoting Paul’s rematch with KSI in November 2019.
The biggest joke I have ever seenEddie Hearn on Floyd Mayweather vs Logan Paul
The veteran promoter shrugged off criticism at the time but admits he felt ‘uncomfortable’ staging the pair’s Los Angeles showdown.
He said: “I did Logan Paul against KSI, two guys who can’t really fight at that professional level, but it was a 50/50.
“We sold out the Staples Centre, we did millions of buys worldwide on pay-per-view.
“But I did feel uncomfortable, I have to be honest.”
YouTube fights have divided opinion in the boxing world, with many purists adamant they’re making a mockery of the sweet science.
But KSI believes himself and the Paul brothers have brought new eyes to the sport.
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET A FREE £10 BONUS WITH 100s OF GAMES TO PLAY AND NO DEPOSIT REQUIRED (Ts&Cs apply)

During an appearance on the IMPAULSIVE podcast, he said: “Boxing purists are gonna be like, ‘It’s bad for boxing, blah, blah, blah.’
“It really isn’t man. It’s done so much.
“The amount of young people who are now into boxing is f***ing through the roof. What we’ve done is incredible.”
Floyd Mayweather boasts ‘I’m only person who can do fake fight and make $100m’ after ‘legalised sparring’ vs Logan Paul More