Boxing

FLOYD MAYWEATHER and Logan Paul’s exhibition fight generated at least one million pay-per-view buys, it has been reported. Boxing legend Mayweather was taken the full eight round distance by YouTube star Paul in their Miami showcase bout.
Floyd Mayweather’s and Logan Paul’s exhibition generated at least one million PPV buysCredit: Sean Michael Ham
The demand was so high on the night Showtime’s app crashed due to the volume of customers.
And while the final box office numbers are still being totalled, according to BoxingScene, it is expected to come close to a million buys.
Website Fanmio, who offer fans the chance to interact with their heroes online, worked together with Showtime to air the event.
Showtime in 2012 tied Mayweather down to a then-record breaking deal worth £150m.
The American, 44, later broke the PPV record with his 2015 fight with Manny Pacquiao, now 42, which sold 4.6m buys.
And two years later, Mayweather and ex-UFC champion Conor McGregor, 32, came close to that record with 4.4m box office sales.
The unbeaten icon, who officially retired after beating McGregor and moving 50-0, had no problems in boasting about his latest pay day.
Unfazed by not scoring a knockout win against Paul, Mayweather was instead more focussed on celebrating another money-spinner.
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He said: “So who’s really the smartest one in the sport of boxing? When it comes to legalised bank robbing, I’m the best.”
Mayweather won a similar exhibition bout in 2018, as he wiped out featherweight kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in one round in Tokyo.
But after failing to do the same to Paul, 26, to the surprise of many, he appeared to hang up the gloves for good.
Mayweather said: “As far as me fighting again, absolutely not. As far as me doing another exhibition, probably not.”
Eddie Hearn claims Floyd Mayweather ‘looked terrible’ against Logan Paul More

OSCAR DE LA HOYA wants revenge on Floyd Mayweather after shaking off the rustiness with two comeback fights. The 48-year-old is stepping back into the ring in September – 13 years after hanging up his gloves following defeat against Manny Pacquiao.
Oscar De La Hoya, 48, is planning a return to the ring in SeptemberCredit: Getty Images – Getty
His opponent remains unknown for now – although it hasn’t stopped him from putting himself through a number of gruelling workouts.
The Golden Boy, an 11x world champ in six weight classes, tasted defeat just six times in 45 fights during his illustrious career.
One of those came at the hands of the legendary Mayweather in 2007 after surrendering his WBC light middleweight title.
And it appears he wants to turn back the clocks to land another showdown with the Money Man.
Reported by talkSPORT’s boxing editor Michael Benson, De La Hoya said: “Let me get like two fights in and then I can f***ing call out Mayweather, you watch – in a f***ing real fight.”
Mayweather just pocketed a whopping £70million after his eight-round exhibition showdown with YouTuber Logan Paul.
But he may take some convincing to step back inside the ring after ruling out another return to boxing.
Floyd Mayweather and De La Hoya battled it out in 2007 for the WBC lightweight titleCredit: Getty

After going the distance with Paul, he said: “As far as me coming back in the sport of boxing, absolutely not.
“As far as me doing an exhibition again probably not.”
De La Hoya had lined up a fight with MMA ace Georges St-Pierre but the move with blocked UFC chief Dana White.
Eddie Hearn claims Floyd Mayweather ‘looked terrible’ against Logan Paul More

TYSON FURY’S training regime has been leaving onlookers stunned with 15-round sessions in Florida’s ‘sauna’ heat. The unbeaten WBC champion has been in America since April as he initially planned to fight Anthony Joshua.
Tyson Fury’s training has been leaving onlookers stunned with 15-round sessions
Tyson Fury is training in AmericaCredit: Instagram
But he is instead faced with a trilogy bout against Deontay Wilder, proposed for July 24 in Las Vegas.
Dmitriy Salita, a retired fighter-turned promoter, has witnessed Fury’s relentless regime and revealed the Brit is in ‘phenomenal condition’.
Salita, speaking via the MyBettingSites.co.uk blog, said: “I have just been in Miami with Tyson and he is in great shape for Wilder next month.
“I went to the gym and he did 15 rounds straight with no break – he’s training hard, in phenomenal condition and great spirits. 
“From a purely boxing point of view he looks like he’s ready to fight next week.
“He’s in great shape; strength-wise, cardio-wise, skill-wise, timing-wise. He’s never going to be Mr Olympia, but don’t judge the book by the cover.
“The gym in Florida is like 97 degrees with humidity. After a couple of rounds the floor of the ring really heats up and then the ceiling heats up.
“It’s close to being a sauna.”
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Fury, 32, dethroned Wilder, 35, of the title in February 2020 but the heavyweight rivals were already signed to an immediate rematch.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, it was delayed and ultimately cancelled as Fury’s side argued the stipulation expired.
They instead turned to talks with Anthony Joshua, 31, all meanwhile Wilder took his case to civil court.
And an arbitrator later ruled in his favour, forcing a third fight with Fury, the man he initially drew with in 2018.
The Gypsy King has officially started camp under coach Sugarhill Steward, who led him to victory last year.
And Salita, also once trained by Steward – nephew to the legendary Emmanuel – believes the pair are unbeatable together.
How Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder stack up ahead of the trilogy fightCredit: SUNSPORT
He said: “Sugar used to train me so I know how good Sugar is, he’s particularly good for certain types of guys like Tyson. 
“Having Sugarhill in his corner is a massive positive for him because they share the same mindset and same style of boxing.
“With Sugar Hill as his trainer, Tyson Fury is unstoppable. And he’s still learning and keeps getting better.
“Seeing him, speaking to him, seeing how he trains – he’s truly a man on a mission that believes he is one of the greatest fighters of all time, a man that believes this is his era.”
Watch Tyson Fury lift weights with his TEETH as Gypsy King takes Deontay Wilder fight training to extreme new level More

DEONTAY WILDER’S new trainer slammed ‘bulls***’ claims the ex-heavyweight champion suffered depression after losing to Tyson Fury. Wilder was beaten for the first time in February 2020 as he surrendered the WBC belt in a one-sided seven round stoppage loss.
Deontay Wilder with new trainer Malik Scott
Deontay Wilder was beaten by Tyson Fury in 2020Credit: Getty
In the period since, Wilder has remained largely silent other than accusing Fury of cheating with several baseless claims.
It led to fears the American was struggling mentally to cope with the defeat.
But Malik Scott, the man Wilder knocked out in 2014 but has now hired as his new head coach, revealed they have been quietly training in secret.
Scott told the PBC podcast: “He never was depressed. Never.
“He was focused on the play that we’re focusing on now – when he rolls out of bed, he’s training.
“When he rolls out of bed, he goes to his recovery tank. When he rolls out of bed his nutritionist is out there. He was never depressed, it was all bulls***.
“If Deontay Wilder has been depressed then I pray to God that I reach that level of depression because when I tell you, I’m extremely proud of him, not as a fighter that I’ve trained but as someone as I consider as my brother.
“Not the things going on in the ring that I’m proud of him about, but just all the smart investments that he has done. 
How Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder stack up ahead of the trilogy fightCredit: SUNSPORT
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“All the acres that he is living on. All the people that he helps and everything that he does besides what’s going on in the ring.”
Fury, 32, initially walked away from his contracted trilogy bout with Wilder, 35, to instead hold talks to fight Anthony Joshua, 31.
His team argued the immediate rematch stipulation expired and allowed him to move on as Wilder took his case to arbitration.
Fury and AJ then agreed an undisputed title decider on August 14 in Saudi Arabia, until the civil mediator ruled in favour of Wilder.
The American is now set to face the Gypsy King once more, after they signed to fight on July 24.
Wilder and Scott are already training again and have showed off their tactical switch, working on head movement, body shots and combinations.
And the path to redemption was already being mapped out just hours after losing to Fury in Las Vegas.

Scott, 40, said: “We’ll say we got out of the ring at 11:45 after the loss to Fury.
“By 3am or 4am – it was somewhere around then – we were already in motion in putting the play together to what’s going on now.
“He immediately was already planning, like: ‘Bro I want you, you’re my head guy now’.
“We knew this from day one after that, that investments had to be made and that certain things had to be put in place. It worked perfectly.
“Ever since that loss, yeah, of course, he never lost before. That wasn’t a happy feeling.
“Plus he was feeling that there was a lot of things that were done that weren’t working in his favour for that fight.
“The depression was never a thing.”
Deontay Wilder stands by his Tyson Fury cheat accusations More

ANTHONY JOSHUA went from boarding school in Nigeria to prison – before being inspired by Mike Tyson to become heavyweight champion. AJ moved to Africa briefly aged 11 but moved back to England when he was 12.
Anthony Joshua posing for VogueCredit: Nick Knight
A throwback picture of a young Anthony JoshuaCredit: Instagram / @anthonyjoshua
During his time in Nigeria, the future boxing superstar lived a strict school life and learned the value of discipline through early morning wake ups.
Speaking to supermodel Jourdan Dunn for Vogue, Joshua, 31, said: “I spent about nine months in a boarding school, six months in a boarding school.
“Really, tough. No nonsense, education is, ‘I want you to be a doctor or a lawyer’. There’s no YouTube, no boxing.
“None of that, it’s either doctor or lawyer, simple. So education is important in Nigerian schools and especially in a boarding school.
“My school was called ‘The Bells’ they go round with a bell at five in the morning.
“Five in the morning, that’s when I’m getting my deep sleep as well normally in London!
“Waking me up at five in the morning, and if you don’t wake up, they bust through the door, ‘Wake up!’
“Discipline, so tomorrow through your mistake, you’re not going to make the same mistake again, so that’s why I believe mistakes are good.”

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Upon Joshua’s arrival back home in the UK, he admits to mixing in with the wrong crowd and giving up his sporting hobbies.
During that period he was put on remand and later he wore an electronic tag on his ankle when released.
To spark fear into his rivals on the streets, Joshua turned to the gym – with no intentions of a boxing career at first.
He revealed: “So I was on tag for like 14 months, went remand, was in jail for a little bit, come back and that’s when my cousin – when I was still on tag when I came back as part of a bail condition – started training.
“Because I wanted to get strong for when I make a return to Watford I don’t want to be the same skinny… so boxing wasn’t even a primary thing.
“So when I moved from Watford into London, I started chilling with my cousin in London, so he was boxing at the time.
“I was driving, I had the whip, so I’d take him to the gym and I used to sit back watching these lot box thinking, ‘I’d smack up these guys, I could do this’.”
After learning the basics from his cousin Ben Ileyemi, Joshua also found inspiration from Tyson’s story.
Anthony Joshua was inspired by Mike TysonCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Anthony Joshua is the current unified championCredit: PA
Iron Mike by the age of 13 had been arrested 38 times before he was adopted by his former trainer and mentor Cus D’Amato.
After channeling his anger in the ring, the American in 1986 went on to become the youngest heavyweight champ of all time, aged only 20.
Having seen Tyson go from criminal to coronation, AJ was convinced he could do the same.
Joshua said: “I watched Mike Tyson, who I saw this kid he was about 13, he was getting into a whole heap of trouble, juvenile detention centres and I think that’s when he got into boxing at 13.
“But from such a bad background where you’re deemed the worst in society to becoming one of the most praised champions that the world has ever seen all through hard work and discipline, I felt like I could do the same thing.
“So you can only achieve what you see and what you believe and I just felt like I could do it.”
Joshua’s dream turned into reality as in 2012 he won gold at the London Olympics for Great Britain, only five years after he first started boxing.
And like Tyson, he reached the heavyweight summit with unified titles.
AJ is set to return to the ring in September against mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk, 34, having missed out on facing Tyson Fury, 32.
Oleksandr Usyk sends bizarre message to Anthony Joshua with pair set for September showdown More

FLOYD MAYWEATHER admitted in his fight with Logan Paul ‘it’s hard to hit him with the jab’. Mayweather gave away six inches in height and four inches in reach against YouTuber Paul in their exhibition bout.
Logan Paul in his corner after round one with Floyd Mayweather
Floyd Mayweather admitted Logan Paul was ‘hard to hit’ with the jab
And while being outweighed by 34lb, the boxing legend started cautiously in the opening round in Miami.
Footage shared by Paul on Instagram revealed the moment Mayweather was forced to tell his coach landing the jab was not an easy task.
His trainer Gerlad Tucker said: “Hit him at the top of the forehead with a jab, just step off your back foot.”
But Mayweather responded: “It’s hard to hit him with the jab.”
The corner camera also captured Paul’s confidence after the opening three minutes, with his coach Milton Lacroix having to steady his man down.
Paul said: “I’mma beat this guy.”
Lacroix replied: “OK, but listen to me, you won that f***ing round, but you didn’t win the fight. We got seven more.”
Eventually Mayweather, 44, stepped on the front foot as the aggressor, despite the size difference, as Paul, 26, fought to survive.

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But the internet sensation, facing only his second ever opponent, claimed moral victory as he took the full eight round distance.
Mayweather struggled to land his famous jab, with only 14 thrown and seven connecting with 50 per cent accuracy.
He landed with 36 of his 93 power shots thrown, resulting in 39 per cent accuracy.
It meant his final punch stats were 43 of 107 landing with a 40 per cent accuracy rate.
Paul on the other hand also landed seven jabs, but threw 73 meaning he was successful with only 10 per cent.
And he connected with just 21 of his 144 power punches, meaning overall he landed only 28 of the 217 shots he threw, with a final accuracy rate of 13 per cent.
Floyd Mayweather lands a left hand on Logan PaulCredit: Getty
Logan Paul survived all eight rounds with Floyd MayweatherCredit: Getty More