Boxing

CALLUM SMITH is too good to have a win over Canelo rocket up the list of most British boxing’s biggest upsets.
Liverpool’s WBA and Ring magazine super-middleweight king has accepted a mega-money defence of his titles against the four-weight Mexican legend on just a month’s notice.

Eddie Hearn insists a Callum Smith underdog win will not be a huge shockCredit: Getty Images – Getty

The 30-year-old will have to travel to Texas to take on the sport’s golden boy on his own promotion.
An underdog triumph might be considered worthy of a spot alongside the iconic away wins by the likes of Ken Buchanan, Lloyd Honeyghan, and Kell Brook.
But promoter Eddie Hearn believes, like Smith, that his undefeated 6ft 3in powerhouse is better than his 7-2 odds suggest.
“It won’t be Honeyghan beating Curry, because nobody gave Honeyghan a chance”, Hearn told SunSport.

“It will go down as one of the great British wins but I know how good he is, so it wouldn’t be a huge shock for me.
“He has bundles of ability and he has the confidence of being the best super-middleweight in the world. This has come at the perfect time for Callum”
Canelo is the highest paid boxer on the planet and even his dance partners make life-changing money in defeat.
That power is open to abuse and Smith revealed the fight was announced before he had even officially signed the contract.

But Hearn insists his man is getting a fair deal and the last-minute negotiations paid off handsomely.
He said: “Five minutes before their 11pm announcement, we still didn’t know for sure, even after weeks of negotiating with them.

Canelo Alvarez is the biggest star attraction in world boxingCredit: Getty Images – Getty

“We got close but then Canelo revealed they were making an 11pm announcement and Callum called me to ask ‘is that us?’
“I knew we didn’t have a deal but I didn’t know if he had other opponents lined up. In the end we got a deal and I am really pleased with it.”
Eddie Hearn volunteered for the National Lottery’s ‘Miss Out to Help Out’ campaign for more info visit www.missouttohelpout.com.
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BIG DADDY Conor Benn leaped out of his father’s shadow with the 17th win of his rapidly rising career.
The 24-year-old welterweight will welcome his first baby into the world at the start of 2021 and he will do so with a breakout win in the bank after utterly dominating respected German Sebastian Formella.

Conor Benn is now 17-0 after a stunning display against Sebastian FormellaCredit: ©Mark Robinson Ltd

The 24-year-old dominated his German opponentCredit: ©Dave Thompson/Route One Ltd

The son of British fight legend Nigel broke down in tears at the start of fight week, over how much he misses his Australia-based old man and family.
But Dad and the rest of the gang will have been blubbing tears of joy and pride watching the one-sided Wembley win from Down Under.
The judges scored the ten rounds: 100-91, 99-91 and 99-92 for the unanimous win.
Benn’s early jabs were pinpoint and menacing, ramming into Formella’s ribs and guard and impressing the judges.

Without any real amateur experience, Benn has been labelled a brawler by his critics but the opener showed huge growth under trainer Tony Sims.
The Destroyer started the second with a lead left-hook but was soon back on his new piston-like jab.
Formella’s corner were happy with a couple of his shots but Benn had promoter Eddie Hearn cheering with hooks to the body and one arrow-like right hand that tested the visitor’s hard chin.
Formella had survived 12 rounds with former world champ Shawn Porter in August so it was no shock to see him eat a lot of Benn’s best early blows.

The action was paused when Formella was clipped in the mouth by an accidental elbow. 
And the fast-learning Brit sussed quickly enough that the 33-year-old in front of him was struggling to cope with his body punches.

Benn rattled a right hand straight down Formella’s pipe in the fourth and continued showing new defensive skills to evade the Hamburg man’s frequent attacks.
In the sixth, Formella was barely off his stool when he was smashed with a right hand and chased around the ring with more of the same.
The seventh was the first session that the judges could have considered scoring for Formella who was using his 22-1 experience to work his way back in.
But Benn was back peppering his iron-skulled rival with all manner of shots in the next stanza and brushed off a left hook that tagged his designer stubble.
Formella was brutalised further in the final two rounds but somehow survived to hear the final bell before was allowed back to his own growing family to celebrate a perfect end to the year.

The unbeaten welterweight will welcome his first baby into the world at the start of 2021Credit: ©Dave Thompson/Route One Ltd

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FABIO WARDLEY poleaxed his latest victim Richard Lartey, leaving the Ghanaian heavyweight needing oxygen.
The Dillian Whyte-managed ace was in a big step-up fight against the Accra hardman who took Nathan Gorman the distance last time out.

Richard Lartey needed oxygen after a brutal knockout courtesy of Fabio WardleyCredit: ©Dave Thompson/Route One Ltd

Wardley sealed a huge win with a brutal KO in the second roundCredit: ©Dave Thompson/Route One Ltd

In the opening session, Lartey marched forward with a high guard and even clipped the Ipswich man with a left hook.
But in the second round Lartey switched off and former office worker Wardley unloaded a two-shot combination.
Lartey collapsed on the spot and was counted out before the medics were called in to help him.
Lartey was stuck on the floor for a few minutes before he could be lifted carefully to a stool where he spent several more minutes recovering.

Concerned Wardley stayed rooted to a neutral corner and, just as Lartey was helped out of of the ring, the Brit dashed over to hug and console him.
Dangerous Wardley is now 10-0 with nine wins inside the distance and has the English title proudly around his waist.
The Sussex man found fame earlier in his career for ordering a Five Guys in the middle of a fight and he proved himself a potential burger king with his latest highlight reel KO.
Wardley said: “I’m happy with the finish. It answered some questions about my single-punch power.

“I can hang with the big boys. I just proved that when I sit down on my punch, I can get you out.
“I’m moving at a good pace. Decent opposition. Lartey was a good challenge that I passed easily.
“I still need to build and learn. I haven’t gone to the second half of a fight or got into a war.”

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DRUG testing for Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr’s exhibition fight will not include marijuana, according to a report.
BoxingScene claim VADA will be performing the Clean Boxing Program out-of-competition anti-doping testing for both boxers.

Mike Tyson will not be tested for marijuana ahead of his comeback fight against Roy Jones JrCredit: Refer to Caption

But they WON’T be testing for cannabis, say the US website.
The fight is taking place on November 28 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, where medical marijuana is legal.
In recent years, Tyson, 54, has become an advocate for cannabis – launching his own company, Tyson Holistic Holdings, as well as the Tyson Ranch.
And the former heavyweight champ admitted that he was smoking £33,000 worth of the drug a month on his podcast.

“What do we smoke a month?” he asked co-host Eben Britton. “Is it $40,000 a month?”
Britton replied: “We smoke 10 tons of weed at the ranch a month.”

Tyson runs his own cannabis company called Tyson Holistic Holdings
However, in the run-up to his comeback fight Tyson revealed he has stopped taking marijuana while training.
The part-time stand-up comic told the Joe Rogan Podcast: “Pretty much stopped, when you do something like this it’s all about change.

“Listen, you can’t continue being a comedian if you’re not sharpening your psyche.
“Even when you’re doing this here, you’re practising your comedian act.
“You have to continue to practice.”
Pressed on if he missed smoking, Tyson said: “I understand the discipline of this stuff.
“What I don’t like about it is that without cannabis I just get mean. I don’t like the mean stuff, I don’t like it.

“I might snap at my wife or my kids, that’s what I don’t like.
“Sometimes I get caught up into my ego, it’s just a struggle but I’m working on it.
“I never worked on it before, so that’s a start, right?”

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