Boxing

BRITISH boxing is back and so are armchair matchmakers and forum masterminds.
The behind-closed-doors show Frank Warren and BT Sport hosted last Friday, to signal the end of boxing’s Covid-19 lockdown, means we can all start dreaming up sensational showdowns again.

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Joshua is back on top of the heavyweight world and eagerly awaiting his next fight – which could be against FuryCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The moneymen in boxing – who are often the most guilty of delaying or denying us the best bouts – have made big promises about one-sided, voluntary defences and warm-ups being axed for eternity and puffed up six-hour shows being consigned to history.
Boxing’s new future – we have been assured – is going to be the very best against the very best, for the most money and most prestigious belts.
So spend your furloughed days in dreamland, thinking up the most magnificent meetings, while away the last few months of summer plotting fantasy fight cards.
We have had a go, involving some of the best British talent around. Because we can all dream, can’t we?

Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury – heavyweight undisputed decider
One quiet day in June, AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn set the internet ablaze with the news the financial terms of this potential barnstormer had been agreed – but so many hurdles are in the way.
Watford’s WBA, IBF and WBO king has to hold off mandatory challenges from Kubrat Pulev – who he could fight on a boat – and potentially Oleksandr Usyk, while the Gypsy King must first deal with a Deontay Wilder trilogy and Dillian Whyte’s long-overdue shot at his WBC crown.

Throw into the fire bitter rival promoters and broadcasters in the UK and America, as well as the fall-out from the Covid-19 pandemic, and the odds are stacked against you.
But the English pair regularly chat on FaceTime and now share star rankings in the popularity stakes, so a 50-50 winner-takes-all showdown and the scheduled rematch should be dreamed about with genuine hope.

Dereck Chisora vs Oleksandr Usyk – heavyweight showdown
British boxing fans were set to be in for another huge treat in seeing the undisputed cruiserweight king and 2012 Olympic champion fight again in England, before lockdown ruined the May show.
But resurgent ‘War’ Chisora – who recently confirmed a switch to MMA – appears to be staying fighting fit and motivated to offer up the Ukraine icon a horrible welcome back to these shores.

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Chisora has been busy keeping fit and his fight against Usyk would be a fascinating battleCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Usyk’s first and only venture up from the 14st 4lb division returned a comfortable yet underwhelming win against poor opposition in October, over seven long-seeming rounds.
And coming up against an 18st career-heavyweight in seven-year banger Del Boy will be a hellish test for the supremely talented southpaw.
Billy Joe Saunders vs Callum Smith – super-middleweight unification showdown
It’s a genuine shame that John Ryder is not on this list as it looked to a lot of people like he went to Smith’s Liverpool backyard in November and stunned him on points, only to be denied by judges.
So hopefully the Islington man gets the mega-money Canelo fight Saunders has just quit on.
With 29-0 Saunders’ actions outside the ring costing him any mainstream support, the only real desire to see him in action is from his loyal fans who are desperate to know if he can fulfil his limitless potential.
The southpaw is a magnificent talent, who lacks more stellar names on his record and more world titles because of a lack of discipline.

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Saunders may have lost the backing of the general public but his loyal fans are desperate to see him back in actionCredit: AP:Associated Press
Giant Smith has shown glimpses of excellence, which combined with his 6ft 3in frame should make for a dominant multi-weight boss, but the Ryder performance has left a few questions around the classy operator.
These Brits also share Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn as their promoter and Sky as their broadcaster so little stands in the way, especially now Canelo is on a different path.
Josh Taylor vs Jose Ramirez – super-lightweight undisputed decider
Scotland’s Tartan Tornado blew away 16 opponents to become the unified super-lightweight champ in October
Respected Victor Postol was dismantled in 2018, American prospect Ryan Martin was easily stopped next, then feared Ivan Baranchyk was dominated, before Regis Prograis was edged out in a crowning Fight of 2019 contender.
Taylor, 29, now owns the WBA and IBF titles while his 27-year-old Mexican counterpart has the WBC and WBO versions after 25 fights.
Ramirez has already stated he would happily travel to the UK for the clash but both men are likely to have mandatory defences before the ultimate battle in their division.
But the fact they share Top Rank as their promoter should help grease the wheels on a fantastic battle and Taylor has shown all the early signs of getting another iconic win.
Luke Campbell vs Devin Haney – lightweight WBC crown
Hull’s Olympic 2012 hero does not want your pity but he definitely deserves it.
The dedicated southpaw has lost his two lightweight world title shots on points, against future hall-of-famers Jorge Linares and Vasiliy Lomachenko.

And now, with the WBC playing around with the demeaning ‘franchise’ champion – as well as naming belt holders in recess and interim status – the 32-year-old is stuck in a dismal limbo.
But Haney visited London last year and seemed eager to face Campbell and they both share a promoter in Hearn, who will know the UK vs US show makes great pounds, dollars and sense.
The WBC did order Campbell to face Mexico posterboy Ryan Garcia recently but that money-spinner now also looks to have flatlined.
Campbell wants to hand out a battering to win a genuine world title, not wait patiently to be handed a paper one.
Josh Warrington vs ANYONE! – Featherweight unification title
Since the Leeds legend won his IBF featherweight crown from Lee Selby in May 2018, all he has wanted to do is throw it in the pot up against another champion to unify.
Agonisingly, high-profile names like Leo Santa Cruz, Oscar Valdez and, most recently, Shakur Stevenson have all vacated their titles and moved up a weight.

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Warrington should not be forced to step up to take on Russell JrCredit: Reuters
That leaves only WBC ace Gary Russell Jr on the table and he only likes to fight once a year, against cherry-picked opponents, racking up just five defences since winning the title in 2015.
While the 29-year-old Yorkshireman can still make the 9st mark comfortably, he should not be forced to step up.
So the hope for late 2020 or early next year is that another serious champion is installed or recognised so the father-of-two can start planning a lucrative exit plan from the brutal game.
Joshua Buatsi vs Anthony Yarde – Light heavyweight decider
Unlike all of the previous match-ups, this is a massive longshot, even in a post-coronavirus age when promoters and broadcasters are promising fans that the best bouts will no longer be over-cooked and dragged out.
Buatsi is promoted by Hearn and broadcast by Sky Sports. Yarde is looked after by Frank Warren and one of BT Sport’s main men.

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Buatsi vs Yarde would be a belter but a number of minor miracles need to happen for it to be made officialCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Neither of the Londoners have a world title to put on the line, so it wouldn’t be a massive money spinner yet and both stand-up fellas are too decent to insult or trash the other, to create fake hype.

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The division’s top two stars – Russian beasts Artur Beterbiev and Dimitry Bivol – are likely to clash a couple of times soon to hopefully decide at least three titles – so both Englishmen will be looking for high-profile bouts.
It would take a succession of miracles, flukes and granted wishes, however, to get this clash made before at least one of the homegrown talents has a major title.
But who knows what the magical, mystery world of post-lockdown boxing will throw up.

Watch Anthony Joshua’s explosive power on punch bag while SITTING DOWN as fans fear how hard he can hit while standing More

LARRY HOLMES reckons his generation of heavyweights would have battered today’s stars such as Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
Holmes, who beat Muhammad Ali in a career that spanned from 1973 to 2002, is adamant his peers would hammer today’s heroes.

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Ring legend Holmes reckons today’s heavyweights wouldn’t have a hope of beating his class of legends, which included AliCredit: Action Images
BT Sport recently ran a poll asking who would win between Joshua and Holmes in a fantasy fight.
Just over half said current WBO, WBA and IBF champ Joshua would beat Holmes, who was WBC champ from 1978 to 1983.
But Holmes insists that is not the case and that he would have made mincemeat of today’s big hitters.
He said: “We’d beat these guys up, we’d beat them up.

“They don’t have the abilities that we have but they would’ve given us a pretty good fight.
“But, when you got guys like Kenny Norton, Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, Ron Lyle, we get a lot of good fighters out there when I was fighting.”
Holmes, now 70, went even further, saying today’s pound-for-pound icons like Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford wouldn’t have had a chance.

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Fury has Holmes’ WBC belt now but the latter says the former would not have been able to beat himCredit: Richard Pelham

He added: “They couldn’t stand a chance when I was fighting. When I was fighting, Sugar Ray Leonard was out there, Marvin Hagler was out there, [it’s] no contest.”
Perhaps Holmes has a point, considering he went toe to toe with The Greatest and saw him off.
The Easton Assassin successfully defended his WBC belt for an eighth time against Ali in Las Vegas on October 2, 1980.
And his memorable win – watched by an estimated two billion people around the world – came about after he asked to spar with Ali.
Holmes told proboxing-fans.com: “Yeah, well you want to learn how to fight, you got to start with the best.
“So I asked Ali to give me a job as his sparring partner, and he said to me, ‘Can you take it?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I can take it.’

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“So he gave me a job to test me out for a couple of weeks, and then I was OK for him.
“And that was it, and then next thing you know, I had a job and same thing with Joe Frazier. The word was out that I was a good boxer, and I worked with Ali and then Joe Frazier.
“My intention was not to be a good sparring partner. My intention was to make some money, and box with the best fighters, and learn from them as I can. And that’s what I did.”

Watch Anthony Joshua’s explosive power on punch bag while SITTING DOWN as fans fear how hard he can hit while standing More

ANTHONY JOSHUA is set to deck Kubrat Pulev below deck after Eddie Hearn revealed the heavyweight bout could take place on a boat.
The Matchroom boss also listed a castle as another alternative venue – with just 1,000 people in attendance.

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Joshua vs Pulev could take place on a boat, according to Eddie HearnCredit: PA:Press Association

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A giant superyacht like this is just one of the ‘quirky’ venues being considered by Hearn for Joshua’s big returnCredit: Splash News
The Evening Standard report that Hearn said he is coming up with “quirky ideas” about where to stage the heavyweight king’s big return.
AJ was set to defend his WBA, WBO and IBF belts against Pulev at Tottenham stadium last month but the coronavirus pandemic KO’d that.
Now, Hearn, who is staging Fight Camp in the garden of his Essex mansion, is thinking outside the box for Joshua’s fight, scheduled for November.
He said: “Other ideas we have are 1,000 people somewhere strange and quirky. I’ve got a few things up my sleeve. We’re talking about castles, plush hotels, maybe even on a boat.

“Croatia have offered a coliseum — and that’s beautiful —and we’re still open to options and flexible.
“These are all things thinking outside of the box — it just depends what’s allowed.”
London’s O2 remains the most likely venue, but Hearn added that much depends on whether social distancing restrictions are lifted.

He added: “By November, can we go to 16,000 people at the O2? Right now, we’re handcuffed by the regulations.”
As far fetched as it sounds, fighting on a boat has nearly happened before.
Joshua’s heavyweight rival Tyson Fury – who has agreed to a two-fight deal with AJ – claimed he was offered around £82million to fight Wladimir Klitschko on board a luxury superyacht in 2016.

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The Telegraph say a Middle Eastern sheikh had offered to stump up the cash for the Gypsy King to take to water – but it never happened.
Joshua recently kept fans updated on his progress ahead of the bout against Pulev.
The 30-year-old was branded the “hardest hitter on the planet” after he smacked a punching bag while sitting down.

Watch Anthony Joshua’s explosive power on punch bag while SITTING DOWN as fans fear how hard he can hit while standing More

EARLY footage has surfaced showing a rare glimpse of Tyson Fury’s amateur career as he fought against Brit rival David Price.
The Gypsy King is closing in on becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world but he has faced a few obstacles along the way.

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Tyson Fury, in red, took on David Price in 2006Credit: YouTube / Boxing UK

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The Liverpudlian won the scrap on pointsCredit: YouTube / Boxing UK
One of those came in the form of Price when he headed to Fury’s backyard in Manchester in 2006.
Only now has the full scrap emerged on Youtube, which ends in Liverpudlian Price claiming a points victory.
But the fight could have easily gone either way after Fury appeared to floor Price in the second round.
The knockdown wasn’t recorded and Price used all his experience to out-box Fury to steal the bragging rights.

Many had assumed that Price would go on to reign in the heavyweight division while Fury would be left in his shadows.
But Price would fail to kick on after winning the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles while Fury remains undefeated in the division.
Writing in his book about the fight, Fury said: “I knew I was coming to the end of my amateur days.
“I would eventually have 31 wins from 35 bouts and I would say that only one of those defeats was genuine – when I lost to my fellow British boxer David Price in the north-west final of the ABA seniors competition in Manchester in 2006.

“I had Price on the canvas in the second round with a good shot, but he clearly outpointed me.
[embedded content]

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It was the only time the two heavyweight giants met inside the ringCredit: YouTube / Boxing UK

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Fury turned professional two years after losing the amateur boutCredit: YouTube / Boxing UK

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“His experience was the decisive factor.”
Fury turned professional in 2008 brushing aside nine opponents inside a year to enhance his reputation.
He will be hoping that his journey will be complete next year after defending his WBC title against Deontay Wilder before taking on Anthony Joshua with all belts on the line next year.

Heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua jokingly gives middle finger as Tyson Fury fans taunt him in Marbella More