Boxing

ANTHONY JOSHUA is eyeing a world title shot after back-to-back wins this year, promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed.AJ will look to breathe further new life into his career in his crossover clash with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou next month.
Anthony Joshua throws down with former UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou next monthCredit: PA
A fight against mandatory IBF HW title challenger Filip Hrgovic will likely be next for AJCredit: RICHARD PELHAM
Promoter Eddie Hearn hopes AJ will fight for a world title after the two boutsCredit: ALAMY
Saudi boxing kingpin Turki Alalshikh wants to pit the winner of the Riyadh rumble against the victor of Tyson Fury’s rescheduled undisputed showdown with Oleksandr Usyk.
The rematch clause in the pair’s contract, however, means a showdown with mandatory IBF heavyweight title challenger Filip Hrgovic will be next for AJ should he see off Ngannou.
But Matchroom boxing chief Hearn believes the Watford warrior will eventually end up standing across the ring from the winner of Fury vs Usyk.
He told iFL TV: “The timing worked perfectly for AJ to stop Ngannou and for Fury to win.
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“We appreciate there’s this fight and this rematch, but you know how things are going to go.
“Come on, you know how His Excellency moves.
“When the biggest fight in the history of the sport is in front of you to make I’m sure as hell find a way to keep everybody happy and make that fight but it’s irrelevant right now.
“We need that fight to happen and now that fight is happening two months after our fight.
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“So it sounds more likely that if AJ is triumphant [he] will fight Filip Hrgovic for a world title, which is fine.
“And then we’ll fight the winner of Fury vs Usyk.
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“AJ is just like ‘Sign me up to everything, I’m going to beat everyone.”
WBC heavyweight king Fury dispelled rumours of retirement this week by revealing plans to fight at least FOUR MORE TIMES after his dance with Usyk.
The Gypsy King insists he won’t close out his career without back-to-back domestic dust-ups with Joshua, a declaration which was music to the ears of Hearn.
The 44-year-old said: “I love to hear this. Boxing would be a worse or weaker place without Tyson Fury, keep him in the sport.
“This is what I told you, he’s got the bit between his teeth. Good, I like seeing Tyson Fury like that.
“Good luck to him, he says two Usyk fights but I believe there’ll be one. I love it, music to my ears.
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“Guess what, Hrgovic is going to knock Ngannou out and beat Hrgovic if that’s what he’s got to do.
“Then he’s going to knockout Tyson Fury.” More

TYSON FURY has shared an image of his blood-soaked headguard moments after he suffered a fight-postponing cut in sparring.The Gypsy King was last week forced to push back his historic undisputed heavyweight title fight with Oleksandr Usyk after sustaining a horror gash above his right eye.
Tyson Fury was forced to postpone his historic undisputed fight with Oleksandr Usyk last weekCredit: EPA
A horror cut in sparring forced the postponement of the biggest fight in the division for the last 25 yearsCredit: INSTAGRAM@TYSONFURY
Fury has shared an image of his blood-soaked sparring gear on InstagramCredit: INSTAGRAM@TYSONFURY
An accidental elbow from sparring partner Agron Smakici re-opened the scar tissue left from the 2019 cut Fury suffered against Otto Wallin.
Footage of the incident was quickly released after the fight was officially postponed, and now Fury has taken to Instagram to share a snap of the head guard and gloves he donned for the ill-fated spar.
Blood was visible on the right side of the head guard and was partially smeared on both of the white gloves he wore.
Saudi boxing kingpin Turki Alalshikh moved quickly to secure a new date for the first undisputed heavyweight title fight in nearly 25 years after Fury’s unfortunate cut.
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Fury and Usyk, 35 and 37 respectively, will now throw down in the Kingdom on May 18.
WBC king Fury said of the unfortunate postponement: “This is not a blessing in disguise, but I take God’s will as it comes.
“I was 100 per cent confident I was going to knock Usyk out. I was 100 per cent ready.
“Why would I not want to fight for the biggest payday of my life?”
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He added: “We got a new fight date. Very, very quickly – I suppose that was upsetting to a lot of people, but refreshing to a lot of good people.
“Massive shoutout to Turki Alalshikh, they made the new date possible so quickly.”
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“In life, sometimes s***y things happen to you but you never let it get to you.
“You always keep moving forward. Look at that b*****d right there. Woah.
“Nice little elbow right in the eye. Nearly cost me the biggest fight in my career. But what can you do, s**t happens.”
Fury and Usyk will both be on the hook for £8million if they pull out of their rescheduled Riyadh rumble.
Alalshikh said on The MMA Hour: “I have delayed it for May 18, I guarantee for both of the fighters £*million if someone escapes from the fight.
“We will make the people around the world know if someone is scared.” More

DEONTAY WILDER said a 20-hour plane journey to Saudi Arabia and lack of sparring led to his downfall against Joseph Parker. Wilder came back after nearly two years out the ring in December against former world champion Parker.
Joseph Parker beat Deontay Wilder on pointsCredit: Getty
A super-fight with Anthony Joshua was already signed and ready to be sealed for March.
But Wilder returned to the ring gun-shy and laboured to a points loss – with fans and pundits scratching their heads at the performance.
The American has now broken his silence following the defeat and suggested his flight from Saudi was in part to blame.
Wilder, 38, told ESNews: “It’s just the beginning of what I’m capable of doing with less than three weeks to train.
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“And even in the training for that I had to travel two times, that was 20 hours of travelling and those guys were already in Europe.
“They are only two/three hours away. I had to go to ten-12 hours hours with the whole trip. Breaking camp, all those things.
“I’m not complaining, I’m just saying what I had to go through.”
Wilder infamously blamed his 2020 stoppage loss to Tyson Fury on a heavy ring walk outfit, having his water SPIKED and his own coach conspiring against him.
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And the ex-WBC champion – who fought Parker on five weeks notice – also blamed a shortage of sparring sessions as another factor for defeat.
He said: “Camp-wise, we were prepared for everything.
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“Sparring went well, we didn’t get enough sparring that we wanted to get in with the time period that we had but we got some good sparring in.
“And the sessions that we got in, they were good sessions but when I got into the actual ring it was a little hard for me to pull the trigger as people saw.
“My timing was very off, I would come back to the ring and be like, ‘Damn, why can’t I pull the trigger? What the f***.’
“I had those moments but it’s okay. I’m glad I got to experience a lot of things that’s it in boxing.
“A lot of things I had to go through that I never thought I’d have to experience in life. But sometimes it’s like that.” More

OLEKSANDR USYK insisted he still loves his old buddy Tyson Fury – despite their super-fight facing postponement. Fury was forced to pull out of their scheduled February 17 title unification in Saudi Arabia after suffering a cut in sparring.
Oleksander Usyk insisted he still loves his old friend Tyson FuryCredit: Reuters
The cut that forced the fight to be postponedCredit: X @Queensbury
The horror injury required over ten stitches to mend and backdated the undisputed title bout to May 18.
Usyk missed the birth of his fourth child – baby daughter Maria – due to be locked away in his Valencia training camp.
But when speaking out in Spain following the rescheduling of his fight with Fury, he refused to show any ill will towards his rival and claimed he loved him even more.
Usyk said: “Of course, more. Why? Because it’s the man who has my fourth belt. It’s the man who helped me become famous a lot. 
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“Because we, all people, must love friends, [people who are] not friends, acquaintances, all people. It’s great when you are polite, not dirty.”
Usyk was in the middle of a sparring session himself when he heard of the devastating news.
But he refused to be fazed and revealed his ice-cool reaction to the cancelation.
Usyk said: “I didn’t even have any irritation inside. No frustration.
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“I just looked back at all the work I’ve done – getting up early, jogging, swimming, sparring, the amount of all it, and I thought to myself: ‘Wow, that’s some good work I did.’
“Then I thought of how much more training I will do and how much good work I will do.
“So when, with God’s help, I will finish all this work, I’ll be able to box three Tyson Furys.”
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