Boxing

ANTHONY JOSHUA snapped up Tyson Fury’s old trainer to return him to his vicious best.And he hopes doing a better job than Fury did against Francis Ngannou in October will finally secure their fantasy all-English heavyweight showdown.
Anthony Joshua credits trainer Ben Davison with getting him back to his bestCredit: Getty
Davison previously worked with the Gypsy King prior to his time with JoshuaCredit: PA
When the Watford ace, 34, took a Riyadh rumble with Otto Wallin on six weeks’ notice, he moved in with Fury’s former coach Ben Davison.
Davison, 27, brought out the vintage best in AJ, who smashed the Swede’s nose and cheekbone to smithereens in five rounds during last month’s Saudi Arabia fight.
The reward — after Deontay Wilder was beaten by Joseph Parker on that undercard to KO their shootout — is a March 8 battle with ex-UFC heavyweight champ Ngannou, 37.
That is just three weeks after WBC king Fury and WBA, IBF and WBO boss Oleksandr Usyk decide an undisputed ruler on February 17.
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And new-look Joshua will have his eyes on the four-belt clash knowing another spectacular win of his own could convince the new Saudi shot-callers to finally make him and Fury happen.
AJ said: “The reason I was able to gel with Ben is because he doesn’t try to change your style.
“He just kind of looks at your attributes and then adds to what you are good at.
“I got to a stage where I was trying to change my style — a bit of back-foot-boxing, boxing behind the jab, stick-and-move, not being explosive, controlling the pace, and stuff like that.
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Davison helped get Fury back into the fight game after moving in with himCredit: Getty
“But Ben was like, ‘That’s not your body type. You’re a f***ing big unit, you’re explosive, go and f***ing knock people out’.
“Basically, work to your body type. So, we got along. He gets it.
“I am a power puncher. I break eye sockets. I broke Wallin’s nose and eye socket, Robert Helenius just got sparked out.
“I ruined Dillian Whyte’s career with an uppercut, the list goes on. Ngannou has to deal with me and that will make it a good fight.
“I will have a one-track mind, it will just be bam-bam-bam-bang.
“A good performance is a boring fight as the better fighter is totally dominant. I don’t want a slugfest, I don’t want to swap punches and think, ‘What the f*** am I supposed to do?’ I don’t want to take ten rounds to land a knockout shot.”
Davison rocketed to prominence as he became Fury’s saviour when everyone else had given up on him.
After a doping rap in 2016, a mental health breakdown that drove him into temporary retirement and ballooning to 28 stone, it was Davison who moved into Fury’s family home and coaxed him back into the fight business.

ANTHONY JOSHUA VS FRANCIS NGANNOU: ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED AHEAD OF HUGE CROSSOVER BOUT
Now British fight fans could get excited that the Davison derby, between his giant students past and present, might finally happen.
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AJ added: “There are two fights people want me to have, Wilder and Fury, and they haven’t happened yet.
“People want to see it in the UK — me and Fury. As long as we get the fight, that’s the main thing.” More

FRANK WARREN and Eddie Hearn have agreed to stage a mouthwatering boxing show in Saudi Arabia.The promoters are both set to pick five fighters each to do battle in the Middle East.
Eddie Hearn has agreed to a mouthwatering boxing show with Frank WarrenCredit: PA
Warren and Hearn will both five fighters each to do battleCredit: Reuters

Warren and Hearn shook hands on the agreement at Monday’s press conference for Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh had revealed he wants to make a five-fight card consisting of fighters from Matchroom and Queensberry.
He announced: “I want to see Eddie Hearn vs Frank Warren… Five on five!”
The promoters at first appeared to think His Excellency was eyeing a bout between them.
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However, they soon realised he wanted Saudi Arabia to host five of Hearn’s fighters vs five of Warren’s boxers.
Hearn and Warren shook hands on stage and both said “done” in response to the proposal.
Reacting on social media, one boxing fan wrote: “Turki Alalshikh is the man for making fights!”
Another added: “This would be epic!!!”
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The promoters shook hands on a proposal for a Matchroom vs Queensberry eventCredit: PA
A third fan also commented: “Music to all boxing fans’ ears.”
Meanwhile, one more said: “His Excellency is not joking around.”
Joshua and Ngannou are already set to meet in Riyadh on March 8 in the latest super fight to be staged in Saudi Arabia.
Their bout comes after ex-UFC champion Ngannou raised eyebrows in his boxing debut against Tyson Fury in October.
As for AJ, the two-time heavyweight world champion defeated Otto Wallin via technical knockout on the blockbuster Day of Reckoning card last month.
The March event is also set to feature a bumper undercard including Zhilei Zhang defending his interim WBO title against Joseph Parker.
Nick Ball will challenge Rey Vargas for his WBC featherweight belt, whilst Mark Chamberlain and Roman Fury are also slated to appear.
Both were present for Monday’s Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou press conferenceCredit: Getty More

OLEKSANDR USYK is putting himself through “serious sparring” with a giant 6ft 8in heavyweight in preparation to fight Tyson Fury. Usyk and Fury unify all four world title belts – a first in heavyweight history – on February 17 in Saudi Arabia.
Sanel Hasanovic after sparring Oleksandr Usyk
And the unbeaten Ukrainian has called upon the services of 6ft 8½ins Serbian Sanel Hasanovic, who has a  7-1-1 record with six knockouts.
Hasanovic posted on Instagram: “@Usykaa, after some serious sparring, I believe you will emerge victorious in the fight against Tyson Fury!
“Also, thanks to my team @KUCBoxingPromotion for the support and promotion!”
Usyk also drafted in 5-1 Kazakh Nursultan Amanzholov to help replicate Fury’s 6ft 9in frame.
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The ex-undisputed cruiserweight king was left baffled after seeing pictures of Fury living it up on a family holiday in Saudi before Christmas.
But the Gypsy King, 35, has since got serious and brought in a host of slick southpaws to best mimic Usyk, 36.
That includes 19-year-old prospect Moses Itauma, 7-0 Irishman Thomas Carty and potentially world champ Jai Opetaia to come.
It comes after a Team Usyk insider blasted Fury’s warm-weather vacation after the historic unification was announced.
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They said in December: “While Tyson Fury is enjoying his break in Saudi Arabia, which we saw The Sun write about, we are working hard on fight preparation.
“We already have over 50 candidates for sparring who responded to our call and met the criteria.
“Three of them are signed up as the sparring partners for Oleksandr.
“Unfortunately I can’t reveal their names now, the team is very careful with the information from the camp.”
The Fury family enjoyed a holiday to Saudi Arabia in DecemberCredit: Instagram/@parisfury1
Moses Itauma, Tyson Fury and Thomas CartyCredit: @thomas_carty More

FANS are loving the revealed fight poster for Tyson Fury’s heavyweight clash with Oleksandr Usyk.The two titans are due to fight on February 17 in what will be one of the biggest bouts in modern boxing.
Tyson Fury’s fight with Oleksandr Usyk has been promoted with a new posterCredit: Twitter
The two will go head-to-head on February 17Credit: EPA
The battle between Fury and Usyk will see four belts go on the line as the Gypsy King’s WBC title is on the line.
The Ukrainian currently holds the WBA, WBO and IBF straps and all four are up for grabs.
The fight has now received its very own promotional poster titling the fight “Ring of Fire”.
The Western-styled artwork showcases both of the fighters in cowboy outfits.
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The poster has the tagline: “The undisputed heavyweight championship of the world.”
Fans have loved the poster as they reacted to it on social media.
One fan wrote: “This looks cold.”
A second posted: “That’s actually a fire poster. Let’s hope the promotion ramps up now with almost a month out.”
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A third commented: “That’s actually a really quality promo.”
A fourth said: “Saudi don’t miss with these posters.”
A fifth added: “This is cool.”
The fight will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the Kingdom Arena.
The most recent big-name fight that happened at the arena was Anthony Joshua’s win over Deontay Wilder.
The fight also had a great promotion as it featured a zombie-themed video.

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ARTUR BETERBIEV continued his 100 per cent knockout record after stopping Callum Smith in the seventh round.The unified light heavyweight champion stretched his record to 20 knockouts in 20 fights.

Artur Beterbiev stopped Callum Smith in the seventh roundCredit: AP
Smith was knocked down for the first time in his careerCredit: Getty
Beterbiev now has 20 knockout victories in 20 fightsCredit: Getty
He became the first man to drop Smith after the Brit hit the canvas around a minute into the seventh round.
Smith tried to use his towering height and long levers but bearded Beterbiev – in impossibly long black shorts – walked through all of his long-range efforts and broke him down with a spiteful jab and violent close-range blows.
Smith’s eye sockets and cheekbones were bloodied and bruised after only three rounds, even though he enjoyed some success in the second.
By the start of round five Smith looked like a broken man, as his two-weight dream slipped away. And by the end of the stanza he looked like the victim of GBH, just hoping for a full recovery.
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It thankfully came to an end in round seven, when a whipped right hook frazzled his senses and the follow-up assault drove him down to his knees.
Smith heroically beat the count but he was swiftly hammered back into the Canadian canvas and the referee and his corner stopped the onslaught.
Smith, 33, struggled to beat the referee’s count before his trainer Buddy McGirt stepped into the ring to call a halt to the fight.
Beterbiev – who had raised levels of testosterone and human growth hormone in his system in a December test, but not enough to fail or cancel the fight – has now defended his titles for eight consecutive fights, knocking out the likes of Anthony Yarde and Joe Smith Jr along the way.
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Now he is eyeing a showdown with Dmitry Bivol to add the WBA light heavyweight belt to his collection.
When asked if he wants to face Bivol face next, Beterbiev said: “Yes, of course, I need another fourth belt.”
His promoter Bob Arum confirmed he will hold talks with Bivol’s camp, though said it would likely take place three months after the end Ramadan, so possibly next summer.
Smith, who was the mandatory challenger for Beterbiev, suffered the second loss of his career having been beaten by Canelo Alvarez in December 2020.
But he was dominated throughout with all three judges scoring in Beterbiev’s favour after six rounds.
Smith revealed he will consider his future and did not rule out the possibility of retiring.
He said: “I’m gonna spend some time with my family and see what the future holds. I don’t know, I’ve had a good career, been a world champion, been top of the mountain. I’ve given a lot to boxing over the years.
“I need to sit down and assess what goals I still want to achieve. I wanted to be a two-division world champion, but I’ve come up short tonight. It’s hard to accept that I’m not the best in the world.
“I’ll have to sit and assess what the future holds.” More