Boxing

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.

TYSON FURY VS OLEKSANDR USYK: ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED AHEAD OF HUGE UNDISPUTED HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT More

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

JOHN FURY has called on son Tyson to change his style in order to beat Oleksandr Usyk. The pair of champions unify all four belts for the first time in heavyweight history on February 17 in Saudi Arabia.
Tyson Fury with his dad JohnCredit: AP
Fury is coming off the back of knockout wins over Deontay Wilder, Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora.
But he was floored by ex-UFC star Francis Ngannou, 37, and deemed fortunate to walk away with a points win in their October bout.
So dad John wants to see a change in Fury’s tactics in order to nullify masterful southpaw Usyk.
And he pointed to Michael Spinks’ 1987 win over the giant Gerry Cooney as warning to why.
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He told Boxing Social: “He needs a different style altogether with Usyk, he’s totally different.
“If you go back to, many years ago, you can watch it on the internet, it’s Gerry Cooney-Michael Spinks.
“Michael Spinks is a blown-up light-heavyweight weighing just over fourteen stone at the time.
“Gerry Cooney is six-foot-seven, eighteen stone, look what happened.
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TYSON FURY VS OLEKSANDR USYK: ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED AHEAD OF HUGE UNDISPUTED HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT
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“These are speed-men, you just can’t have that straight-up, going forward, looking to land a bomb on these kind of fighters because guess what?
“They can see it coming and they will avoid it.
“Usyk is very good, he is a good mover, he’s got a brain, he’s got good footwork and the style for Deontay Wilder and Francis Ngannou isn’t going to cut it for a man like Usyk.”
Fury facing off with Oleksandr UsykCredit: EPA More