Boxing

JOSHUA BUATSI had the offer of a lifetime to sign for boxing legend Floyd Mayweather – but education came first. Mayweather was blown away by Buatsi’s performances in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, where he won bronze for Team GB.
Joshua Buatsi with Floyd Mayweather at the 2016 Olympics
Buatsi studied Management with Sports Science at uniCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
At the time, the light-heavyweight had amazingly juggled his elite amateur boxing career with studying at St Mary’s University in Twickenham.
And he had just one year left to finish by the time Mayweather offered him the chance to put pen to paper on a massive deal.
But Buatsi – who also wanted to announce himself to the British boxing fans – made the call to turn down Mayweather’s approach.
He told SunSport: “Firstly, I had to go back to uni, so I didn’t turn professional straight away and I didn’t at that time fancy going to America like that.
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“I wanted to turn pro in England and box in front of English fans but it’s true, Floyd gave me a number and said, ‘If you want to make money, call this number.’ 
“I said, ‘Thanks.’ As I was walking away again he said, ‘My man, if you want to make money, call this number.’
“But I was in my last year of uni and I didn’t want to waste it. So after the games I went back to uni. I knew that I didn’t want to be in the States that early in my career. 
“And there were things that I had to do, for example finishing my degree, before making the move so that was quite important for me. 
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“I’m not saying it was an easy decision but it wasn’t particularly hard for me to say, ‘Let me complete my degree then make the move.’” 
Brains and brawn Buatsi later celebrated a 2:1 degree in Management with Sports Science before turning pro with Eddie Hearn in 2017.
And he has been touted as one to watch ever since, racing to a 17-0 record ahead of his next fight – which will be his biggest to date.
Buatsi, 30, prepares to put friendship aside on October 21 to fight good pal Dan Azeez, 34, in a London derby at the O2 Arena.
The winner will be next in line for the WBA title held by Dmitry Bivol, 32, meaning there is more than local bragging rights on the line.
Buatsi said: “It’s my next fight so that makes it the biggest one for me. 
“Dan is someone I know but also someone that is in very good form so I need to show up to beat a very good guy.
“I’d say it’s the biggest one yet.”

Watch Buatsi vs Azeez live on Sky Sports on October 21st from The O2 in London. Tickets available via BOXXER.com

Dan Azeez and Joshua Buatsi facing offCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun More

DILLON DANIS has sensationally hinted he is pulling out of his fight with Logan Paul.The MMA fighter quote tweeted a clip of Logan Paul talking about the two’s ongoing legal battles and said: “Logan bragging about lawsuits again he isn’t built for the fight game, this p**** doesn’t deserve me I’m out.”
Dillom Danis has claimed he is out of the fightCredit: PA
The fight is shaping up to be a true grudge matchCredit: Getty
And UFC legend Mike Perry who is Danis’ stand- in tweeted a video of him saying: “It’s official guys, I’m in.”
But SunSport understands Danis is yet to officially withdraw, despite his cryptic social media post and Perry’s claim.
Danis later followed his tweet with another post saying: “Sheesh you all take everything so seriously.”
Another follow up tweet said: “See you October 14th p**** boy.” – heavily implying that the fight will go ahead.
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Paul’s October 14 fight with Danis is shaping up to be a bitter clash after Danis tweeted a series of private pictures and videos of Logan Paul’s fiance Nina Agdal in the lead up to the fight.
Agdal successfully obtained a temporary restraining order on Danis after she claimed his tweets had caused her to have “suffered humiliation, emotional distress and reputational harm”.
Paul was alluding to this in the video that Danis quote tweeted when he said he was out of the fight.
The video showed a conversation between Logan and brother Jake where Logan said “It’s heavy dude” referring to the costs involved in the two’s legal battle.
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He then added: “I’ll be honest, it’s a f****** 50 caliber adamantium bullet to the dome.
“He’s f*****. To catch a predator October 14th bro.”
Jake Paul then said: “And now because of the lawsuit he has to fight you to make the money for, he said, $400k in lawyer fees.”
Logan replied: “What about the damages? That’s just to defend himself. He’s gonna lose.”
Responding to Mike Perry’s tweet about being “in” for the fight, Jake Paul also tweeted: “I’m in” although it is unclear what he meant by this.
Danis and Paul will be co-headliners on October 14 alongside KSI’s bout with Tommy Fury.
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ANTHONY JOSHUA could receive a world title shot if Tyson Fury takes on Oleksandr Usyk in a blockbuster unification clash.Fury, 35, and Usyk, 36, have agreed to fight each other on December 23 or in January in a bout that would crown a first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis.
Tyson Fury looks set to take on Oleksandr Usyk in an undisputed clashCredit: Getty
Usyk is expected to rematch Fury regardless of the outcome of the first fightCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Anthony Joshua could receive a title shot off the back of Fury and Usyk’s fightCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Regardless of the outcome, it is expected the pair will have a rematch.
And a second fight between Fury and Usyk could be good news for two-time champion Joshua, 33.
According to Mike Coppinger, the IBF have confirmed Filip Hrgovic will receive a world title shot against the next available contender in the rankings if champion Usyk rematches Fury.
Joshua is currently No2 in the rankings, meaning he would face undefeated Hrgovic, 31, for the belt.
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And a clash with the Croatian would be a more welcome route to a title as opposed to a fight with Fury or Usyk.
AJ lost twice to Usyk in London and Saudi Arabia as the Ukrainian outboxed him on both occasions.
A clash with Fury has been mooted for a long time but never come to fruition – but Fury would be a heavy favourite if the pair did meet.
Meanwhile, AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn recently revealed his man could face KO artist Deontay Wilder on the SAME NIGHT as Fury-Usyk if the undisputed clash happens on December 23.
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Discussing a potential Joshua-Wilder date, he said: “It could go on December 23, maybe even as well.”
However, he went on to insist it is more likely for 2024.
He added: “That fight, in my opinion, will 100 per cent happen in the first half of next year, maybe even in the first quarter.
“I can’t tell you any more than I’m talking to Shelly Finkel [Wilder’s representative] and we’ve made it crystal clear, as they have to us, we want this fight.
“We’re talking about Vegas, we’re talking about Wembley and we appreciate the money might not be completely the same as what we’ve been offered by Saudi Arabia.
“And money’s always important but I think both guys actually genuinely want the fight and when you get fights like Fury-Usyk made it does give everybody a little nudge to say, ‘Let’s make ours now.’
“And there’s a definite feeling from their team and ours to get that fight over the line.”
Filip Hrgovic is the mandatory challenger for the IBF titleCredit: Reuters More

BRITAIN’S greatest champions were born and raised on the mean streets of our major cities and had to fight their way out of hardship and poverty.It was that kind of background that put the steel in their souls.
Johnny Fisher has been voted Best Young Fighter of the YearCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Commonwealth and European champion Delicious Orie is 2023’s Best AmateurCredit: Getty
Their education was  a million miles from the playing fields of Eton.
That’s why it’s fascinating that both the winners who pick up their trophies at the 70th Boxing Writers’ Club awards dinner at The Savoy on Monday night are university graduates.
Johnny Fisher, 24, winner of all his ten heavyweight pro fights including nine KOs, has been voted 2023’s Best Young Boxer of the Year.
Fisher earned a 2:1 in history from Exeter University. His dissertation was on the aerial bombing of Germany in 1944-45 — he is known as the Romford Bull but perhaps he should be known as the Romford Bomber.
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Delicious Orie, 26, first featured in this column before the Commonwealth Games in 2022, was unopposed to be 2023’s Best Amateur of the Year.
With an economics degree from Aston University, Orie was Commonwealth super-heavyweight champion and this summer won European gold — and is one of the favourites to be Olympic champion in Paris next year.
DT, as he likes to be called, has a Russian mother and a Nigerian father and could not speak English when he arrived in this country at seven, as his parents fled Moscow having suffered extreme racism. If our boxing writers live up to their past record, both these men will have very successful careers.
Of the 69 previous Best Young Boxer winners, 28 have gone on to be world champions and only three of the other 41 failed to win a British, Commonwealth or European title.
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The first young man to receive the honour was Randy Turpin in 1951 and he was immortalised when he took the world middleweight title from Sugar Ray Robinson at London’s Earls Court.
Others include Ken Buchanan, John Conteh, Joe Calzaghe, Naseem Hamed, Barry McGuigan, Nigel Benn and Frank Bruno.
Liverpool’s former world light-heavyweight champion Conteh, the 1973 winner, told me: “It was 50 years ago but I’ll never forget the feeling of elation when I was told I’d won the Best Young Boxer accolade — it still has pride of place in my trophy cabinet.”
But the biggest cheer at The Savoy will surely be for former British middleweight champion Johnny Pritchett, who at 80 is the oldest living Best Young Boxer of the Year.
Pritchett, who lost just one of his 34 fights, retired at 25 to become a successful businessman.
When he won in 1965, a three- bedroom house was £3,364, petrol cost 35p a gallon and a pint was just 22p. More

ANTHONY JOSHUA could end up making his boxing return on the SAME NIGHT as Tyson Fury’s proposed fight with Oleksandr Usyk. Fury and Usyk announced they had signed for the heavyweight division’s first ever four-belt unification.
Anthony Joshua with promoter Eddie HearnCredit: Reuters
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have signed to fight on December 23Credit: Reuters
Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn are slated to fight on December 23Credit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
And although no date has been confirmed, December 23 in Saudi Arabia is a frontrunner.
Interestingly, Eddie Hearn revealed that is the same day he plans to stage the grudge match between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr.
Meanwhile, Hearn has been in talks with Deontay Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel over a blockbuster between the American and AJ.
But big bucks backers from Saudi have since pulled out, meaning the two handlers are now negotiating with new potential hosts.
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So Hearn has warned Joshua’s mega-fight with Wilder could be backdated to February and March.
And he even claimed Joshua could choose to stay busy with a return in December on the touted Eubank and Benn card.
He said: “It could go on December 23, maybe even as well.
“December 2nd is a fantastic card that we’re announcing on Saturday night for Britain and 23rd is our date for Benn-Eubank.
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“And I truly believe that fight will get made for that date.”
Fury, 35, returns on October 28 in Riyadh in a crossover clash against ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou, 37.
But he has already announced his historic title unification with Usyk, 36, which is just eight weeks removed from the Ngannou bout.
Hearn – facing a clash of cards if he stages Eubank against Benn that night – is in the dark on whether the two bills will go head to head.
He said: “Look if we get the Eubank fight made, we will go December 23rd. Because we will have to announce that in the next two weeks.
“I don’t know whether they’re going to go December 23rd, maybe there’s some conversations with them before we announce our fight.
“But that’s our date and whilst the other fight is not announced there’s a good chance we’ll go straight up and announce.
That fight, in my opinion, will 100 per cent happen in the first half of next year, maybe even in the first quarter. Eddie Hearn on Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder
“But we’ll have to see. Obviously, we don’t want to go on the same night, it doesn’t make sense for either fight. But we’ll see.”
Hearn insisted both Joshua, 33, and Wilder, 37, are still on course to finally fight each other.
But after Saudi funders fell out the picture, he revealed America or Britain could instead stage the bout.
He said: “That fight, in my opinion, will 100 per cent happen in the first half of next year, maybe even in the first quarter.
“I can’t tell you any more than I’m talking to Shelly Finkel and we’ve made it crystal clear, as they have to us, we want this fight.
“We’re talking about Vegas, we’re talking about Wembley and we appreciate the money might not be completely the same as what we’ve been offered by Saudi Arabia…
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“And money’s always important but I think both guys actually genuinely want the fight and when you get fights like Fury-Usyk made it does give everybody a little nudge to say, ‘Let’s make ours now.’
“And there’s a definite feeling from their team and ours to get that fight over the line.”
Deontay Wilder is still in talks to fight JoshuaCredit: AFP More