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      Lawrence Okolie vs Chris Billam-Smith tale of the tape – where the cruiserweight world title fight will be won and lost

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      LAWRENCE OKOLIE and Chris Billam-Smith will put friendship aside when the WBO cruiserweight title goes on the line. The former sparring partners clash at Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium on Saturday night.

      Okolie, 30, defends his title but does so behind enemy lines against Cherries fan and hometown hero Billam-Smith, 32.
      The pair were once training partners under esteemed British trainer Shane McGuigan.
      But after Okolie left the camp, it opened the door for the friends to turn foes in the ring.
      The 2016 Olympian laboured to a points win over David Light in his March return bout but wanted a quick turnaround.
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      So when Billam-Smith was searching for an opponent to welcome to his beloved Bournemouth stadium, Okolie was raring to go.
      The champion comes into the bout with an unbeaten 19-0 record and has 14 knockouts to go with it.
      Whereas Billam-Smith has been beaten once before in his 18, to Richard Riakporhe, 33, by split-decision in 2019.
      Okolie at 6ft 5in carries a two inch height advantage and is one of the hardest punchers not only at cruiserweight but in the world.
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      And most notably, he has a 82+1⁄2 inch reach compared to Billam-Smith’s 75 inch range.
      The fight makes for a good clash of styles, with Okolie preferring to box at range, using his length to let off his big right hand.
      Whereas Billam-Smith finds a lot of success at mid and close range, tucking in his elbows with a tight guard and letting combinations fly.
      If the challenger is to have success in the bout, he needs to close the distance and overwhelm Okolie with flurries.
      For the champion, he will look to keep the fight long, use his jab to set up the right hand and spoil on the inside when needed.
      But after 300 rounds of sparring between them, it remains to be seen whether the two will open up having known each other so well.

      Chris Billam-Smith and Lawrence Okolie are former sparring partners
      Lawrence Okolie, promoter Ben Shalom and Chris Billam-SmithCredit: BOXXER / Lawrence Lustig More

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      Tyson Fury ‘in talks’ to fight Anthony Joshua’s former sparring partner in Australia in August with Usyk scrap no closer

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      TYSON FURY is in talks for a fight in August in Australia against Demsey McKean, boxing manager Angelo Di Carlo said. Fury has been searching for a summer return after talks to face Oleksandr Usyk in a title unification earlier in the year collapsed.
      Tyson Fury pictured in Australia ahead of Joseph Parker’s fightCredit: Getty
      Anthony Joshua pictured with ex-sparring partner Demsey McKean
      The WBC champion is in Australia to support training partner and friend Joseph Parker, who fights Faiga Opel in Melbourne.
      Fury claimed he is looking to fight in the region one day and could get his wish granted.
      McKean’s manager Di Carlo claimed discussions have been ongoing for the unbeaten heavyweight to fight the Gypsy King.
      He told The Herald Sun: “Chats began some time ago for Demsey to fight Tyson Fury in Australia and I think Demsey is the best option for the Gypsy King.
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      “We’re certainly keen to do the fight. We’ve had a good association with Matchroom and we have great respect for Eddie Hearn, but I’ll have more talks with Fury’s camp and see where that takes us.
      “If Tyson Fury wants to fight in Australia, the logical option is to fight an Aussie fighter and talking to Fury’s people, they don’t want to fight a small heavyweight.
      “We’ve been given a possible date to fight Fury in August, so hopefully we can make it happen.”
      McKean, 32, is signed to Hearn’s Matchroom banner and is currently 22-0 with 14 knockouts.
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      And he was hired as Anthony Joshua’s sparring before before the Brit’s loss to Usyk, 36, in September 2021.
      McKean was also considered as an opponent for Joshua, 33, this year before Jermaine Franklin, 29, was ultimately selected.
      But the Aussie could get his shot at the big time against Fury, who has not returned since beating Derek Chisora, 39, in December.
      He was in talks for the heavyweight division’s first four-belt undisputed decider this year.
      But the deal broke down amid a row over the potential split for a rematch between the two.
      So Fury, 34, was looking to come back in the summer at Wembley but found very little available opponents available.
      It led the two-time unbeaten champion to name Australia as a potential host for his very next bout.
      Fury said: “I’m definitely keen, it may even be my next fight, over here. I just haven’t got an opponent yet, so we’re going to figure it out.

      “Over the next few days we’re going to be travelling around to a few different states and looking at some potential venues for my next fight.
      “Australians are always crazy boxing fans, so it would be great to get the Gypsy King Down Under.”
      Tyson Fury and Joseph Parker together in AustraliaCredit: Getty More

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      Eddie Hearn reveals Dana White ‘inspiration’ for dramatic 18-month body transformation and says ‘mate, give me the plan’

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      EDDIE HEARN has revealed UFC boss Dana White was the inspiration behind his body transformation.The boxing promoter, 43, who guides the careers of fighters such as Anthony Joshua and Katie Taylor, has trimmed down his physique over the past 18 months.

      Dana White remains ripped despite being 53 years of ageCredit: Instagram
      He has lost 37 pounds across that period of time, dropping from 19st 11lbs to 17st 2lbs.
      And he has now spoken about how White, 53, gave him the motivation to improve his own physical wellbeing.
      The UFC chief went on a three-year body transformation after being told he had ten years to live.
      And speaking about how that galvanised him to get in shape, Hearn told Men’s Health: “Look at Dana White. I spoke to him two days ago. He’s been working with a guy called Gary Brecka, who has a company that tells you how long you have left to live.
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      Eddie Hearn admits he felt sluggish before losing the weight over the past 18 monthsCredit: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing
      Hearn has even squeezed in sessions with Anthony JoshuaCredit: Instagram
      “Before he started working with him, he apparently had a life expectancy of 10.4 years. Now, they’ve completely changed around his insulin, his glucose, his cholesterol, everything.
      “I look at Dana now and physically as well as from a business point of view, he’s a bit of an inspiration for me.
      “His physique is my dream physique. I texted him about the pictures that he put out and I went ‘Mate, give me the plan.’
      “He said, he used to wake up coughing in the night and couldn’t tie his shoelaces in the morning.
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      “It wasn’t quite as bad as that for me, but when I used to put my trousers on in the morning, I’d feel s**t.”
      Hearn’s “sluggish” feeling was one of the reasons he decided to get in shape.
      He also insists the Conor Benn doping saga was another motivating factor behind his fitness frenzy as he attempted to deal with the intensity of the situation.
      He went on to add: “I knew I needed to make a change, but there’s this perception that men in their 40s who get fit and start to dress a bit younger or cooler, are having a midlife crisis.
      “The reality is, it’s not that at all, it’s just you’re realising you need to make a change because life’s passing you by. I’m not 28 anymore. I’m coming up to my 50s.
      “I want to live a great life, and the only way I’m going to do that, with all the pressure and the hate is to keep myself in shape.
      “Because when you’re in better shape and mentally in a better place, all the other stuff is a lot easier to deal with.”
      White, left, has been an inspiration to Hearn, right, with the pair seen here with Billy Joe SaundersCredit: Instagram More

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      Conor McGregor’s ex-sparring partner makes stunning prediction for fight between UFC icon and Jake Paul

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      PAULIE MALIGNAGGI has thrown another dig at Conor McGregor – by backing Jake Paul to knock him out. There is no love lost between Malignaggi and McGregor following their bitter sparring sessions in 2017.
      Pauli Malignaggi sparring Conor McGregorCredit: Twitter
      Jake Paul in training for his next fightCredit: @jakepaul
      And the former world champion boxer has shown no signs of letting his grudge go in the years since.
      It has led him to pick YouTuber-turned prizefighter Paul, 26, beating McGregor, 34, in the ring amid the prospect of a mega-fight.
      Malignaggi, 42, told Betway: “I think Jake Paul would knock Conor out.
      “Conor is too susceptible to those loopy shots and Jake hits hard enough that only needs to hit you with one or two of them.
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      “I think Conor has decent sharp shots but I don’t think Conor has the discipline to stay with those little sharp shots for a certain amount of rounds.
      “I think he would fall apart because he doesn’t have a lot of heart. Conor has no balls.
      “If you take Conor a few rounds he already has this very big discomfort and mistakes naturally create themselves. You don’t even have to create them anymore.
      “I think he would do OK for a couple of rounds, but if you didn’t get Jake out in a couple of rounds, I think Jake would knock him out, and he would probably knock out with a big shot.”
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      McGregor sparred Malignaggi twice before his professional boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather in 2017.
      But following leaked images and footage of the session, Malignaggi stormed out of the Irishman’s camp.
      McGregor would go on to lose to Mayweather in ten rounds and despite teasing a return to the ring it remains his only boxing bout.
      And having shared the ring with the ex-UFC champion behind closed doors, Malignaggi claimed he knew the result was inevitable.
      He said: “Coming out of that spar I thought this has got to be the biggest money heist in the history of money.
      “This guy is so terrible and he’s going to fight Mayweather, probably the best boxer in the history of the sport.
      “Even though he’s retired, Mayweather is going to beat this guy with his eyes closed. And that’s basically how it went. He played with them.”
      Paulie Malignaggi sparred twice with Conor McGregor
      Floyd Mayweather beat Conor McGregor in 2017Credit: Reuters More

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      Busty boxing ring girl Apollonia Llewellyn goes braless in racy cut-out mini dress during Las Vegas trip

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      BUSTY boxing ring girl Apollonia Llewellyn has been making the most of her Las Vegas trip.That’s by going braless in a racy cut-out mini dress while in Sin City.
      Apollonia Llewellyn left fans stunned by going braless in a tight dressCredit: Instagram: Apollonia Llewellyn
      The beauty from Leeds is known for her work as a Misfits boxing ring girlCredit: Instagram: Apollonia Llewellyn
      The 23-year-old scorcher from Leeds has been enjoying some well-deserved time off this month.
      Apollonia first sunned herself on the stunning Greek island of Mykonos.
      And she then jetted to the United States for a luxury beach holiday in Miami.
      Apollonia has amassed a loyal army of followers after finding fame with KSI’s Misfits.
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      But she has not left them empty-handed while across the Atlantic, leaving little to the imagination with an array of X-rated snaps.
      And Apollonia’s latest efforts in Vegas did not disappoint.
      She once again left supporters breathless by wearing a daring dress while also becoming an honorary member of the no-bra club.
      Unfortunately for fans, Apollonia’s snaps did not last for long as they were posted to Instagram Stories.
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      Apollonia often posts saucy snaps to social mediaCredit: Instagram: Apollonia Llewellyn
      Fans are often left hot under the collar when Apollonia goes onlineCredit: Instagram: Apollonia Llewellyn
      And they come after she was hit with a TikTok livestreaming ban for alleged “nudity and body exposure.”
      Apollonia said: “I was wearing a white T-shirt that covered everything with no cleavage on show. It is absolutely ridiculous.
      “There was no warning, no nothing. I don’t know where the nudity has come from.
      “When it happened I was just so confused and didn’t really understand what was going on, and when I clicked on it and it said I had been banned.
      “I was shocked because I haven’t done anything wrong. I would understand if I was sitting there in a bikini or whatever, but that definitely wasn’t the case.
      “I was just getting my make-up done and answering questions, nothing like what they are thinking I have done.
      “It is just so frustrating because I was just sitting there in a T-shirt and I could understand it if I was exposed but I was literally completely covered.”
      Apollonia sunned herself in Mykonos and Miami before jetting to VegasCredit: Instagram: Apollonia Llewellyn More

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      OnlyFans star and boxer Elle Brooke poses topless at window in lingerie shoot as fans joke ‘I wish I was your neighbour’

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      ELLE BROOKE blew fans’ minds after posing topless in her latest lingerie photoshoot.The model-turned-boxer showed off her athletic body in a series of photos she shared on Instagram.

      Ellie Brook stunned fans in the lingerie photoshootCredit: Instagram @thedumbledong
      Elle showed off her athletic bodyCredit: Instagram @thedumbledong
      The OnlyFans star is a massive Manchester City fanCredit: Instagram / @thedumbledong
      Elle has tried her hand at boxing in recent monthsCredit: Instagram / @thedumbledong
      Elle, 25, has 730,000 followers on the platform and she was eager to tease them with her daring poses.
      She showed off her peachy bum in a white lingerie set while sitting on a window sill.
      The OnlyFans star then swapped that outfit for black panties – but went braless as she stared out of the window.
      The look left little to the imagination with Brooke captioning the post: “Seeing if the neighbour is home.”
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      Her fans went wild for the snaps as the post attracted 50,000 likes within 11 hours of being posted.
      One follower said: “I wish I was the neighbour lol 😂”
      Another added: “Ugh those abs 😩”
      A third said: “Amazing view.”
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      And another commented: “Very pretty 😍”
      Elle recently joined the no bra club to celebrate her beloved Manchester City winning the Premier League.
      She covered herself in City scarves as she declared: “We own this league.” More

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      I’m Luton’s first female pro boxer headed to Wembley and dreaming of Kenilworth Road world title fight in Prem

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      TYSIE GALLAGHER wants to bring top-level boxing to Premier League Luton.The 24-year-old Hatters fan scored an upset of her own when she outpointed celebrated former Team GB star Laura Whiteside for the Commonwealth super-bantamweight title in April.
      Tysie Gallagher is the Commonwealth super-bantamweight championCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk
      She’ll be at Wembley on Saturday hoping the club she played for as a schoolgirl prospect can spring another surprise against Coventry and reach the Prem for the first time.
      And Gallagher – who was the town’s first female pro fighter despite taking a couple of years off around the birth of five-year-old daughter – dreams of marking their recent successes with a Kenilworth Road show.
      “That would be the dream,” she told SunSport after a tough morning after Macie-Mae was sick overnight, had to miss school and early morning sparring was approaching.
      “Luton is a town that sadly gets in the media for the wrong reasons sometimes, so for the football club to return to the Premier League – and the lift it would bring all the businesses and people – would be brilliant.

      “I played for the centre of excellence as a girl, I threw myself into sport to help after I was diagnosed with ADHD and then boxing came along and took over.
      “I don’t get to as many games as I would like, with boxing and parenting, but I will be getting the train down on Saturday and cheering the boys on.
      “There has been a great buzz around the place this season and this would be the perfect way to finish it off.
      “I walked past the club shop last week and I had never seen it so busy with people queuing up to get shirts and their names printed, the place is buzzing.”
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      Little Macie-Mae helps mum deliver fight tickets while doing her homework in the carCredit: Not known, clear with picture desk
      Before parenthood, Gallagher worked in a nursery in the mornings, training in the afternoons and worked at a retirement home in the evening to make ends meet.
      Thankfully she has now secured enough sponsorship to commit fully to the sport and drives down every day to work at Don Charles’ Pug Gym in North London.
      But she remembers the tough early days fondly and hopes they will help her secure a world title shot soon.
      “I never had it easy,” she said. “I have had to work hard alongside training and fighting hard.
      “I got used to it though, it helped me, there were times early on when sponsorships started coming in and I didn’t know what to do with them, I thought ‘woah, I am not used to this’.
      “Before I had Macie I could jam-pack my days with training, sparring, working, travelling, from 6am until 10pm but having my little girl means lots of stuff has to be done around the school hours, so the sponsors are really helping.”
      Tysie Gallagher (centre celebrating the 2012 Jubillee) started boxing as a little girl and is now Commonwealth champCredit: Roger Crump – The Sun
      Female fighting is currently booming and Gallagher is right in the mix sparring big names like Ellie Scotney.
      But there remains a divide among the brave women in the sport, with some maximising their profiles and earnings with racy weigh-in clothes, Only Fans accounts and the sales of sweaty kit, while others prefer to let their fists do the talking.
      Gallagher respects both stances but insists she prefers the old-school approach.
      “Each to their own,” she said with a wise head on young shoulders. “But it’s not my cup of tea.
      “Boxing is such a hard and brutal sport that some things can make a mockery of it.
      “I have no problem with other people choosing to do things like that, when I hear about how much money some of them make from it, I think ‘go for it’.
      “But it’s not something I am rushing toward, I think I would always rather be known for my boxing, skills or toughness.
      “I think I would always prefer for people to talk about my boxing, rather than walk past me in the street and say ‘look, there’s the Only Fans girl’”.
      Gallagher proudly wears her daughter’s name on her shorts and takes her on ticket deliveriesCredit: Rex
      Gallagher lost a controversial points decision to Nina Hughes last year – she won the WBA world title just four months later.
      And – as the away fighter again – was supposed to lose against Whiteside who was tipped as a world champ.
      Now she has the brightly coloured belt her daughter loves to show off and promoters eager to make her the home star, making her future as bright as the belt.
      “I don’t mind being in the away dressing room, coming in as the underdog,” she laughed. “But I do feel I have earned a crack from the home corner now.
      “I have now had those two hard fights against more experienced girls and shown I am not afraid of anything. I hope I have earned some respect.
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      “Me and my manager Tony have meetings booked with a couple of big promoters so things are hopefully coming along.
      “We have some great boxers in Luton and I would love to have my first pro fight here soon and one day the football stadium too.” More

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      Tyson Fury scouring Australia for next fight venue as he reveals plans to take on Usyk and other ‘big’ names

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      TYSON FURY has announced that he is looking to fight in Australia amid ongoing talks over his next big bout.The WBC heavyweight champion arrived in Melbourne at the weekend to support Joseph Parker ahead of his clash with Faiga Opelu, which is set to take place on Wednesday.
      Fury has revealed that he is looking to fight in AustraliaCredit: Getty
      The Gypsy King is in Melbourne to support ParkerCredit: Getty
      But when speaking ahead of the event, the Gypsy King revealed that he is also there to scout a potential location for a future fight.
      He said: “I’m looking to do a fight here so I will be going up and down the country looking at different stadiums over the next few days. I’m 100% serious.”
      Fury also hinted at an upcoming clash with Oleksandr Usyk as well as some other “big” fights.
      The 34-year-old added: “I’m looking to fight some big fights this year and next year.
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      “We have an undisputed fight on the horizon for all the belts against Oleksandr Usyk.
      “That has been in talks now for well over a year. There’s also other big fights.”
      Fury called out unified WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight champion Usyk once again last week with a passionate Instagram message.
      The two were in talks over a huge undisputed title fight earlier this year, but negotiations collapsed in March.
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      Fury has since proposed a summer showdown at Wembley Stadium in London.
      He said: “I’m sick of all this back and forward ‘he said, she said’. Why don’t we just do this?
      “Why don’t we fight this summer, me and you, at Wembley stadium for the percentage you’ve already agreed.
      “And if you want the rematch so desperately, you can have one. I don’t need rematches, I don’t need nothing because I’m going to cut you down like cheese.
      “So here’s the offer. Let’s do the fight at Wembley this summer, me and you.”
      The Gypsy King went on to aim a dig at Deontay Wilder and Daniel Dubois, who Usyk has been linked with fighting, adding: “Forget about fighting Deontay Wilder who I’ve knocked out twice, and forget about fighting Daniel Dubois who’s not on our levels.

      “You’ve already beat [Anthony] Joshua. The only fight left is me and you for undisputed.
      “I know you didn’t fancy it the first time so let’s see if we can rekindle it and have a good fight for the fans. Let’s get it on! Make the right decision.” More