Boxing

ANTHONY JOSHUA has been urged to swerve Deontay Wilder until he fixes his fear of being caught clean.A long-awaited grudge match between the former unified and WBC heavyweight champions is being lined up for December.
Anthony Joshua is on course for a long-awaited grudge match with Deontay WilderCredit: REX
The pair’s eagerly-anticipated showdown is currently in the works for DecemberCredit: GETTY
Boxing legend Roy Jones Jr reckons AJ shouldn’t take the fight just yetCredit: GETTY
Boxing fans across the world are salivating at the prospect of the long-time rivals trading blows in a lucrative Saudi showdown, although there are concerns for AJ following his gun-shy display against Jermaine Franklin last month.
And those concerns are shared by boxing legend Roy Jones Jr, who reckons the Brit needs to get comfortable being in the fire again.
The former four-weight world champion told iDBoxing: “It’s a very tough fight for him.
“I love AJ to death and I think he’s a great fighter.
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“But his issue right now is dealing with punches coming back at him, so you don’t want to fight Wilder.”
Jones Jr reckons the unorthodox nature of Wilder’s concussive blows makes him one of the worst stylistic match-ups to take at this moment in time.
He continued: “Those punches that will be coming at you from him are different to anybody else in the division, so he’s got to go get that taken care of before he goes in front of Wilder.”
Joshua dominated a dogged and determined Franklin in his return to the win column last month but failed to make an impression in his first outing under new head coach Derrick James.
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And Jones Jr would like the Watford warrior to get a couple more fights with James under his belt before taking on Wilder.
The 54-year-old said: “Sometimes it takes time for a fighter and trainer to get their whole aspect together.
“Apparently, that hasn’t happened straight away, but if they stay together, then maybe they’ll finally get some continuity.
“But they definitely didn’t get any in that first fight.
“Hopefully they get better as they go, it sometimes takes bit of time for things to kick in for a fighter and they get on the same page.
Anthony JoshuaCredit: IFL TV
“So hopefully in the next couple of fights they’ll get better and start to gel.
“Because in that fight they didn’t gel much at all.”
Joshua, 33, revealed this past week that his long-awaited showdown with Wilder is seemingly all systems go for December.
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When asked by a fan if he’s going to beat Wilder, AJ responded: “That’s what’s happening, you know what’s going on.”
When pressed on the fight taking place in December, he added: “It’s public news we’re getting it down, throwing it down in December.” More

GEORGE FOREMAN was knocked out by Muhammad Ali in their legendary Rumble in the Jungle – but The Greatest wasn’t the hardest-hitting heavyweight he’d ever faced.The entire world stood still on October 30, 1974 when Ali challenged the previously undefeated Foreman for the WBA, WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles.
George Foreman locked horns with Muhammad Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle in 1978Credit: AP
‘Big George’ lost the historic fight via eighth-round TKOCredit: AP
But ‘The Greatest’ wasn’t the hardest hitter Foreman faced in his careerCredit: GETTY
Ali introduced the globe to his famous rope-a-dope technique on that famous night in the Congo, absorbing Foreman’s bruising body punches before stopping him in the eighth.
The late Ali undoubtedly packed a punch to put Foreman out for the count, although his power paled in comparison to former amateur opponent of ‘Big George’, Bob Winters.
The 74-year-old told talkSPORT: “I’ve been punched hard so many times.
“But, I was in a Golden Gloves match with a guy by the name of Bob Winters.
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“He hit me so hard and knocked me down, I didn’t know boxers had that to happen to them.
“I saw about six women with the same coat on and after the referee counted they started disappearing and then I realised it was only one woman.
“That was being hit hard, I’ll never forget that, not seeing doubles and triples, but more.”
Boxing legend Foreman knew a thing or two about being a heavy hitter – calling time on his career with a whopping 83 per cent knockout ratio.
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But he felt “ashamed” by some of his knockouts, telling World Boxing News: “Two things I will never forget about my boxing career: How hard I could hit [not proud of the first part] and how hard they punched me.
“I heard bells and whistles while bodies collapsed.
“The first time around [1967 to 1977], I hit so hard. I’d wake up ashamed of what I had done to [those] good people.
“I felt like they were boxing, and I was slaughtering.
George Foreman is still to this day one of the hardest hitting fighters in boxing historyCredit: AP
“My gift was recklessness. I didn’t care if I broke my shoulder, arm, or knuckles or if I flew out of the ring. I had to get a KO or fall down myself.”
The Texas titan called time on his Hall-of-Fame career in 1997 following a majority decision defeat to Shannon Briggs.
But just four fights prior to his farewell bout, Foreman made history by becoming the oldest champion in boxing history.
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ZHILEI ZHANG has claimed his team have held talks over a fight with Tyson Fury. Fury is set to return in July at Wembley Stadium, having seen a title unification with Oleksandr Usyk collapse.
Zhilei Zhang claimed his team have held talks over a fight with Tyson FuryCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Tyson Fury is set to return in JulyCredit: PA
Joe Joyce looked in line to challenge the WBC champion in the summer until his shock loss to Zhang.
And now the 2012 Olympic silver medalist has emerged as a shock alternative to fight Fury.
Zhang told iFL TV: “I just came back from my vacation, so everything is fresh to me.
“I believe that my team has made communications with their team on that matter.”
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He added: “Let’s do it Tyson. If you’re looking at July, I’ll be ready for you in July.”
But Zhang, 39, could also be drawn into a second fight with Joyce, 37, due to a rematch clause in the Brit’s contract.
It leaves Andy Ruiz Jr, 33, as a frontrunner to welcome Fury, 34, back to the ring.
And the Mexican-American added fuel to the fire after re-sharing a mocked up fight poster of the two.
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It read: “Tyson Fury vs Andy Ruiz Jr is official! July 22nd.”
And he accompanied it with an emoji of the UK flag.
But despite Ruiz’s tease, Hall of Fame promoter Warren told Boxing News that no deal is set in stone.
Andy Ruiz Jr claimed his deal to fight Tyson Fury was ‘official’Credit: Getty Images – Getty More