Boxing

DILLIAN WHYTE’S new trainer Buddy McGirt admitted he has NEVER seen the heavyweight fight before. Whyte linked up with the esteemed American before his boxing return tonight against the unbeaten Jermaine Franklin.
Boxing trainer Buddy McGirt with Dillian WhyteCredit: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing
And the night will also act as the first time McGirt – a former two-weight world champion – has ever seen the two headliners fight.
He said: “I’m going to be 150 per cent honest with you, I don’t study anybody.
“I’m not gonna sit and worry about the guy I’m training or who he’s fighting – I don’t worry about what they do.
“I’m preparing my guy for anything and everything. If you prepare for one thing and look for it and it don’t happen in the fight, then it’s too damn late.
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“But if you prepare for anything, then no matter what the other guy does, you’ve got an answer for it and that’s the key.”
“But here’s the funny part – I’ve not seen Dillian fight either!”
Whyte, 34, is returning for the first time since a knockout defeat to WBC champion Tyson Fury, 34, in April at Wembley Stadium.
And Fury has been sparring with Franklin, 29, in the build up to tonight’s bout at Wembley Arena.
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Whyte is in line to rematch Anthony Joshua, 33, should he win and is out to bounce back following his recent loss.
He said: “I’m still a predator at the end of the day.
“I’ve always been on the outside, even when I was at the top of my game. I’m used to it. My fire never goes. I don’t think it’ll ever go.”
Dillian Whyte and Jermaine Franklin ahead of their fightCredit: PA More

DILLIAN WHYTE has claimed that Tyson Fury is nothing special – despite being KNOCKED OUT by him.The Body Snatcher had his shot at the WBC heavyweight world championship at Wembley back in April.
Dillian Whyte claims that Tyson Fury is ‘just a big guy’Credit: Alamy
The Gypsy King knocked out the Body Snatcher back in AprilCredit: Getty
He was brutally KOd by a huge uppercut in the sixth round as the Gypsy King, who faces Derek Chisora in a trilogy bout next week, stretched his unbeaten record.
However, Whyte has always maintained that it was an illegal move as he only fell due to a push from Fury instantly after impact.
The 34-year-old is returning to the ring on Saturday night across the road from the national stadium at Wembley Arena when he takes on American Jermaine Franklin.
And ahead of his comeback, he took time to reflect on his defeat to Fury.
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Whyte told Betfred: “It was always going to be a difficult fight because he’s just so big.
“People say he’s fast, he’s a great boxer, he’s awkward, but he’s not, he’s just a big guy.
“I got caught with a punch and he just pushed me over.”
Both Whyte and Franklin wore their respective national teams’ football tops for the weigh-in on Friday morning ahead of Friday’s World Cup clash between England and USA.
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Franklin climbed onto the scales first and came in at 18st 5lbs (257lbs).
Whyte then followed him and registered at 17st 13lbs (251lbs).
Franklin, 29, comes into the clash looking to take his record to 21-0 against Whyte. More

UNBEATEN heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov has warned Tyson Fury his reign will be OVER in just two years time. The Uzbekistani, who last year won gold in the Tokyo Olympics, is already striking fear into the division.
Tyson Fury has been warned by Bakhodir Jalolov that his reign will be over in two yearsCredit: Getty
Bakhodir Jalolov won Olympic gold in TokyoCredit: Getty
He has 11 knockouts in as many fights and has his eyes on the undisputed title.
Fury, 34, and Oleksandr Usyk, 35, are in talks for a four-belt unification bout in Saudi Arabia next year.
And Jalolov, 28, will be ready and waiting as he vows to mark a new era in the heavyweight division.
He told Probellum: “I think Tyson Fury is the best heavyweight in the world, and Oleksandr Usyk is very good, obviously, too.
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“Fury for his size, he moves unbelievably. He has unbelievable movement and once again, he is big and heavy. Usyk is a great boxer, but obviously he’s small for the weight class.
“For me, I’m not a hero in Uzbekistan for winning the Olympics, I’m not there yet.
“But once I become undisputed heavyweight champion of the world at that time, maybe they’ll call me a hero.
“Maybe it’s not going to happen tomorrow, but maybe it’s going to be next year or in two years. But God bless, it is going to happen.”
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Jalolov has made easy work of his opponents so far but insisted he has more than just power in his arsenal.
He said: “I’m not just a puncher. Of course, I can punch, and I know that I have power because every time I land, people go down.
“But I have much more than that. I have a great footwork, feeling of distance and timing and speed.
“And my style is not to take nine shots to land 10. I’m not working like that. Instead of winning 10-9, I’ll win 1-0.
“I’ll land one, but I’m not going to get hit and that’s my goal. Boxing is about hit and don’t get hit.”
Bakhodir Jalolov has 11 KOs in 11 fightsCredit: @BakhodirJalolov More

EDDIE HEARN warned not to rule out Tyson Fury fighting Anthony Joshua INSTEAD of Oleksandr Usyk. Fury, who returns against Derek Chisora on December 3, is already in talks for a historic undisputed super-fight with Usyk next year.
Anthony Joshua is set to return in 2023Credit: Getty
Tyson Fury returns against Derek Chisora on December 3Credit: Getty
But he said it would be a “dying travesty” if he never fought AJ and admitted he could not retire without fighting him.
Although in trademark style, Fury made a U-turn and claimed he had no interest in facing Joshua, who he called a “coward”.
Hearn was quick to point out the contradiction and believes the pair of heavyweights can still fight, possibly sooner than most think.
He told iFL TV: “Two or three days ago, he said he couldn’t retire unless he fought AJ, and he needs that fight badly.
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“You’re seeing now from the social media responses people are starting to come to terms with it doesn’t make sense what he’s saying.
“Let him go on. Maybe he fights AJ instead of Usyk? I wouldn’t even be surprised.
“That fight is so big with AJ that sometimes you just get together, and you make the fight instantly.
“I think Fury wants legacy, and he knows the AJ fight is legacy because it’s the biggest fight of all time.
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“And despite him maybe saying that he doesn’t rate Anthony Joshua, he does, and he knows it’s a real fight and we have to see that fight.
“But you’ve also got the Usyk fight. You have Chisora coming up. We’ll see what happens.”
Fury, 34, faces Chisora, 38, the man he beat in 2011 and 2014 in a trilogy bout after talks with AJ collapsed.
Joshua, 33, is instead set to return next year following a break after two straight points losses to Usyk, 35.
The Ukrainian is also ruled out until next year but negotiations for a first four-belt heavyweight unification in Saudi Arabia is already underway.
It leaves AJ frozen out of the title picture for now, but Hearn wants to see the two-time champion in a hat-trick of bouts in 2023.
He said: “For me, AJ should be fighting three times a year every year.
“But, because of his commercial responsibilities, because of the size of his events, sometimes it ends up being two.
“And then with Covid, sometimes it’s one. So we must make sure that 2023 sees him box three times. It’s really important, and the activity is key.”
Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie HearnCredit: Getty More

EX-HEAVYWEIGHT boxing champion Chris Byrd looks almost unrecognisable after his stunning FOUR STONE body transformation. The American defeated some of the division’s greatest, including Evander Holyfield and Vitali Klitschko.
Two-time heavyweight boxing champion Chris ByrdCredit: AP:Associated Press
Chris Byrd sensationally lost four stone in retirement
And he did so weighing 15 stone in the prime of his career, later retiring in 2009.
But after hanging up his gloves, Byrd underwent a dramatic body transformation and wanted to return at MIDDLEWEIGHT.
At one point, he weighed 11st after slimming down on a plant-based diet and eyed a boxing comeback after turning 50.
He said: “What am I known for? Slickness, speed and reflexes.
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“It’s still there. I’m telling you. At 50 years old, look at my body. It’s on.
“Who is going to hang with the old man? Nobody can hang with the old man. I got energy all day.
“I will be a middleweight champion definitely. Let’s get it.”
Now 52, Byrd appears to have cooled off on talk of a comeback.
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During his heyday, he reigned as a two-time heavyweight champ but actually competed at middleweight during his amateur career.
It was only after lacking willing contenders did Byrd physically chew his way up to heavyweight.
He said: “Nobody wanted to fight me at middleweight, so I ate my weight up to heavyweight.
“Due to this, I paid for it. I went through eleven years of suffering. A few years ago, I couldn’t even move my feet apart.
“The pain in my left leg was so bad that I just wanted to cut the whole off some day.
“I had to make drastic changes and choices in life to get where I am today.”
The American beat Evander Holyfield and Vitali KlitschkoCredit: Reuters
Chris Byrd enjoyed a plant-based diet in retirement More