Boxing

OLEKSANDR USYK plans to still push ahead with a fight against Tyson Fury despite being faced with a new opponent. Talks are ongoing for the Ukrainian to put his WBA, IBF and WBO belts up against WBC champion Fury next year in a unification.
Oleksandr Usyk plans to still push ahead with a fight against Tyson FuryCredit: EPA
Tyson Fury is set to return against Derek ChisoraCredit: PA
But a spanner was thrown in the works following the news the IBF are set to order Usyk into fighting mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic.
Although the pound-for-pound star’s promoter Alex Krassyuk expects the historic undisputed bout to supersede a mandatory.
Krassyuk told Sky Sports: “At this stage I can anticipate that it will not influence the undisputed anyhow.”
Usyk, 35, set for himself up for the heavyweight division’s first four-belt unification after twice beating Anthony Joshua, 33.
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But he ruled himself out until next year to spend time with his loved ones having returned to war-torn Ukraine after months training away.
Fury, 34, instead returns on December 3 in a trilogy bout against Derek Chisora, 38, who he beat one-sidedly in 2011 and 2014.
Despite the world title fight at Tottenham’s stadium, negotiations are commencing for next year’s unification.
And Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas even claimed they have agreed to terms, leaving the ball in Fury’s court.
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Klimas told SecondsOut: “Everything is done from our side – everything, absolutely.
“So, there’s only one guy who can say, ‘Yes, we’re going [ahead]’ that’s Fury.”
Chisora earned the shot with Fury after pushing Usyk all the way and could even land himself a rematch if he pulls off an upset next month.
If Chisora beats Fury, Klimas said: “Then we’re gonna go and unify the titles with Chisora.
“We [beat him comfortably in 2020], but again: Boxing is boxing; one time you beat them, one time you can lose, one time you can draw – and all kind of different things happen.”
Derek Chisora lost to Oleksandr Usyk in 2020Credit: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing More

ANTHONY JOSHUA was torn apart by Dillian Whyte for having “no real spine or backbone” amid rumours of rematch between them. Joshua is taking a break from boxing following consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk and failed talks to face Tyson Fury.
Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte are linked to a rematchCredit: https://twitter.com/DillianWhyte
His promoter Eddie Hearn said the winner of Whyte’s November 26 fight with Jermaine Franklin would be a frontunner to box AJ next year.
And Whyte has wasted no time in igniting a war of words with the man he beat in the amateurs but lost to six years later in their 2015 thriller.
He told JOE: “You could be speaking to him, and he just looks a bit spaced out and a bit absent-minded and a bit vacant.
“He’s done a few weird things as well. We all do weird things but there’s no consistency to what he does.
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“He puts on this act and pretends he’s a good boy, and all of a sudden, he wants to be a bad boy and he wants to rap, and he wants to talk about notorious gangsters and stuff.
“But at the same time, he’s a good boy and an advocate. There’s no consistency.
“That’s what I mean, he’s weird, no consistency, no real spine or backbone, just a bit all over the place.”
Whyte, 34, returns for the first time since defeat to Fury, also 34, at Wembley Arena.
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And with a rematch against Joshua, 33, in the pipeline if he beats American Franklin, 29, he wants his old rival to stick around.
Whyte said: “I hope he stays in boxing, and I hope he stays of solid mind because I want to fight him.
“I want a chance to get my rematch, so I hope he stays of solid and sound mind.
“I don’t want him to go crazy and then retire and f***ing become a rapper or a priest or something.”
Dillian Whyte was beaten by Anthony Joshua in 2015Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd More

FRANK WARREN hopes to have a deal with Tommy Fury and Jake Paul wrapped up “in the next week or so” after agreeing to a February fight. Paul publicly stated online that he is ready to travel to the UK to face Fury at the third time of asking.
Tommy Fury pictured with Frank Warren and Daniel DuboisCredit: PA:Press Association
Jake Paul commentating on Tommy Fury’s fight
And he has given his celebrity boxing rival just seven days to return a signed contract by.
But Hall of Fame promoter Warren reckons that is enough time to get a deal over the line.
He said on talkSPORT: “It will probably be in late February or March.
“The reason why it didn’t go [before], the contracts were all signed, because of the problems he had with the US immigration.
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“We are all past that now. Jake is up for coming over here and we have to get the deal finalised in the next week or so.”
Twice the famous boxing foes have signed to fight but both times Fury, 23, was withdrawn.
He suffered a rib injury last December and then was pulled out in the rehashed date in August amid a US visa issue, which still persists.
Paul, 25, was a special guest commentator at the Coca-Cola Arena as Fury boxed late replacement Rolly Lambert in an exhibition.
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The American heckled from ringside and the two later clashed post-fight with security having to restrain them as their rivalry hit new heights.
Fury’s dad and coach John later claimed he shook hands with Paul’s manager Nakisa Bidarian over a bout in February.
And the YouTuber-turned 6-0 boxer insisted he has no problem crossing enemy territory to finally commence battle.
He tweeted: “I agree to fight Tommy in Manchester or London in February.
“I’ll come to his country, no more running. His baby is due then and you’ve said it’s no issue.
“Since John is adamant we’ve agreed, I am giving you seven days to present a signed contract by Tommy or I’m moving on.”
Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions company revealed they will pay their man while Warren will take care of Fury’s financials.
MVP posted: “John Fury has asked for February. Jake Paul has agreed.
“All that is needed now is for Frank Warren to get Tommy Fury to sign. MVP is paying Jake Paul and Frank Warren is paying Tommy Fury.”
Tommy Fury and Jake Paul have agreed to fight in February More

TYSON FURY admitted he cannot retire from boxing until finally fighting Anthony Joshua. The pair have spent years failing to agree terms for a Battle of Britain bout, most recently for December.
Tyson Fury admitted he cannot retire from boxing until fighting Anthony JoshuaCredit: Getty
And it leaves Fury unable to walk away until he settles the score with Joshua in the ring once and for all.
He said on The High Performance podcast: “I don’t think I can retire today.
“Because I need that Joshua fight. We have been trying to make that fight for years.
“It’s the fight that people want to see. It’s the fight that I want to see as a boxing fan.”
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Fury, 34, said he was walking away from the sport in April after he knocked out Dillian Whyte, 34, at Wembley.
But that lasted just a matter of months as a unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk, 35, or grudge match with Joshua, 33, proved too tempting.
In the end, Fury had to settle for a trilogy bout on December 3 with Derek Chisora, 38, who he has twice beaten in one-sided fashion.
And it leaves the door open to super-fights with Usyk and AJ next year, with the Gypsy King claiming he could box into his 50s.
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Fury admitted it would be a crime for boxing fans if he does not fight Joshua, having shared the ring with Deontay Wilder, 37, three times.
He said: “For the last four or five years, there has been this three-headed monster: me, Wilder, Joshua.
“Joshua and Wilder have been slain, and I’m the last one standing.
“All of a sudden, you’ve got some new people coming up now – Joe Joyce, Daniel Dubois, Usyk’s gate-crashed the party.
“Now there’s a load of new blood that wasn’t there five years ago and it’s like, ‘can you beat this person?’.
“But I think it would be an absolute dying travesty if me and Joshua didn’t fight in this era.”
Anthony Joshua failed in talks to fight Tyson FuryCredit: Getty More

TYSON FURY fears he may be boxing towards his FIFTIES and is on course for his first loss as his boxing addiction grips tighter than ever.The 34-year-old WBC heavyweight champion has toyed with retirement so frequently that nobody took seriously his most recent April vow, after the brilliant Wembley KO of Dillian Whyte.
Tyson Fury is set to face Derek Chisora at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next monthCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
And he now wants to fight three times in 2023 — after dealing with Derek Chisora on December 3 at Tottenham’s stadium — and has given up giving up.
The father-of-six reckons his career is headed down the same long and winding road as Panama legend Roberto Duran, who finished his iconic career as a 50-year-old super-middleweight.
Fury told Carl Frampton for BT Sport: “I can’t quit. I am going to be like Roberto Duran because I don’t know anything else.
“I am going to mess up my undefeated record because it means nothing to me anymore.
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“I used to think being the undefeated heavyweight champion, like Rocky Marciano, would have floated my boat.
“But now I know why all the greats get hurt — because they never let it go.
“How many times can you play with fire before you get burned?”
Fury insists Anthony Joshua’s shock decision to reject his chance of a voluntary title shot is the end of their “non-rivalry”.
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But the Gypsy King is open to a clash with AJ’s two-time conqueror Oleksandr Usyk in March.
He said: “If the Usyk fight can be made, and they actually want that fight, then that’s the fight I would like next and that would happen in Saudi Arabia.
“The future is bright and I am going nowhere.” More