Boxing

ANTHONY JOSHUA could be given another crack at fighting Tyson Fury next year.A shock domestic dust-up between the pair was in the works just weeks after AJ’s second successive loss to Oleksandr Usyk but talks failed to bear fruit.
Anthony Joshua was on course to face Tyson Fury this month but the fight fell throughCredit: GETTY
Tyson Fury has since chopped and changed his mind of the Battle of BritainCredit: GETTY
But co-promoter Bob Arum reckons the fight could come to fruitionCredit: GETTY
WBC king Fury vowed never to fight his Brit rival after the bout collapsed but has since softened his stance, so much so that co-promoter Bob Arum believes there is a small chance the pair could clash next year.
He told Sky Sports: “Tyson was teed off because he offered Joshua the fight for the end of this year.
“The one that [Derek] Chisora took and Joshua agreed and then pulled out.
“So Tyson is really [annoyed] at Joshua and says he won’t fight him. But let’s see.
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“Joshua and Fury down the road could be a massive fight in the UK. We’ll have to see.”
Wythenshawe warrior Fury is currently on course for a March undisputed fight with two-time Joshua conqueror Usyk.
But the prospect of a showdown with AJ won’t be entertained until after The Gypsy King trades leather with the undefeated Ukrainian.
Top Rank Boxing chief Arum, 91, said: “But one fight at a time.
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“Right now the only heavyweight championship fight that I’m looking at is Tyson and Oleksandr Usyk.”
Former two-time unified champ Joshua has remained steadfast in his belief a clash with Fury will happen – despite his rival’s toing and froing.
He told iDBoxing: “Well, on my behalf, I would like the opportunity.
“Because the longer we leave it, it’s not good for anyone.
“So, yeah, I would like the opportunity. Good luck with his next fight if he comes through.
“Then I think he’s going to go on to undisputed, and then I’ll be fighting somebody else.
“Then hopefully, we both come victorious, and then we look to fight each other.”
Joshua, 33, is set to be back in the ring in March – but an opponent has yet to be finalised for the former champ’s return.
Anthony Joshua is set to return to the ring in MarchCredit: GETTY More

BARRY HEARN has revealed son Eddie dropped him twice during a “fight” in the ring.Matchroom founder Barry believes tough love as a kid helped Eddie become the success he is today, including promoting ex-world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
Barry Hearn and his son, Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie, sandwich the British boxer, who hopes to reach the top againCredit: Getty
And that included arranging a bout between the two of them because Hearn junior was getting a “little bit public school-ish”.
Barry was delighted with the resulting sparring as it showed his son “had some character about him”. 
He even reckons Eddie was only frustrated that they stopped the bout before the third round!
The father-and-son team have now built up a huge sporting empire.
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And Hearn senior, 74, explained to the High Performance Podcast how sport came into his parenting techniques.
He said: “We would play cricket and I wouldn’t hold back. 
“I was quite a quick bowler when I was younger and I bowled flat out to him. It didn’t matter what age he was.
“If you want to be in this game, then find out.
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“When I thought he was going a little bit public school-ish, I took him down to the gym and we had what was supposed to be a proper three-round fight.
“He dropped me twice in the second round and we never had the third round.
“But, I left happier than he did, because I found out something about my son that I hoped was inside him.
“He didn’t swallow it, he had some character about him and he took a couple, not many, and he handed it out. It was nice.
“He was just disappointed that he didn’t get the chance to go one extra round!”
Sports agents Barry and Eddie had ‘what was supposed to be a proper fight’ in the ring, aimed at building Hearn junior’s characterCredit: Getty – Contributor More

EDDIE HEARN wouldn’t risk putting Anthony Joshua within “ten feet” of Joe Joyce at this stage of his career, according to Mike Tyson’s former coach.A domestic dust-up with his former sparring partner is a possibility for Joshua’s next outing following his consecutive defeats to pound-for-pound king Oleksandr Usyk.
Anthony Joshua is in a rebuilding phase of his career following losses to Oleksandr UsykCredit: AFP
A domestic dust-up with ex-sparring partner Joe Joyce could be on the cards
Boxing legend Teddy Atlas, however, doesn’t forsee the fight happeningCredit: Getty
But boxing legend Teddy Atlas believes Joyce’s “concussive” power will put Joshua and Hearn off the tasty tussle.
During a recent episode of his The Fight podcast, the former trainer said: “There is no way on God’s Earth – no way – that Joshua and his promoter are getting within.
“They wouldn’t get within a ten-foot pole of Joyce in that boxing ring. No way.”
WBC heavyweight king Tyson Fury has tipped stablemate Joyce to run through Joshua should the fight come to fruition.
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He told iFL TV: “I think so, I think he [Joyce] wipes the floor with Joshua anyway.”
Joyce catapulted himself into the upper echelons of the division in September with a sensational 11th-round TKO victory over former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker.
And Atlas, the former trainer of Mike Tyson, has been thoroughly impressed by what he’s seen of the Juggernaut since he turned pro.
He said: “I’ve been saying this guy’s a player. This guy’s got a chin of granite.
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“He reminds me of a younger Foreman – although I gotta be careful with that because he is 38 years old.
“But Joyce reminds me of George Foreman when he was in his first life before the comeback.
“Just a big guy, a ponderous puncher, a concussive puncher.
“Not a snappy puncher… just a blunting type puncher that does damage.
Joe Joyce scored a brutal 11th-round JO victory over Joseph Parker in SeptemberCredit: GETTY
“He’s big. He’s relentless. As I said, he’s got a great heart, great chin so far.
“I’ve been calling for this guy to be in there instead of some of the other guys to get the shot.”
Joshua, 33, is set to return to the ring in late March – although an opponent for his comeback fight has yet to be finalised.
Joyce, meanwhile, is hoping to return to action in March also. More

TYSON FURY reckons Joe Joyce will “wipe the floor” with Anthony Joshua if the pair throw down next year.A domestic dust-up between the former sparring partners is a distinct possibility following Joshua’s back-to-back losses to unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
A domestic dust-up between Anthony Joshua and Joe Joyce could be on the cards next yearCredit: INSTAGRAM
Joshua is a rebuilding phase of his career following back-to-back losses to Oleksandr UsykCredit: GETTY
Gypsy King Fury reckons the undefeated Joyce would run through AJCredit: INSTAGRAM
And stablemate Fury firmly believes his fellow undefeated heavyweight would extend AJ’s woes in emphatic fashion.
He told iFL TV: “I think so, I think he [Joyce] wipes the floor with Joshua anyway.”
The Gypsy King, however, is adamant Joshua wouldn’t sign up for a Battle of Britain with Joyce at this stage of his career.
He continued: “But then again we’ll never see it.”
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Joshua, 33, will bid to put himself back in the world title picture early next year – which’s hoping will throw up a showdown with Fury.
But he’d rather throw down with London rival Dillian Whyte first.
When asked who he’d prefer to fight next, he told GQ: “It has to be Dillian Whyte. South London, North London.
“Fury’s good, but he’s a Manchester boy. I think Dillian has more swag in general, but he’s come up short a few times.”
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Fury said of Joshua’s admission: “Crack on, fight him [Whyte]. None of my business.”
He added: “Why isn’t this lad stepping up to the plate and taking on the challenge?
“What does he want to fight Dillian Whyte for? He’s already beat Dillian Whyte.
“Fight me, come to the party, eat teacakes in your underpants another day. It’s only a fight and you’ve already lost before!
“It should be me who’s like, ‘Oh I don’t want to fight these people.
Tyson Fury is set to face Oleksandr Usyk in an undisputed title fight next yearCredit: REUTERS
“‘I don’t want to fight Joe Joyce, I don’t want to fight [Oleksandr] Usyk, I don’t want to fight Joshua.’
“I’m the undefeated man for 14 years undefeated, 34-0.
“These guys have all been beat before and I want to fight them, they don’t want to fight me, it’s an absolute joke.”
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Joshua is set to return to the ring in late March, although an opponent for his comeback bout not yet been finalised.
Fury, meanwhile, is on course to take part in a blockbuster undisputed title fight with Usyk in the spring. More

TYSON FURY and Oleksandr Usyk will fight each other NEXT without any interim bouts, according to promoter Bob Arum.Fury, 34, defended his WBC heavyweight title with a 10th round stoppage of Derek Chisora earlier this month.
Tyson Fury’s promoter Bob Arum says he will face Oleksandr Usyk nextCredit: Getty
Usyk has beaten Anthony Joshua twice over the past 15 monthsCredit: Getty
Fury and Usyk squared up after the WBC champion’s win over Derek ChisoraCredit: Getty
The result paves the way for the undefeated Brit to face IBF, WBA and WBO champion Usyk, 35, – who beat Anthony Joshua for a second time back in August.
The WBA have ordered Usyk to fight Daniel Dubois next but Fury’s team believe an undisputed clash would allow that to be pushed back.
And Arum, 91, who has promoted Fury since 2019, has now insisted Fury and Usyk are on a collision course to fight in the coming months.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “The two fighters have agreed to fight each other next.
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“With Fury and Usyk we’re dealing with two adults, not a lot of [rubbish] back and forth.
“Usyk is a good friend of mine, he’s very intelligent and Tyson is Superman, both as an athlete and as an intellect.
“So they want the fight. Both of them want the fight and so there’ll be very little, if any, [messing] around.
“So we’ll be able to make that happen. I’m very, very confident.
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“As I said the fighters have both agreed to fight each other next without any interim fights.”
No date or location has been set – with the Middle East though to be the frontrunner ahead of the UK.
But Arum has said he expects it to take place before the end of April next year.
He continued: “Now the question is what’s the date and what’s the site. But that fight is definitely going to happen and it will happen in the first four months of next year.
“We are balancing a couple of significant offers from the Mid East and also there’s the possibility of doing the fight in the UK at Wembley [stadium] with a massive 95,000 crowd in attendance.
“Fighters have a relatively short life and money is important.
“So if the money which has been proposed to us is real that has to be taken into consideration.
“To go back to Wembley and do a fight before 95,000 people for me really stirs up the blood. It would be crazy. It would just be wonderful.”
He then finished: “We’ll have it all sorted out. I hope maybe by the end of the year.”
Both Usyk and Fury are undefeated as professionals – with the Ukrainian 20-0 and his British counterpart 33-0-1 – the one being a controversial draw with Deontay Wilder back in 2018.
However, Fury recently claimed Usyk will be an easier night’s work than his comfortable demolition of Chisora.
And he points to Usyk’s battling win over Delboy as evidence the 2012 Olympic gold medallist is not on his level.
He told iFL TV: “I don’t think it is a tough fight. I don’t think it’s nowhere near as tough as old Del Boy.
“He will not stand up to those punches that Derek did against me.

“When I watch the fight between him and Derek, whether people want to admit it or not, it was a 50/50 fight.
“It might have been 55/45, but it wasn’t a landslide. It wasn’t like he didn’t win a round, like he didn’t against me.”
Bob Arum has promoted Fury for nearly four yearsCredit: Getty More