Boxing

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

PAUL BAMBA has come out fighting after his scheduled bout with Tommy Fury was dramatically cancelled.The American was due to face Fury last Sunday, on Floyd Mayweather’s undercard in Dubai.
Paul Bamba has called to reschedule his fight with Tommy Fury
But it was scrapped on the day after a weight disagreement between the two.
Bamba, 33, released his contract online which revealed the fight could not be contested above 79.3kg.
Although Fury, 23, said his contract allowed him to weigh 81kg, even though he hit the scales over at 82.3kg.
He said on Instagram: “I just want to come on here and clear a few things up.
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“One contract was given to Paul Bamba, and one contract was given to myself.
“The weight in my contract, I made yesterday so as far as I’m concerned, I’ve done my job. I made weight.”
Bamba says he is still yet to see Fury’s contract despite requests to Global Titans, promoters of the event.
He also accused Global Titans of cancelling his flights and refusing to reimburse him on expenses.
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Bamba revealed the fight was pulled on the day of the event after being taken off the card by Global Titans, despite trying to negotiate with Fury’s dad John.
And although John did hold talks to come to a compromise, due to the near half stone weight difference, nothing was ever in black and white.
Bamba told SunSport: “At the end of the day, while John Fury did try and make it work and he was polite, due-diligence is a very real thing and sending over the proper stuff.
“Making sure your team handles stuff and the proper way with integrity, is still very much a thing.
“So while he might have tried to save face, at the end of the day his son still didn’t make weight, they still didn’t prove me with the proper paperwork.
“And also, just because I was offered something, I didn’t get another contract. So was I just supposed to take their word for it?
“Go fight and not have anything on paper, after everything that happened? Who gets fooled twice in the same setting?”
He’s a little scared boy that ran and used every trick in the book to have an unfair advantage. Paul Bamba on Tommy Fury
Bamba revealed he could launch legal action against Fury if their fight is not rescheduled.
He said: “In direct correlation with Tommy Fury, that would be my next best bet.
“If I don’t hear back from them and we can’t make anything happen trying to go through the proper channels, then it would be legal action and making sure everything is done right.
“You can’t have two separate contracts. You can’t have, ‘Oh, I made my weight. He didn’t make his, that’s not my fault.’
“That’s not how the world works in real business. It’s just not.
“It sounds good for social media and reality TV, but that’s not how things work.”
Paul Bamba and Tommy Fury facing off in DubaiCredit: Global Titans
Bamba predicted he lost up to $35,000 in total due to his training camp and expenses, not taking into account the purse he was not paid.
And the southpaw insisted he was ready to fight right up until the moment he was told he was off the card.
He said: “I still tried to fight, up until I was pulled off the card, I still went to the fighter meeting at 3pm, I was escorted out of the Coca-Cola Arena though.
“But I literally did everything I was supposed to do. It wasn’t like I was like, ‘Hey, I’m done, I’m not going’ and being problematic.
“I was being very vocal, because you need to be vocal to get things done, but I did everything I was contractually obligated to do.
“I made sure I did, I showed up and I was there.”
‘TOMMY OWES ME A FIGHT’
Bamba has travelled to the UK and even plans to go to Manchester in a bid to reschedule his fight with Fury.
And he said the 2019 Love Islander has no excuse not to should his celebrity grudge match with Jake Paul, eyed for February, not come off.
Bamba said: “Tommy owes me a fight, at the end of the day he called himself a man of honour, he’s not.
“He’s a little scared boy that ran and used every trick in the book to have an unfair advantage.
“I would love to fight him, if he’s a real man, he’ll fight me and settle it.
“If it’s that easy, come collect some easy money and we already have a storyline, it’s built and I’m pretty sure people want to see me knock him out.
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“He has his little fanbase that thinks he can win, why not? If he’s not fighting Jake Paul in February, why not give me that fight?”
SunSport has reached out to Global Titans for comment.
Rolly Lambert replaced Paul Bamba to fight Tommy Fury More