Boxing

MATCHROOM chief Eddie Hearn has hit out at people for criticising Anthony Joshua, claiming the Brit heavyweight has “made boxing the size it is”.Hearn, 43, also fired a shot at AJ’s former broadcast partner Sky.
Eddie Hearn has hit out at those who have criticised Anthony JoshuaCredit: AFP
AJ takes on Oleksandr Usyk in their hotly anticipated rematch on SaturdayCredit: Getty
Watford warrior Joshua, 32, is bidding to become a three-time world champion when he takes on Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
AJ came under scrutiny for his first defeat to the Ukrainian last year, and some pundits have suggested he could RETIRE from boxing if he loses the rematch this weekend.
But Hearn has slammed the criticism of his fighter and also aimed a dig at Sky, suggesting AJ is responsible for much of their success.
Joshua left Sky earlier this year in a huge £100million deal to sign for DAZN, although the former have paid £25m to show Saturday’s fight in the UK and Ireland.
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Hearn said: “I don’t like the fact that with everything Anthony Joshua’s done for this sport, a lot of people want to turn their backs and under appreciate the guy’s resume and the role that he has played for all of us.
“Without Anthony Joshua, me, Matchroom, we wouldn’t have had our success.
“A lot of people wouldn’t be in a job at Sky and I’m telling you now, I’m not even sure Sky would be doing boxing so let’s give this young man the credit.
“Without this guy, there wouldn’t be YouTube outlets interested in the sport, you wouldn’t have the businesses flying out around the world.”
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🥊AJ vs Usyk 2 confirmed fight time, TV and live stream info for Saturday’s blockbuster
Hearn went on to credit Joshua for turning boxing into a sport that regularly sells out arenas all over the world for huge pay-per-view fights.
Over 60,000 fans were at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to see AJ outpointed by Usyk last September, while 90,000 watched the Brit knock out Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley in 2017.
And Hearn continued: “He has made boxing the size it is and we need to be thankful for this guy and give him that respect.
“He’s a great individual, he’s a competitor, he’s a winner and I take it personally when I see people switch and make little comments because they’re thinking about their company rather than thinking about a man who has helped their company so much.” More

DILLIAN WHYTE believes Anthony Joshua only has one way to beat Oleksandr Usyk this weekend.British heavyweight ace AJ fights the Ukrainian champion in Saudi Arabia on Saturday in a bid to win back his world titles.
Anthony Joshua has been told what to do if he wants to beat Oleksandr UsykCredit: AP
Dillian Whyte hopes AJ wins so he can get a rematch chance himselfCredit: Getty
Failure to do so could see Joshua fall off the map in his bid for world domination.
But victory opens the door for several money-spinning fights, including Tyson Fury and Whyte.
The latter has already fought Joshua, losing to his compatriot in 2015.
But Whyte is eager for a rematch, and he has now given AJ tips on how to beat Usyk and make it happen.
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Whyte reckons Joshua must dig deep and find his old-school aggressive style of boxing.
He adds that AJ must go on the front foot to stop Usyk calling the shots.
And Whyte sincerely hopes Joshua goes on to secure victory this weekend.
He told Sky: “It’s a massive fight, the biggest fight of his career.
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🥊AJ vs Usyk 2 confirmed fight time, TV and live stream info for Saturday’s blockbuster
”I do expect him to bounce back, he’s a British fighter like me and I only support our own, so I do hope he gets the job done. It’s good for me if he wins as well.
“I can understand that [rediscovering his aggressive side], because I’m of the same mindset as well.
“In my last fight [against Tyson Fury] I wasn’t as aggressive as I normally am, I’ve said the same thing to myself, I need to rediscover that aggression.
“I think it’s the right mindset he needs going into the fight, it’s the only way he wins the fight.
“When we fought, we fought twice, both fights we had there was a lot of aggression between me and him in the fight, that’s the difference between fighting me and fighting Usyk, that aggression wasn’t there.
“He was sort of trying to outbox someone who has been boxing for 25/30 years.
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“I believe if he revisits that aggression he had for me, he does a much better job and probably beats Usyk and knocks him out this time.
“Me and him are similar in a lot of ways, we come forward and throw a lot of punches, are aggressive and enforce ourselves on our opponents, I think they’ll be trying to get him back to that.” More

OLEKSANDR USYK has accused Tyson Fury of being two-faced after being labelled a “blown-up middleweight” that “can’t take bodyshots”.Ahead of Usyk’s rematch with Anthony Joshua on Saturday night, Fury took to social media to post a tutorial video on how to beat the Ukrainian.
Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua face each other again on Saturday nightCredit: Getty
Fury, 33, goaded Usyk in an online tutorialCredit: AFP
During the clip, the Gypsy King said: “Just another random Tuesday night with Andy Lee.
“This is how Anthony Joshua needs to attack Oleksandr Usyk’s body.
“I know the blown up-middleweight can’t take body shots.”
Usyk, 35, was left unimpressed by Fury’s comments.
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He said: “I want to laugh every time I watch him and listen to him.
“He told me completely different things to my face, but I am not going to tell you what he told me.
“I know we are going to be fighting one day.”
Fury, 34, recently reiterated his boxing retirement, but his promoters Bob Arum and Frank Warren are both hopeful that he could return for a unification bout against the winner of Usyk and Joshua.
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🥊 AJ vs Usyk 2 date, live stream and TV channel for blockbuster rematch
Speaking out on Fury’s “retirement”, AJ told Sky Sports: “Unless he’s 100 per cent retired, you’ve got to beat Fury as well.
“This isn’t about Fury, with all due respect. That’s just my view on that.
“As it stands you’re just a winner, you’re a winner at the end of the day. There’s always another challenge out there.
“Until you retire you’re always going to be challenged to prove you’re the best in the world.
“The minute you say you’re the best is the minute you should pack up. That’s enough on that Tyson Fury situation.”
Usyk, meanwhile, has taken his training to ridiculous extremes as he prepares to face Joshua again on Saturday night.
His manager Egis Klimas revealed yesterday that his man has been holding his breath for nearly five minutes, nearly passing out, while training for AJ. More

EDDIE HEARN has revealed he was left in the lurch by Deontay Wilder’s team after making a fresh approach to them over a grudge match with Anthony Joshua.A blockbuster undisputed title fight between the pair failed to come to fruition in 2018 when both men had their hands on all the heavyweight belts.
Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder will return to the ring on October 15Credit: GETTY
Eddie Hearn recently reached out to Wilder’s team to see if he still has an interest in facing AJCredit: AFP
Hearn has yet to hear back from Wilder or his co-manager Shelly FinkelCredit: AFP
The failed talks left a sour taste in the mouths of both fighters and their promoters, although Hearn recently reached out to Team Wilder to try to gauge their interest in a potential fight.
The Matchroom Boxing chief told SecondsOut: “I actually reached out to Shelly Finkel the other day.
“Because I have got so much money for Deontay Wilder in an offer, but they never come back to me
“I don’t know whether Deontay Wilder doesn’t wanna hear about that offer or whatever.”
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Joshua, 32, will be back in action on Saturday night in a do-or-die rematch with Oleksandr Usyk for all but one of the heavyweight belts.
And Hearn believes a shootout with Wilder could be in the offing if the Brit loses his Saudi showdown with the slick southpaw.
He continued: “But right now as I stand here, I’m honestly not thinking about any other fight for AJ than Saturday night.
“They all come through victory. I think if he loses, the Wilder fight is there.
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“If he wins, all he’s thinking about is that final fight with Fury to win all the belts.”
Former WBC heavyweight champ Wilder will be back in action on October 15 against ex-sparring partner Robert Helenius.
The fight will be the American’s first since he was brutally knocked out in the penultimate round of his trilogy fight with Tyson Fury last October.
He said: “It’s been a long journey for me and as of today it continues. I
” thought so many times about whether I should stay out of the business or come back.
“Once I got my statue in my hometown and saw so many people arrive and celebrate with me and my family, to see all the emotions, grown men crying in front of their children and saying he is a real true king, made me feel like my job is not done.
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“So, here I am once again, looking forward to returning to the ring.
“I am looking forward to coming to Barclays Center, a place where I have had my most devastating knockouts and a place I consider my second home.”
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TYSON FURY has been offered a route back into fighting after Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship president David Feldman declared he is on his “radar”.The Gypsy King announced his retirement from boxing following his knockout victory against heavyweight rival Dillian Whyte in April at Wembley.
Unbeaten heavyweight Tyson Fury confirmed last week that he has walked away from boxingCredit: Getty
But he was willing to return to the squared circle having entered talks with British compatriot Derek Chisora over a trilogy bout later this year.
However the domestic dust-up fell through, leading the unbeaten Mancunian to double down on his decision to hang up his gloves on his 34th birthday last week.
And while Fury’s glistening boxing career has come to an end, he has been offered the chance to continue fighting in BKFC.
A number of high-profile stars have signed deals with the American company in recent years, with former UFC ace Paige VanZant snapped up on a long-term contract in 2020.
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Meanwhile ex-boxing world champion Paulie Malignaggi fought once in 2019 where he was outpointed by MMA ace Artem Lobov.
And Fury could be the next to make the move to BKFC after he vacated the prestigious Ring magazine heavyweight title.
Speaking to talkSPORT, BKFC chief Feldman said: “I think it [signing Tyson Fury] is definitely possible, if they take us seriously because we are the new kid on the block, they might not listen to us.
“If they listen to us, then absolutely I think we can get a deal done.
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“He absolutely is on our radar, he would take this sport to a whole different level.
“You just saw it at Wembley Stadium with almost 100,000 people in there.
“I think Tyson Fury would take this to a whole other level and we would absolutely love to make a play for him.”
Feldman added: “I just wanna get some more of these boxers. We are going to make a play for some of these really good boxers.
“I can’t mention their names right now because it’s not done but we have two of the top 10 in the world we are negotiating with right now.”
Fury could follow ex-UFC ace Paige VanZant into the Bare Knuckle Fighting ChampionshipCredit: Getty More

DEONTAY WILDER has confirmed he WILL return to the boxing ring.The American has not fought since a devastating 11th-round KO defeat to his nemesis Tyson Fury in October last year.
Deontay Wilder will return to the boxing ring on October 15Credit: Getty
Robert Helenius will be Wilder’s first opponent since he lost for a second time to Tyson FuryCredit: Getty
That was the pair’s trilogy fight, with Fury winning the second and drawing their first meeting.
Wilder has been weighing up whether the time was right to hang up the gloves – but his fans will be delighted at his big announcement.
The 36-year-old will fight in Brooklyn on October 15 against Robert Helenius.
The Bronze Bomber said: “It’s been a long journey for me and as of today it continues.
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“I thought so many times about whether I should stay out of the business or come back.
“Once I got my statue in my hometown and saw so many people arrive and celebrate with me and my family, to see all the emotions, grown men crying in front of their children and saying he is a real true king, made me feel like my job is not done.
“So, here I am once again, looking forward to returning to the ring. I am looking forward to coming to Barclays Center, a place where I have had my most devastating knockouts and a place I consider my second home.
“So where all my Bombzquad people at? It’s time to put on your war gear. And let’s go to work, baby. Bombzquad is back!”
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Helenius, meanwhile, has won his last three bouts and targeting a step up to world level.
The 38-year-old Swedish heavyweight is new to boxing in the United States with most of his career to date being in Europe.
The fight will be a final eliminator for Wilder’s old WBC title, currently held by the Gypsy King.
But he will be forced to relinquish the belt after announcing his retirement from the sport.
Wilder has previously sparred against HeleniusCredit: Instagram @heleniusrobert
Wilder was out for the count as he lost to Fury for a second time last yearCredit: Getty More