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      Conor McGregor was AHEAD after four rounds into Floyd Mayweather fight, says Atlas as he breaks down UFC star’s display

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      CONOR McGREGOR was leading against Floyd Mayweather after four rounds, boxing trainer Teddy Atlas said. MMA superstar McGregor crossed codes in August 2017 as he made a professional ring debut, beaten in ten rounds by former pound-for-pound king Mayweather.
      Floyd Mayweather beat Conor McGregor in 2017Credit: Getty – Contributor
      But the Irishman, who was the UFC lightweight champion at the time, got off to a quick start.
      So much so that Atlas – working as a pundit for the fight – had him up at the half-way point – until Mayweather caught up to him.
      He said in an interview with The Schmo last year: “To the credit of McGregor, he was ahead.
      “I know you guys are going to probably choke on your pecan pie that you’re having right now but he was ahead after four rounds.
      “I was there for ESPN calling the fights, and I was there with the great Chael Sonnen sitting ringside and after four rounds he was ahead
      “He being McGregor – and there’s a reason for it: because he was using his reach.
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      “He’s a southpaw, he’s got long arms, he’s a counter puncher and he was staying outside with the counter punching, using his reach, using his jab.
      “Four rounds, he was ahead. But then, of course, Mayweather did what he had to do in his realm to break him down, and he did, and he got to him.
      “But the point I’m making is, styles make fights.”
      Despite Atlas’ claim, only one of the three judges agreed with him, as the other two had Mayweather, 45, leading three rounds to one after four.
      McGregor, 34, was given special permission by the UFC to go out of his contract and fight the boxing legend.
      Four rounds, he was ahead. But then, of course, Mayweather did what he had to do in his realm to break him down, and he did, and he got to him.Teddy Atlas on Conor McGregor’s fight with Floyd Mayweather
      Several other UFC stars have since flirted with the idea of lacing up the gloves, most recently welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, 35.
      Usman has called out boxing’s pound-for-pound best Canelo Alvarez, 32, in the past, but Atlas has warned him against the switch of codes.
      He said: “He’s got physicality, he’s very strong, he’s a decent puncher and he’s not a bad striker – although I think a lot of his strengths are on the mat with his knowledge there and his physicality.
      “You throw him in there with a B-level guy or even a good journeyman guy, no.
      “I don’t want to upset anyone with the fans out there, but as long as the rules are strictly boxing, no he wouldn’t be able to have tremendous success there.”
      Boxing trainer and pundit Teddy AtlasCredit: Getty
      UFC welterweight champion Kamaru UsmanCredit: Getty More

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      Mike Tyson was challenged to a DEATHMATCH by UFC star Royce Gracie but refused as ‘there was no way I’d win’

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      UFC icon Royce Gracie challenged Mike Tyson to a ‘no-holds-barred’ fight ‘to the finish’, a memoir revealed.The boxing legend tore apart the heavyweight division in the late 1980s before a rape conviction, along with excessive partying and further personal life problems, rocked his career.
      Brazilian MMA star Royce Gracie (right) was a pioneer of UFCCredit: Getty
      Mike Tyson was challenged to a huge match-up by the UFC legendCredit: instagram.com/miketyson
      While Iron Mike was preparing his comeback to the ring, the MMA promotion UFC was founded and Brazilian fighter Gracie, now 55, won three fights on its first night in late 1993.
      And his desire to be seen as the top fighter on Earth led to a stunning challenge for the Baddest Man on the Planet.
      In a memoir by sports writer Fiaz Rafiq last year,’ To The Top: Enter the Octagon, the Ring and Entertainment’, it was revealed: “[Tyson] was challenged by the Gracie Brothers, in particular Royce, back in the early 1990s.
      “The UFC champion’s perception was that Tyson was the best boxer in the world, but he refused to accept that Tyson was the best ‘fighter’.
      “The Gracies had a point. They had been beating all-comers from various styles long before the Octagon was first engineered.
      “And Royce wasn’t going to rest until he did everything within his means to provoke the heavyweight champion into accepting a real fight in a no-holds-barred setting.
      “To settle the matter once and for all, Royce formally challenged the most feared boxer of our time to a fight to the finish, and so did his elder brother Rickson.”
      Gracie felt that Tyson, 56, was beatable despite his huge frame and ferocity – yet the proposition was declined with Iron Mike feeling there was ‘no way he’d win’.
      To The Top: Enter the Octagon, the Ring and Entertainment is out May 3
      Rafiq wrote: “For Royce, any fight was a matter of who could implement their own strategy, and much of the Gracie style was developed to avoid even the chance of their opponent landing a lucky punch.
      “What Royce lacked in brute force, he clearly made up for in technical skill, as his opponents – including a professional boxer – quickly discovered.
      “‘There’s only one way to find out,’ he told me, as a smirk crept across his face followed by loud laughter. Sadly for posterity, Tyson declined.”
      In fact, Gracie came back a few years later with a fresh proposal, which was dismissed by a boxing world that is now clamouring for YouTube brawlers such as Jake Paul and crossover events like Conor McGregor’s match with Floyd Mayweather.
      Rafiq continued: “In Iron Mike’s case, one rejection wasn’t enough for Royce.
      “In 1997 the Gracie’s challenge made the headlines again, after the publication of a one-page advert in Men’s Health in America, in which the UFC champion once again challenged the former heavyweight boxer ‘officially’. Anywhere, anytime, no rules!
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      “Years later I asked Royce about the famous challenge, and discovered that the heavyweight had been, at least in theory, willing to put up.
      “‘I heard that my brother tried to bring him in [to the UFC],’ Royce explained. ‘He had accepted but people around him – the lawyers, managers, and the Commission – said no way, because boxing had too much to lose.
      “But he had accepted and he wanted to do it. I talked to him before and he’s like, ‘I’d love to try this stuff out, man’.
      “But people around him did not allow him to do it. If he lost a fight, if it happened, well, boxing was already in the decline in America so it wouldn’t be good for boxing’.”
      To The Top: Enter the Octagon, the Ring and Entertainment by Fiaz Rafiq is published by Pitch Publishing, released May 3 and priced at £20 in hardback or £9.99. Ebook available in bookstores and following this Amazon link.
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      Anthony Joshua has had ‘the bad guy’ pulled out of him by new coach Robert Garcia ahead of crunch Oleksandr Usyk rematch

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      ROBERT GARCIA has brought the “bad guy” out of Anthony Joshua ahead of the Brit’s crunch clash with Oleksandr Usyk.The Watford warrior will bid to reclaim the unified heavyweight titles from the slick southpaw in a potentially career-defining Saudi showdown a fortnight on Saturday.
      Anthony Joshua will rematch Oleksandr Usyk in a crunch rematch later this monthCredit: GETTY
      AJ recently appointed Robert Garcia as his head coach for the crunch rematchCredit: SNAPCHAT
      Frazer Clarke reckons Garcia has ‘pulled the bad guy’ out of the former champCredit: TWITTER
      Joshua, 32, brought in multiple-time world-champion coach Garcia to help him get the better of the undefeated Ukrainian second time around.
      And training partner Frazer Clarke believes the renowned coach has brought out a previously-unseen vicious streak in the former champ.
      He told Sky Sports: “I feel like [Joshua is] a nice guy. I think someone had to pull the bad guy out of him. I think Robert Garcia was good to do that.
      “He pulled out the not give a s**t about anyone apart from winning this fight. He’s brought it out of him.”
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      Usyk, 35, is the bookies’ favourite to win the desert dust-up, but Frazer insists it’d be wrong to write off AJ’s chances of getting revenge.
      He added: “This could be Britain’s greatest night of heavyweight boxing.
      “I feel like everyone’s putting him as a massive underdog and he might just get outboxed for 12 rounds. But you’d be daft to bet against him.”
      Clarke has helped AJ get ready for the biggest fight of his career and seen improvements in the former two-time heavyweight king.
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      The Tokyo 2020 Olympian said of his fellow Brit: “He’s under no illusions.
      “He’s going to have to be the best he’s ever been to beat Usyk. I think he’s going to have to be better than he’s ever been.
      “Better than the Wladimir Klitschko night. I feel like he has to be Klitschko-esque.
      “That night there were ups and downs and he had to come back. He might just have to do that.
      “He’s got every chance. From what I’ve seen him put in on a daily and a weekly basis, he’s given himself every chance and that’s all you can ask from a fighter in a camp.
      “If you give everything you’ve got to give, with the experience and the skill he’s already got, he’s given himself every chance.
      “There’s a lot of people out there talking about Usyk being so good and this and that. He is very good.
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      “There’s no doubt. He’s a great fighter. But he’s a human.
      “If AJ hits him on the chin more than once, he’s only human, he goes down, he probably doesn’t get back up.” More

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      Deontay Wilder’s return fight to be announced NEXT WEEK with Robert Helenius one of ‘several’ names in talks

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      DEONTAY WILDER’S boxing return could be announced NEXT WEEK with Robert Helenius one of “several” names in talks. Wilder’s career was left in doubt last October following a gruelling defeat in his epic trilogy bout with Tyson Fury.
      Deontay Wilder’s boxing return could be announced next week
      But recently, the American has been captured training again and was seen bumping into Francis Ngannou, 35, at a UFC training facility.
      His manager Shelly Finkel has now revealed an agreement for Wilder’s comeback fight is edging closer and could even come next week.
      Finkel told SunSport in New York: “Spoke with him on Tuesday, he couldn’t be happier.
      “He’s having a great time and he’s getting more attention now than ever before. He’s out in Vegas training and he’s very happy.
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      “He’s at the UFC gym training, we’re not exactly sure where the next fight will be yet but I would hope to have that together in the next week or so.
      “I think next week we’ll probably have an agreement and then an announcement.”
      Wilder, 36, was knocked out in round 11 against Fury, 33, after being floored three times but scoring two knockdowns of his own.
      The ex-WBC champion then went radio silent, leaving his boxing future in doubt.
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      But talk of a return soon surfaced as Wilder was seen publicly again and now back in training.
      Fury’s promoter Frank Warren even claimed the Bronze Bomber was going to fight his former sparring partner Helenius.
      But Finkel has clarified a deal with the Finish heavyweight, 38, has not been struck, although they remain in talks.
      He said: “There’s nothing done.
      “What happened on that, Frank and I are pretty close, and Frank said to me, ‘Are you looking at Helenius as one of the people as one of the ones you’re looking at? As I’m interested in him for Daniel Dubois’.
      “I said, ‘Yeah, I’m interested in him for Deontay.’ Then, all of a sudden he tells people that. And that’s how that all started.
      “At this moment, he’s just one of several we’re looking at.”
      Finkel added that Wilder’s targeted return date is in the last quarter of 2022, meaning he will fight before the year is over.
      Deontay Wilder and Robert Helenius are former sparring partnersCredit: Instagram @heleniusrobert
      Boxing manager Shelly Finkel and Deontay Wilder in 2018Credit: AFP or licensors More

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      Bernard Hopkins predicts Canelo Alvarez will brutally beat down Gennadiy Golovkin & end trilogy fight with ‘liver shot’

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      CANELO ALVAREZ has been tipped to close the book on his rivalry with Gennady Golovkin with a brutal liver punch.The pair will renew their epic rivalry in Las Vegas next month FOUR YEARS after their controversial rematch in Sin City – which Canelo won via unanimous decision.
      Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin will renew their rivalry next monthCredit: GETTY
      The pair took part in two epic fights in September 2017 and 2018Credit: GETTY
      And Canelo has been tipped to take out GGG with a brutal body shotCredit: GETTY
      Father Time has appeared to catch up with two-time unified middleweight king Golovkin, who has slowed down in his last two fights.
      And former undisputed 160lb king Bernard Hopkins reckons the hard-hitting and hungry Canelo will take out his recent frustrations on GGG’s liver.
      He told Little Giant Boxing: “First of all, GGG is taking this fight, and he’s always one punch away from re-booting his career.
      “He’s a puncher. That’s how he got there, and that’s how he got exposed by Canelo.
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      “It’s going to be interesting to see two guys that are a few years older and not as young as they were.
      “I think there’s going to be more blows coming from both sides. I’m picking Canelo by stoppage by the sixth or seventh round.”
      While many in the boxing community are waiting with bated breath for the trilogy fight, Hopkins doesn’t believe the third instalment will be as exciting as the previous two.
      He said: “I don’t see this being a fight that will be as exciting as the first two.
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      “I’m predicting Canelo will find his groove and then get a stoppage in the sixth or seventh round.
      “It could be either one [body or head stoppage], but it looks like it will be a beat down [for Canelo over GGG].
      “I think it’ll be a liver shot, and that’s going to happen in the first four rounds.
      “Canelo is a good body shot guy that wears you down, and then the head [of Golovkin] will be exposed to do what he wants to do. But that’s where it’ll start from.
      “It’ll start from the bottom in bringing the head down. It will be a stoppage, but it’ll start from the body.”
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      Golovkin, 40, is champing at the bit to finally have his hand raised against boxing’s former pound-for-pound king.
      He said: “It would be the biggest win in my career. It would be the best thing that happened. That would be very fulfilling.”
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      Mike Tyson made secret trip to kids cancer hospital in Arizona but banned cameras as boxing icon’s kind side is revealed

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      MIKE TYSON once made a secret visit to a children’s cancer hospital – and banned any cameras from following him. The youngest heavyweight champion of all time was famed for his ferocious fighting style and intimidating presence.
      Shelly Finkel pictured with Mike Tyson in 1999Credit: AP:Associated Press
      But those closest to him saw Tyson’s kinder and caring personality, including his former boxing manager Shelly Finkel.
      SunSport spoke to Brooklyn’s Finkel while in New York, and the Hall of Famer revealed Iron Mike’s softer side.
      He said: “We were in Arizona, and while he was training he said, look I’ll do a drop in at a children’s cancer hospital. 
      “We go there and a lot of cameras were following us and he said, ‘Shell, stop them’. I said, ‘What do you mean?’ 
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      “He said, ‘Shelly, I don’t want them in the hospital. I’m not exploiting these kids for my visit’. 
      “That was another side of Mike that people don’t understand. And, he can be hysterical, just funny as anything.”
      Finkel’s history with Tyson dates back to when he was a teenage amateur sensation.
      And they first worked together in 1988 when Finkel brokered a closed-circuit pay-per-view deal for Tyson’s win over Michael Spinks.
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      But following the heavyweight’s infamous 1997 disqualification for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear, Finkel became his full-time manager.
      He said: “It was one of of the greatest trips of my life. The adventures with Mike Tyson were phenomenal.” 
      The manager took Tyson all over the world in an attempt to revive his career, with stops in England, Scotland and even Denmark.
      And Tyson’s immense popularity emphatically carried over around Europe.
      That included outshining music superstars, closing down shopping malls and using a police HORSE to beat the crowds.
      Finkel remembered: “When we went to London, we went over on the Concorde and George Michael was on our plane, we get off together, no one cared about him. 
      “Mike had never been in Europe to fight before and the crowds mobbed him everywhere. 
      “They tried to take the door off the limo, we stayed at the Grove House, everyday press would be out there waiting for us to go out, waiting for us to go somewhere.
      It was one of of the greatest trips of my life. The adventures with Mike Tyson were phenomenal.Shelly Finkel on managing Mike Tyson
      “While we were in Brixton, the crowds were so huge they had to pick him up and put him on a horse to get him out of the crowd. 
      “When we fought in Denmark, the crowds were so crazy they closed the shopping mall so it didn’t get overrun. That was life with Mike.
      “It was just phenomenal with him, always something, always enjoyable.”
      Finkel worked with Tyson right up until his final professional bout, a dire defeat to Irish-based American Kevin McBride.
      He recalled: “The last fight, I was in the locker room with him, we went in the backroom and he said, ‘Shelly, I don’t have it’. 
      “I said, ‘You can’t beat this guy?’ He says, ‘I don’t know. I just don’t have it anymore, I have no desire.’ That was his last fight.” 
      Finkel was in touch with Tyson as recently as two years ago, when the boxing icon made a shock comeback.
      Tyson, now 56, drew over eight exhibition rounds with Roy Jones, 53, and talk of a trilogy with Holyfield emerged.
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      But following Holyfield’s painful beating against former UFC champion Vitor Belfort, 45, the plug was rightfully pulled.
      Finkel remains managing, most notably with ex-WBC champ Deontay Wilder, 36, who is set for a return fight this year.
      Whereas Tyson continues to train amid rumours he could fight YouTuber-turned prizefighter Jake Paul, 25, who is 30 years younger.
      Mike Tyson after his comeback fight against Roy Jones Jr in 2020Credit: Reuters
      Boxing manager Shelly Finkel with Deontay Wilder in 2018Credit: AFP or licensors More

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      KSI shows off his incredible eight-month body transformation after cutting HUGE amount of weight for Alex Wassabi fight

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      KSI has undergone a dramatic body transformation ahead of his long-awaited return to the ring.The YouTuber and music star will be back in action on August 27 in a grudge match against fellow social media sensation Alex Wassabi.
      KSI put on the beef in the two years after his clash with Logan Paul
      The YouTuber showed off his weight gain on his social media channels
      But the social media star has undergone a dramatic body transformation
      KSI is looking mean and lean ahead of his clash with Alex Wassabi
      KSI’s clash with the American is his first outing since his controversial split-decision victory over Logan Paul in November 2019.
      KSI let his diet slip after winning the Los Angeles showdown and piled on the pounds – although he’s shifted the blubber in a drastic body transformation.
      The 27-year-old shared a video documenting his eight-month journey back to fighting fitness on his social media channels on Friday morning.
      At the star of the clip, a podgy-looking KSI – real name Olajide Olatunji – stood in front of the camera and turned around to show off his whole body.
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      But seconds later, the video cut to a lean and mean-looking KSI showing off his shredded abs.
      His accompanying caption for the video read: “TikTok age restricted my video because it thought my chest were actual t**s.
      “I’ll just post it here.”
      KSI’s legion of followers were quick to comment, with one saying: “Damn.”
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      Another said: “This is insane.”
      And another said: “This is so mad.”
      One chimed in: “This body transformation is f***ing mad, fair play.”
      KSI is relishing his showdown with Wassabi – who got the better of his brother Deji in March.
      He said: “I can’t wait to repeatedly punch the man I’ve had beef with for years.
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      “The man I’ve laughed at for years, the man that beat my brother, the man that has signed his death wish as soon as we enter the ring.
      “I’m a different animal and you will realise that fact on August 27th.”
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      Deontay Wilder reveals he and Tyson Fury will NEVER be friends after heated epic trilogy of brutal fights

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      DEONTAY WILDER refuses to ever have a friendship with Tyson Fury.The pair have shared a magnificent trilogy – the sort that usually forms a bizarre and beautiful boxing friendship.
      Deontay Wilder has stated he and Tyson Fury will never be friends despite their epic trilogy of fightsCredit: Splash
      American heavyweight Wilder was stopped in his last two meetings with the Gypsy KingCredit: Getty
      But the 36-year-old Alabama power-puncher – who accused Fury of all manner of cheating to secure a draw and two iconic wins over him – says there is no chance of a bromance. 
      Speaking on the latest episode of the Kasich & Klepper Podcast, he said: “No, I don’t have a friendship with him. At all. 
      “Sometimes, as you’re growing up in the boxing world, you don’t really have too many friends that you compete against. 
      “A lot of guys don’t, a lot of guys think that the closer you get to a fighter, the less you’ll perform when you have to fight him, because you have got to understand there’s still competition.”
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      Despite all the trademark trash talk, Fury always fancied staying on good terms with the Bronze Bomber.
      Even after battering him in their third and final barnstormer, he marched across the ring and tried to celebrate their bravery together – only to be snubbed.
      The 33-year-old Gypsy King claims to be retired after the three legendary bouts.
      But Wilder – who has just started training again – has explained the pain of walking away too soon.
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      He said: “With fighters, you know when you know. Because our mentality always feels like we have another round in us.
      “When you love doing something you never want to stop, especially when you’re at a top level and you’re making millions of dollars.
      “But only a smart man knows when they’re able to stop, only a man that has invested his money, has done the right things in his career, can really know and say, ‘I can give it up and don’t have to come back no more’.
      “Most of the time guys 97 -98 per cent of fighters don’t have anything to show for their careers after they’ve retired. They only have things to show for while they’re in it.”
      SunSport expects Wilder to face the winner of stablemates Andy Ruiz Jr vs Luis Ortiz who collide on September 4.
      And then the 6ft 7in KO artist will then to try to muscle back in on the world title scene.
      And he explains how the hurt business works, with great experience.
      He said: “If you have the right mindset, if you have done the right things and had a plan, it’s easy to retire.
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      “This is a young man’s sport so you have to plan ahead. I’m a guy that plans ahead.
      “I tell my children that they’re blessed because not only do I think about their current situation and plan for them now, I plan for their future as well.” More