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      ‘Oleksandr Usyk looked like he’d been hit by a bus’ – Former world champ gives Anthony Joshua fresh hope in rematch

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      JOHNNY NELSON says Oleksandr Usyk “looked like he’d been hit by a bus” despite beating Anthony Joshua last September for the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles.Usyk stepped inside the squared circle with Joshua at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and won the fight convincingly on a unanimous points decision.
      Usyk will defend his belts in a rematch against Joshua later this monthCredit: PA
      Usyk was left with marks under his eyes and a cut on his eyebrowCredit: PA
      Joshua and his Ukrainian counterpart were due to do battle in May, and then July.
      But there were various hold-ups in negotiations which pushed the fight further back.
      Russia’s war with Usyk’s country of Ukraine were among the issues that had an impact.
      Usyk, 35, returned to his home country earlier this year to join the fight against Russia, which began in February.
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      But he’s now in training camp for his title defence.
      The pair will meet in a rematch on August 20 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
      And Joshua should take courage from how he left Usyk’s face in the last fight – despite the loss.
      Former cruiserweight world champion Nelson says Joshua left Usyk’s face looking like he had “been hit by a bus”, which is a much needed boost ahead of the dust up in Saudi.
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      Speaking to Sky Sports, Nelson pointed out Joshua’s power, saying: “Look at the last fight. Look at the state of Usyk when he came out.
      “Usyk looked like he’d been hit by a bus even though he won and AJ lost.
      “AJ now has to go in and do what he does. Go in and fight his fight. So, let’s see if there’s a difference.
      “Use that height, use that range. Use that ruggedness about him. If he uses that, I cannot see him losing. Yes, the hullabaloo is there about Oleksandr Usyk but he is beatable. It can be done.
      ““This is not an impossible ask. It’s very possible. AJ’s got to go in there with the right mindset, the right game plan.
      “This is a fight he can win and become a three-time heavyweight champion of the world.”
      Nelson says Usyk’s face looked like it had been ‘hit by a bus’ after fighting JoshuaCredit: Action Images – Reuters More

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      Anthony Joshua planning to fight Tyson Fury in December even if he LOSES rematch with Oleksandr Usyk this month

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      ANTHONY JOSHUA will still plan to fight Tyson Fury if he loses his high-stakes rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.A multi-million-pound Battle of Britain will be in the offing should Joshua beat the slick southpaw in their Saudi showdown a fortnight on Saturday.
      Anthony Joshua will rematch Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia later this monthCredit: GETTY
      Joshua was turned over by Usyk in their Tottenham tussle last SeptemberCredit: REUTERS
      But AJ hopes to still face fellow Brit Tyson Fury if he loses to the Ukranian againCredit: GETTY
      But the Watford warrior, 32, won’t give up his pursuit of the biggest fight in the history of British boxing if he’s dusted up in the desert.
      When asked who AJ wants next, promoter Eddie Hearn told the DAZN Boxing Show: “It’s just the Tyson Fury fight.
      “The key for AJ is activity. It’s something that stabbed him because of the size of his fights. Win or lose over Usyk he wants to fight in December.
      “A victory would take him to the undisputed fight against Tyson Fury, in my opinion.
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      “It’s the biggest fight out there in boxing, the biggest fight of all time.”
      Joshua, 32, suffered a lopsided points defeat in his Tottenham tussle with Usyk last September and has hired world champion coach Robert Garcia to help him get the better of the Ukrainian second time around.
      Hearn said: “I think [Joshua] is confident about the gameplan, he’s confident about what he’s got to do, and I think he’s in a great place.
      “He knows the mistakes he’s made in the past, and he knows that he’s got to rectify them, but he’s very confident.
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      “I think he likes the addition of Robert Garcia, and we’re all confident for the fight.”
      Joshua will become a three-time heavyweight champion with a win in the desert, although he won’t hold the belts aloft for too long.
      He told JD Sports: “I feel like I’m not getting looked at as someone who is a dominant heavyweight in the division.
      “This big Anthony Joshua goes and wins, becomes three-time, I’mma dash these belts.
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      “Because you’ve gotta learn to respect me as a person. Quote that. I’m tired, I don’t want to be respected because of the belts I hold.
      “I wanna be respected because of the man you see.”
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      Johnny Famechon dead aged 77: Tributes paid to former boxing world champion who had just been honoured by Queen

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      FORMER boxing world champion Johnny Famechon has died at the age of 77.The ex-featherweight king, who finished his 20-year professional career in 1970, passed away in Melbourne.
      Australian fighter Famechon passed away in his home countryCredit: Getty
      Famechon was hit by a car in Sydney back in 1991Credit: Getty
      He boasted a professional record of 56 wins, six draws and five losses.
      Famechon’s most famous victory came in 1969 when he beat Cuban Jose Legra at the Albert Hall in London to claim the featherweight world title.
      His passing comes just months after he was honoured in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, becoming a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to boxing at the elite level.
      Reacting on social media, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said: “I am so sorry to learn of the passing away of Australian boxing icon Johnny Famechon. May he rest in eternal peace.”
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      While others also reacted, with one person saying: “Australia has lost a sporting icon. May the legendary Johnny Famechon rest in peace.
      “The former world champion has passed away at 77.”
      And another added: “So sorry to hear about the passing of legendary Aussie boxer Johnny Famechon world featherweight champion. May he RIP 🙏.”
      Famechon was born Jean-Pierre Famechon in Paris in 1945 but moved to Australia at the age of five.
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      He is widely regarded as a legend of Australian boxing and was handed Keys To The City of Melbourne after his 1969 triumph.
      He defended his WBC world title on two occasions against Fighting Harada of Japan.
      But after losing his title to Mexican Vicente Saldivar in 1970, he decided to retire at just 24 years of age.
      More than two decades after hanging up his gloves in 1991, Famechon was hit by a car in Sydney.
      The collision caused a stroke which subsequently caused an acquired brain injury.
      In 2003, he was named as the Inductee for the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame’s modern category.
      Nine years later, Famechon became the third boxer to be elevated to legend status – showing he remains one of Australia’s greatest ever fighters. More

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      Tyson Fury to decide whether to come out of retirement after watching outcome of Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Usyk

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      TYSON FURY will decide whether to come out of retirement after Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk 2, claims his promoter.The Gypsy King hung up his gloves after beating Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium in April.
      Tyson Fury will watch AJ vs Usyk 2 with interestCredit: Getty
      Anthony Joshua will fight Oleksandr Usyk again on August 20Credit: Getty
      He quickly teased a return against Francis Ngannou, although no date has yet materialised.
      A title unification bout with the winner of Joshua and Usyk could still be on the table, should Fury want to end his retirement and fight.
      And his US promoter Bob Arum believes that the mouthwatering bout could be on the cards.
      He told Lance Pugmire: “Tyson is touring the UK, going from place to place, entertaining people — which he is very entertaining.
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      “I think really he’s on hold pending the outcome of the Usyk fight with Joshua, which takes place on the 20th. So, again, let’s see what happens.
      “We know that the Saudis have put up a lot of money for the Usyk vs Joshua fight and we’ll see who wins that fight, and I know deep down that Fury would want to fight the winner.
      “And then the question is where the fight will be and all that sort of stuff, and that will take care of itself after Aug. 20.”
      Quizzed if he thinks Fury would fancy a crack at Joshua, should AJ triumph and reclaim his belts, Arum replied: “I think whoever wins.
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      “Either guy, unify all the titles and then maybe decide that he would retire. But I think he doesn’t want to leave that unfinished.
      “But again, that’s up to him and I haven’t pressed him, neither has Frank (Warren), but we will once the Usyk vs Joshua fight has happened.”
      Fury, 33, has cooked up two other crazy ideas for comeback fights.
      SunSport revealed this week that the Gypsy King would fancy a Tottenham Hotspur Stadium bout with Game of Thrones strongman Hafthor Bjornsson.
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      As a backup plan, Fury is also believed to be interested in a trilogy fight with popular British veteran Derek Chisora.
      The 6ft 9in star already possesses two easy wins against Chisora, with a third fight not hugely appealing to fans.
      A potential Fury vs Chisora 3 hasn’t gained much interestCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd More

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      Jake Paul offered MMA fight debut by PFL as CEO Pete Murray hails ‘ambitious’ YouTuber-turned boxer

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      JAKE PAUL has been offered a route into MMA by the Professional Fighters League. Paul is 5-0 as a boxer but has teased a switch to the cage before, having had a successful high school wrestling career.
      Jake Paul has been offered a route into MMA by the Professional Fighters LeagueCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      Olympic champ Kayla Harrison, boxing legend Mike Tyson and PFL CEO Pete MurrayCredit: Professional Fighters League
      But a debut in the UFC appears off the cards due to the YouTube star’s ongoing feud with Dana White.
      Paul is spoken highly of by Pete Murray, PFL’s CEO who is refusing to close the door on working with the prizefighter one day.
      Murray said on The MMA Hour: “We have a relationship with Jake.
      “And listen, you think about what Jake has built for himself, now as an athlete versus where he came from.
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      “What he’s taken on and the opponents and the platform he’s built, it’s nothing short of impressive.
      “And he’s ambitious, from a business perspective as well as an athlete.
      “And should he want to take on MMA, that’s something that we’d certainly be excited about.”
      The PFL consists of a two-bout regular season, where points are earned per method of victory.
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      Then, the top four in each weight division progresses through to a semis and final format, with eventual victors winning a $1m prize cheque.
      But money is no object for Paul, who made $40m in boxing alone last year.
      He was due to return on Saturday in New York, one day after PFL’s first semi-final of the year.
      But his bout with Hasim Rahman Jr, 31, was cancelled amid a weight disagreement between the two.
      Jake Paul and Hasim Rahman Jr’s fight was cancelledCredit: GETTY More

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      Who is boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk’s wife Yekaterina and how many children do couple have?

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      OLEKSANDR USYK is less than three weeks away from the biggest boxing match of the year – and his wife Yekaterina will be cheering at the top of her lungs from his corner.The cat has his mind solely set on the highly anticipated heavyweight clash with British icon Anthony Joshua.
      Oleksandr Usyk’s wife Kateryna have been married since 2009Credit: Instagram @usykaa
      And Usyk will be eager to make his long-term partner proud yet again by stunning AJ for a second successive time.
      But who is the drive force behind Oleksandr Usyk’s success story?
      Who is Oleksandr Usyk’s wife Yekaterina?
      Yekaterina, commonly known as Kateryna has decided to keep her personal life completely private.
      But reports suggest that the celebrity spouse is very popular in her birth country of Ukraine.
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      It has been claimed that Yekaterina had been close to Oleksandr Usyk for several years before becoming Mrs. Uysk in 2009 and she now runs the foundation which belongs to the heavyweight champ.
      Kateryna makes rare appearances on social media, but she opened up on her husband’s physical state during the Russian war on Ukraine.
      Kateryna told PravdaTUT: “Sasha lost 10 kilograms in a week of the war. He was so horrified, in such shock, he was so torn apart.”
      Reason being that Mrs Usyk has a Russian citizenship and the Oleksandr uses Russian as his first language.
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      Do Oleksandr Usyk and his wife Yekaterina have children together?
      The long-term lovebirds have three children together – Kyrylo, Mykhalio and Yelizaveta.
      And they were unfortunately involved in the family house incident where it was overrun by Vladimir Putin’s ram sackers.
      Usyk’s children were involved in the horrific family house incident during the war
      Usyk moved his family out of Ukraine immediately after the incident
      Every material element Usyk had worked for and earned was up in smoke and the wannabe-Hollywood-actor-turned-unified-heavyweight-king had no script to lean on.
      Oleksandr said: “My children are asking: ‘Daddy, why do they want to kill us?’ I don’t know how to answer that.
      “My family are not in Ukraine now but a lot of people I know and a lot of my close friends are inside the country. 
      “I am in touch with them every day, I am asking them for updates.
      “I didn’t want to leave the country. I want to live there, still. Straight after the fight I will go back to Ukraine.”
      When is Joshua vs Usyk 2?

      Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk 2 will take place on Saturday, August 20.
      It is scheduled to begin from around 9pm UK time – 11pm local time.
      The fight is going to be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia which can hold around 62,000 spectators.
      Joshua last fought in Saudi Arabia in December 2019 when he beat Andy Ruiz Jr at the second time of asking by a unanimous decision.

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      Hasim Rahman Jr to STILL weigh in on Friday despite Jake Paul fight cancellation in bid to prove he could make 205lb

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      HASIM RAHMAN JR plans to STILL weigh in on Friday despite his fight with Jake Paul being cancelled – bidding to prove he can make 205lb. The pair were due to headline at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden on the weekend.
      Hasim Rahman Jr plans to still weigh in on Friday despite his fight with Jake Paul being cancelledCredit: Getty
      But following a weight disagreement between the two, the entire pay-per-view event was axed.
      Rahman signed to fight at the 14st 4lb cruiserweight limit of 200lb, despite being 16 stone in his last fight in April.
      So the New York State Athletic Commission wanted to track his weight cut.
      And after Rahman struggled to drop the pounds, the fight weight was changed to 205lb.
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      But Paul claimed his opponent demanded it be at no lower than 215lb, which prompted the YouTube star to scrap the whole event.
      Rahman has now insisted he was willing to fight at 205lb and will prove it by hitting the scales on Friday, their scheduled weigh-in day.
      He said: “We can fight at 205lb that is no problem to me, we can get it on.
      “I’m definitely highly interested in hurting this man and it would not be at a detriment to me to do it at 205lb.
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      “I am ready to do that I will make 205lb on Friday.”
      After the fight weight change, a fresh contract had to be signed, but Rahman claimed the bout was cancelled before he could agree terms.
      In a statement by Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions company, they say the son of former heavyweight champ Rahman Sr wanted to fight no less than 215lb.
      MVP said: “Upon receiving this new contract Saturday morning, Rahman’s camp indicated for the very first time that he planned to weigh 215lb at the official weigh-in and would not agree to weigh in at 205lb and informing Most Valuable Promotions that they are pulling out of the fight unless the fight was agreed to at 215lb.”
      Jake Paul and Hasim Rahman before their fight cancelationCredit: Getty Images – Getty More

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      British heavyweight Joe Joyce set to fight ex-world champ and Tyson Fury’s good friend Joseph Parker on September 24 PPV

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      JOE JOYCE and Joseph Parker have made another U-turn with their fight back on. The pair were in negotiations to box each other having come face-to-face at Tyson Fury’s last fight in April.
      Joe Joyce and Joseph Parker appear to have made another U-turn with their fight back onCredit: Getty
      Former WBO champion Joseph ParkerCredit: Getty
      But suddenly, Parker signed with Boxxer and Sky Sports, seemingly ending hopes of a BT bout against Joyce.
      Promoter Frank Warren blasted the former WBO champion for scuppering their deal.
      But now the fight is back on and set for September 24 on BT Box Office.
      The heavyweights were first due to fight in July but Parker’s trainer Andy Lee was expecting a child, meaning it got scrapped.
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      And in between negotiating a new date, Sky swooped in to sign the New Zealander.
      Joyce, 36, later returned in July, beating Christian Hammer, 34, in four rounds of his keep-busy bout.
      Bizarrely, Sky could not find Parker, 30, a worthwhile opponent in their own stable, with rival stars on separate networks.
      So the Kiwi has now been sent over enemy lines where he will be the underdog as the away fighter on a Joyce and Warren show.
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      Londoner Joyce is currently the WBO mandatory challenger for the title held by Oleksandr Usyk, 35.
      But the Ukrainian is already tied down to a rematch with Anthony Joshua, 32, on August 20 in Saudi Arabia, following his win last year.
      And even after the rematch, the winner is expected to then force Fury, 34, out of retirement for an undisputed decider.
      Joyce is therefore left to play the waiting game but appears unwilling to do so against no-named opponents.
      Parker won the title in 2017 but lost it to AJ a year later in his first defence.
      Joseph Parker is set to fight Joe Joyce in September More