Boxing

CARL FROCH is at the centre in a war of words with John Fury after his criticism of son Tyson. Froch has been an outspoken figure in the boxing world since his 2014 retirement and recently questioned Fury’s CV in the ring.
Carl Froch is at the centre in a war of words with John FuryCredit: AFP
Tyson Fury with his dad JohnCredit: AP
That outraged the Gypsy King’s father John, who branded the former world champion a “jealous has-been”.
But Froch – nicknamed The Cobra throughout his super-middleweight career – was quick to bite back.
He said on his YouTube channel: “He called me a has-been.
“What’s all this “has-been” business? That’s from somebody that’s a never-been. Have you ever been, to call me a has-been?
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“And does that mean every previous world champion, Hall of Famer, Ali, Frazier, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, them kind of people, are you saying they’re all has-beens?
“It makes no sense, it’s ridiculous. It comes from a jealous place and you’ve mentioned jealousy in the rant on The Cobra, I’ve never been jealous.”
“I’m happy for boxers to get paid to do what I consider to be the hardest sport in the world, so let’s just get that one cleared and out in the open.
“So, John Fury, there’s no jealousy, I’ve never been a has-been, once a champion, always a champion.”
Most read in BoxingFroch and Fury compared

Froch
Wins: 33
Losses: 2
Draws: 0
KOs: 24
World titles: 4
Fury
Wins: 34
Losses: 0
Draws: 1
KOs: 24
World titles: 4

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Froch questioned Fury’s famous wins over Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder, which led John to accuse the retired 46-year-old of discrediting his son.
So Froch responded: “I don’t need to discredit Tyson to make my CV or my career look better.
“Tyson’s got four wins over world champions, I’ve got 11 wins over world champions….
“You said I should be kissing his a***. ‘Kiss his f***ing a***.’ He said. Why am I going to kiss his a*** for.
“And here lies the problem – is it because I’m not kissing his a*** you’re getting upset?
“Anybody that has any kind of constructive criticism against your son, Tyson Fury, gets shut down and switched off and potentially banned.”
Finally, Froch added: “You’re supposed to be thick-skinned, this big hard man, “a fighting man”, but you can’t take criticism.
“For someone that’s so tough and hard you’re so thin-skinned. You need to toughen up.” More

ANTHONY JOSHUA’s crossover clash with Francis Ngnnou will get CALLED OFF in the next few weeks, John Fury has sensationally claimed.The former two-time unified heavyweight champion will throw down with the MMA man mountain in a lucrative Saudi showdown next month.
Anthony Joshua is set to throw down with former UFC champ Francis Ngannou next monthCredit: REX
The pair will fight in a lucrative Saudi showdown on March 8Credit: GETTY
But Tyson Fury’s dad John doesn’t foresee the fight coming to fruition
Combat sports fans are expecting chaos following Ngannou’s shock display against Tyson Fury last October, in which he dropped The Gypsy King.
But Fury’s dad John doesn’t foresee the fight coming to fruition, telling GB News when asked about his son throwing down with AJ: “Well I think he’s gotta’ get past Francis Ngannou.
“If that fight takes place because I’m not sure it will.”
John believes Joshua is playing with fire facing Ngannou when a historic Battle of Britain with Tyson is once again within touching distance.
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He said: “It’s a mad move. I know he’s getting well paid for it but there’s a bigger payday down the road with him and Tyson.
“When Tyson beats Usyk in a minute, that will have been the biggest fight of the century.”
Should the fight go ahead, John believes former UFC heavyweight champ Ngannou will give Joshua a real run for his money,
He said of the Cameroonian: “Ngannou is capable of knocking any heavyweight out in the world today, he’s shown against Tyson that he’s a danger for anybody.
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“He surprised me about how well he could fight. He’s a tough guy, he’s a monster, he’s only got to connect and he’ll be right in AJ’s face.
“And he brings a whole new level of boxing to AJ’s game, Ngannou.”
Joshua, 34, knows full well what’s at stake in his Riyadh rumble with Ngannou and is refusing to underestimate him.
He said: “If Tyson underestimated Ngannou, I sure won’t. Francis has lost the element of surprise with me.
“We knew Francis had a reputation as the biggest puncher in the world but the surprise was how well he boxed.
“He was exceptional on the inside and made life very complicated for Tyson.
“So much so that I do belong to the opinion that he beat Fury.”
Anthony Joshua is refusing to underestimate Francis Ngannou after seeing him drop Tyson FuryCredit: GETTY More

OLEKSANDR USYK won’t let his bid for heavyweight greatness be derailed by Tyson Fury’s shenanigans.The undefeated Ukrainian will bid to become only the second-ever male fighter to claim undisputed status in two weight classes when he locks horns with Fury a fortnight on Saturday.
Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury will fight for all the heavyweight marbles later this monthCredit: GETTY
Usyk has endured pre-fight digs and taunts galore from The Gypsy King ahead of their historic showdownCredit: EPA
Usyk insists he won’t let Fury’s theatrics get the better of himCredit: AP
Usyk has had to endure verbal jab after verbal jab from the charismatic and sometimes erratic Fury in the build-up to their long-overdue Saudi showdown.
But unlike Fury’s opponents of yesteryear, the former cruiserweight king has – on the outside at least – not been rattled by the Brit’s antics – a calmness he believes is imperative to getting the better of him.
He told Ring Magazine: “I really don’t think about Tyson Fury. I don’t look at the way he acts and what he does.
“Most of his opponents fell for it. I don’t. For me, I focus on how I am, and how I prepare for when I go into the ring.”
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Usyk and his team have studied Fury extensively for the best part of two years and believe they have the perfect game plan to hand The Gypsy King his first loss.
He said: “Me and my trainer have watched his fights. We are preparing for everything.
“We have to watch what he is doing. I don’t care about what Fury thinks about me.
“He can underestimate. He can overestimate me. I don’t care. I have my plans for him. I have advantages over him that he does not know about.”
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Usyk, 37, fully expects Fury to try to utilise his significant weight advantage in the clinch in a bid to tire him out.
But he insists: “We are going to be the ones leaning on Tyson Fury [not the other way around].
“To win this fight, I don’t need to be heavy, I need to be fast and quick. You never see a fat wolf in the forest.”
Team Usyk are happy with how preparations for the historic showdown have gone, with manager Egis Klimas confident the slick southpaw will bounce Fury from the ranks of the unbeaten in devastating fashion.
He said: “Usyk is always prepared mentally, he takes every fight very seriously.
“We went through a lot to get this fight made. Usyk will beat Fury. I am sure it will not be easy.
“I would not even be surprised if he stops Fury.
“The reason I say that is Usyk will wear down Fury and stop him. Fury has made a lot of money. He is not hungry anymore.
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“Like Oscar De La Hoya used to say.
“If you have $80 million in your bank account and you are sleeping in silk sheets, it is not easy to get up at 5 in the morning to run.”
Oleksandr Usyk is brimming with confidence ahead of the biggest fight of his lifeCredit: AFP More

EDDIE HEARN has addressed rumours of Tyson Fury getting dropped in sparring for his historic clash with Oleksandr Usyk.The Gypsy King is just over two weeks away from fighting the former undisputed cruiserweight king for all the heavyweight marbles in Saudi Arabia.
Tyson Fury faces Oleksandr Usyk for all the heavyweight marbles later this monthCredit: EPA
Fury was last month rumoured to have been dropped in sparring by Jai OpetaiaCredit: GETTY
Opetaia’s promoter Eddie Hearn has dismissed the rumours as complete “rubbish”Credit: DAZN
Fury, 35, enlisted the services of Alexis Barriere, Kevin Lerena, Moses Itauma and former IBF cruiserweight king Jai Opetaia to prepare him for his crack at undisputed glory.
Opetaia, however, left the camp to prepare for his rematch with Mairis Briedis, a departure which coincided with claims he put Fury on his backside during one of their spars.
But Hearn has dismissed the rumours – which Opetaia’s team denied – as complete “rubbish”.
During an appearance on talkSPORT, the Aussie’s promoter said: “Jai Opetaia is with Matchroom, he’s a tremendous fighter. As far as I can see, it’s absolute rubbish.
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“Jai Opetaia flew in, he did five rounds with Tyson Fury. I mean, he will set about him as he always does, but as I understand it nobody got hurt or dropped in the spar.
“Then after that Jai went back because it’s all southpaws in [Fury’s] training camp [to prepare for Usyk], and he’s fighting Mairis Briedis who’s an orthodox fighter.
“So I think it’s absolute rubbish, sparring stories are sparring stories.”
In stark contrast to the rumours of Fury’s camp being in disarray, Hearn claims to have heard that the WBC heavyweight champion’s preparations are going swimmingly.
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He continued: “As I understand it, Fury’s having a great camp and I think he’s taking it very seriously.
“I expect a much better Tyson Fury in this fight against Usyk. Usyk looks razor-focused and sharp. It’s a 50/50 fight.
“I think the Opetaia rumours are just rumours, complete rubbish.”
Hearn, like many in the boxing world, was less than impressed by Fury’s display in his crossover clash with former UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou last October.
But he expects the burly Brit to be too much for slick southpaw Usyk to overcome in their Riyad rumble.
He told Mo Boxing Problems: “I think Tyson Fury wins the fight. I think it’s a very tricky fight.
“I don’t think it’ll be the greatest fight you’ve ever watched, but I think it will be fascinating.
“But I think he will just be too good, he’ll mess around with Usyk and he’ll find a way.” More

MIKE TYSON warned John Fury that his friend Joe Egan is “coming for him” and bizarrely dragged Russell Crowe into the row. Tyson and Egan were famous sparring partners during his ferocious prime and even called the Irishman “the toughest white man on the planet.”
Mike Tyson warned John Fury that his friend Joe Egan is ‘coming for him’Credit: X @BigJoeEgan
John Fury was called out by Joe EganCredit: Alamy
Egan was a national amateur champion but had only four professional bouts, going 3-1.
He recently announced plans to come out of retirement and publicly challenged Tyson Fury’s dad John – but to no avail.
So Egan has now turned to his old friend Iron Mike to help get the message out there.
Tyson said in a video: “John Fury, you’ve got my friend Joe Egan really mad at you, saying you wanted to fight me.
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“And he also told me that you told Russell Crowe that he was a fraud. So, Joe Egan is looking for John Fury, okay?
“And if I’m able to see that fight – I hope it’s not in England because I’m a felon, I can’t go to England.
“But he’s coming for you John Fury, for my honour.”
Tyson had two fights in the UK, knocking out Julius Francis in Manchester and Lou Savarese in Glasgow.
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But in 2013 he was banned from travelling over due to his 1992 rape conviction – which he served three years in prison for – because of immigration rules that were toughened up in 2012.
Tyson, 57,has been called out several times by Fury’s 59-year-old father John.
But John refused to entertain the callout from Egan, telling The Mirror: “Not interested in talking about those people. Can we move on please?”
It comes after Egan said: “Hello everyone. I have one last hurrah in me. I haven’t fought in over 20 years.
“John Fury is my friend and he is a good fighting man, same as myself, a good fighting man and I think the two of us would have a great boxing match.
“Out in Saudi let’s show them YouTubers and them Saudi royals how two old warriors can perform.”
Mike Tyson with Joe Egan (right) in 2007Credit: PA:Press Association More