Boxing

ANTHONY JOSHUA has revealed his prediction for Tyson Fury’s fight with Oleksandr Usyk. The unbeaten champions contest for all four world titles – a first in heavyweight history – on February 17 in Saudi Arabia.
Anthony Joshua celebrating victory over Otto WallinCredit: Reuters
Tyson Fury facing off with Oleksandr UsykCredit: Reuters
And AJ will be a keen viewer having rivalled Fury for years while twice losing to Usyk on points.
Joshua hopes to be ringside in Riyadh for the historic title unification as he revealed his fight prediction.
He told iFL TV: “I really want to be here for that fight.
“You’ve probably heard it a few times, but I think Usyk is a phenomenal fighter and he’s got a great team around him.
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“You’re only as good as your team, and he’s got a really good team.
“And having been in the ring with him and studying him, I think he’s the one to edge it probably because of my experiences of his ring craft – I think it’s top tier.”
Joshua, 34, is coming off a big win in Saudi after stopping Otto Wallin, 32, in five rounds.
But on the same night, Deontay Wilder, 38, was stunned on points by Joseph Parker, 31, to blow his £100m deal to face AJ.
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So now, his promoter Eddie Hearn wants Joshua to target the winner between Fury and Usyk but three other names are also in the mix.
Hearn said: “Right now, we have three fights that we’re in discussions for.
“They’re all big and that doesn’t involve Deontay Wilder for March. Our aim, and they’ve expressed this is to fight the winner of Fury-Usyk.
“That’s all we want to do, obviously there’s the Hrgovic fight out there for the world heavyweight title.
“There’s a Francis Ngannou fight out there which would be absolutely colossal.
“There’s other heavyweights as well, there’s a Zhang fight possible as well with Queensberry.”
Deontay Wilder was beaten by Joseph Parker to blow his bout with AJCredit: Getty More

ANTHONY JOSHUA has a three-man shortlist for his next fight – but fans only want one name. AJ was set for a March 9 blockbuster against Deontay Wilder until the American blew the £100million deal by losing to Joseph Parker.
Anthony Joshua has a three-man shortlist for his next fightCredit: AFP
So now Joshua has to turn his attention elsewhere and Eddie Hearn wants him to fight the winner between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
But the promoter also named Filip Hrgovic, Zhilei Zhang and Francis Ngannou as alternatives.
Hearn told iFL TV: “Right now, we have three fights that we’re in discussions for.
“They’re all big and that doesn’t involve Deontay Wilder for March. Our aim, and they’ve expressed this is to fight the winner of Fury-Usyk.
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“That’s all we want to do, obviously there’s the Hrgovic fight out there for the world heavyweight title.
“There’s a Francis Ngannou fight out there which would be absolutely colossal.
“There’s other heavyweights as well, there’s a Zhang fight possible as well with Queensberry.”
Fury, 35, and Usyk, 36, are believed to have signed a two-fight deal that could produce a rematch between the pair.
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And it would likely mean the winner would lose the IBF title for being unable to face mandatory challenger Hrgovic, 31.
So Joshua and Hearn are looking to capitalise by facing the Croatian for what would be a vacant title.
Meanwhile ex-UFC champion Ngannou crossed over to boxing in October to make his ring debut against Fury.
And he astonishingly dropped the WBC champ but was controversially beaten on points.
Ngannou, 37, has expressed his interest in remaining in boxing with a rematch against Fury and a Joshua fight touted.
And Zhang, 40, is riding high off consecutive stoppage wins over Joe Joyce, 38.
Following Hearn’s three-man shortlist of opponents fans called for the Hrgovic fight.
One said: “If AJ is serious about a legacy and becoming three time world champion, he stays away from the big money, novelty fight against Ngannou. Hrgovic is the only one that makes boxing sense.”
Another added: “It will be Hrgovic for a title.”
Filip Hrgovic could fight Joshua for the vacant IBF titleCredit: Getty More

TYSON FURY has arrived in Saudi Arabia six weeks before he is due to fight Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed crown. Fury faces Usyk in the heavyweight division’s first ever four-belt title unification on February 17 in Riyadh.
Tyson Fury has arrived in Saudi Arabia six weeks before he is due to fight Oleksandr Usyk
Fury faces Usyk for the undisputed title in Riyadh
Fury is back in Saudi for the second fight in a row
He was all smiles as he arrived in the Middle East
He began his camp in Morecambe but has now touched down in the Middle East to continue training – much to the delight of his fans.
One said: “He is taking this very seriously. Getting there weeks before the fight to acclimatise to Saudi fully.
“Adjusting to every tiny detail like he is at home. Smart choice.”
Another added: “If he’s there that early he is taking very seriously. Let’s go the gypsy king.”
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One hailed: “Yeah get acclimated early, ain’t no time to be f*****g around.”
Another said: “No question that he’s taking it seriously.”
Fury spent Christmas with wife Paris and his seven kids, but swerved a New Year’s celebration at home to get preparations under way.
He almost suffered a disastrous and embarrassing defeat against ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou, 37, the last time he was in Saudi in October.
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Fury, 35, was dropped by the massive underdog and deemed fortunate to walk away with a controversial win on the scorecards.
He touched down in Saudi only a week before that fight, but things look to be different for the historic unification with Usyk, 36.
His own dad John hit out at his training camp for the Ngannou fight and claimed even now it is a “CIRCUS”.
John even said his son’s training camp showed he was “in decline”, leading to fears he could be outclassed by Usyk.
But Fury’s Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren was quick to speak out in defence of the undefeated WBC champion.
Warren told Boxing Social: “Tyson’s the guy getting in the ring. His dad has obviously got his views. Everybody’s got a view.
“Obviously his dad cares about him but, at the end of the day, Tyson’s getting in the ring and it’s his decision who he has to train him.”
Fury facing off with UsykCredit: Reuters More

CARL FROCH has raised concerns over Tyson Fury and backed Oleksandr Usyk to win their undisputed super-fight. Fury comes into the bout having controversially beaten ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou in their crossover clash in October.
Tyson Fury facing off with Oleksandr UsykCredit: Reuters
Former British boxing world champion Carl FrochCredit: AP
He was even dropped by the boxing debutant and had to escape with a split-decision win.
It backdated his unification bout with Usyk from December to February 17 and former super-middleweight champion Froch fears the worst.
He told talkSPORT: “2024 is going to be a fantastic year. Hopefully with a close humdinger with Fury and Usyk.
“I’m picking Usyk for that one, just because of where Tyson Fury is mentally.
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“Hopefully Fury can have a good camp and rekindle some of his old greatness in terms of when he fought Deontay Wilder three times.
“He looked good, he looked different every time. I don’t know, that’s gone now. He struggles to get the weight off him.
“He seems under-motivated. When he fought Ngannou he looked confused. Has he got old overnight?
“Hopefully he turns up and gets the job done, because I want those titles to return to Britain, but at the minute I think Usyk wins that fight.”
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Fury, 35, has now arrived in Riyadh to continue his training to fight Usyk, 36, with just under two months to go.
It comes after his dad John called his camp a “circus” which is “in decline”.
And Fury’s promotional team also refused to rule out a future rematch with Ngannou, 37, after he “took it lightly”.
Francis Ngannou floored Tyson FuryCredit: Getty More

MANNY PACQUIAO appears to have announced he will rematch Floyd Mayweather – almost a decade on from their record-breaking bout. Mayweather ended years of speculation in 2015 when he convincingly bettered Pacquiao on points.
Manny Pacquiao makes his announcement in the ring in Japan
Floyd Mayweather beat Manny Pacquiao in 2015Credit: AFP

The bout proved the most lucrative of all time with £500MILLION made and a record 4.6m pay-per-views sold in America.
Pacquiao has campaigned for a rematch ever since the devastating loss, citing a shoulder injury for the reason behind defeat.
And now he could finally get his wish after he looked to let slip that a rematch will take place in Japan next year.
He said in Saitama: “I hope to see you here in Japan again with a big fight against…”
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Pacquiao paused before the president of Japanese MMA promotion RIZIN Nobuyuki Sakakibara said: “Floyd Mayweather.”
PacMan then added: “Floyd Mayweather, yeah. I thought that you didn’t want me to say that. But I am excited about that.”
Mayweather boxed twice more after his win over Pacquiao.
He beat Andre Berto and briefly retired for two years before he returned to face UFC superstar Conor McGregor.
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Mayweather, now 46, beat McGregor, 35, in ten rounds and has not boxed professionally since.
But he has fought in exhibition bouts against names from the MMA, martial arts, YouTube and crossover boxing scene.
His last was in June against notorious mob boss John Gotti’s grandson.
But John Gotti III – a professional MMA fighter and boxer – was disqualified in round six with a rematch now set for February.
Pacquiao, 45, meanwhile retired in 2021 following defeat to Yordenis Ugas, 37, on points.
Although after a failed presidential campaign in the Philippines, the eight-division champion began to tease a boxing return.
He did have an exhibition against Korean martial arts influencer DK Yoo last December.
Pacquaio is also set to return in a similar bout against Muay Thai icon Buakaw Banchamek on April 20.
He was due to fight on a RIZIN card last year but talks broke down.
Mayweather has twice featured for the MMA promotion before, beating Tenshin Nasukawa and Mikuru Asakura.
RIZIN have stated their intentions in the past to host a rematch between Mayweather and Pacquiao.
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The Sun have contacted all three parties regarding Pacquiao and Sakakibara’s announcement.
Mayweather and Pacquiao in Japan in 2022Credit: Rex More