Boxing

ANTHONY JOSHUA is reportedly working with the former trainer of rival Tyson Fury.AJ is eyeing a fight with Deontay Wilder, which could take place at the beginning of next year.
Anthony Joshua is set to team up with Ben DavisonCredit: AP
Davison was Tyson Fury’s trainer when he returned to the sport in 2018Credit: Getty Images – Getty
The pair are understood to have agreed terms on a fight with only the date and location to be decided.
In the meantime Joshua is preparing for his next opponent by learning from a new trainer – Ben Davison, according to Michael Benson.
He previously worked with Fury during the Gyspy King’s comeback to the sport in 2018.
Davison helped Fury prepare for his first bout with Wilder which ended in a draw, though many felt the Brit deserved the win.
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Now Joshua is learning from the experienced coach and fans cannot wait to see how Fury’s dad John reacts to the news.
One fan wrote: “I wonder how long it will take for John Fury to call Ben a traitor, even though he’s slated him in the past for doing a poor job with Tyson?”
Another added: “John Fury video going nuts and tearing Ben down incoming in 5..4..3..2..1.”
A third said: “Great coach, could be good if he’s ever to face Fury, although Fury turned into a different animal after Ben.”
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And another commented: “Joshua needs to get to a stage where he’s letting his hands go more, that’s the AJ I personally want to see. If Ben gets that out of him then great stuff 👍”
Joshua, 33, has won two out of two since losing to Oleksandr Usyk but did not convince in either bout.
He teamed up with trainer Derrick James at the beginning of the year company with Robert Garcia – who replaced his former long-time trainer Rob McCracken. More

JORDAN THOMSPON’s face was temporarily unrecognisable as he ate a punishing blow in his cruiserweight clash with Jai Opetaia.The former tennis prospect challenged the unbeaten Aussie for the IBF 200lbs title at Wembley Arena on Saturday night.
Jai Opetaia bludgeoned Jordan Thompson’s face – which nearly contorted around his glove – in the third and fourth roundsCredit: MATCHROOM BOXING
Thompson challenged Opetaia for the IBF cruiserweight title on SaturdayCredit: REUTERS
The fight proved to be a complete mismatchCredit: PA
But the Brit’s 16th professional outing proved to be a complete mismatch from the outset, with Opetaia hurting and drawing blood from him in the first round.
Opetaia, 28, couldn’t miss with his power shots, which repeatedly bludgeoned the nose of the dogged and determined Thompson.
One of the punishing blows nearly contorted Thompson’s bloodied face and sent spurts of his life force flying through the air.
A brave but outgunned Thompson was dropped in the third round and was badly rocked before the end of the stanza.
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The fight should’ve been stopped between rounds but Thompson’s corner dusted him off and sent him back out there.
Opetaia didn’t waste the opportunity to pick up his 18th career stoppage, swarming early and landing a straight left and a vicious right hook which sent Thompson to the canvas.
“I stand here in this ring and I’m born for this s**t,” a fired-up Opetaia roared after his first title defence.
He added: “I felt like this entire fight week was about Jordan Thompson. It was nothing to do with me.
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“They put me in this small ring thinking they were going to cut me off but look what happened.
” I got good footwork.
“I told them I got good power, too. Look what happened.”
Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn took to Instagram to hail both men’s performances in the shadows of Wembley Stadium.
He wrote: “We had a special fighter in the U.K. last night in @jaiopetaia_
“I believe he will capture every belt in the division.
“Shout out to @jordan_boxing_ for rolling the dice..heavyweight awaits.”
Jai Opetaia let out a primal roar after registering his first title defenceCredit: REUTERS More

JAMIE TKV suffered his first loss after a sickening punch made his eyebrow EXPLODE with blood.The 29-year-old Tottenham heavyweight was supposed to tott-up his sixth win at York Hall on Saturday night.
Jeamie Tshikeva suffered a horrific cut on his left eyebrow in his clash with Igor MacedoCredit: SKY SPORTS BOXING
The Tottenham heavyweight’s eyebrow exploded after being hit with a massive right handCredit: INSTAGRAM@BOXXER
But late-notice opponent, Brazil’s Igor Macedo, butchered his right eye with a savage right hand.
TKV – real surname Tshikeva – dropped his hands as soon as he suffered the sixth-round blow and blood started squirting down his face.
And he was rushed out of York Hall and straight to hospital to have the gruesome wound stitched up.
TKV has enjoyed a big push from BOXXER promoters and Sky Sports but he was horribly mismatched against Brazil’s heavyweight champion, who had earned all of his 11 wins inside the distance.
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The Brit had been talking up future fights with compatriot rivals like Frazer Clarke and Fabio Wardley but he now faces possible plastic surgery on his eye and a career rebuild.
Macedo meanwhile celebrated by having a bible handed to him in the ring and holding the Good Book aloft.
TKV made a slow start and rapidly built up speed going downhill.
Despite being a growing star on the London heavyweight sparring scene – and earning plenty of praise for his hand speed and bodywork – he had a howler in Bethnal Green.
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From the very first bell, Macedo’s unpredictable style and booming right hands gave TKV nightmares and the Englishman’s corner kept begging him to wake up.
Eventually, it was a textbook one-two – a left jab and right hand – that made TKV’s eyebrow burst open.
And the referee wasted little time waving off the fight and letting the brutalised Brit dash off for urgent medical attention.
Igor Macedo celebrates his stunning stoppage winCredit: PA More

CANELO ALVAREZ proved he’s still a force to be reckoned with thanks to a dominant victory over Jermell Charlo.The pride of Mexico defended his undisputed super middleweight throne against his 160lbs counterpart in front of a sold-out T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas early on Sunday morning.
Canelo Alvarez defended his super-middleweight throne against Jermell CharloCredit: EPA
Boxing’s former P4P king dominated his middleweight counterpart from the get-goCredit: GETTY
The Mexican was relentless with his pressureCredit: EPA
Canelo dropped Charlo in the seventh round with a big uppercutCredit: EPA
The tall, rangy and explosive Charlo was, on paper, expected to give the face of boxing some trouble.
That trouble, however, didn’t materialise as Canelo asserted his dominance from the first to the final bell on his way to earning a lopsided points decision.
There were no shenanigans from the judges, who scored scoring the contest 119-108, 118-109 and 118-109 in favour of the Guadalajara gladiator.
A fired-up Canelo, 33, roared: “I’m the best. Who’s better? Nobody can beat this Canelo.”
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He added: “I’m a strong fighter all the time. I’m a strong man.”
Challenger Charlo was floored for only the second time in his career in the seventh round after eating a beautiful uppercut moments after a big overhand right.
Canelo said of the knockdown: “I worked all the fight to go in the body.
“Then I changed the punch and that’s what happened. We worked for that.
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Canelo Alvarez punished Jermell Charlo’s body with brutal shotsCredit: GETTY
“We know he’s a great fighter.
“He knows how to move in the ring and we worked that in the gym for three months.
“Three months in the mountains without my family, without everything.
“But I still love boxing. Boxing made me the person I am today. Boxing is my life.”
Former undisputed light-middleweight champion Charlo – who was stripped of his WBO crown as soon as the first bell rang – cut a dejected figure after coming up short in the biggest fight of his career.
He said: “I just feel like I wasn’t me in there. It’s boxing.
“Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.”
Disappointment with his performance aside, Charlo is proud of going the distance with the sport’s former pound-for-pound king.
“I’m proud of myself,” a crestfallen Charlo said. “He didn’t knock me out. He hit me with some hard shots.”
Canelo has now made three defences of his super-middleweight titleCredit: EPA More