Boxing

MOSES ITAUMA scored a sensational second-round knockout over Mike Balogun to send shivers down the heavyweight division.The 20-year-old Chatham southpaw dropped the brave American twice in the opener with long and violent left hands.Moses Itauma scored a sensational second-round knockout over Mike BalogunCredit: PAHe floored the American three timesCredit: PAAnd then he unleashed a magnificent lead right hook, for the hat-trick, and forced ref John Latham to wave the off without even needing a count.After five months out – getting ignored and rejected by high-profile names – Itauma blasted away the cobwebs and the Maryland man in six minutes.The Kent king-in-waiting said: “I appreciate Mike Balogun.  He is one tough cookie.“I couldn’t believe he got up from the second one. Thanks to Mike Balogun for taking the fight, because nobody else would.READ MORE IN BOXING”I don’t have to worry about doing rounds, but my team wants to see me in a 10-rounder. And then I want in with the big dogs.”Balogun swung shots back in the opener but Itauma showed a rapid and wise defence, to pair with his incredible power.And manager Francis Warren revealed he is set to reappear on July 19 on the Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois rematch at Wembley.CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSWarren said:  “This guy is going from strength to strength. We’ll pick some guys who’ll take him some rounds. Most read in Boxing”If he carries on this trajectory, we’ve got a global star on our hands.” Itauma celebrates his KO winCredit: SNS More

MOSES ITAUMA already has two heavyweight stars lined up to fight him – including boxing’s “bogeyman”. Itauma has set the British boxing scene alight after just 11 bouts – delivering nine brutal knockouts.Moses Itauma faces off with Mike BalogunCredit: SNSHe has even been dubbed the next Mike Tyson – who became the youngest heavyweight champion of all time aged 20.Finding willing opponents willing to put their reputation on the line against the 20-year-old Londoner has been tough.American Mike Balogun – a former NFL star-turned 21-1 heavyweight – steps up to face Itauma tonight in Scotland.READ MORE IN BOXINGBut Filip Hrgovic, 32, and Martin Bakole, 31, are two names in the running to fight the British youngster in the near future. And Itauma said: “Martin Bakole, not so much, Filip Hrgovic, yes. “The reason I say Martin Bakole no more is because Martin Bakole was a boogeyman, then he got knocked out by Joseph Parker and it’s brought him back a bit. “Then he didn’t have the best performance against Efe Ajagba and that’s brought him back a little bit more.” Most read in BoxingBakole fought Parker, 33, on just two days notice in February after Daniel Dubois, 27, pulled out due to illness. CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSBut Bakole was beaten in a round before drawing to Ajagba, 31, in May. Itauma continued: “If I fight Martin Bakole, that could give him a reason to top him back up, when I don’t need to be that person. Mike Balogun is the former NFL star who knocked out the son of a heavyweight legend and now faces Brit star Moses Itauma”If he reclaims the person that he once was, the bogeyman of the division, then the fight with him would make sense. “But why would you fight him on zero? You want him to rebuild himself.” Hrgovic lost to Dubois last June but returned with victory in April against Joe Joyce, 39. And Itauma said: “Hrgovic, it’s a different term. I think my team are keen to fight Hrgovic, but they want to see me in a 10-round fight first.” Martin Bakole is linked with fighting ItaumaCredit: GettyJoe Joyce lost to Filip HrgovicCredit: Getty More

DEONTAY WILDER has been urged to hang up his gloves just a month before his ring return.The former long-reigning WBC heavyweight champion will bid to get back to winning ways on June 27 in a rebuild fight against Tyrrell Herndon.Deontay Wilder has looked like a shell of his old self in his last few fightsCredit: GETTYThe American has suffered three brutal knockout losses in his last five lossesCredit: GETTYFormer foe Tyson Fury has urged ‘The Bronze Bomber’ to hang them upCredit: APWilder, 39, will enter the bout on the back of four defeats in his last five outings, with three of those losses being brutal knockouts to Tyson Fury and Zhilei Zhang.The American has looked like a shell of the fighter who struck fear into the hearts of heavyweights during his pomp, so much so that a litany of boxing icons, Fury included, have urged him to call it a day.During an appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast with former UFC champs Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, he said: “I’d like to see poor old Deontay retire from boxing.“When I beat Wilder, he was 44 and 0, with 43 KOs, and he KO’d the guy who went the distance with him in the rematch, so that means he knocked out every single person he ever faced. 44 people.READ MORE TYSON FURY“Obviously, he lost the three fights to me and since that third trilogy, we took a lot of lot of years off each other’s lives.”That war, which ended in the 11th round by knockout, that took a lot out of our tanks. “Between me and Wilder in that trilogy there was 10 knockdowns. It takes a lot out of a fighter.“Even when he’s come back and had a couple of fights since, he’s only a shadow of his former glory. Most read in BoxingJOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUSDeontay Wilder has vowed to return to the summit of the heavyweight divisionCredit: Getty”The only thing left that remains the same about Deontay is his name.”Legendary boxing coach Teddy Atlas, who used to train Mike Tyson, shares the same view as Fury.Deontay Wilder’s three-fight ‘plan’ revealed including overdue Anthony Joshua fightAtlas told Slingo: “The last thing to go, George Foreman showed, is that the last thing to go with a fighter is power.”As long as you have power, you’ve got a shot. “But the way he’s looked, the punishment he took against Zhilei Zhang.”Wilder took a lot of punishment in his last few fights.”And the way he took it, how clean he got hit, and how he reacted to it, just as a human being.”Forget trainer, promoter, anything, just as a human being, I’d be concerned about him fighting again.”Wilder and his team are hoping a win over Herndon will kick-start an unlikely run to a world title, with head coach Malik Scott saying: “He’s still got that urge to become champion, because he’s a champion at heart.Read More on The Sun”He’s on the second half of his career, he’s filthy rich. “He wants to make another run at the heavyweight championship of the world.” More

TYSON FURY insists he is staying retired and will not return to boxing for the people who “rumped” him.The 36-year-old hung up his gloves after back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk last year.Tyson Fury announced his fifth retirement from boxing just weeks after his second straight loss to Oleksandr UsykCredit: GettyThe Gypsy King appeared to perform a U-turn last month when he called out the Ukrainian for a trilogy fightCredit: PABut the Wythenshawe warrior insists he won’t be lacing up his gloves againCredit: PABut the offer of an overdue mega-money Anthony Joshua fight remains on the table.Saudi Arabia funded both of those iconic Usyk showdowns and would fund the mouthwatering AJ rivalry.But the Morecambe millionaire seems to still be seething at his consecutive points defeats to the Ukraine king and has floored talks of a return.Referring to himself in the third person, from a stunning Lake Como balcony in Italy, he said: “I hear a lot of talk about the Gypsy King returning to boxing and I ask this question: for what?READ MORE ON FURY“What would I return for?“More belts? I’ve won 22 of them.“I’ve been rumped, that’s it, fair play to them, they got their use out of me.“But I’m happy, I am happy, content with what I have achieved and accomplished.Most read in BoxingJOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS“I’ve been around the world and back again.”And this is what retirement looks like for the Gypsy King, not too shabby.”Eddie Hearn teases Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury in 2025?! + Allen KOs Fisher | Split Decision | Sun SportConfusing reports from the Joshua camp suggest the 35-year-old has just signed a two-fight deal with the Saudis – with a fight coming before the end of the year – but requires surgery on an elbow injury.All signs seem to point to Fury – who has shared social media clips of himself running and training again – finally coming face-to-face with the London 2012 legend.But he insists the gym sessions are simply to keep his physical and mental health in check.And that the fantasy all-English fight will never happen.He said: “I’m in no rush at all, to come back to boxing and get my face punched in.“For what? What would I return for? I ask that question.Read More on The Sun“I am retired and I am staying retired.“I have nothing to prove to anybody and nothing to return for.”A multi-million-pound showdown with Anthony Joshua awaits Tyson Fury should he returnCredit: REUTERS More