Boxing

EDDIE HEARN has opened the door to Manny Pacquaio fighting Conor Benn after holding talks. Pacquiao stated his intention to return to boxing following a failed presidential election in the Philippines.
Manny Pacquiao is eyeing a boxing comebackCredit: Ryan Hafey / Premier Boxing Champions
Conor Benn could fight Manny Pacquiao in his returnCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
And Hearn could be ready to take Benn global if the welterweight is cleared of anti-doping violations.
SunSport were the first to reveal Pacquiao being linked with the son of British boxing legend Nigel.
And now promoter Hearn admitted tentative negotiations have taken place with the Filipino icon.
He Boxing King Media: “I would not be surprised to see Conor Benn fight Manny Pacquaio next.
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“But, it’s not signed, there’s been a couple of discussions, minor discussions.”
Pacquiao announced his retirement after losing to Yordenis Ugas, 36, in August 2021.
But he returned in a December exhibition in South Korea against YouTuber and martial arts expert DK Yoo.
Pacquiao, 44, has since revealed plans to make a boxing comeback and is set to fight again in Japan.
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Meanwhile Benn, 26, is fighting to clear his name after failing two drug tests before his proposed catchweight clash with Chris Eubank Jr, 33.
He insists he is close to clearing his name with the WBC – who decided against taking any action against the July and September red flags.
And should the governing body prove Benn’s innocence, he will be free to fight abroad.
But he remains in a dispute with the British Boxing Board of Control, who axed his October fight with Eubank.
Promoter Eddie Hearn with Conor BennCredit: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing More

TOMMY FURY has been sparring “one of the best bare-knuckle fighters in the UK” ahead of his grudge match with Jake Paul. The celebrity boxing rivals are training hard after announcing the latest rescheduling of the bout, on February 26 in Saudi Arabia.
Bare-knuckle boxer Danny Christie with Tommy Fury
Jake Paul training ahead of his fight with Tommy FuryCredit: Instagram @jakepaul
Paul has set up shop in Dubai, just 700 miles away from the scene of the pay-per-fight fight in Riyadh.
Meanwhile, Fury has been training in Bolton at the Elite-boxing in Bolton, headed up by head coach Alex Matvienko.
And the gym welcomed in Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship star Christie into their doors to spar.
A post on their Instagram read: “Busy busy morning loads sparring including one of the best Bareknuckle fighters in the UK @danny_tb_christie a well known fighter on the circuit.”
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Fury, 23, is finally set to meet Paul, 26, in the ring, following two cancellations in the past.
He was forced to pull out in December 2021 due to a rib injury and then last August amid a US visa issue.
Fury revealed is enduring a gruelling grind in training said he even moved out of the £3.5million mansion he shares with Molly-Mae.
He told Sky Sports: “I’m a professional athlete, I’m a professional boxer.
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“My job is not to make little sly jokes and comments on Instagram and social media.
“I’m in a training camp. I’m in bed nine o’clock every single night, I’m up 4.30/5am running. Solely focussed on this man.
“One man is flying around the globe, coming here to do media stuff, going here, there and everywhere and you’ve got one man that’s living in a hellhole.
“I’ve moved out of my own house, I’m living in a little apartment, I’ve gone back to the dog mindset.
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“And that’s what’s going to get me through this fight, he’s not working as hard as I am, I’m putting the work in.
“I’m not just putting the work in when the camera’s in front of me. All the cameras are off when I’m working.
“I don’t need people to stand around me and say, ‘You’re doing well, keep going.’
“It’s already tunnel vision and nothing else is going to distract me. Nothing in this world could take away my focus right now.”
Jake Paul and Tommy Fury facing off for the first timeCredit: Getty More

BOXER Kell Brook yesterday apologised after a video emerged of him snorting a white powder. Footage showed Brook, 36, bending over a glass-topped table with the powder heaped next to a plastic “wrap”.
Boxer Kell Brook was filmed snorting a line of white powder in a party at his home
Footage shows him snorting the substance through a roll-up from a glass coffee table
Kell then appears worse for wears as he shadow boxes in front of a framed picture of him on the wall
The former world champion has apologisedCredit: Getty
The former world champion, nicknamed Special K, mumbled “nice” before appearing the worse for wear as he shadow boxed in front of a framed portrait of himself.
His manager Terry Thompson insisted the video, obtained by The Sun on Sunday, was “a joke”.
Brook wore a T-shirt featuring boxing legend Joe Louis at the Sheffield party.
A source said: “He had a bit of a gathering at his house where people were drinking spirits and smoking.
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“He was snorting white powder.”
Wife Lindsey, 35, who was often seen in the ring after his fights, and their three children were believed to be away.
But yesterday he apologised to his friends and family and promised to get help.
He said: “It’s no secret that I struggle with mental health & I’m finding retirement really hard.
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“I’m actively seeking the help I need to get me on the right path. Again I apologise for the hurt I’ve caused.”
Manager Mr Thompson said of the party clip: “This is a thing that has sort of got out of hand.
“They were at his house, they were having a laugh. They were joking about things.”
KHAN CLAIMS
Boxing rival Amir Khan previously accused Brook of having a “lifestyle of partying and drinking and everything else”.
And in 2012 he wrote on Twitter: “I’ve heard things about Kell Brook.
“He’s been seen taking cocaine.
“Boxing is a professional sport for those who have discipline and respect.”
Brook announced his retirement in May after winning 40 of 43 professional fights.
But he said recently he would return to the ring for the right offer.
The Sun on Sunday’s source said: “Kell seems a bit lost without boxing, and it seems like it would be better for him if he made a comeback.
“He seems to be surrounded by the wrong people, who are not a good influence on him.”
RACISM DENIAL
Last year he denied making a racist comment while Amir Khan denied making a homophobic comment at their pre-fight news conference.
Khan, born to Pakistani parents, said comments Brook previously made about him having a “poppadom chin” had racial connotations.
He said: “His excuse was not good enough. It should not be said. Things like that should not be said. This is a sport and we have to respect each other.
“Before the fight we don’t get on, we don’t respect each other, but come fight night that will be the time when we will see who the better fighter is but before anything like that when race gets involved it just messes things up and I’m quite upset he came out with that comment.”
Brook denied being racist and said he just wanted to comment on how brittle his chin was.
He added: “He’s obviously going down the line of me being racist. Most of my close friends are Asian.
“The original Amir Khan was going to be in my corner so he’s obviously wanting to get the people thinking I’m racist but I’m absolutely not.
“All I was saying was how fragile the poppadom is and his chin is brittle like that. Looking back now I regret it. There’s nothing behind it.”
STABBED TWICE
Brook, who is pals with England and Manchester City footballer Kyle Walker, was brought up in a council house in Sheffield.
He began boxing aged 12 and turned professional at 18 — quickly winning title belts.
But he had problems outside the ring.
In 2007 he was stabbed in the buttocks outside a nightclub in Sheffield.
In 2014 he beat Shawn Porter in California to become IBF World Welterweight champion.
But two weeks later he was slashed three times with a machete in Tenerife and needed 32 metal staples.
He told the Daily Mail after the unprovoked attack how he remembered “blood spurting everywhere, panicking, thinking I was going to die”.
He could remember a scramble, swearing from behind him and then nothing until hearing Spanish doctors.
When he woke up in hospital he was scared he may never walk again.
He was on a family holiday at the time. He met his alleged assailant at a bar manager’s apartment for a party after going out for drinks.
Other people there eventually went home so Kell went with his alleged attacker after being invited to his apartment for a drink.
Kell said: “I got to his place, had a few more drinks, and got into a general chat about things. Tourism, cars, boats. Then suddenly the mood switched. This guy started going on about street fighting. The mood changed.
“(He was saying) a boxer can’t compete with a street fighter. I went from being comfortable to it switching without reason. This place, in his apartment, the kitchen and living room is close together.
“Everything is just a hand away from you. He was in the kitchen and I was in the living room. Without warning or caution, one swipe.”
He said the weapon was like a machete and about a foot long. And he said he was there for less than an hour before the attack, adding that he desperately tried to escape without retaliating.
He said: “I was a victim of an unprovoked attack. Without warning, I was getting (hit with a) machete by this guy to my leg.
“The next minute I was trying to find my feet but my leg wasn’t working. There was so much blood spurting out and it was a tile floor. I lost my balance and fell.
“I remember scrambling about, trying to get out. I was just thinking I need to get out. I could see death.
“This guy was stood over me, shouting and swearing. I am trying to scramble away. I was thinking about my daughter, that I need to get away. I was covered in blood, panicking, feeling so drained and weak from the loss of blood. I feared for my life.”
He eventually managed to escape, leaving a blood trail, to another apartment to raise the alarm.
It is said he woke up a neighbour before he passed out.
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In 2016 Kell lost a fight while suffering a broken eye socket.
In 2020 he admitted suffering depression afterwards, recalling: “It ruined me. It was a very dark time. I needed counsellors, the lot. Words can’t describe how low I’ve been.”
The former world champ, pictured at the WBA Inter-Continental Welterweight Title Fight in 2012Credit: Getty
Kell Brook lays in his hospital bed after being stabbed in the leg while on holiday More