Heavyweight boxing

EDDIE HEARN has revealed talks over a showdown between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder are ongoing.The long-awaited grudge match is closer than it’s been since the duo held all the heavyweight marbles four years ago.
Anthony Joshua was on course to face Deontay Wilder in 2018Credit: GETTY
But the pair’s long-awaited showdown is seemingly closer than everCredit: GETTY
Promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed talks over the grudge match are still ongoingCredit: MATCHROOM BOXING
Hearn reached out to Wilder’s representatives ahead of Joshua’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in August to gauge their interest in setting up the fight and is still in contact with them over the lucrative bout.
The Matchroom Boxing chief told iFL TV: “The communication lines are good now, between me and Shelly Finkel [Wilder’s manager].
“We’ve had a lot of talks, a lot of chats [but] until the training team is confirmed for AJ, we really won’t make any opponent selection because we want the input of a trainer.
“We’ve got three or four guys that we are talking to and ready to try and make a move for.
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“But at the end of the day, we’ve got to make sure that the training team are comfortable with that.”
Former long-reigning WBC champion Wilder was recently ordered to face ex-unified king Andy Ruiz Jr in a final eliminator by the Mexican sanctioning boy,
And Hearn expects The Bronze Bomber to fight the trimmed-down Ruiz next.
He continued: “I’m guessing that is what he is going to do next.
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“At the same time, we’d like Dillian Whyte to fight Deontay Wilder in the interim or AJ in the summer.
“We will have to see but it looks like Wilder will fight Ruiz and AJ will fight at the end of March/April and Dillian Whyte may fight as well.
“And I think they’re all going to come together in the summer.”
Joshua, 33, is confident he’ll share the ring with Wilder before it’s all said and done, telling GQ: “Let’s look to the future.
Anthony Joshua is set to return to the ring in MarchCredit: GETTY
“It will definitely happen.
“We’re in the same division, we’re in the same era, that means the fight has to happen.
“2023 is looming, it’s a big year for boxing, and that fight will definitely happen.”
AJ hasn’t set foot in the ring since his second successive defeat to Usyk but is planning to return in late March. More

TYSON FURY fears a fight with Anthony Joshua is “DONE” forever – just like his grudge match David Price. The British rivals have come close to getting a deal over the line before, only for it to face total collapse.
Tyson Fury fears a fight with Anthony Joshua is ‘done’ foreverCredit: Getty
Oleksandr Usyk twice beat Anthony JoshuaCredit: AP
In August 2021, they agreed a historic unification bout until Fury, 34, was ordered into a trilogy bout against Deontay Wilder, 37.
Joshua, 33, then went on to twice lose to Oleksandr Usyk, 35, who is now in line to fight Fury for the undisputed crown next year.
The domino affect is something the Gypsy King is all too familiar with following the breakdown of his grudge match with David Price a decade ago.
Fury told iFL TV: “Me and David were simmering real good, real good simmering, coming to a boil as well. One fight away, from that massive, massive showdown.
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“Big, big, big British rivalry, and he got beat off Thompson, rematched and got beat, then he was done wasn’t he. There was no more rivalry.
“After that he fought one of my common opponents, Christian Hammer, and got knocked out by Hammer as well.
“Then it was totally dead in the water. That is what has happened with Joshua, we were supposed to fight, over in Saudi, in 2021.
“Wilder won that arbitration court case and I had to fight this mandatory.
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“So I had to fight Wilder, nearly got done, twice down in the fourth round.Then Joshua had to fight Usyk, lost and lost and now it’s done.”
Price, 39, retired in 2021 but was called out to a shock stadium fight by Fury, who is currently in talks to fight Usyk for all the belts.
Meanwhile, Joshua is set to return in the spring on 2023 following his consecutive losses.
David Price pictured in 2017 with Tyson Fury More

TYSON FURY can retire a happy man without ever fighting Anthony Joshua – having already beaten the rival he was most obsessed with. The pair of domestic heavyweight stars have tried and failed to have a Battle of Britain bout.
Tyson Fury can retire a happy man without ever fighting Anthony JoshuaCredit: Getty
Anthony Joshua has failed in talks to fight Tyson FuryCredit: GETTY
After Joshua, 33, lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk, it floored fans’ hopes of the dream fight even further.
Now Fury, 34, looks set to face Usyk, 35, in a bid to crown the heavyweight division’s first four-belt undisputed champion.
And that appears to be enough for the Gypsy King to walk away without any regrets in his career.
He told iFL TV: “All of a sudden you’ve got this Ukrainian lad who’s come up from the weight below, beat Joshua and taken his acclaim for whatever he built and achieved.
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“He’s now lost that and Usyk is a worthy challenger, but five years ago they were nobodies, they weren’t even thought of.
“Times change, things change, goalposts move but at the end of the day my goals have always been my goals.
“My only real goal in boxing was to defeat the long-reigning super champion in Wladimir Klitschko.
“The second longest-reigning champion in the history of our sport.”
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Fury dethroned Klitschko in 2015, ending a nine-year reign at the top of the throne and marked a new era in the division.
Fury had spent years building his way up to a title shot against Klitschko, setting up a famous upset on German soil.
He said: “Klitschko, all those years ago in the press conference, he said ‘You want me belts don’t you? You want what I have.’
“I said no. I don’t. I couldn’t give a f*** about any of that. I just want to punch your face in mate.
“And he didn’t understand it, but I hope he can understand it today. None of that was ever, ever, ever what I wanted.
“I just wanted to beat that man. And then when I beat him, Everest was over. It was done. My lifetime achievement goal finished through beating him.
“It was always about beating Klitschko. I was obsessed with the man for years.
“Obsession is a crazy thing to have for something. No one gave me a chance. And when I beat him, that was it.”
Wladimir Klitschko lost to Tyson Fury in 2015Credit: Bongarts – Getty More

TYSON FURY revealed Hasim Rahman’s famous upset over Lennox Lewis sparked his love for boxing. The heavyweight hero was born into boxing with his dad John and uncle Peter both fighters.
Hasim Rahman knocked out Lennox Lewis in 2011Credit: Reuters
And Fury was trained by his father from the age of ten but never really had a passion for it.
That was until Rahman shockingly knocked out Lewis in their 2001 thriller in South Africa.
Fury, now 34, told iFL TV: “My first ever memory of boxing – like massive memory – was Lennox Lewis versus Hasim Rahman. The first one.
“We waited up all night to watch it and whack – he got chinned out in a few rounds didn’t he? And that was my first real, massive boxing memory.
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“Obviously I’d been watching boxing way before that, but not really ever interested in it until that moment.”
Fury was just 13 at the time but did not have his first bout in the ring until another three years later.
He weighed 14 STONE aged 14 and as a result was banned from junior amateur boxing.
Fury had a short 32-4 record in the unpaid ranks before turning professional aged 20 in 2008.
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Fast forward 14 years and he is the No1 heavyweight in the world, unbeaten in 34 fights and twice reigning as champion.
Fury revealed the first time he watched greatness in the ring up close was when Ricky Hatton beat Kosta Tszyu in 2005.
He said: “The first massive fight I went to was probably Ricky Hatton versus Kosta Tszyu, that’s as big as it gets.
“It was in Manchester and it was for the belt against a legendary champion.
“I believe there was about three or four other future world champions in there that night.
“Me, Crolla, Terry Flanagan, all from Manchester and all went on to win the world title. We were all inspired by “The Hitman” all of us.”
Tyson Fury revealed Hasim Rahman’s win over Lennox Lewis sparked his love for boxingCredit: Jamie McPhilimey More

TYSON FURY would have been “DESTROYED” by Lennox Lewis, said Irish boxing legend Barry McGuigan. Fury has the chance to prove himself as the undisputed heavyweight king if he secures a fight against Oleksandr Usyk in 2023.
Tyson Fury pictured in his trilogy bout win over Deontay WilderCredit: AFP
Lennox Lewis pictured training in 1999Credit: AFP
It gives the winner the chance to reign as the first ever four-belt heavyweight champion.
The last to lay claim as undisputed boss was Lewis, when the WBO was not recognised as a major title.
And although the division has moved on with the times, McGuigan insisted not even Fury could stand up to Lewis.
He tweeted: “I don’t hate anyone but I know Lennox Lewis would have destroyed Fury, compare their resumé there is no comparison, those are the facts.”
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Fury, 34, is unbeaten in his career as a two-time heavyweight champion.
His only blemish is a disputed draw against Deontay Wilder, 37, in 2018, a result many felt was controversial.
He later beat Wilder twice, adding to his iconic win over Wladimir Klitschko, 46, in what was considered a shock in 2015.
Fury also has three victories over Derek Chisora, 38, to his name and a brutal knockout over rival Dillian Whyte, 34.
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Lewis meanwhile, who announced his retirement in 2004, hung up his gloves with a 41–2–1 record.
Unlike Fury, he was beaten but the KO losses against Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman were avenged.
It means Lewis beat every man he ever shared the ring with, including Evander Holyfield after their disputed 1999 draw.
The British legend also beat Klitschko’s brother Vitali, Mike Tyson, David Tua, Shannon Briggs and Frank Bruno among others.
Lennox Lewis pictured with Tyson Fury More

ANTHONY JOSHUA needs a “stricter camp” after having it too “easy and quick”, his former trainer Robert Garcia said.AJ is on the scout for a new training team in America following consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
Anthony Joshua with former trainer Robert GarciaCredit: Getty
After the first, in September 2021, Joshua parted ways with long-time cornerman Rob McCracken, who led him to gold in the amateurs and pros.
He replaced McCracken with esteemed US mastermind Garcia, but following rematch defeat to Usyk, 35, the two have now also split.
The ex-world champion has opened up about the separation and revealed what Joshua, 33, must do ahead of his return.
Speaking in Spanish to Izquierdazo and translated by Boxing247, Garcia said: “Everything was kind of easy and quick for him.
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“He thought that that was the right way to do it, that he didn’t need to do it in another way.
“But when the time comes for this kind of fight, with fighters of a higher level, tougher fights, harder fights, you need a stricter camp, where he follows indications.”
Joshua was spotted training in Virgil Hunter’s California gym, where unbeaten American Andre Ward, 38, carved out his Hall of Fame career.
More recently, AJ was in Texas to link up with trainer of the year candidate Derrick James, who coaches Errol Spence Jr, 32.
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Joshua brought Garcia over to England for his camp before losing to Usyk a second time.
But he has been urged to set up shop in the States full-time and start from fresh.
Garcia said: “I feel that he is taking the decision about coming to the United States.
“Because, if he came to talk with trainers such as Derrick James, who is very busy here in the United States, I don’t think that AJ’s plan is to take him to Europe, maybe he is planning to stay here.
“And I will be happy to see him here, even if he is not working with me. AJ needs a change, a completely new change to what he is not used to.”
Anthony Joshua pictured training in TexasCredit: Instagram / @anthonyjoshua More