Heavyweight boxing

EDDIE HEARN named a “dangerous knockout artist” as his most “most overrated boxer.” The boxing promoter has worked with some of the biggest stars in the sport, including Anthony Joshua and Canelo Alvarez.
Boxing promoter Eddie HearnCredit: Reuters
But he has also made rivals in the business, especially across the pond, so it is no surprise when he told DAZN: “Overrated fighter? Deontay Wilder.
“The reason I say that is because I think Deontay Wilder is a dangerous knockout artist.
“Because, Luis Ortiz absolutely schooled him and stood him on his head. He knocked him out, but he was 8-0 in rounds.
“His only victory of note in his entire career is Luis Ortiz.”
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Wilder, 37, has a stunning 42 KOs in his 43 wins and has only ever not beaten Tyson Fury, 34.
They first drew in 2018 but Fury won the subsequent rematches in what was a thrilling trilogy.
Despite Hearn’s putdown of Wilder, he is currently leading talks for the American to fight Joshua, 33, in December in Saudi Arabia.
Reps flew into London for talks and the promoter expects a contract to be presented within two weeks.
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He told Derek Chisora’s YouTube channel: “It went great.
“We spoke through dates, numbers. We expect to receive formal paperwork in the next 7-10 days.
“I’m very confident you’re gonna get a fight.”
Deontay Wilder was called ‘overrated’ by Eddie HearnCredit: Getty
Eddie Hearn is leading talks for Anthony Joshua to fight Deontay WilderCredit: Rex More

MIKE TYSON was left in tears after an emotional speech and tribute from Tyson Fury’s dad John. John admired the heavyweight legend so much he named his son after him.
Mike Tyson was left in tears after an emotional speech and tribute from Tyson Fury’s dad John
Mike Tyson and John Fury recorded a podcast together
And his 35-year wait to meet his idol came to an end this year when the pair recorded a podcast together in Saudi Arabia.
And John opened up on his admiration for Tyson, who in 1985 lost his mentor and adopted father Cus D’Amato.
John said: “I watched this man since he first turned pro in early 1985, is that right, Mike? I watched everything he’s done.
“I didn’t have any money, I had no electricity, no running water all I had was a petrol generator that you had to pull a string out to make it work.
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“I used to get up at ten past three in the morning, start my generator, ready for this guy to rock and roll.
“I spent my whole life admiring him and I felt sorry for him at the same time when Cus died.
“He was like a father to you wasn’t he? He was his father and many a time when I’ve seen the documentaries with your pidgins and that with you and Cus.
“I got heavy-hearted. I got a lump in my throat. I thought, You know what? If he can come here and meet us, we could be his brothers, father could have been his father and looked after him for the man he is. Not for what people can get out of him.”
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Tyson suddenly asked the cameras to stop rolling as his eyes filled with tears.
John went on to explain how son Tyson premature and weighed just 1lb and doctors feared the worst.
But John claimed he knew his boy would grow up to be a champion fighter and named him after his favourite boxer.
He said: “I looked at these doctors and I said, ‘hear these words. He’s not only going to live. He’s going to be seven feet tall, 20 stone and the next heavyweight champion of the world, and his name is Tyson.'”
Tyson Fury was born in 1988 and has gone on to become a modern great, twice reigning as champ.
Iron Mike retired in 2005 and still holds the record as the youngest to win a heavyweight title, aged just 20.
John Fury with Mike TysonCredit: @boxingarabia
Tyson Fury with his namesakeCredit: Social Media More

GANGSTER Robert Kelbie is giving pal Tyson Fury a tour of Scotland – including a visit to a plush cocktail bar.The boxing great, 34, has been enjoying a whistlestop trip to the capital and happily posed for pics with tour bus staff.
Robert Kelbie, right, with Tyson Fury and pals at Tigerlily in Edinburgh
One of the cocktails with the Gypsy King logoCredit:

The pals’ image appears on a cocktail at the Tigerlily gathering
Tyson Fury poses with bus tour staff in Edinburgh
Fury and his entourage – including hardman Kelbie – were even treated to Gypsy King cocktails when they stopped for tipple at VIP haunt Tigerlily.
The boxer’s logo appeared on the surface of one frothy drink while another showed the revellers’ faces on the pink and white concoction.
In another post shared on Instagram, Kelbie poses up with the fight superstar and reveals he’s treated Fury to a work-out pass.
He wrote: “Gave him a free membership to the Kelbie gym. The King.”

Kelbie, 39, of Ratho, Edinburgh has links to fugitive Irish kingpin and ex-fight promoter Daniel Kinahan.
The hood’s now-defunct MTK management stable urged major names in the sport to help promote his image – including the heavyweight champ.
At the height of Kinahan’s PR campaign, Fury gave his friend and mentor a social media shout-out.
Kelbie – an associate of the notorious Lyons gang – admitted a £145,000 mortgage fraud in 2012, has survived three hit bids, and has been at war with a drugs baron in the capital for over a decade.
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But that doesn’t stop him sharing online photos and posing up with celeb pals like Fury.
Kelbie also loves rubbing shoulders with Oasis legend Noel Gallagher and at one recent bout he grabbed a cheesy selfie with Mike Tyson, 56.
We told how Kelbie helped set up a Spanish gym for a boxing firm linked to wanted mob boss Kinahan who has a £4million bounty on his head.
The Edinburgh hood was hailed on Facebook in 2021 for his role in opening the MTK Global-branded HQ on the Canary isle of Fuerteventura.
Gym boss Adam Bailey wrote on social media at the time: “We are open for business Robert Kelbie. Thanks mate for getting it over the line.”
The cartel headed by Kinahan, 45, came crashing down in April 2022 when US authorities slapped a multi-million pound bounty on his head, as well as on dad Christy, 66, and brother Christopher Jnr, 42.
Their downfall is being documented in a chart-topping podcast by our colleagues at The Irish Sun who have told how the thug launched a multi-million euro PR campaign to reinvent himself as a boxing promoter in 2020.
The online documentary, The Kinahans, tells how deluded Daniel believed he could use his dirty drugs money to become a top figure in the world of pro boxing.
The hated Dubliner – who helped mastermind the rise of Scots boxing hero Josh Taylor, 32, to world champion – fancied himself as a ‘super agent’ to the stars and was desperate to reinvent himself as a major player in the sport while ditching his organised crime past.
But his master plan eventually came crashing down when US crime-busters ramped up the heat on his vast organised crime operation.
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We told last year how Gerry McLean, of the National Crime Agency, insisted removing the heads of the Irish cartel will help to curb gangland activity in Scotland.
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TYSON FURY has been lined up for a “game-changing” next fight.But it will not be a clash against Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia.
Frank Warren says Tyson Fury’s next fight will be ‘game-changing’Credit: Getty
Fury will not be taking on Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia this yearCredit: Getty
Fury is on the hunt for his next opponent after December’s win over Derek Chisora – the third successful defence of his WBC heavyweight title.
A division unifier against Usyk has long been touted by fans.
And there has also been talk of an all-British bout against long-time rival Anthony Joshua.
Promoter Frank Warren now claims that an agreement for Fury’s next fight is close.
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The boxing icon has teased that it will be a “game-changing” bout, admitting the Gypsy King is open to fighting MMA legends Francis Ngannou or Jon Jones.
But there is no chance of Fury taking on Usyk this year, with promoters in Saudi Arabia putting talks on ice for now.
Warren told talkSPORT: “I’m hoping we’ll have an announcement in the next week or so.
“We’ve pretty much done what we want to be doing, but we’re not in a position to make the announcement. His fight’s done, we can’t hang around.
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“We tried to make it happen three times already this year with Usyk, contrary to all of the social media c**p, he didn’t want it.
“If he’d have wanted it, the fight would’ve taken place. What he wants to do is wait and he thinks he’s getting his $70million in Saudi, and I understand that.
“I absolutely get that, but stop the nonsense that the fight’s not happening because of Tyson.
“It’ll be a bit of a game-changer in a couple of weeks’ time. It’ll be a massive game-changer and it’s going to be interesting to see the fallout from it.”
As for Fury fighting someone from the MMA world, Warren added: “He’s up for that. He can’t sit around twiddling his thumbs.
“The type of money something like that could generate – why are you waiting for people who keep saying ‘Let’s wait until next year’, when you can make these fights now?
“I have no problem, if they want to do that in the boxing ring, no problem at all. That’s a huge, huge event.
“That all depends on quite a few things but that’s a door that you don’t have to push very much for it to open.” More

DEONTAY WILDER has slammed “fat” Andy Ruiz Jr for demanding a 50/50 purse split – and revealed a “promising” Anthony Joshua fight update. The American is negotiating a Saudi Arabia blockbuster for December with AJ but in the meantime both are set to return in interim bouts.
Deontay Wilder slammed ‘fat’ Andy Ruiz Jr for demanding a 50/50 purse splitCredit: Getty
Andy Ruiz Jr is in talks to fight Deontay Wilder nextCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Joshua has an offer out to rematch Dillian Whyte on August 12 while Wilder sent a deal to Ruiz’s camp.
But Ruiz’s dad claimed his son had been offered 70/30 and they would only accept 50 per cent of the split.
In response, Wilder told ESNEWS: “Andy was only a champion for the blink of an eye. I’m a five-year, ten-title defence champion.
“It’s a difference, what I posses is power. I put people on the edge of their seats every time.
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“So I don’t need belts to fight because people come to see my God-given talent.
“Now, on the other hand Andy, what do we see from him? A short, fat fighter with small hands that make him look fast. T-rex, That’s it.
“You ain’t putting nobody on the edge of their seat, ain’t nobody getting excited.
“The only reason this fight would be exciting is because they wanna see how fast I would knock him out. And that’s it.”
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He added: “Andy’s gonna be 33 years old, f***ing broke, can’t support his children, because his daddy made decisions for him that he should have made for himself.”
Wilder has not returned since knocking out Robert Helenius, 39, in round one of his October comeback.
A month earlier Ruiz, 33, who stunned AJ in 2019, beat Luis Ortiz, 44.
Should Joshua, 33, and Wilder, 37, emerge victorious in their next bouts, it would set up the super-fight in the Middle East.
Promoter Eddie Hearn claimed an offer had been sent – but without a contract – and expected everything to be finalised within two weeks.
On Wilder’s side, he said: “That’s looking very promising, looking very promising.”
Anthony Joshua is in talks to fight Dillian Whyte and Deontay WilderCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun More

ANTHONY JOSHUA and Dillian Whyte have made a breakthrough in talks to rematch – leaving the fight now back ON. Eddie Hearn had sent Whyte an offer to face long-time rival AJ on August 12 at the O2 Arena.
Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte have made a breakthrough in talks to rematchCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Dillian Whyte fumed at a rematch clause being put in his contractCredit: Getty
It comes as he also negotiates a super-fight in Saudi Arabia against Deontay Wilder in December.
Whyte’s deal included an option for an immediate rematch if Joshua was beaten.
So it left him fuming and unwilling to be tied down to another bout, believing the winner should rightfully go on to fight Wilder.
And now according to Sky Sports, Joshua’s team have agreed to take out the rematch clause, paving the way for the Battle of Britain.
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The history between the two dates back to 2009 when they first shared the ring in an amateur contest.
Whyte won the bout and it carried the feud into the professional ranks, setting up a grudge match in 2015.
It was there Joshua got his revenge with a seventh-round stoppage and five months later he became world champion for the first time.
Whyte, 35, would have to wait until last April to challenge for heavyweight gold but he was beaten by Tyson Fury, 34.
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He returned last November against Jermaine Franklin, where the winner was promised Joshua, 33, next.
Whyte edged out a tight majority decision but still it was Franklin, 29, who welcomed AJ back to the ring.
Coming off consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk, 36, Joshua got back to winning ways on points against the American in April.
It was his first under new coaching Derrick James and promoter Hearn wanted the pair to have one more before facing Wilder, 37.
Joshua is back in Dallas training with James while Whyte is also in camp Stateside as talks for the rematch progress.
Anthony Joshua beat Dillian Whyte in 2015Credit: AFP
The rivals are in talks to rematchCredit: MATCHROOM BOXING More

ANTHONY JOSHUA’S punches are like being hit with a SLEDGEHAMMER – his bruised sparring partner has revealed. The two-time heavyweight champion is one of the hardest hitters in the division, with 22 knockouts in his 25 wins.
Anthony Joshua pictured with Frazer ClarkeCredit: Twitter
And heavyweight contender Frazer Clarke – managed by AJ – opened up on what it is like to take a whack from the superstar fighter.
Clarke told The Independent: “There’s a comparison of hitting something with a sledgehammer, or hitting something with a normal hammer a lot of times – you know, like when you hit a nail.
“[The latter] is what it is with Joshua, then he’ll finish you off with a sledgehammer on the last shot. Boom.”
Clarke, 31, spent several years on the Team GB squad with Joshua, 33, sharing hundreds of sparring rounds.
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And after bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, he turned professional and is now 7-0 with five KOs.
Joshua meanwhile, is in talks to return in the summer having beaten Jermaine Franklin, 29, in April.
Dillian Whyte, 35, has been sent an offer to rematch AJ but a clause in the contract held the bout up.
Joshua is also negotiating a Saudi Arabia super-fight against Deontay Wilder, 37, for December.
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And Clarke sent out a fierce warning to AJ’s heavyweight rivals having been on the end of his famed power.
He said: “It’s not nice. It’s not nice being hit by any heavyweight.
“You only have to look at Anthony Joshua, the man is made of muscle – he has muscles coming out of places where muscles shouldn’t be – but when people think about Joshua punching, what they don’t realise is… it’s not the one punch. He’s actually a really good combination puncher, and a fast puncher.”
“When he gets the opportunity, he punches hard and often, and that’s almost worse than one single shot.
“You can prepare for a single shot – you can sort of brace on impact – but what you can’t prepare for is two, three, four shots from different angles.”
Anthony Joshua now manages Frazer Clarke More