Heavyweight boxing

OLEKSANDR USYK has joined Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua in calling Tyson Fury “Luke”. The unbeaten champions are in talks for the heavyweight division’s first ever four-belt unification next year.
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are in talks to fightCredit: Reuters
And the war of words has already started, as Usyk called Fury by his middle name.
He said on his YouTube channel: “When cameras are off he’s a different person.
“When cameras are on he’s Tyson Fury, when they’re off he’s Luke Fury.”
The WBC champion lists his full name as Tyson Luke Fury, having been named after heavyweight legend Mike Tyson.
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But Whyte claimed his team have evidence that he switched his Christian names around to sound like the Baddest Man on the Planet.
Whyte told SunSport in 2020: “My real name is Dillian. I know his real name is Luke. He changed it to Tyson to make himself sound harder.
“People can have a little look around on the internet and see for themselves. In boxing, the name Tyson is a lot more sellable than Luke.
“A lot of what Tyson does and says is a game, you can never take anything he says seriously or at face value.
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“How can you trust a man who doesn’t even use his own name?”
Joshua followed up with a dig of his own last year, as he tweeted Fury: “You’re a good kid, don’t play with me Luke!
“I’ll slap your bald head & you’ll do nothing! Waste man.”
Usyk, 35, twice beat Joshua, 33, to win and then retain the WBA, IBF and WBO titles.
Fury, 34, defended his WBC belt against Whyte, 34, and then Derek Chisora in their recent trilogy bout.
And it has set him up for a historic unification against Usyk next year, with talks ongoing.
The pair faced off after Fury’s tenth-round stoppage win against Chisora, 38, at Tottenham’s stadium.
And Usyk goaded: “We negotiated it. If he agreed to fight, I would step onto the ring.
“A lot of things were said since then, like he would slap me in my face.
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“But apparently he changed his mind after having his buttocks burned.”
In a final message, Usyk said: “Luke, I’m coming for you. I’ve been coming for him for a long time.”
Tyson Fury facing off with Oleksandr Usyk in the ringCredit: Jamie McPhilimey More

TYSON FURY has urged Anthony Joshua to “step up to the plate” and fight him instead of rematching Dillian Whyte. Joshua is ready to return to the ring next year after a period out following consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
Anthony Joshua is ready to make his boxing return in 2023Credit: AFP
Tyson Fury after his trilogy win over Derek ChisoraCredit: Getty
And promoter Eddie Hearn has lined AJ up with a summer stadium headliner with Whyte next year.
Joshua even said he would even prefer a derby against his London rival than a long anticipated grudge match with the Gypsy King.
But Fury told iFL TV: “Why isn’t this lad stepping up to the plate and taking on the challenge?
“What does he wanna fight Dillian Whyte for? He’s already beat Dillian Whyte.
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“Fight me. Come to the party, bring your teacakes and your underpants. It’s only a fight, you’ve already lost before.”
After Joshua’s rematch loss to Usyk in Saudi Arabia, Fury offered him a shock shot at his WBC belt.
But when talks collapsed, he instead faced Derek Chisora, 38, in a trilogy bout at Tottenham’s stadium, winning in round ten.
Fury, 34, is now in talks with Usyk, 35, for the heavyweight division’s first four-belt undisputed bout.
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Meanwhile Joshua, 33, looks set to return in the spring before setting up a rematch with Whyte, 34, who he lost to in amateurs but beat as a pro.
And Fury has cast doubt on ever fighting AJ as he vowed to knock out Usyk instead.
He said: “I can guarantee you that you will not see it, 100 per cent.
“Like Carl Froch vs Joe Calzaghe, Ricky Hatton vs Junior Witter, it’s 100% not happening.
“I’m gonna knock out the guy who just beat him twice. What are they gonna say about me then?”
Tyson Fury squaring off with Oleksandr UsykCredit: Reuters More

ANTHONY JOSHUA would prefer to rematch Dillian Whyte than fight Tyson Fury – because his London rival “has more swag”.AJ’s history with Whyte dates back to their amateur days when he lost a barnburner over three rounds in 2009.
Anthony Joshua revealed he wants to rematch Dillian Whyte over fighting Tyson FuryCredit: Getty
Tyson Fury is in talks to fight Oleksandr Usyk nextCredit: PA
When it came time to rematch in the professional ranks six years later, Joshua got his revenge with a seventh-round stoppage.
The pair are linked with a trilogy bout to finish off their series next year, while Fury, 34, unifies the division against Oleksandr Usyk, 35.
And Watford’s Joshua, 33, admitted bragging rights over Brixton’s Whyte, 34, means more than any world title bout against Fury.
He told GQ: “South London, North London, Fury is good but he’s a Manchester boy.
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“I think Dillian has more swag in general, but he’s come up short a few times.”
Joshua has taken time away from boxing following consecutive points losses to Usyk, with his Ukrainian rival now in talks for an undisputed fight with Fury.
Meanwhile Whyte edged past American Jermaine Franklin, 29, in his return fight in November via disputed majority decision.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has teased a summer rematch with AJ in a stadium.
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But for now, Joshua is putting together a new training team before a separate comeback fight of his own in the spring is announced.
Hearn told iFL TV: “Until the training team is confirmed for AJ, we won’t make any opponent selections because we want the input from the trainer.
“So again, we’ve got three or four guys that we’re talking to and ready to try and make a move for.
“We have to make sure the training team is comfortable with that. That’ll be the plan over the next couple of weeks.”
Anthony Joshua has been training out in TexasCredit: Instagram / @anthonyjoshua More

ANTHONY JOSHUA is back touring America looking for a new trainer.The 33-year-old heavyweight ace made a similar trip after losing to Oleksandr Usyk for the first time, in September 2021, and settled on Robert Garcia.
Anthony Joshua has split from coach Robert GarciaCredit: Getty
Joshua is now touring America again in search of a new partnerCredit: Instagram / @anthonyjoshua
Joshua alongside Jourdan Isom, a branding consultant based in DallasCredit: Instagram / @anthonyjoshua
But that relationship ended after just one bout – the August rematch loss to the Ukrainian king in Saudi Arabia.
So Joshua is back trialling coaches for his latest rebuild.
Watford’s London 2012 Olympic legend missed friend and mentor Derek Chisora’s world title loss to Tyson Fury on December 3 as he flew out to San Francisco at the end of November.
There he met and worked with brilliant defensive teacher Virgil Hunter, the mastermind behind Andre Ward’s undefeated success and the current coach to AJ’s stablemates Joshua Buatsi and Souleymane Cissokho.
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The two-time WBA, IBF and WBO champ then moved on to Dallas, Texas where he auditioned Derrick James for a crack at his corner.
James trains unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr and undisputed super-welterweight boss Jermell Charlo in the States.
Garcia explained in the wake of the Usyk loss that he had asked AJ to move his camp to his California gym to get away from all his domestic distractions – and train alongside his world champions like Bam Rodriguez – but Joshua refused.
AJ showed a huge improvement in that fight but nothing seemed completely settled with Garcia in the build-up, so a split has come as no surprise.
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Promoter Eddie Hearn insisted in October that AJ was definitely returning to the ring on December 17 – only for that plan to be dashed.
And now the Matchroom boss is claiming that early April is when we will see his star attraction back shining in the ring.
While on his trip the former champ also met with James McNair, one of the masterminds behind Floyd Mayweather’s incredible business career and TMT brand.
Joshua has lost his last two fights – both against Oleksandr UsykCredit: Getty
Joshua is expected to return to the ring in AprilCredit: PA More

TYSON FURY’S hopes of fighting Oleksandr Usyk in an undisputed heavyweight title clash have taken a huge blow.That’s after the WBA ordered the Ukrainian to to face mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois instead.
Tyson Fury’s hopes of fighting Oleksandr Usyk are fading fastCredit: Reuters
Usyk has been ordered to fight mandatory WBA challenger Daniel DuboisCredit: Getty
Fury and Usyk were previously looking to fight each other this month before talks collapsed.
The Gypsy King then failed to secure a bout against Anthony Joshua.
And he ended up sparring old chum Derek Chisora instead.
Fury is now thought to be hell-bent on facing Usyk next year.
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But the WBA and IBF have both thrown a spanner in the works.
The WBA have told Usyk he must face mandatory challenger Dubois next.
And the IBF have taken the exact same line by ordering Usyk to fight Filip Hrgovic.
That means Fury faces an anxious wait as promoters look to fix the situation.
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Vacating belts is not an option, as the whole idea of Fury vs Usyk is to unify the heavyweight division.
And it could come down to Dubois and Hrgovic being offered substantial sums of step-aside money.
In Dubois’ case, he and Fury are both represented by Queensbury Promotions, making a deal easier to negotiate.
But Hrgovic is a Matchroom man, and Eddie Hearn has already dismissed the idea of his man stepping down for Usyk to fight Fury.
Hearn said: “The IBF ordered it. We’ve already said we’re not willing to negotiate.
“This is the request of the team. I want to have an immediate purse bid. That’s within the rules of the IBF. That means you cannot get an exception.
“The only way Usyk can get one is if Hrgovic says he can. And he doesn’t want to because he wants to fight for the title.” More

TALKS are underway for Anthony Joshua to fight Deontay Wilder, according to Eddie Hearn. AJ is looking for his return to the ring after back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk.
Anthony Joshua is eyeing a return to the ring and winning waysCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Deontay Wilder could take on AJ years after they were at the top of the divisionCredit: Getty
And his promoter confirmed there is “lots of talk” and discussions with Wilder’s camp.
Now a showdown could take place as early as March.
Matchroom chief Hearn told iFL TV: “The communication lines are good between me and [Wilder’s co-manager] Shelly [Finkel].
“We’ve had a lot of talks, a lot of chats.
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“Until the training team is confirmed for AJ, we won’t make any opponent selections because we want the input from the trainer.
“So again, we’ve got three or four guys that we’re talking to and ready to try and make a move for.
“We have to make sure the training team is comfortable with that. That’ll be the plan over the next couple of weeks.”
Joshua, 33, and Wilder, 37, could have met in an undisputed heavyweight fight in 2018 but talks broke down.
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Now, both men are desperately trying to salvage their careers after crushing defeats to Usyk and Tyson Fury respectively – although Wilder beat Robert Helenius in October.
However, Dillian Whyte wants to get back in the ring with AJ – after their first pro clash in 2015.
But the Body Snatcher could also be in line to face Wilder next year.
Hearn added: “He’s been ordered to fight Andy Ruiz. He’s in negotiations with various people to fight Andy Ruiz. So I’m guessing that’s what he’s going to do next.
“At the same time, we’d like Dillian Whyte to fight Wilder in the interim or AJ in the summer.
“We’ll have to see, but it looks like Wilder will fight Ruiz, AJ will fight at the end of March or April, and Dillian Whyte will fight as well. I think they’re all going to come together in the summer.”
Joshua’s next fight is expected to be back at the O2 Arena – where he last fought in 2016.
Since then, he has headlined Wembley, the Principality, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as well as Maddison Square Garden and in Saudi Arabia.
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And when he does fight again, AJ will have a new coach in his corner after splitting with Robert Garcia.
Joshua is currently in America working on piecing together his new team as he heads into a make-or-break stage of his career. More