Heavyweight boxing

ANTHONY JOSHUA has been told Deontay Wilder is ready to negotiate for a super-fight at Wembley next year. The American returned last weekend with a trademark bang knocking out Robert Helenius inside three minutes in New York.
Deontay Wilder celebrates after knocking out Robert HeleniusCredit: Getty
Anthony Joshua has been told Deontay Wilder is ready to negotiate a super-fight next yearCredit: Getty
Before the comeback bout, Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel received an invite from Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn to speak over the phone.
But Finkel wanted to hold out until after the Bronze Bomber made his return after a year out of action.
Following Wilder’s statement first-round finish, the Hall of Famer promoter is leaving the door open for talks with Hearn.
Finkel told SunSport: “We said at the press conference it depends what surfaces this week. Whether it be Oleksandr Usyk, or Hearn reaching out.
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“It’s funny with Eddie, he made all these big statements before, ‘Oh, I tried and I tried, Shelly doesn’t want to talk to me.’
“I said I would talk to him, but after the fight, because that is when it makes sense, that is what the reality is.
“I always said, there was no reason to have spoken before the fight, but we’re always willing to talk to him.”
Finkel is even prepared to take Wilder abroad, whether it be for a mega-money Middle East deal or a stadium fight in England.
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He said: “I was asked if they offered the right deal, would we do the fight in the UK? Of course.
“Financially, it could be Saudi Arabia or another country, but it really comes down to them.
“I believe the fight between Deontay and Joshua will do 80,000 at Wembley.”
Joshua, 33, and Wilder, 36, failed to agree terms throughout 2018 and 2019, when the pair were unbeaten and holding all four titles.
Since then, AJ has lost three of his last five bouts, most recently twice to Usyk, 35, who retained the unified treasure.
Meanwhile Wilder was beaten consecutively by Fury, 34, in that period before dispatching his ex-sparring partner Helenius, 38.
The former WBC champion called out Usyk and promotional stable-mate Andy Ruiz Jr, 33, after his emphatic return.
But Joshua has twice faced those two and recently failed to agree terms for a December Battle of Britain with Fury.
I was asked if they offered the right deal, would we do the fight in the UK? Of course… I believe the fight between Deontay and Joshua will do 80,000 at Wembley.Deontay Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel
It leaves Finkel believing the 2012 Olympic gold medalist has little lucrative avenues to explore other than a showdown with Wilder.
He said: “Two or three years ago, when Joshua and us did not make the fight, he had options and he was on top of the world.
“Right now, he doesn’t have many options and if Fury fights Usyk, the only real big fight out there for Joshua is us.
“But it’s up to them. The important thing, without getting into a big dialogue with Eddie, was to wait until after the fight and then decide.
“If Deontay lost, there would be no fight, but now we’ll see, the fight is as enormous as ever.”
Wilder, who turns 37 this week, has warned he has only three years left in the sport before retiring at 40.
So Finkel wants a swift return by March to embark on two major fights in 2023.
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He said: “Ideally he’d come back in the spring, like March. The preference would be probably Usyk, Joshua or Ruiz.
“And then some scenario whoever the first fight was, then the second fight we’d do that, I wouldn’t assume three fight but two.”
Deontay Wilder knocked out Robert Helenius in the first roundCredit: Getty More

RICKY HATTON has left no stone unturned ahead of his return to the ring.The former two-division world champion will come out of retirement next month to lock horns with fellow boxing great Marco Antonio Barrera in an exhibition bout.
Ricky Hatton will face Marco Antonio Barerra in a rescheduled exhibition bout next monthCredit: HATTONBARERRA.COM
The Hitman is leaving left no stone unturned ahead of his return to the ringCredit: INSTAGRAM@RICKYHITMANHATTON
The former two-weight world champ has been using the gruelling airdyne bikeCredit: INSTAGRAM@RICKYHITMANHATTON
Hatton has also been getting heavy sled pushes inCredit: INSTAGRAM@RICKYHITMANHATTON
Although their clash isn’t a professional bout, Hatton has been training for his showdown with the Mexican the same way he did when he was at the peak of his powers.
The Hitman gave his legion of fans an insight into his exhaustive training regime for the November 12 dust-up on social on Monday morning.
Hatton, 44, shared clips of himself hitting the heavy bag, cycling on the airdyne bike, performing explosive jumps over a bar and weighted sled pushes to his Instagram page.
His accompanying caption read: “Followed by my own session. Tough 8 x 3s.
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“Going through the gears now, flat out but getting second winds/recovery rate improving rapid [sic] now.”
Hatton’s gruelling workout was liked by close to 2,500 of his followers, including WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Fury was so impressed by the British boxing legend’s work rate that he shared his post with his 5.7million followers.
Hatton’s clash with former three-weight world champion Barerra was originally due to take place in July but was rescheduled.
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The pride of Manchester has undergone a dramatic body transformation ahead of the fight – initially shedding a whopping TWO STONE in a mere seven weeks.
He told The Telegraph in June: “I was 14 [stone] six and I’m 12 two now, I’ve lost that in seven weeks which is incredible.
“I don’t think I did that when I was fighting but I was always good at losing the weight.
“When I told people I’m doing the exhibition bout in July, which came about as an idea after I saw Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr fight in a similar bout in lockdown, they said, ‘Absolutely no chance, you’re never out of the pub, look at the size of you, you’ll never do that.'”
Ricky Hatton has lost over two stone preparing for his clash with BarerraCredit: INSTAGRAM@RICKYHITMANHATTON
He added: “If you tell Ricky Hatton I can’t do something I’ll do it. I’m already seeing this as a complete life change.
“It’s about exercise and diet, knowing to eat the right things, when to eat the right things.
“‘I used to be in the pub a few nights a week. Now I’m not drinking, I’ve had a couple of glasses of wine over the last couple of weeks in the house.
“My willpower is strong. I still have my nights out but they’re few and far between and I think this Ricky is here to stay.
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“I like to go for meals, I like takeaways, I like to have a pie, I’m never going to be one of them but I’m enjoying the fact that everyone comes up to me and says, ‘Ricky you’re looking well.
“No one can say, ‘You fat b anymore.’ And I can hide behind a lamp-post now – not a skip.”
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DEONTAY WILDER will demand “truckloads of money” to face Anthony Joshua following his spectacular return to the ring.The former long-reigning WBC heavyweight champion bounced back from consecutive stoppage defeats to Tyson Fury with a spectacular first-round knockout of Robert Helenius in New York last weekend.
Deontay Wilder got back to winning ways with a spectacular KO of Robert HeleniusCredit: The Mega Agency
Wilder’s stunning KO of Helenius sparked fresh calls for a clash with Anthony JoshuaCredit: PA
But Wilder will demand “truckloads of money” for the fight, according to his promoterCredit: AFP or licensors
Wilder’s demolition of Helenius sparked fresh calls for him to throw down with former two-time unified champion Joshua, a fight promoter Shelly Finkel believes will be made for the right amount of money.
He told Fight Hub TV: “A couple of months ago, Eddie Hearn sent us a letter, and we said the most important thing is Deontay training and doing what he did tonight.
“Now that he’s done it, we’ll see if Eddie will come with the truckloads of money he said and the Joshua deal that he said.
“We’re here. He knows how to reach us, so we’ll see. We’ll see if tonight changed his mind.”
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Matchroom Boxing chief Hearn made overtures to book a showdown between Wilder and AJ ahead of the Brit’s defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in August.
Wilder and Joshua, 36 and 33 respectively, were on course to face one another in 2018 when the pair held all the heavyweight marbles.
But Wilder turned down a whopping three-fight undisputed deal worth close to £100million as he felt he was being lowballed.
The bad blood that remains between the pair has Bronze Bomber Wilder eager to settle the score before he hangs up his gloves.
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He told The Good Fight: “Me and Joshua should have fought years ago, I could have been the undisputed champion.
“The chance isn’t gone, we are both still in the business of fighting so that opportunity will always be there.
“People still always stop me and ask when I’m fighting Joshua. Some people still think that’s the biggest fight in the world, between us two.
“It is the No1 match-up that people still always ask me about.
“It’s not a matter of ‘if’ the fight happens. It’s a matter of when, we just need the tight timing.”
Wilder, however, doesn’t plan on taking part in protracted negotiations to get his hands on AJ.
He added: “We will not fall in line with Eddie Hearn’s games? They drained us.
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“We dealt with Eddie Hearn for around six months and they just gave us the round around.
“They have their story, which they tell everyone, but I know the facts and he is a big manipulator.”
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BRITISH boxing legend Ricky Hatton says he “felt like ripping the TV off the wall” after Anthony Joshua’s meltdown in the aftermath of his rematch loss to Oleksandr Usyk.Joshua, 33, was beaten by Ukrainian Usyk twice but his emotions got the better of him after their rematch for the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles.
Joshua chucked Usyk’s belts out of the ring following his rematch lossCredit: AP
Hatton says he wanted to rip his TV off the wallCredit: Getty
The Brit chucked Usyk’s belts out of the ring before grabbing a mic and going on a bizarre rant after the split decision loss.
And Hatton has taken aim at Joshua’s team for not stepping in and stopping him from embarrassing himself.
In fact, Hatton who was in Tenerife at the time, “felt like ripping the TV off the wall” as Joshua spoke on the mic to the Saudi crowd.
Hatton told Secondsout: “Obviously, he didn’t take the final decision kindly.
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“He went up to the opposite corner, giving them the fist a little bit. That was too heavy for my liking.
“Someone in that corner should have turned around and said, ‘Oh, AJ is losing it.’ Emotions are all over in a fight of that magnitude.
“You just got beat, I get it, and it should have been someone putting their arm around him and saying, ‘Hey AJ, come on, mate. Let’s get out of the ring because you’re not too good.’
“No, they allowed it to happen. They allowed him to chuck belts out of the ring. 
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“They allowed him to get the microphone. What was his corner doing when they saw him with the microphone? He should never be in anyone’s corner again that lot. Shocking behaviour, shocking corner work.
“Not everyone is having a pop at AJ. AJ could have been saved from all of that stuff by his team. It’s all about having the good team around me.
“That’s why I pretty much had the same team my whole career. Nobody knows you better than the people that have been with you your whole life.
“They obviously come over from America. I have no idea why they came over. I think they could have done a lot better for AJ in the corner.
“I think that could have been stopped. If I had been in the corner, that would have never have happened because you could see him losing it.
“He needed an arm around him. ‘Come on, mate, let’s get back to the corner.’
“They just stood there and watched him. I was in Tenerife watching it. I felt like ripping the TV off the wall.”
Hatton is confident Joshua has some big heavyweight fights left in him.
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There were negotiations over a WBC title fight with Tyson Fury, but both parties couldn’t agree a deal.
Hatton continued: “There’s still a lot of good heavyweight fights out there for him to get involved in. Hopefully, he’ll find one.” More

TYSON FURY danced with his daughter Valencia as they watched Claressa Shields’ win over Savannah Marshall at the weekend.The Gypsy King, 34, was seen enjoying the boxing in front of the TV with his four-year-old as they revelled in watching the first two female fighters to sell out the 02 Arena.
Fury danced with his four-year-old daughter Valencia in front of the boxingCredit: Instagram
Shields and Marshall could be seen in the background as Tyson’s wife Paris filmed themCredit: Instagram
Briton Marshall came up short against two-time Olympic gold medallist Shields in a phenomenal fight in London.
But it remained a superb occasion for the sport, with Fury’s wife Paris posting the video and a lovely message on social media to accompany it.
Over the top of the clip, she wrote: “My Valencia watching the boxing with her dad.
“Growing up seeing these women filling arenas, fighting for world titles. Doing it for the girls!!!”
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And she then added the caption: “Love seeing Tyson on a weekend while he in training camp in U.K. (won’t be closer to fight date) usually he is away constantly for 6/8 weeks for camps and me and the kids miss him terribly but these little days feel so special.
“@tysonfury you are loved. The song came automatically – sorry it’s cringey but suited.”
Fury is currently preparing to return to the ring against Derek Chisora on December 3.
Promoter Frank Warren confirmed last week that the two Brits are set to meet for a third time for the WBC title.
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Fury beat Chisora by unanimous decision back in 2011, before he then forced Del Boy to retire on his stool at the end of the 10th round of their rematch three years later.
Providing Fury comes through Chisora again, he could be set to face old foe Deontay Wilder for a FOURTH time in 2023.
The American returned to the ring on Saturday night and brutally knocked out Robert Helenius inside a round.
Now the WBC are expected to order a final eliminator between Wilder and Andy Ruiz Jr, with the victor earning a shot at Fury’s belt.
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Wilder fought to a controversial draw with Fury back in December 2018, before he was stopped in the seventh round of their rematch 14 months later.
They then completed their trilogy in October last year as Fury KO’d Wilder in the 11th round of an all-time classic, with both men hitting the deck more than once.
Fury is set to return to the ring against Chisora in DecemberCredit: Getty More