Heavyweight boxing

ANDY RUIZ JR has shown off his breathtaking hand speed as he prepares for a heavyweight showdown with Luis Ortiz.The Mexican-American, 32, will take on the experienced Cuban, 43, in Los Angeles on September 3.
Andy Ruiz Jr showed off his rapid hand speed during trainingCredit: @premierboxing
The Mexican is looking to put himself back in contention for a world title shotCredit: @premierboxing
And he seems to be in good shape ahead of the contest with less than two weeks to go until fight night.
Ruiz’ Jr’s promoters PBC showcased a clip of him training in the gym as he rattled off some furiously quick punches on the pads.
He is looking to position himself for a huge fight or world championship bout – with opponent Ortiz’s only defeats coming at the hands of Deontay Wilder.
Ruiz Jr has lost to Joseph Parker and Anthony Joshua, but did make history for Mexico in 2019 when he became the country’s first ever heavyweight champion.
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He stunned AJ by dropping him four times on the way to a KO victory in New York – one of the biggest ever shocks in boxing’s blue-riband division.
However, over the six months that followed Ruiz piled on the pounds and failed to train properly.
He subsequently lost the belts in Saudi Arabia at the end of 2019 as Joshua outboxed him over 12 rounds.
Ruiz then spent nearly 18 months out of the ring as he recovered from the devastating loss to AJ.
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But he returned to action in May 2021, securing a unanimous decision victory over Chris Arreola.
However, he was dropped in the second round of that contest, so there remains question marks over his sharpness.
If Ruiz comes through the tough challenge of Ortiz, he has been linked with a showdown against Wilder next year.
Both Ruiz and Wilder are promoted by PBC – making a clash between the two a logical fight to make.
Wilder is set to return to action for the first time since his second loss to Tyson Fury when he faces Robert Helenius on October 15.
Ruiz stopped Joshua in 2019 but then lost his world title belts in the rematchCredit: Marc Aspland – The Times More

TYSON FURY will fight Oleksandr Usyk if a deal can be agreed within the next week.If not, the Gypsy King is set to stay retired after officially hanging up his gloves following his victory over Dillian Whyte in March.
Tyson Fury called on the “suits” to arrange a deal with Oleksandr Usyk
Usyk called out Fury for an undisputed clash after his win over Anthony JoshuaCredit: Getty
The tale of the tape: Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk
Usyk called out Fury for a fight after he retained his world title belts to beat Anthony Joshua on Saturday.
The Ukrainian says he will fight nobody else if he cannot land a showdown with Fury – and the Brit feels the same way.
Fury sent a message to his promoter Frank Warren on Instagram, as well as US promoters Top Rank and also ESPN and the WBC.
In the video he said: “To all these suitors out there who want to make the fight, I’m going to give youse all seven days, till the 1st of September to come up with the money.
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“If not, thank you very much it’s been a blast. I’m retired.
“All them offers submitted must be to my lawyer Robert Davis in writing with proof of funds. Let the games begin.”
The WBC – whose heavyweight belt is held by Fury – are willing to sanction the mouthwatering dust-up.
But Fury won’t fight the unbeaten champion for anything less than half a BILLION pounds.
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Fury also claimed he would have fought for the title of undisputed heavyweight champion for free had Joshua won The Rage on the Red Sea.
He said: “Everyone keeps asking about this fight with this Ukrainian guy. Are you going to come back? Are you going to do this? Are you going to do that?
“Let’s face it, it’s not Anthony Joshua – which I would’ve done for free in England.
“It’s some foreigner who nobody really cares about. To fight this unknown quantity and give him an opportunity of legendary status? They have to pay for that.
“They have a week. It’s August 24. They have a week to submit their offers.
“I want it in writing with proof of funds.
“It’s the biggest fight in the world so it needs to be the biggest pay day in the world. [Floyd] Mayweather got £400million to fight [Manny] Pacquiao, I want £500m!
“I know they [Saudi Arabia] have got the money. They’ve offered Tiger Woods $1billion!
“I have no real interest in Usyk. Some man that nobody can really say his name? A pumped-up middleweight?
“It’s not my fault he’s gone and battered AJ, some bodybuilder! It’s not my fault that happened twice in a row.”
Usyk came out on top instead and the 35-year-old called out Fury after his win.
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He said: “I’m sure that Tyson Fury is not retired yet. I’m sure, I’m convinced he wants to fight me.
“I want to fight him and if I’m not fighting Tyson Fury, I’m not fighting at all.” More

EDDIE HEARN rejected the chance to sign Tyson Fury in 2017 because he was so overweight.The Matchroom promoter held talks with the Gypsy King in Monaco and regrets his decision with hindsight.
Eddie Hearn rejected the chance to sign Tyson Fury and thought the Gypsy King would never get back in shape after he ballooned to 27st 7lbs
Fury ballooned to a whopping 27st 7lbs in November 2017, the time he ran into Hearn.
He managed to shed a staggering 8st for his June 2018 comeback fight with Sefer Seferi and a further 1st 4lbs for his controversial draw against Deontay Wilder in December that year.
Fury is now WBC heavyweight champion and widely considered the best in the division.
Asked which fighter he could have signed but didn’t, Hearn revealed the Gypsy King was the one that got away.
Speaking in 2020, he told ‘Doing the Rounds’: “I mean you could say Tyson Fury.
“I had a chance to sign him. I was in Monaco, I think I could have signed him.
“I didn’t want to give him the fights that he wanted to take at the time, because I thought it was just too much money and the fights weren’t good enough – and I probably should have done it, to be honest with you.
“I looked at him and I thought, ‘You ain’t ever going to come back anyway, look at the size of you,’ but he surprised everybody and how wrong I was.
Fury completed his historic comeback – demolishing Deontay Wilder in FebruaryCredit: Reuters
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“Fury is definitely up there, and there’s a few others. A few American guys that I probably had the chance to sign as well.”
Fury beat Wilder twice to win the WBC heavyweight title.
He is now set to come out of retirement to face Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk holds the WBA, IBF and WBO straps after beating Anthony Joshua for a second time in Saudi Arabia at the weekend. More

DEONTAY WILDER showed off his explosive power and hand speed in a sparring video posted by trainer Malik Scott.The Bronze Bomber is hard at work as he prepares for his long-awaited return to the ring.

Deontay Wilder showed off his skills in sparringCredit: Deontay Wilder
The Bronze Bomber will be back in action on October 15Credit: Deontay Wilder
Wilder, 36, hasn’t fought since losing his trilogy bout with Tyson Fury last October.
But the Tuscaloosa titan will be back in the squared circle on October 15, having signed to fight Swedish heavyweight Robert Helenius in Brooklyn.
Upon the announcement, Wilder said: “It’s been a long journey for me and as of today it continues.
“I thought so many times about whether I should stay out of the business or come back.
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“Once I got my statue in my hometown and saw so many people arrive and celebrate with me and my family, to see all the emotions, grown men crying in front of their children and saying he is a real true king, made me feel like my job is not done.
“So, here I am once again, looking forward to returning to the ring. I am looking forward to coming to Barclays Center, a place where I have had my most devastating knockouts and a place I consider my second home.
“So where all my Bombzquad people at? It’s time to put on your war gear. And let’s go to work, baby. Bombzquad is back!”
Wilder began working with Scott ahead of the third Fury fight, and appears to be doing so again ahead of his next bout.
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Scott, 41, has actually sparred with the Gypsy King before – and also helped Oleksandr Usyk ahead of his rematch with Anthony Joshua.
Wilder’s bout with former sparring partner Helenius will act as title eliminator for the Bronze Bomber’s old WBC belt.
The strap is currently still held by Fury, although will be vacated if the Gypsy King follows through with his retirement.
Wilder, 36, has previously sparred with Robert HeleniusCredit: Instagram @heleniusrobert More

ANTHONY JOSHUA threw FEWER punches in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk than he did in their first fight – despite his change of tactics.The Brit suffered a split decision loss in his Saudi showdown with the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion last weekend.
Anthony Joshua renewed his rivalry with Oleksandr Usyk last weekendCredit: AP
The Brit suffered a split-decision defeat to the undefeated UkrainianCredit: PA
AJ threw less punches in their rematch – despite his more aggressive approachCredit: AP
Joshua and new coach Robert Garcia adopted a more aggressive approach to the Jeddah jostle following the former champ’s lopsided defeat at Tottenham last September.
But the Watford warrior only ended up landing ONE more punch on the fleetfooted and elusive Usyk.
Joshua threw 429 punches in comparison to the 641 he tried to land last year.
AJ, 32, managed to connect with the undefeated Ukrainian 124 times at the King Abdullah Sports City Arena.
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The majority of Joshua’s success came in the ninth round, in which he hurt the former undisputed cruiserweight king.
But Usyk came roaring back in the final three rounds, showing the heart of a champion in the tenth.
In an interview with iFL TV, promoter Eddie Hearn said of the Usyk’s showing in the tenth: “I felt he lost by two rounds but when it’s 115-113, it’s the swing of one or two rounds and you can see it the other way.
“I had AJ level or maybe up at the end of the ninth but Usyk winning the last three rounds.
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“I thought he was incredible and it was one of the great performances.
“The ninth, Usyk was all over the place. He was hurt badly.
“He looked like he could be done.
“What he did in the tenth was unbelievable and that’s why he was pound-for-pound number one.
“The amount of punches he threw in the tenth was incredible. I just couldn’t believe what he did in the championship rounds.”
Usyk turned in a sensational tenth round after being badly hurt in the ninthCredit: EPA
A furious Joshua raged on the microphone after his second successive loss but was quick to apologise for his actions.
He tweeted: “I wish @usykaa continued success in your quest for greatness. You are a class act champ.
“Yesterday I had to mentally take myself into a dark place to compete for the championship belts!
“I had two fights, one with Usyk and one with my emotions and both got the better of me.
“I’ll be the first to admit, I let myself down.
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“I acted out of pure passion and emotion and when not controlled it ain’t great.
“I love this sport so so much and I’ll be better from this point on. Respect.”
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TYSON FURY’S proposed undisputed heavyweight title fight with Oleksandr Usyk has received the green light from the WBC – but the Brit wants a whopping £500MILLION for the bout.The Gypsy King ended his latest retirement on Saturday night after the unified heavyweight champion retained his WBA, WBO and IBF titles in his rematch with Anthony Joshua.
Tyson Fury has performed another retirement U-turn following Oleksandr Usyk’s win over Anthony JoshuaCredit: Getty
A blockbuster undisputed fight with the Ukrainian is on the cardsCredit: Getty
Usyk retained the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles with a dominant victory over Anthony JoshuaCredit: GETTY
Fury wants £500million to face the undefeated UsykCredit: INSTAGRAM@TYSONFURY
The World Boxing Council – whose heavyweight belt is held by Fury – are willing to sanction the mouthwatering dust-up.
But Fury won’t fight the undisputed Ukrainian for anything less than half a BILLION pounds.
He wrote on Instagram: “The world’s biggest fight has to be the world’s biggest money if I’m to put it all on the line vs some unknown foreigner.
“Boys, better get that half a billy. If not, keep that little mug.”
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Fury claims he would’ve fought for the title of undisputed heavyweight champion for free had Joshua won last weekend’s Saudi showdown.
He added: “If it was AJ, it would’ve been for free but it’s not.”
Fury’s demand came after WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told Sky Sports: “Tyson Fury is the WBC champion of the world, he’s not holding the ‘other belt’, he’s holding the WBC Championship which is the Championship of Muhammed Ali, George Foreman, Frazier, Tyson, Lennox Lewis etc.
“I’m very proud of Tyson Fury, he’s a tremendous fighter and I am sure he wishes to continue boxing and a fight to unify all the championships in the division would be tremendous.
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“We have given Tyson Fury the time to evaluate and be ready to make a proper decision and have until this Friday, on the 26th, to receive his written confirmation of what he will be deciding to do.
“But my personal opinion is that boxing is going through a great stage, a great moment, it will be great to see Fury against Usyk in the ultimate unification of the division.”
December 17 is the date currently pencilled in for the undisputed blockbuster fight between the champs.
Sulaiman added: “We are in August, there is still time to finalise and close up the year, or early next year.
“If that fight takes place it’s a momentous, huge event, wherever it takes place, and I would need a good time for preparation for proper marketing and for them to both get mentally and physically ready for such a great fight.”
Fury has instructed co-promoter Frank Warren to do everything in his power to make the fight with the undefeated Ukrainian happen this year.
Warren told talkSPORT: “I just got off the phone with Tyson and he wants this. He told me to get the fight done.
How Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk stack up against one anotherCredit: SUNSPORT
“He realises the significance of this fight, as does Usyk, they are determined where they can generate the most money.”
Fury and Usyk will receive a 50/50 split of the whopping purse on offer.
Warren added: “Do I think it will be made? Yes I do. Usyk’s team and the fighter said immediately after the fight he wants it.
“I know Tyson wants it. Myself and Bob Arum, we want it. It will just be how we make it work financially.
“There will be big demands from both boxers, and rightly so.
“This is a unique event. This is the biggest heavyweight title fight since Muhammad Ali vs Joe Frazier.
“It’s a huge fight because both are undefeated, all the belts are there to be won.
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“A lot of people have a split opinion on who will win, which is great.
“This is boxing’s World Cup, our blue ribbon event. We will make it happen but where it takes place will be determined by finance.”
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