Heavyweight boxing

ANTHONY JOSHUA has snubbed a historic Battle of Britain with Tyson Fury in order to throw down with Deontay Wilder, according to Frank Warren.Fury got boxing fans’ hopes of the long-awaited clash finally coming to fruition last month by claiming to have sent over a draft contract for a September showdown to Joshua’s representatives.
Tyson Fury’s team reached out to Anthony Joshua’s team over a September showdown last monthCredit: GETTY
Joshua has snubbed the fight in order to press on with plans to fight Deontay WilderCredit: RICHARD PELHAM
Joshua is on course to throw down with the Bronze Bomber in DecemberCredit: GETTY
AJ’s team, however, quickly dismissed the claim, insisting no preliminary contract had been sent their way.
Negotiations, however, did take place – although Joshua’s management nixed the historic fight by doubling down on their intention to face Wilder in Saudi Arabia this winter.
During an appearance on talkSPORT, the Queensberry Promotion’s chief Frank Warren: “Let me clarify what has actually happened.
“Last week, a written proposal was sent to Matchroom for ‘AJ’ to fight Tyson in September.
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“Eddie Hearn came back and spoke to my son George, who said it will take a couple of days to see where they are with it.
“A couple of days went by, and George met yesterday with AJ’s management company.
“They confirmed that AJ is fighting in Dubai in December, that is his preferred route.”
AJ promoter Eddie Hearn has earmarked August 12 for Joshua’s second outing of the year, provisionally reserving the O2 Arena.
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That has irked Warren, who added: “There is a space open in August, but they basically do not want to do the fight.
“That is what happened.”
Veteran prompter Warren was quick to walk back Fury’s claims of a preliminary contract being sent out.
But he insists the WBC king is still hellbent on throwing down with the former two-time unified heavyweight champion.
He said: “When Tyson said there was a draft contract, what happened is we had prepared a draft contract the last time we had negotiations.
“So, there was nothing really to be concerned about in terms of negotiations; it was just if they wanted the fight or not.
“So, the situation is: Tyson is desperate to make the fight happen, as he was against [Oleksandr] Usyk.
“But AJ has chosen not to take the fight. That is where we are at.”
Frank Warren is adamant Tyson Fury wants to fight Anthony JoshuaCredit: GETTY
Joshua’s decision to pursue a fight with Wilder is the THIRD time a dream fight with Fury has fallen through.
The pair were due to throw down in the summer of 2021 after agreeing a two-fight deal.
But their back-to-back bouts were scuppered when Wilder successfully won his arbitration case for a trilogy fight with Fury.
Fury, 34, handed Joshua a shock world title lifeline last September just weeks after his fellow Brit’s second successive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.
AJ publicly accepted the offer but the fight didn’t come to fruition and Fury ended up fighting Derek Chisora in a much-lambasted trilogy fight.
Fury hasn’t set foot in the ring since that December dust-up, which he won via tenth-round TKO.
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The Wythenshawe warrior was due to face Usyk in a historic undisputed title fight but the bout went by the wayside following his string of unreasonable demands.
Joshua, meanwhile, was last in action in April – returning to the win column with a scrappy points victory over Jermaine Franklin. More

AN Australian comedian suffered a broken rib after sparring with a potential world champion – while dressed as a KEBAB.Aussie funnyman Tommy Little came up with the concept of eating the Middle Eastern dish between rounds during one of his many brainstorming sessions.
Australian comedian Tommy Little decided to take part in a boxing match while dressed a kebabCredit: INSTAGRAM@CARRIETOMMYSHOW
Little threw down with Aussie boxer Tim Tzyu and ended up with a broken ribCredit: INSTAGRAM@CARRIETOMMYSHOW
Most people with little to no combat experience would dip their toes in the water with a fellow rookie – but not Little.
Little decided to kebab box none other than interim WBO light-middleweight champion Tim Tsyzu.
And unsurprisingly, he didn’t make it out of the first round with the Sydney slugger.
Little – who donned a kebab suit – tried his best to hang with Tsyzu but ended up collapsing to the canvas after eating two nasty body shots a mere 11 seconds into the stanza.
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The 38-year-old joked: “I’m going to leave the judges out of it and award you the win.”
The aftermath of the bout, however, was far from a joke as Little was left in agony due to a cracked rib.
He said: “I can’t cough, sneeze, burp, fart, have sex, breathe deeply so I went to get a scan.
“Great news, lung not collapsed. My rib is broken – I heard it crack when he hit me.”
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Tsyzu, 28, is due to return to the ring on June 18 for a showdown with Carlos Ocampos.
But the fight is seemingly in doubt after he had his right arm savaged by a dog at a barbeque.
Tsyzu – the son of former Ricky Hatton opponent Kosta – underwent emergency surgery but his team are confident it won’t scupper the Queensland clash.
Manager Glen Jennings said: “The wound was superficial.
“The post-surgical report is all good.
“There is no doubt that Tim will be ready and 100 per cent healthy and focused to take on Carlos Ocampo on June 18.”
Two vicious body shots dropped Little and left him struggling to breathe deeplyCredit: INSTAGRAM@CARRIETOMMYSHOW More

ANTHONY JOSHUA had his fans fearing for his safety after showing off a gruelling new training method. The heavyweight star is back in Texas training for his next fight under coach Derrick James in his Dallas gym.
Anthony Joshua chopping wood in training for his next fightCredit: Instagram @anthonyjoshua
Anthony Joshua is back in Texas trainingCredit: Instagram @anthonyjoshua
And AJ shared footage of some old-school training techniques of chopping wood, used as a strength and conditioning exercise.
But fans were left urging Joshua to put some safety goggles on to avoid any chopped up wood getting in his eyes.
One said: “Gotta put on them safety goggles.”
Another agreed: “Put some goggles on man safety first.”
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One added: “Need safety goggles though.”
Joshua, 33, returned with victory in April against Jermaine Franklin, 29, in what was also his first fight under James’ guidance.
And promoter Eddie Hearn hoped it would be the first of three bouts in 2023 to keep the newly-formed pair active.
But that was until Hearn led talks for AJ to face Deontay Wilder, 37, in a December super-fight in Saudi Arabia.
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No formal offer has yet been lodged by the mega-rich backers in the Middle East, meaning AJ is leaving the door open to a bout in the interim.
And Hearn revealed if they are to take a fight to help prepare for Wilder, it will likely fall on August 12.
Dillian Whyte, 35, had been in the running for a rematch with Joshua following his 2015 and Hearn teased a proposal could be sent.
He told Boxing News: “There’s others but that’s the fight that I think makes sense.
“We’re talking to DAZN about it and we expect to make a formal offer to Dillian Whyte but we’ll see what plays out in the Middle East as well.”
Eddie Hearn teased an offer for Anthony Joshua to rematch Dillian WhyteCredit: MATCHROOM BOXING More

ANTHONY JOSHUA laughed off Tyson Fury’s latest fight offer. The Gypsy King took to Instagram to claim he sent AJ a “draft” contract for a blockbuster bout at Wembley in September.
Anthony Joshua laughed off Tyson Fury’s latest fight offerCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Tyson Fury claimed he offered Anthony Joshua a September fightCredit: Getty
It came after reports emerged that Australian pair Jai Opetaia and Demsey McKean have been in talks to fight Fury Down Under.
Meanwhile, WBC champion Fury was also going back and forth with UFC champion Jon Jones over a crossover showdown.
So promoter Eddie Hearn admitted it was hard for Joshua, 33, to take Fury’s social media call-out seriously.
Hearn told iFL TV: “I spoke to AJ, AJ laughed and said, ‘Isn’t he fighting Jai Opetaia, or Demsey McKean, or Jon Jones?
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“I said, ‘No. They’re telling us they want to fight you.’ I’ll go through the process and see how real this is. I believe George Warren.
“I think they’re in a really difficult spot. Tyson Fury, he wants big money fights and AJ is the money fight for him but no back and forth, just ‘we’ll talk’.”
Joshua returned with a victory in April over Jermaine Franklin, 29, following consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk, 36.
And soon after, Hearn began leading talks for AJ to fight Deontay Wilder, 37, in Saudi Arabia in December.
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It could see Joshua returning beforehand in an August interim bout, leaving Fury, 34, out of the equation.
Hearn said: “Right now, our plan remains the same, August and Deontay Wilder in December so we’ll see what happens in Saudi Arabia this week.
“That’s our plan, that’s what we’re moving forward with this week, if we can’t make that happen, we’ll 100 per cent look at the Tyson Fury fight.”
Anthony Joshua with promoter Eddie HearnCredit: Rex More

CARL FROCH has voiced his opinion on Tyson Fury’s latest fight offer to Anthony Joshua.Last week, Fury revealed that he had proposed another offer to Joshua for a September fight following last year’s failed talks.
Froch has started to get ‘wound up’ by FuryCredit: AFP
The Gypsy King has proposed an offer to JoshuaCredit: Getty
Eddie Hearn pushed back against the claim but Fury’s promoter George Warren has since confirmed an offer had been formally sent.
And with conversations still ongoing, Froch has had his say on the saga.
When speaking on his YouTube channel, the former super-middleweight world champion admitted that he is growing frustrated with the Gypsy King.
He said: “I’m starting to get a little bit wound up. I’m good friends with him, I’ve got a lot of respect for him, what a great fighter he is, but it’s getting to the point now where I’m getting bored of his nonsense.
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“He’s now sent a contract, although Eddie Hearn has denied it, to Anthony Joshua saying ‘let’s get this fight on’.
“We can’t just all sing to the Tyson Fury tune of ‘I’ve sent a contract, I want to fight somebody, let’s make it happen’, because it’s not realistic.
“Let the promoters do their job, let hem get together and sort it out.”
Fury tried to lure Joshua into a short-notice showdown in December.
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However, talks collapsed due to the quick turnaround of the fight.
In October, Hearn told TalkSPORT: “It’s probably a bit of everybody’s fault. It’s a very complex situation for both teams, with TV networks.
“Listen, I don’t mind saying, AJ’s just coming off a defeat, he wanted December 17, but we agreed to December 3, he would have had to get back into the gym immediately, which he was going to do.
“I don’t sit here today, as someone who represents Anthony Joshua, devastated that fight didn’t happen.
“He wanted to take it, so I was all in, but it was a very quick turnaround for him in a fight of that magnitude.”
Instead, Fury faced Derek Chisora at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. More

LUDUMO LAMATI collapsed in the ring after his fight against Nick Ball.The boxer required oxygen and was stretchered out of the ring to receive further treatment.
Ludumo Lamati needed medical assistance after collapsingCredit: BT SPORT
The incident happened after he lost his bout with Nick BallCredit: Getty
The South African, 31, had lost the bout against Brit in the 12th round by technical knockout at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Ball, 26, was interviewed after the incident and made it clear that he was only thinking of Lamati’s health.
He told BT Sport: “The main thing is Lamati’s health. I hope he’s alright.
“I will be even more happy when I know that, because boxing is no joke.
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“You have got some people not taking it seriously and you can lose your life in here, so the main thing is his health.”
BT Sport did report that Lamati was “doing okay” and is conscious and talking.
And many others have been sending their support for the boxer on social media.
One tweeted: “All of our thoughts are with Ludumo Lamati.”
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A second wrote: “Please pull through lad. Phenomenal effort. Praying for him. 🙏🙏🙏🤞🤞🤞.”
A third said: “Ludumo Lamati currently getting stretched out of the ring.
“Thoughts are with Ludumo and wish him a speedy recovery 🙏🏼.”
While a fourth added: “Get well soon Ludumo Lamati 🙏.”
The win for Ball took his record to 18-0 including 11 TKOs as he continued his unbeaten run. More