Heavyweight boxing

DILLIAN WHYTE admits he is ready to shelve his fight against Otto Wallin in order to chase a WBC title clash with Tyson Fury.Whyte was forced to axe his ‘interim’ bout with Wallin on October 30 after injuring his shoulder.
Dillian Whyte is ready to drop his bout against Otto Wallin in order to fight Tyson FuryCredit: Getty
Fury has been ordered to fight the WBC ‘interim’ champ, currently WhyteCredit: Getty
A new date is yet to be announced for the heavyweight grudge match.
And in the meantime, Fury remains without an opponent after seeing a potential division unifier against Oleksandr Usyk disappear.
The Ukrainian will instead fight Anthony Joshua after the defeated Brit triggered his rematch clause.
And Fury has been ordered by the WBC to now defend his crown against the ‘interim’ champion, currently Whyte.
And while the ace insists he did not pull the plug on his Wallin battle in order to speed up a showdown against Fury, Whyte admits he won’t hesitate to go after the Gypsy King first should the opportunity present itself.
Whyte told TalkSport: “I was training, I was ready, I was prepared, spent a fortune on training camp. I saw Wallin’s complaining he spent $20,000 or something, I was like, ‘Well try spending six times that much.’

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“People are saying I pulled out because of whatever reason – if that was the case, why would I have four sparring partners here?
“I would’ve pulled out three weeks ago or whenever the [WBC] ruling was. I have the guys here, my whole team’s here. We suffered the injury, I wanted to fight.
“You’ve got professional people on your team, people who use their brain. I use my balls and my muscle.
“These guys are the brain guys – the surgeons and the doctors – and they told me, ‘If you fight, you’re gonna risk your career.’
“Yeah of course [I’d fight Fury first]. Fury’s got the world title and that’s what I’ve been waiting for, that’s what I’ve worked for.
“I don’t even know how much sanctioning fees I’ve paid. I could’ve easily abandoned this route and gone down another route years ago, but I’ve waited and I’ve waited and I’ve waited.
“So what am I gonna do? Fight Otto Wallin or fight Tyson Fury, what are you gonna do? It’s common sense. Like I said, I’m not scared of no-one. I wanted to fight.
“I think they’re gonna mandate me vs Tyson Fury, they’ve basically said it already. It’s already been mandated really, so we don’t need to wait.
“I want it to be in the UK man, that’s a UK fight. Vegas is great, I’d love to go to Vegas and fight, but that’s a British fight. That’s the biggest all-British heavyweight title fight since Lennox Lewis vs Frank Bruno.”
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BOXING legend Evander Holyfield was watching on from ringside as his son Evan scored an emphatic knockout in Atlanta on Saturday night. The 24-year-old stopped Charles Stanford in just the second round of their super-welterweight bout.
Evan delivered a brutal knockout in Atlanta on Saturday nightCredit: AP
And was joined in the ring with dad Evander after the boutCredit: Getty
Evander is one of just three men who became world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweightCredit: Getty

Evan first of all rocked Stanford with a vicious left hook before a booming overhand right sent the 35-year-old sprawling to the canvas.
The bout barely lasted a round, with Stanford savagely knocked out just 22 seconds into the second.
Holyfield Jr now moves to 8-0 in his budding career, including six KOs.
And after the ferocious knockout 58-year-old Evander clambered up on the canvas to celebrate with his son.
The former cruiser and heavyweight world champion made a bizarre return to the ring last month, although his comeback didn’t last long.
He was stopped by MMA legend Vitor Belfort in less than TWO minutes.

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In worrying scenes Holyfield repeatedly swung and missed, even slipping through the ropes.
That’s despite the veteran fighter feeling the official stepped in too quickly to stop it.
Afterwards he said: “I think it was a bad call.
“I don’t think the referee should have stopped the fight that quick.”
Holyfield would be wise to focus fully on the boxing career of his highly rated son after his concerning last outing.
Son Evan had the Atlanta crowd on their feet after the stunning KO in his hometown on Saturday night.
And later on the main event of the night saw Shakur Stevenson live up to his billing as one of the next big things with a late stoppage of Jamel Herring.
The 24-year-old southpaw scored a 10th-round stoppage over WBO super-featherweight champ Herring.
Evander Holyfield reacts to his quick loss to Vitor Belfort More

ANTHONY JOSHUA and Oleksandr Usyk’s rematch is ‘realistic’ for March as Eddie Hearn revealed the UK is leading the race to host the fight. Joshua, 32, was beaten in September by Usyk, 34, and surrendered the unified WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles.
Anthony Joshua, promoter Eddie Hearn and Oleksandr UsykCredit: Rex
Oleksandr Usyk beat Anthony Joshua to win the unified heavyweight titlesCredit: Getty
But the defiant British superstar invoked his right to an immediate rematch as he looks to again reclaim his throne.
Hearn is set to start talks with Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk in the coming weeks and believes the pair will fight in the UK once more.
He told iFL TV: “I think March is realistic, yeah March, around March.”
Asked if the UK is the frontrunner to host, Hearn replied: “I think so yeah, I’d like to do it back in the UK.
“Like I say, we’ve had approaches, offers, it’s a huge fight and there will be a lot of people wanting to stage it.
“But I would like to do it back in the UK.”

After Joshua suffered his first career defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in June 2019, he brilliantly boxed his way to revenge in Saudi Arabia six months later.
He stayed loyal to head coach Rob McCracken, despite calls to change is approach.
And the same questions have been asked again following AJ’s latest setback, which has left his coaching situation up in the air.
Speculation only heightened with pictures revealing Joshua in several US-based gyms as he joined Hearn in America to enjoy some downtime.
He visited Canelo’s esteemed coach Eddy Reynoso, Joshua Buatsi’s trainer Virgil Hunter, Mike Tyson’s ex-cornerman Ronnie Shields and also Robert Garcia.
But Hearn did not confirm whether Joshua was looking to replace McCracken – the man who led him to Olympic gold in 2012 – or just seeking advice.
He told iFL TV: “I think March is realistic, yeah March, around March… I’d like to do it back in the UK. Eddie Hearn on Anthony Joshua’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk
He said: “The speculation’s been unbelievable, hasn’t it?
“He came out with me to the States, he wanted to have a chill, he wanted to go and travel around. He wanted to see gyms, he wanted to speak to people.
“You know he’s a guy that loves to absorb knowledge and he went to see a number of gyms and fighters and trainers.
“He hasn’t split from Rob McCracken, he hasn’t decided that he’s going to join another trainer.
“I think he’s just trying to learn, he’s trying to look at his setup, trying to look at ways to improve and he’s working.
“He’s out there, putting the work in now everyday getting ready for the rematch.
“And I’ve never seen him so focussed for a fight, for a rematch and he just wants to get it 100 per cent right. He knows he must win this fight.”
Anthony Joshua tells Mike Tyson’s old coach Ronnie Shields to turn him into a dog for Oleksandr Usyk rematch More

TYSON FURY’S mentor SugarHill Steward revealed the pair ‘train blindfolded’ as he opened up on their ‘special’ relationship.The American has guided the Gypsy King to stunning back-to-back KO wins against the previously unbeaten Deontay Wilder.
SugarHill Steward has guided Tyson Fury back to the top of boxingCredit: Alamy
The trilogy was put to bed in stunning style on October 9 when Fury floored the Bronze Bomber three times on the way to an 11th-round stoppage.
And much of the credit for his scintillating rise to the top of the heavyweight division has been put at the door of the nephew of the great Emmanuel Steward.
Speaking to Sky Sports, SugarHill has opened up on how he has helped guide the Morecambe mauler to one of the greatest comebacks ever in sport.
He said: “Me and Tyson are a great team, the dynamic duo. People try to give me credit but I pass it straight on to Tyson.
“Lots of trainers give the right instructions but if the fighter doesn’t do it? Then it’s not worth talking about.
“When I tell him what to do, he does it.

“It must be a special relationship – a bond – for a person to respond to you.
“I can’t sit here taking credit although I do know what people are talking about. I couldn’t do it without him. Just like he couldn’t do it without me.”
SugarHill, who describes Fury as ‘the right person for me’, has eked out every bit of power in the Brit to make Wilder’s ‘pillow fists’ jibe look foolish.
And the Kronk Gym coach has revealed some unusual training methods that have helped Fury along the way.
We don’t talk about a specific person. We want whoever the best isSugarHill Steward on Fury’s next opponent
He added: “They say he dips his hands in gasoline to toughen them up.
“That’s true. We also train blind-folded.”
Fury was floored twice against Wilder in the trilogy fight – but SugarHill says that he ‘saw he was OK’ and saw that it was just ‘his instinct’ to get back up and fight on.
Now thoughts have turned to ‘who’s next?’ – with an undisputed title fight against the winner of the Oleksandr Usyk versus Anthony Joshua rematch the one most people want to see.
But SugarHill is concentrating on looking after No1 and not worrying about anyone else.
He added: “We don’t talk about a specific person. We want whoever the best is.”

Fury is undefeated as a fighter and the only man to ever beat WilderCredit: Getty
Tyson Fury battered Deontay Wilder in their trilogy fight to defend his WBC titleCredit: Getty
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ANTHONY JOSHUA has told potential new trainer Ronnie Shields to bring out the dog in him against Oleksandr Usyk.The 32-year-old Watford ace has left under-fire mentor Rob McCracken to go on a tour of some of America’s best gyms following the punishing September loss of his heavyweight world titles.
Anthony Joshua wants Mike Tyson’s old trainer Ronnie Shields to bring out the dog in him in his rematch with Oleksandr UsykCredit: Instagram @tristan.kalkreuth
The Brit tried to out-box the Ukrainian in their first fight but will chance tack next time outCredit: AP
And the 2012 Olympic golden boy spent a couple of days studying the unanimous points loss with Mike Tyson’s former trainer, before doing some padwork with the 63-year-old.
And respected veteran Shields, who is currently guiding WBC middleweight champ Jermall Charlo, claims Joshua wants to tap into his inner beast to avenge his last toothless performance.
Shields told The Boxing Voice: “The first thing he told me when he came here, he told me, ‘listen, I know people don’t think that I’m a dog, I’m just a pure boxer, look, I’m gonna be a dog in this next fight’. And that’s his words.
“He told me, ‘I’m gonna be a dog in this fight, I just need you to show me how to be the best dog that you can teach me to be’.
“That answered the question for me because my thing to him was, ‘why did you box the whole time?’, and he said he thought he could out-box him, and that was the game plan.
“To me that was the wrong fight, now he knows that was the wrong fight. To teach a man to be a dog he has to have the dog instincts in him already.

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“He says he has it in him, if things work out and I’m training him and once it comes down to it, now in the gym is the time to show it and in the fight you’ve got to show it too.
“It’s going to be hard work, we sat down and talked about everything and I think everything went great.”
McCracken’s work with Joshua has been rightly celebrated but he was forced to allow two more coaches into the corner after the June 2019 loss to Andy Ruiz Jr.
Angel Fernandez and Joby Clayton helped Josh regain his belts from the Mexican and knockout Kubrat Pulev in December.
But some of the tactics and cheerleading captured on camera, in between the late rounds Usyk comfortably banked, left fight fans baffled.
And Shields has revealed Joshua has already afforded him hours just to talk about the sweet science and he has been surprised by his lack of knowledge.
‘NEVER TAUGHT THAT’
He added: “In the last two days everything seemed to go well. The first day was just all talk, we talked for about three or four hours.
“We watched a few rounds of the Usyk fight together and I just pointed out some things that I thought he should’ve done that he didn’t do.
“‘We had a great talk yesterday, today was even greater. There’s something I showed him that he said, ‘man, I was never taught to do this’.
“It surprises me that a guy who was the heavyweight champion of the world doesn’t know certain things.”
Team AJ insist no decision has been made on the future of the backroom staff and Joshua is just on a busman’s holiday to the US soaking up knowledge from a range of gyms and trainers.
But Shields seems to already be formulating a plan for the Englishman to exact rematch revenge over Usyk, that could spell the end McCracken’s brilliant tenure.

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The former featherweight said: “‘Obviously it wasn’t the right game plan, I told him he didn’t fight like himself. I think he’s a much better fighter than what he showed in that Usyk fight.
“I watched a few rounds with him and his team, I told him about certain things and he said, ‘yeah man, that’s what we should’ve done, but we didn’t do it’.
“When you have a game plan you have to work on it every day, you have to get it down pat before that fight and when you get in there you have to do things you did in the gym.
“I don’t know what their game plan was, obviously it wasn’t the right one and I guess he didn’t feel like it was the right one so this is why he wanted to make a change.”
Anthony Joshua training with Mike Tyson’s former coach for Usyk rematch 211020 More