Heavyweight boxing

EVANDER HOLYFIELD has warned Deontay Wilder to change his style ‘slowly’ and not become a new man overnight. It comes after the American former champion hired his ex-opponent Malik Scott – who he knocked out in 2014 – as his new head coach.
Boxing legend Evander Holyfield has offered advice to Deontay Wilder
Tyson Fury beat Deontay Wilder in their 2020 rematch and faces him on October 9Credit: Reuters
Wilder has pulled back the curtain on his new training regime with a series of videos which includes more body punching, jabbing and movement.
But boxing legend Holyfield, who returns aged 58 on Saturday against Vitor Belfort, fears the Bronze Bomber could tinker with his tactics too much.
He told FightHype: “The thing is with Deontay he started boxing at a late age.
“A lot of times when somebody starts boxing at a late age, they get one good style and that’s it.
“A lot of them don’t know how to make a lot of adjustments, so I don’t know if this is him or not. He’s one of my favourite fighters.
“Stick to what you’re really good at and implement it slowly, and maybe he can and maybe not.

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“There aren’t too many things you want to change from. You add some but you add things that you needed.”
Wilder, 36, who first picked up the gloves aged 20, managed to win bronze at the 2008 Olympics after only three years of experience.
As a professional, he went 43 fights unbeaten, with 41 knockouts, until he was dethroned by Tyson Fury, 33, in their 2020 rematch.
Suddenly, despite years of relying on his power and a fairly one-dimensional approach, Wilder decided to freshen up his team.
It has seen Scott employed as lead trainer, but Holyfield hopes Wilder is not ‘thinking too much’ ahead of his trilogy with Fury on October 9.
He said: “In all these things you work on in being the very best. Is he getting it to the point where he can remember to do them as a natural thing?
How Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder stack up ahead of the trilogy fight
“The worst thing you can do for a fighter is let somebody new come in there giving him something new to do.
“They take it all of a sudden you start thinking too much. Boxing is a reaction sport.
“If you and me were boxing, you might not be comfortable, but I’m comfortable about how far I can get to for me to make you do something that I can counter a shot.”
Watch Deontay Wilder smash pads for 12 rounds at Alabama training camp as Tyson Fury trilogy fight approaches More

TYSON FURY has blasted Brit boxing rival Dillian Whyte as a ‘chinless piece of s***’ in his latest rant.The WBC heavyweight champ is in camp ahead of his trilogy fight against Deontay Wilder on October 9.
Tyson Fury has blasted Brit rivals Dillian Whyte as a ‘s***house’
Fury pulled no punches in his tweet to Dillian WhyteCredit: Twitter@Tyson_Fury
But the Gypsy King took some time out to post on Twitter to savage Whyte and promised to ‘smash’ the Londoner and rivals Anthony Joshua.
Fury wrote: “@DillianWhyte is a chinless piece of s***, who is a massive s***house was offered 5 mill to fight AJ and declined.
“I’m putting you on notice you bum try not to lose again before I smash u to bits in a keep busy fight for me before I smash @anthonyjoshua.”
Whyte reportedly turned down a rematch against AJ – he lost the first – because he was offered only £4million.
Fury seems to be gunning for plenty of the sports big names – and not just boxers.
He recently called Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn a ‘southern w*****’ during a chat with Manchester United legend Gary Neville.
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The Gypsy King also claimed Hearn tried to sign him and his failure to do so is the promoter’s ‘biggest regret of his life’.
He added: “I love to terrorise Eddie because he loves to talk s**t about people that he’s got nothing to do with.
“All Eddie has ever done is talk rubbish about me because he knows it gets him hits and viewing figures on interviews.
“At the end of the day, what’s he ever achieved in his life? He’s never been a boxer.
“He goes around like he’s world heavyweight champion, but he isn’t. He’s just a businessman.
“There’s plenty of them out there but there’s only one, real, heavyweight world champion – and that’s me.”
How Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder stack up ahead of the trilogy fight
Hearn was quick to hit back in an interview with Boxing Social.
The promoter said: “[Fury] says I’m not a champion, I’m just a businessman – well obviously.
“But he and I have one thing in common: we both have the same amount of world heavyweight title defences, which is zero.”
Dillian Whyte is on the lookout for his next opponentCredit: PA
Wilder says Tyson Fury delayed fight after getting beaten up by ‘young guy’ from Bronze Bomber’s camp More

TYSON FURY has opened up about the horrible stress he was under when his daughter Athena was placed in intensive care last month.Fury, 33, and wife Paris, 31, welcomed their sixth child into the world on August 8 but were immediately anxious after it became apparent their newly-born daughter had health complications.
Tyson Fury has revealed the stress he went through during his daughter’s health problemsCredit: YouTube: The Overlap
Athena battled through intensive care and is now said to be ‘doing very well’Credit: Instagram
Athena was then placed into intensive care and put on a ventilator, but she fought through and was discharged from hospital three weeks ago.
Fury has now revealed that she is ‘doing very well’ and has ‘made a full recovery’.
But the ordeal took its toll on the WBC heavyweight champion, who will return to the boxing ring for the first time in 20 months on October 9.
Speaking to ITV, he said: “[It] probably took a couple of years off my life, the amount of stress I was under.
“But it’s a part of life I suppose. And, you know, there’s going to be ups and downs in our lives and it’s about not giving up and always believing that you’re going to get the best out of it.
“For all the people out there that have got kids in hospital, then you’ve got to be optimistic and be strong for your partner or whoever you’re with and things will get better eventually.

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How Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder stack up ahead of the trilogy fight
“You’re just praying, just hoping that things are going to be OK.
“And you’re hoping for better times and that’s all you can do at that moment.”
He then went on to add that Athena is a ‘little fighter… just like me’.
Fury is now able to fully focus on his trilogy fight against American Deontay Wilder in just over four weeks.
The Gypsy King reclaimed a version of the world heavyweight title by stopping Wilder in the seventh round of their highly-anticipated clash in February 2020.
They were initially due to meet again in July but the bout was pushed back three months after Fury contracted coronavirus, something his opponent Wilder has disputed.

The Bronze Bomber, who is looking to regain his WBC strap, said: “They’re trying to run away from it, I’m running to it. I don’t believe he had Covid.
“I know he wasn’t doing well in camp. The young guys were piecing him up.
“I had a young guy from my camp who was piecing him up.”

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Wilder says Tyson Fury delayed fight after getting beaten up by ‘young guy’ from Bronze Bomber’s camp More

DEONTAY WILDER has accused Tyson Fury of delaying their trilogy fight because he was beaten up in sparring by someone from the American’s camp.Fury, 33, slammed The Bronze Bomber back in July after he accused the Brit of lying about contracting coronavirus in order to push the bout back from July to October.
Deontay Wilder does not believe Tyson Fury delayed their fight because he contracted coronavirusCredit: Rex
The Gypsy King had to push back their trilogy clash to October 9 after a Covid outbreakCredit: Rex
Wilder will now look to reclaim the WBC strap he lost in early 2020 when he faces The Gypsy King for a third time on October 9.
But the American has continued with his belief that Fury is running from him and fuelled that by claiming the champ was beaten up in his preparations for the original July date.
Wilder told the PBC Podcast: “They’re trying to run away from it, I’m running to it. I don’t believe he had Covid.
“I know he wasn’t doing well in camp. The young guys were piecing him up.
“I had a young guy from my camp who was piecing him up.”
The pair fought to a controversial draw back in December 2018 in Los Angeles, a clash many felt Fury won after he climbed off the canvas in a dramatic 12th round.

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How Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder stack up ahead of the trilogy fight
They then went their separate ways with two fights apiece before getting back into the ring with one another 14 months later in Las Vegas.
And this time Fury was able to decisively rip the belt away from Wilder as he dominated the American, eventually stopping him in the seventh round.
A trilogy fight was due to take place later in 2020 but the coronavirus pandemic stopped it from happening.
Fury then looked to bypass Wilder and set up an undisputed clash with unified champion Anthony Joshua.
But a court ruling from an arbitrator ruled that the American was contractually entitled to a third fight, a decision which quashed the potential for a Fury-Joshua bout next.
In order for the two Brits to meet for all the belts, Fury now has to come through Wilder again.
And AJ has to defend his belts against former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 25.
Speaking about a fight with Joshua, Fury said: “AJ couldn’t smoke a cigarette, never mind smoke the Gypsy King. He hasn’t got the minerals to fight a man like me.

“I said to Eddie Hearn straight, ‘The difference in me and him is he’s a businessman and I’m a f***ing Spartan.’
“And I’ll show him that when I get in the ring. I will absolutely annihilate that bodybuilder, he won’t go past six rounds. It will be over quickly.
“He knows that and his full team know it. And that’s why Eddie Hearn has been steering around me for the last ten years.”
Tyson Fury brands Eddie Hearn a ‘Southern w*****’ and hits back at Anthony Joshua in chat with Man Utd icon Gary Neville More