Heavyweight boxing

DAVID HAYE reckons Anthony Joshua will KNOCK OUT Tyson Fury in their eagerly-anticipated undisputed heavyweight title fight.The pair are finally set to share the ring in Saudi Arabia on August 14, although an official announcement has yet to be made.
Anthony Joshua is gearing up for a blockbuster heavyweight title fight with Tyson FuryCredit: Reuters
Joshua will bid to add Fury’s WBC, Ring Magazine and lineal heavyweight titles to his collectionCredit: Reuters
WBC king Fury goes into the contest as the bookies’ favourite, despite being on the sidelines longer than AJ.
But former WBA heavyweight king Haye reckons Joshua is being overlooked for a myriad of reasons, which he broke down during a recent interview with PA.
Tactics
Haye believes Joshua has shown drastic improvements to his offense in his last two outings against Andy Ruiz Jr and Kubrat Pulev.
He told PA: “What Fury did against Deontay Wilder in his last fight sounded like suicide on paper, but it was genius.
“Tactically I believed he had got it totally wrong, but it was proven right.
WIN £50,000! Play Dream Team Euros – our FREE fantasy football game

“But if you look at some of his prior fights, I wouldn’t say his tactics were that good.
“Joshua got his tactics terribly wrong in his first fight against Andy Ruiz, trying to mix it against a guy with short arms whose only chance was to get inside.
” But his tactics are improving and I very much liked what he did against Kubrat Pulev in his last fight.”
Style
Haye is of the belief that Joshua, 31, won’t be bullied the same way Wilder was by The Gypsy King.
Tyson Fury bullied Deontay Wilder in their rematch last FebruaryCredit: Getty
“I think some people very much underestimate the boxing ability of Anthony Joshua.
“They forget he’s an Olympic gold medallist – Tyson didn’t even go to an Olympics, because he lost to David Price (in 2006).
“AJ started later but I can see his progression.
“I laugh at how people can doubt someone as genetically gifted as AJ.
“They see what happened to Wilder and they think the same thing will happen to Joshua, but they are two completely different fighters and human beings.”

Power
Despite being impressed by Fury’s stoppage of Wilder last February, Haye firmly believes Joshua is the bigger power puncher.
He said: “Joshua waded in in his first fight against Andy Ruiz Jr and learned a hard lesson.
“You’ve got to soften your man up and pick your punches – just because you have the ability to knock someone out doesn’t give you the divine right to do so.
“Tyson isn’t so much of a one-punch specialist. He puts his punches together and his style is that if you throw big looping shots at him he’ll make you look silly.
“But AJ throws hard, compact punches and he puts them together well. I don’t see this fight going smoothly for Fury at all.”
David Haye reckons Anthony Joshua is a bigger power puncher than Tyson FuryCredit: AFP

Preview(opens in a new tab)
How it goes down
The Hayemaker foresees Joshua’s power and athleticism being too much for Fury to handle and is seemingly leaning towards an early stoppage.
Haye said: “I like the dedication of Joshua and I think he has a good chance of winning it early.
“People think I’m crazy but that’s just the way I see it.
“I loved his fight against Wladimir Klitschko – he took his licks and got back up and showed the heart of a champion.
“I think it’s a great fight and I really see it being won by stoppage. I’m just so glad we’re so close to seeing it happen.”
Tyson Fury confirms Anthony Joshua showdown is on with duo’s bout set for August 14 in Saudi Arabia More

TYSON FURY is still enjoying his warm-weather break to Miami with brother Tommy.The Fury brothers have been lapping up the Florida sun for the best part of a week having flown there from Texas after supporting Billy Joe Saunders in his ill-fated clash with Canelo Alvarez.
Tyson Fury and brother Tommy enjoyed a nice relaxing day at the pool in MiamiCredit: BACKGRID
Tyson Fury stretches as he takes in the scenery at the poolCredit: BACKGRID
The Gypsy King even made time for fans who wanted their kids to have a picture with the WBC kingCredit: BackGrid
And the pair, 32 and 22 respectively, appear to still be enjoying their getaway, despite all the photo requests.
WBC heavyweight king Tyson was spotted by a group of fans with their young kids as he was enjoying a relaxing day by the pool.
The Gypsy King was happy to oblige the fans’ photo request – carrying both children as he smiled for the camera.
Tyson’s trip to Miami has also been a break from his Vegas training camp for his undisputed heavyweight title fight with Anthony Joshua.
The former unified champion has been laying off the booze during his time in the Sunshine State.
A source told SunSport: “Tyson has kicked the booze on the head for good.
“It is not because of the boxing, because he can always get in shape for fights and obviously doesn’t drink during training camps.
CASINO SIGN UP OFFER: CLAIM UP TO £800 IN CASINO BONUS CASH

“Tyson is doing this for himself and his family — especially his wife Paris.
“And he reckons it is the best way to be a great dad and stay in shape physically and mentally.”
Fury’s quitting of the booze comes after he claimed to be drinking ’12 pints of lager a day’.
In March, he said: “I have stopped training at the moment, I am on holiday.
“I am drinking between eight, ten, 12 pints of lager a day.”
WIN £50,000! Play Dream Team Euros – our FREE fantasy football game

Tyson’s long-awaited showdown with Joshua will take place in Saudi Arabia on August 14, although an official announcement has yet to be made.
Fury, however, confirmed the fight is set on Sunday night, telling his 4.2million Instagram followers: “Got some massive news for you all.
“I’ve just got off the phone from Prince Khalid of Saudi Arabia, he’s told me this fight is 100 per cent on. August 14, 2021 summertime.
“All eyes of the world will be on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“And I cannot wait, repeat: cannot wait to smash Anthony Joshua on the biggest stage of all time.
“This is going to be the biggest sporting event ever to grace the planet earth. Do not miss it. All eyes on us.
“Peace out, God bless, see you all in Saudi! Yes, get in!”
Tyson Fury confirms Anthony Joshua showdown is on with duo’s bout set for August 14 in Saudi Arabia More

ANTHONY JOSHUA and Tyson Fury are set to split an eye-watering £110million site fee after their Saudi Arabia mega-fight, according to reports.The heavyweight champions go head to head on August 14 and the fighters are set for an epic pay day with the Middle Eastern country coughing up some serious dough in order to stage the fight.
Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will split a staggering £110m site fee
Fury, 32, will face fellow Brit Joshua in Saudi Arabia on August 14
Each man will receive £53million from the site fee while an additional £2m each will be for ‘expenses and the undercard’, according to TalkSPORT.
The date and location of the huge unification showdown had been revealed by Eddie Hearn and the Gypsy King publicly backed the plan.
On Sunday, Fury, 32, posted a video to his Instagram and revealed talks with Khalid bin Salman Al Saud, prince of Saudi Arabia.
He told his 4.2million followers: “Got some massive news for you all.
“I’ve just got off the phone from Prince Khalid of Saudi Arabia, he’s told me this fight is 100 per cent on. August 14, 2021 summertime.
WIN £50,000! Play Dream Team Euros – our FREE fantasy football game
“All eyes of the world will be on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. And I cannot wait, repeat: cannot wait to smash Anthony Joshua on the biggest stage of all time.
“This is going to be the biggest sporting event ever to grace the planet earth. Do not miss it. All eyes on us.
“Peace out, God bless, see you all in Saudi! Yes, get in!”
🇸🇦 Final figure for the Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury Saudi site fee is reportedly $155million: [According to @ESPN]💰 $75million guaranteed for Joshua💰 $75million guaranteed for Fury💰 $5million for expenses/undercard— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) May 16, 2021

Saudi Arabia hosted 31-year-old Joshua’s title rematch victory over Andy Ruiz Jr in December 2019 amid criticism from human rights’ campaigners.
A temporary venue was constructed in Diriyah for the fight and Matchroom boss Hearn has promised a new stadium that will ‘shock the world’ for August’s unification event.
He told Sky Sports: “They want to build a new stadium.
“They have indoors options. In August at 11pm it will be about 23 degrees.
“They want to create something very, very special.
“Last time they built a stadium for the Andy Ruiz Jr fight in just seven weeks and it held 18,000. This will be a similar setup.
“They have the opportunity to hold it indoors but they want to create something that will shock the world. They want to build a stadium just for this fight.”
FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE

Tyson Fury confirms Anthony Joshua showdown is on with duo’s bout set for August 14 in Saudi Arabia More

MAHMOUD CHARR’S knockout celebration may make as many headlines as his second round stoppage victory against Christopher Lovejoy.Making his return to the ring since outpointing Alexander Ustinov in November 2017, the 36-year-old destroyed the American in Germany.
Mahmoud Charr knocked out Christopher Lovejoy on his return to the ringCredit: TV 85
Charr failed in his attempt at a cartwheel celebration after stopping LovejoyCredit: TV 85
And while he got his angles spot on to drop his heavyweight opponent, he got it all wrong when he attempted a cartwheel celebration after Lovejoy failed to beat the count.
The WBA Champion in Recess slipped and crashed to the canvas, before clumsily getting back to his feet.
His celebration perfectly summed up the bout with the out of shape Lovejoy looking scared to throw a punch as he made Charr look good.
Boxing fans were left in stitches over the incident, as one tweeted: “Round 2 and it’s all over!
“Charr unloads, gets the stoppage and pulls out possibly the worst cartwheel I’ve ever seen. That’s heavyweight boxing.”
Another quipped: “When your kid first attempts a cartwheel.”
A third added: “Lovejoy is a mess like that cartwheel attempt.”
WIN £50,000! Play Dream Team Euros – our FREE fantasy football game this summer
One then commented: “Best thing about how s*** this cartwheel is, is watching him obvs think ‘do the cartwheel. do the cartwheel’, first.”
FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE
Charr crashed to the canvas after slipping during his acrobatic celebrationCredit: TV 85

Meanwhile one simply stated: “The botched cartwheel at the end is just the cherry on top.”
Speaking after the bout, Charr said: “I am overjoyed! An enormous amount of pressure was put on me, but real diamonds are only created under pressure.
“The Champ is back. Team Diamond Boy is back. I am happy and grateful that I could reward myself and my team today for the hard training during the last three-and-a-half-years, for never stopping to believe in me and to fight for me.
“Thank you to everyone who believed in me. But I’m also sorry for the viewers on the screens that the fight was so short.”
His next outing could come against WBA ‘Regular’ champion Trevor Bryan, who won the strap after beating Bermane Stiverne in January.
But speaking to SunSport in February, Charr revealed how he is gunning to face the winner out of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Joshua Buatsi reacts to his explosive win against Daniel Blenda Dos Santos as he extends his unbeaten run More