Heavyweight boxing

ANTHONY JOSHUA will lose his eagerly-anticipated heavyweight title unification fight with Tyson Fury, according to his former opponent Andy Ruiz Jr.
The unified heavyweight king is gearing up for the biggest fight in the history of British boxing, which is set to take place in the summer.

Unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is on a collision course with Tyson FuryCredit: PA

Tyson Fury celebrates beating Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas last FebruaryCredit: PA

Andy Ruiz Jr reckons Tyson Fury will get the better of Tyson FuryCredit: PA

Fleet-footed WBC king Fury has been tipped by many to get the better of the powerful AJ, who failed to impress Ruiz Jr in his last outing against Kubrat Pulev.
The Mexican, who upset Joshua in June 2019, told Little Giant Boxing: “I think that it’s gonna be an interesting fight.
“I fought Anthony Joshua, I haven’t fought Tyson Fury. Tyson Fury has a real style, he’s tall, he fights tall.
“I kinda see Tyson Fury winning that fight.

I wasn’t too impressed with Anthony Joshua’s last performance, but he got the job done.
“I think maybe Tyson Fury might get him, depends how awkward he is.
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“If he boxes – Anthony hasn’t fought anybody that boxes around and moves around, so we’ll see.”

Negotiations over Joshua vs Fury resumed after the former knocked out Pulev at Wembley Arena last December, although a two-fight deal had already been agreed.
The finer details of the contract are still being hashed out, although Joshua hinted earlier this week an announcement is imminent.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Olympic gold medallist tweeted: “Another positive meeting with @258mgt.

Another positive meeting with @258mgt. They’ve informed me things are shaping up nicely. They will be sharing the update with Eddie and you’ll be hearing from me soon 👊🏾
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyjoshua) February 23, 2021

“They’ve informed me things are shaping up nicely.
“They will be sharing the update with Eddie [Hearn] and you’ll be hearing from me soon.”
Joshua’s tweet echoes comments recently made by his promoter, Eddie Hearn.
The Matchroom Boxing chief told iFL TV: “To be honest with you I don’t really wanna talk about the fight because I keep saying the same thing, don’t I? ‘Two weeks, hopefully it’ll be done’.

Anthony Joshua knocked out Kubrat Pulev in his last outing last DecemberCredit: PA

“I don’t wanna bore people, but I said to Bob, ‘I’m getting asked about it 20 times a day in interviews, what do you want me to say?’
“So what I’ll tell you – and I don’t think we should go too deep into it – is we’ve sent the contract, we’ve had minor requests for changes which all seem a reasonable discussion.
“And hopefully it shouldn’t be too long to go before an official announcement.
“Still some work to go, but we’re close.”

Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury ‘close’ to official announcement More

ANTHONY JOSHUA has hinted that an undisputed title fight with Tyson Fury is close to being announced after a ‘positive meeting’.
The British heavyweight giants are ready to square off later this year and decide who is the king of the division.

Anthony Joshua has hinted a deal to fight Tyson Fury is nearly completeCredit: Instagram @eddiehearn

SunSport understands Fury and AJ are set to clash in Saudi Arabia this JulyCredit: Rex Features

Another positive meeting with @258mgt. They’ve informed me things are shaping up nicely. They will be sharing the update with Eddie and you’ll be hearing from me soon 👊🏾
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyjoshua) February 23, 2021

SunSport understands a July fight in Saudi Arabia is the most likely option.
And Joshua, 31, has given boxing fans a big boost by declaring he’s held ‘positive’ talks with his management team.
AJ tweeted: “Another positive meeting with @258mgt.
“They’ve informed me things are shaping up nicely.

“They will be sharing the update with Eddie (Hearn) and you’ll be hearing from me soon.”
The news will come as a relief to supporters, who had been worried about Deontay Wilder’s impending legal action to force a trilogy fight against Fury, 32.
Indeed, the American could yet fight Joshua instead next year, despite having ‘turned down the deal of the century’ in the past.
However, all eyes will be on AJ vs Fury for the time being.

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And fans can expect a rise on the usual £25 box office price – although Eddie Hearn insists it will not cost £40.
The promoter also adds that AJ is in tip top shape and will not be taking Fury lightly – even if the Gypsy King is currently at a heavier weight than usual.
Hearn told Seconds Out: “I think before he  (Fury) goes into any main camp he doesn’t look like AJ, ever.
“I said to AJ the other day, ‘Did you see Fury jumping in the sea? He looked like me!’
“The response from AJ was, ‘We’re going to get the best Fury, so I don’t care if he’s carrying a bit of extra weight now, I’m training for the best-ever Fury’.
“And, make no mistake, Fury will be in top shape for this fight.”

Eddie Hearn says he discussed Tyson Fury’s recent weight gain with Anthony Joshua More

MIKE TYSON’S emotional meet-up with British boxing favourite Frank Bruno will hit our screens in a few days.
It is 31 years since the two warriors fought in the ring – a one-sided affair that saw Bruno stopped by the referee in the fifth round.

Mike Tyson and Frank Bruno boxed twice with the American former monster winning both world title clashes but remain friends

A new programme will air on February 26 on NOW TV and Sky Documentaries that will show how two brutally broken men rebuilt themselves and finally found peace again.
And the two 50-something year olds have another thing in common – the money in their banks, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Here SunSport takes a look at amassed their respective £7.5million fortunes in and out of the ring.
Mike Tyson
Iron Mike is believed to have earned at least £415MILLION from his 56-fight career.

Like many sporting superstars, Tyson spent his money as quickly as he earned it on big expensive houses, flashy cars and even pet tigers.
In 2003, Tyson was forced to file for bankruptcy, with media at the time reporting he had £20m worth of debt.

Mike Tyson made a boxing comeback in December when he drew with Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition boutCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Tyson now runs a multi-million pound cannabis ranchCredit: Instagram

But the self-titled ‘Baddest Man On The Planet’, who has admitted battling a cocaine addiction since the age of 11, has managed to turn things around.

Tyson has starred or held minor roles in a number of movies, most notably in The Hangover film franchise.
He even had his own animated TV show called Mike Tyson Mysteries.
More recently he produces a podcast called Hotboxin’ With Mike Tyson which is one of the more popular combat sports-related podcasts out there.
Hinted in that title, Tyson has cannabis to thank for his financial recovery. He runs his own weed ranch called the Tyson Ranch, where he grows and sells his own brand of weed as well as weed-based wellness products.
Cheat Sheet say the Tyson Ranch sells over £360,000 worth of weed a month, but that Tyson smokes £29,000 worth with his guests.
And he is believed to have earned £7.5m from his grand return to boxing in December, when he drew with fellow Hall Of Famer Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition bout.

The 54-year-old can smoke as much as £40,000 worth of weed with friendsCredit: Instagram

In 1989 a prime Mike Tyson butchered Bruno in their first clash in Las Vegas
Frank Bruno
Bruno will go down in history as one of Britain’s best-loved boxers ever.
After two unsuccessful world title challenges – including the brutal fifth-round stoppage loss to Tyson in 1989, the gentle-giant Londoner finally got his hands on the WBC heavyweight title in 1995 by beating Oliver McCall.
But six months later he would lost that strap – to old rival Tyson who was making his way back to the top after time in jail after being found guilty of rape.
Bruno’s £7.5m net worth has been carefully managed from his boxing career, but he has also dabbled in some other ventures.
In 2017 he told the Sunday Telegraph that he had ‘a few investments running’ in the stock market.
In that interview he admitted he was ‘paid to bang HP sauce bottles on the table for a TV advert’ during his boxing career.

Frank Bruno is much loved by the British publicCredit: Louis Wood – The Sun
Bruno has also starred in pantomimes and done many voice-overs for TV – including his famous catchphrase ‘Know what I mean Harry’.
He credits having ‘a good accountant’ for keeping his finances in order and has told up-and-coming boxers to ‘save wisely, stay humble and focus on your job ahead of you’.
But in his book Let Me Be Frank the 59-year-old revealed he was betrayed by ‘someone close to him’ who took £300,000 from his bank account.
It came in 2003 when he was in a Romford hospital being treated for his bipolar disorder.

Watch Mike Tyson aged 15 destroy opponent in 8 seconds More

TYSON FURY reportedly celebrated with the ‘hottest waitresses in the world’ at a Las Vegas nightclub after dethroning Deontay Wilder last year.
Just hours after ripping the WBC heavyweight belt from the Bronze Bomber after his seventh round TKO, the Gypsy King headed to the iconic Hakkasan nightclub.

Tyson Fury revelled at the Hakkasan nightclub after beating Deontay WilderCredit: Instagram

Fury was in jolly spirits after becoming the new WBC heavyweight world championCredit: Splash News

The Gyspy King is claimed to have had 30 bottles of champagne sent to his tableCredit: Instagram

Fury, 32, is no stranger to celebrating in fashion after he attended a boozy pool party in Sin City after he knocked out Tom Schwarz in 2019.
And DJ Mark Eteson has lifted the lid on what happened when the British star arrived to the venue following his Wilder victory – with a pyro dragon prepared for his arrival.
The DJ – who is followed by almost 50,000 people on Instagram – even claimed that 30 bottles of champagne were sent to Fury’s table.
He told the Daily Star: “The cocktail waitresses, who are the hottest in the world, come out with light sticks, a dragon and bottles of champagne when he arrives.

“Anything you can imagine – it probably happened!
“If you’re a big spender, or you’re someone like Tyson Fury, there usually will be someone who is spending $150,000 (£106,000) that night on their table.
“With that amount of cash being spent on one night, on champagne, or the drinks they bought at the table, they really can pretty much do anything. They will bring out any presentation to make it a big deal.
“They come out with some fireworks and stuff, but it does look pretty crazy when they bring out a dragon and thirty bottles of champagne – and it’s done by a girl dressed as Jasmine from Aladdin on a magic carpet, and I’m like ‘what the f*** is going on here?'”

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Legendary DJ Steve Aoki performed at Hakkasan much to the delight of those at the venueCredit: The Mega Agency

Reality TV star Mark Wright was one of those people at the club after Fury beat the Bronze BromberCredit: Instagram

Before adding: “He is quite a personable person, he’s the Gypsy King, he’s for the people. Everyone loves him anyway because of how blunt, honest, straight-up and truthful he is.”
And you can expect more wild partying from Fury if he comes out on top against Anthony Joshua later this year.
Talks are progressing well over the eagerly-anticipated domestic dust-up according to Fury’s co-promoter Bob Arum.
Eddie Hearn has previously stated that the bout could happen in June, while a venue has still yet to be agreed.
However AJ’s promoter has assured fans they won’t have to fork out £40 to watch the epic encounter on PPV.

Singer Liam Payne was another celebrity that was at the Hakkasan waiting for Fury’s arrivalCredit: Instagram

A sign with the words ‘The King Has Returned’ was plastered up for FuryCredit: Instagram

Eddie Hearn says he discussed Tyson Fury’s recent weight gain with Anthony Joshua More

DEONTAY WILDER should ‘kiss Mark Breland’s backside’ for saving him from Tyson Fury, according to Frank Warren.
The American’s reign as WBC heavyweight champion came to an emphatic end last February at the hands of The Gypsy King.

Frank Warren has claimed Deontay Wilder should kiss Mark Breland’s backside

Breland was fired by the Bronze Bomber and blamed for his defeat to Tyson Fury

Brit champ Fury inflicted Wilder’s first professional defeat when they clashed for the second time after their initial bout ended in a draw.
And the one-sided nature of the fight led to a stream of excuses from the Bronze Bomber.
Wilder ditched his trainer Mark Breland after the 57-year-old threw in the towel to save him from brain damage.
He has since accused him of spiking his drink before the fight – an allegation which has been vehemently denied.

Breland, who had 39 fights as a pro winning 35, described that as a ‘ludicrous allegation’ in a lengthy statement posted on Instagram.
The legendary trainer – who has been backed by Eddie Hearn – sensationally labelled the deposed heavyweight champ ‘untrainable’.

If anything he should go and kiss Mark Breland’s backside cause Mark saved him from getting a terrible belting
Frank Warren on Deontay Wilder

And Warren has now thrown his support behind Breland as well by claiming that Wilder was saved from a savage beating against Fury.
He said: “I’m a bit disappointed cause like I said before I quite liked Deontay.

“Leading up to the fight him and Tyson were getting at it but I had quite a bit of respect for him but since the fight he’s gone down in my estimation with the rubbish he’s come out with.
“If anything he should go and kiss Mark Breland’s backside cause Mark saved him from getting a terrible belting.”
As well as pointing the finger at Breland, Wilder blamed his heavy ring-walk outfit and insisted dodgy gloves allowed Fury to cut his ears with his fingernails – despite zero evidence.
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Speaking a year on from the fight, Warren has hailed the incredible win from Fury.
He told the Lockdown: “What a fabulous night and what a great job Tyson did, I mean he was phenomenal wasn’t he?
“Again he went into the fight for some reason with the majority of people as the underdog but he went in there and absolutely destroyed Deontay Wilder.
“Deontay Wilder will never be the same fighter after that and he did a fabulous job and put himself as the number one heavyweight in the world.”

Eddie Hearn says Deontay Wilder has ‘completely lost his mind’ after ‘bizarre’ claims against ex-trainer Mark Breland More

DANIEL DUBOIS has been given the all-clear to return to boxing and is set to make his in-ring comeback in May.
Dynamite has been out of action since suffering a first professional defeat against Joe Joyce in November.

Daniel Dubois has been cleared to return to training after suffering a broken eye socketCredit: Getty Images – Getty

The 23-year-old lost his British title when The Juggernaut’s brilliant jab forced him to take a knee and be counted out in the tenth round.
Dubois’ harshest critics accused him of being a quitter who ducked out as soon as the going got tough against the 35-year-old Olympic silver winner.
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And promoter Eddie Hearn even doubted early reports of the severity of the damage, a move Dubois’ matchmaker Frank Warren called ‘c***ish’.

That is despite the heavyweight suffering a cracked eye socket and bleed on retina while he was leading on the scorecards.
Dubois has since reacted by installing Mark Tibbs as his new trainer with Martin Bowers and brother Tony retaining managerial duties.
And Warren has revealed the British star is meeting the three this week to pencil in his return to the ring.
Speaking on the Lowdown, he said: “His manager is Martin Bowers and his brother Tony advises him and I understand they’re having a meeting with Mark Tibbs this week and then see what happens and see where it goes.

“I’ve spoke with him a couple of times and he got the all clear last week so now he can resume training and he’ll be out some time in May.”

Dubois himself explained earlier this month why he ditched Peacock Gym boss Bowers as his trainer in favour of moving into Tibbs’ stable.
He said: “I really need a fresh start and I need to do what is best for me really.
“Martin and Tony did a tremendous job, it was a great few years and I am very grateful, we had a fantastic journey.”

Dillian Whyte blasts ‘coward’ Daniel Dubois for ‘quitting’ as he stops fighting in shock defeat to Joe Joyce More

MIKE TYSON’S emotional meet-up with British boxing favourite Frank Bruno is set to hit our screens in a few days.
It is 31 years since the two warriors fought in the ring – a one-sided affair that saw Bruno stopped by the referee in the fifth round.

Mike Tyson and Frank Bruno boxed twice with the American former monster winning both world title clashes but remain friends

A new programme will air on February 26 on NOW TV and Sky Documentaries that will show how two brutally broken men rebuilt themselves and finally found peace again.
And the two 50-something year olds have another thing in common – the money in their banks, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Here SunSport takes a look at amassed their respective £7.5million fortunes in and out of the ring.
Mike Tyson
Iron Mike is believed to have earned at least £415MILLION from his 56-fight career.

Like many sporting superstars, Tyson spent his money as quickly as he earned it on big expensive houses, flashy cars and even pet tigers.
In 2003, Tyson was forced to file for bankruptcy, with media at the time reporting he had £20m worth of debt.

Mike Tyson made a boxing comeback in December when he drew with Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition boutCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Tyson now runs a multi-million pound cannabis ranchCredit: Instagram

But the self-titled ‘Baddest Man On The Planet’, who has admitted battling a cocaine addiction since the age of 11, has managed to turn things around.
Tyson has starred or held minor roles in a number of movies, most notably in The Hangover film franchise.

He even had his own animated TV show called Mike Tyson Mysteries.
More recently he produces a podcast called Hotboxin’ With Mike Tyson which is one of the more popular combat sports-related podcasts out there.
Hinted in that title, Tyson has cannabis to thank for his financial recovery. He runs his own weed ranch called the Tyson Ranch, where he grows and sells his own brand of weed as well as weed-based wellness products.
Cheat Sheet say the Tyson Ranch sells over £360,000 worth of weed a month, but that Tyson smokes £29,000 worth with his guests.
And he is believed to have earned £7.5m from his grand return to boxing in December, when he drew with fellow Hall Of Famer Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition bout.

The 54-year-old can smoke as much as £40,000 worth of weed with friendsCredit: Instagram

In 1989 a prime Mike Tyson butchered Bruno in their first clash in Las Vegas
Frank Bruno
Bruno will go down in history as one of Britain’s best-loved boxers ever.
After two unsuccessful world title challenges – including the brutal fifth-round stoppage loss to Tyson in 1989, the gentle-giant Londoner finally got his hands on the WBC heavyweight title in 1995 by beating Oliver McCall.
But six months later he would lost that strap – to old rival Tyson who was making his way back to the top after time in jail after being found guilty of rape.
Bruno’s £7.5m net worth has been carefully managed from his boxing career, but he has also dabbled in some other ventures.
In 2017 he told the Sunday Telegraph that he had ‘a few investments running’ in the stock market.
In that interview he admitted he was ‘paid to bang HP sauce bottles on the table for a TV advert’ during his boxing career.

Frank Bruno is much loved by the British publicCredit: Louis Wood – The Sun
Bruno has also starred in pantomimes and done many voice-overs for TV – including his famous catchphrase ‘Know what I mean Harry’.
He credits having ‘a good accountant’ for keeping his finances in order and has told up-and-coming boxers to ‘save wisely, stay humble and focus on your job ahead of you’.
But in his book Let Me Be Frank the 59-year-old revealed he was betrayed by ‘someone close to him’ who took £300,000 from his bank account.
It came in 2003 when he was in a Romford hospital being treated for his bipolar disorder.

Watch Mike Tyson aged 15 destroy opponent in 8 seconds More