Heavyweight boxing

THIS boxer has fought both Anthony Joshua AND Dillian Whyte in the last year.But he reckons AJ can easily win their upcoming bout thanks to a key reason.
Jermaine Franklin is backing Anthony Joshua to beat Dillian WhyteCredit: Rex
The American has fought both Brits in the last yearCredit: Getty
Joshua and Whyte will collide at the O2 Arena on Saturday August 12.
The duo have already fought each other twice, with the score tied at one apiece.
And next month’s trilogy battle will decide who comes out on top once and for all.
Many boxing fans cannot separate the pair, with AJ and Whyte both proving themselves to be top fighters.
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But American brawler Jermaine Franklin has had the honour of facing them both in the past 10 months, losing both times.
And he reckons Joshua will emerge victorious.
That’s because Whyte’s pattern of play is too predictable.
But Franklin reckons he could yet spring a surprise thanks to his powerful punches.
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Franklin told Boxing Social: “I see AJ winning only because I kind of got adjusted to Dillian’s style early, and it didn’t really change.
“He tried to change it a little bit but he kinda stayed the same. With Anthony, he’s just gonna use his jab a lot.
“If he can get Dillian to the point to where he’s got him kind of stagnant or he’s not doing a lot, the jab will win the fight easy.
“But, at the same time, Dillian does have a couple nice punches that he can throw.
“If he get in there he can do some damage, who knows how the fight may go. But I still think I got AJ coming out on points.” More

CARL FROCH has told Tyson Fury that he has not “done enough” to go into the boxing Hall of Fame.It was confirmed this week that the Gypsy King will face former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on October 28.
Carl Froch was inducted in boxing’s Hall of Fame earlier this yearCredit: Getty
He says that Tyson Fury has currently not ‘done enough’ to get inductedCredit: Getty
The cross-sport clash will happen under Queensberry rules over 10 rounds and WON’T be for undefeated Fury’s WBC title.
Fury, who has already labelled Ngannou a “big, stiff tramp” that he could KO after downing 15 pints, has got pelters from boxing purists for taking the bout after months of failed negotiations elsewhere.
Fans are desperate to see him in an undisputed decider with WBA, WBO and IBF champ Oleksandr Usyk or an overdue all-English clash with Anthony Joshua.
But the Morecambe showman, 34, insists that he has offered both men lucrative deals and they are the ones to blame for him branching out into big-money freak fights.
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Ex-super middleweight title holder Froch, 46, was inducted into boxing’s Hall of Fame earlier this year.
And he recently told BettingSites that Fury WOULD NOT be joining him in there unless he “dared to be great” and took on the fights that everybody wants rather than these cross-combat ones.
Froch said: “I was inducted for wins. I dared to be great. I took on young unbeaten fighters like George Groves.
“Now that’s a legacy. That’s a career worthy of the Hall of Fame.
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“Does Fury deserve it? A great win against [Wladimir] Klitschko, a trilogy win against [Deontay] Wilder, that’s not enough.
“If he beats AJ, beats Usyk, then yes.”
Going on to explain what he thought merited an induction, Froch added: “There are different rules on whether or not you make it into the Hall of Fame.
“You can go in as a competitor or a participant or something else. You can be a promoter.
“Anthony Joshua for example, what he’s done for boxing, he’s brought it to a whole new audience. He’s followed on from my 80,000 at Wembley Stadium.
“What he’s done for the sport is transcend it and take it to the next level so for that alone you could say that’s a Hall of Fame career.” More

EDDIE HEARN has revealed a “monstrous” bout on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua vs Dillian Whyte rematch which will decide Oleksandr Uysk’s next fight.Due to Usyk, 36, being the unified WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion, he has a number of challenges to deal with.
Eddie Hearn has revealed a ‘monstrous’ undercard for Anthony Joshua vs Dillian WhyteCredit: Getty
Oleksandr Usyk’s possible next opponent will be decided the same night as Joshua vs WhyteCredit: PA
The Ukrainian is in line to fight Daniel Dubios for his mandatory challenge of the WBA on August 26 in Poland.
Should he come through this he will then be ordered to defend his IBF title, with the current challenger being Filip Hrgovic – who beat Zhilei Zhang to the position last August.
However, the 31-year-old is not intent to sit idly by, instead returning to action against Australian Demsey McKean on the undercard of Joshua vs Whyte II at the O2 Arena in London on August 12.
Should McKean, 32, beat the Croatian heavyweight, then he will become Usyk’s next mandatory challenge.
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Promoter Hearn said: “We have a monstrous night of heavyweight boxing in store for fight fans around the world on Saturday August 12 live from the sold-out O2 in London
“Old foes Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte meet again in a must-win clash at the top of the bill and I’m excited to confirm the first two undercard additions of what will be a stacked card.
“The IBF’s number one ranked Heavyweight Filip Hrgovic returns a year on from his final eliminator win over Zhilei Zhang in Saudi Arabia.
“El Animal fights in the UK for the first time as a professional against Australia’s unbeaten Demsey McKean who secures the biggest fight of his career.
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Usyk faces Daniel Dubios as his IBF mandatory challengeCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Filip Hrgovic is the current name down to face the winner of Usyk vs DuboisCredit: Getty
But Australian Demsey McKean has the chance to take up the mantleCredit: Getty
“The Romford Bull Johnny Fisher begins his assault on the domestic heavyweight scene when he takes on Harry Armstrong for the vacant Southern Area title, and there’s much more to be announced soon.”
Hrgovic added: “The heavyweight champions cannot avoid me any longer and once I have defeated Demsey McKean on August 12, they will have no other option but to face me.
“I have waited patiently, but the game is up, El Animal is coming for you and is ready to take the belts back to Croatia.
“McKean will be a tough and strong opponent, but he has never faced anyone as powerful and skilful as me.
“August 12, at The O2 in London, is the night the heavyweight division starts to change.”
McKean also declared: “This is what it’s all about, the big fights.
“I’ve been grinding a big portion of my life for a fight like this.
“I’m one win away from fighting Usyk for [three] world titles. This is my world title fight.”
However, there are two ways the winner of the bouts between Usyk vs Dubois and Hrgovic vs McKean may not face each other.
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One would be for the winner of Uysk or Dubois to vacate the IBF belt, while the other would be to secure a unification fight with Tyson Fury.
In the meantime, the Gypsy King is scheduled to face ex-UFC star Francis Ngannou in a controversial crossover bout. More

JOHN FURY has blasted SugarHill Steward as a “snake” within son Tyson’s camp.The Gypsy King has been working with coach Steward since 2020, with the duo enjoying great success together.
Tyson Fury has been working with SugarHill Steward since 2020Credit: Getty
John Fury has labelled Steward as a ‘snake’ and a ‘traitor’Credit: PA
Fury, 34, was linked with an April 29 heavyweight unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk earlier this year.
He appeared to have begun working with Steward ahead of the huge proposed bout.
But Fury’s trainer later denied that he’d been in the UK to work with Fury, instead claiming to have only been over to work with Lawrence Okolie ahead of his fight with David Light.
These comments appeared to enrage John Fury, who accused Steward of lying while calling on his son to SACK his “Judas” coach.
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Four months on, John is still furious with Steward, branding him a “traitor”.
He told All Out Fighting via Freebets.com Ireland: “I stand by what I say.
“If a man’s a traitor to you and betrays you, turns his back on you and tells lies on you, they’ve got to go haven’t they? But that’s up to Tyson, not me.
“I’m an old fashioned man. Going back to SugarHill, what he said, that he wasn’t training Tyson, that was a lie.
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“He had no need to say that. And I’m waiting to see him and tell him to his face that it was a lie.
“It’ll probably cause problems, but I don’t care what it causes. But he’s getting told off me, one way or another.
“He’ll probably avoid me, and it’s in his best interest to avoid me.
“I won’t have them snakes near me. Be straight. Where was he coming from with that bull****?
“But it’s not my call, if Tyson had any sense he’d get rid of him – he’s not doing a good job for other fighters is he?”
It remains to be seen whether Steward will corner Fury for his exhibition against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
The duo will meet in an October 28 crossover bout in Saudi Arabia – without Fury’s WBC title on the line.
Fury will face Ngannou under Queensberry rules over 10 rounds. More

EDDIE HEARN reckons Anthony Joshua only needs three more wins to make himself a shoo-in for the International Boxing Hall of Fame.The Watford warrior’s two stints as unified heavyweight champion have already made him a dead cert to go in the British Boxing Hall of Fame.
Anthony Joshua is already a shoo-in for the British boxing Hall of FameCredit: REUTERS
Promoter Eddie Hearn reckons AJ needs to beat three more fighters to land in the International Boxing Hall of FameCredit: INSTAGRAM@EDDIEHEARN
Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury are two of the names on Hearn’s three-man listCredit: GETTY
Despite having had less than 30 pro outings, Joshua has been involved in a whopping 12 world title fights and one unification bout.
While AJ has already certified himself as a British boxing great, his admittance into the International Hall of Fame is by no means guaranteed.
Hearn, however, believes the Brit can punch his ticket with wins over Dillian Whyte, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.
The Matchroom Boxing chief said: “If you beat Dillian [Whyte], [Deontay] Wilder and [Tyson] Fury, you’re in the Hall of Fame.
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“No pressure.”
Joshua, 33, will have the opportunity to tick the first of those names off that list next month.
The Olympian will renew his rivalry with Whyte in a domestic dust-up at the O2 Arena on August 12.
A win over Whyte will see Joshua finalise a long overdue grudge match with former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder.
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Joshua had hoped to face Gypsy King Fury later this year but negotiations over the Battle of Britain fell through for a third time.
He told Sky Sports: “I’m not disappointed.
“That’s just the reality that we live in. That’s the reality.
“Unfortunately it didn’t happen, but I’m not disappointed because we know why. People are starting to see.

“This is just how boxing goes sometimes. People are just…it’s just a shame.
“But it is what it is, none of my business. If that was me, I would have gone in there and fought, but it’s not me so I can’t really comment on another man’s decisions.
Joshua’s sights are firmly set on winning his latest showdown with Whyte, but he can’t help but admit subsequent fights with Wilder and Fury would be the “dream” scenario.
He said: “Yeah, it would be [the dream scenario fight Whyte, Wilder, and then Fury]. But dreams are fake. This is reality.” More

DILLIAN WHYTE fired an obscene insult at Eddie Hearn after hearing of the promoter’s doubts about his rematch with Anthony Joshua.The Brixton Body Snatcher will renew his rivalry with AJ on August 12 in front of a sold-out crowd at the O2 Arena.
Anthony Joshua will renew his rivalry with Dillian Whyte at The O2 Arena on August 12Credit: GETTY
Promoter Eddie Hearn was initially skeptical about the fight being a sell outCredit: REX
Dillian Whyte blasted Eddie Hearn after learning of his doubtsCredit: INSTAGRAM@BOXSTORY_RKM
Matchroom Boxing chief Hearn doubted his golden boy’s second grudge match with Whyte would sell out the North Greenwich dome, revealing his scepticism in a recent interview.
It didn’t take long for Whyte to get wind of the clip, on which he commented: “What a c**t.”
Hearn revealed his doubts about the selling power of the fight in an interview with Boxing UK, saying: “‘I made a mistake.
“I started looking at Twitter and I started to let people dim my light.
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“Started letting people get into my head about whether this is actually a big fight.
“And then I started to think, ‘Oh maybe it’s not going to sell-out’.
“And I sat down with Frank Smith and I was like, ‘Do you think this is going to sell-out?’
“And he’s like, ‘Are you ‘f***ing mad.'”
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Former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua will bid to pick up his second win on the bounce in his domestic dust-up with Whyte.
A multi-million-pound December dust-up with former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder will await Joshua should he get past Whyte again.
But Hearn admitted to talkSPORT: “I don’t know how the Whyte fight goes.
“But we’ve been told categorically that the deal on the table is not the deal if he loses to Dillian Whyte.

“They didn’t want him to fight Dillian Whyte.
“It was almost like, ‘Please, don’t fight Dillian Whyte.
“‘You don’t need to. We’ve got this fight in December.’ But AJ was like, ‘No. I want to fight.'”
Joshua, 33, returned to the win column in April with a scrappy points win over Jermaine Franklin, his first opponent since his back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk. More