Heavyweight boxing

OLEKSANDR USYK broke down in tears as he revealed all about the agony of losing his “hero” father.The 36-year-old Ukrainian currently holds the WBA (Super), IBF, and WBO heavyweight world titles after defeating Anthony Joshua for a second time in August.
Oleksandr Usyk is closing in on a unification fight with Tyson FuryCredit: Reuters
The Ukrainian broke down on The Overlap talking about his father’s deathCredit: YouTube
He is now closing in on a mega unification bout with Tyson Fury, the WBC champion, with talks still ongoing.
Former Manchester United footy star Gary Neville recently travelled to meet up with the 20-0 boxer for his latest episode of The Overlap.
And the usually ice-cool Usyk struggled to contain his emotions as he discussed the death of his dad and how he nearly died as a child.
Usyk said: “When I was in year two at school, I got really ill – I had serious pneumonia. It was very bad. The doctor even told my mum that I might not survive. 
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“That illness lasted for a year. I’d spend two months in hospital, then two weeks at home, or a month in hospital then go home for a week.
“So, I went back and forth. So, from then, my grandma always took me to church and I found it interesting, I liked watching the service.
“I also liked the smell of frankincense. I would study the place carefully. I could pray alone. My family weren’t particularly religious, they didn’t really go to church.
“I also started doing press-ups, squats and running. That’s how my sporting journey started.
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“There wasn’t much to do in the village and the only thing we had was football.
“So, I played football, rode horses, swam and improved my endurance by pouring cold water over me.
“But when we returned to Crimea in 2002 I started playing for a professional football team.
“I played with them until my father passed away, God rest his soul. He was the one who always motivated and forced me to train and study.
“Everything I have now is down to him. He put so much into me, taught me about priorities in life, which are family, sport and education.
“He was a military man, by the way. My mum hated it when he taught me how to fight with a knife. She’d shout ‘Sasha, he’ll grow up to be a criminal, what are you doing?’
“He’d be like ‘Get away, if he knows how to do it, he will never use it on others but when he needs to protect someone, that’s when he’ll use it.’”
Usyk then broke down in tears as he revealed his father was his hero and said: “I often think of him and miss him very much. 
“He was already ill when I went to the Olympics in London.
“I was preparing for the finals, he didn’t call me prior to the finals or anything and we didn’t speak for a few days.
“When I won and got back to my hotel room, he called me. We talked on the phone for about an hour. We’d never spent an hour on the phone together before.
“It was as if he was saying his farewell to me.”
When Neville asked if he would be proud of his achievements, Usyk replied: “Very much so, but he never said it to me. He never told me that he loved me but I know that he told his friends that he did. 
“I think this is because he grew up in the Soviet era where a man is supposed to be tough and shouldn’t show his emotions – the man is a rock and all that.
“I’ve never heard him say ‘I love you’ or anything like that. “Yes, I knew that he did, but I wanted him to say it.
“I wanted some kind of affection. Nevertheless, I really love him and will continue to love him.
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“Every day I tell my sons that I love them and how cool they are. I tell them they are the best.
“I call them everyday to tell them, I just want them to know. But, as a father, I will provide them with everything they need.” More

FORMER boxer Matt Legg has opened up on his remarkable life in the sport.From his boxing beginnings behind bars, to facing Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium, the 46-year-old experienced the highs and lows of the sweet science.
Matt Legg opened up about his remarkable careerCredit: YouTube / Dodge Woodall
The 46-year-old fought Anthony Joshua at Wembley StadiumCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
The Northampton-born slugger survived an early brush with the law to come out stronger – with the help of taking up boxing.
On his arrest as a teenager, he told Dodge Woodall: “I didn’t do a long time. But it’s when I first started boxing. That was at 18 years old as well.
“I got into some fights, another three fights this was. One was a fight with a doorman on a Friday night, that threw… were trying to throw my mate down some stairs.
“So I’ve seen them trying to throw him down the stairs, so I’ve jumped in to help them and I’ve had a fight with the doormen.
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“The police came in and I’ve had a fight with the police as well.”
He then added: “I had a fight with the doorman on that night and the police, got arrested, got out the police station on the Saturday afternoon and it was alleged I got attacked by a gang the following night.
“And me and my mate, this is what it said in the paperwork, because I was never charged with it in the end – it was alleged I was in a fight with a gang.
“I think it was about eight or nine people – and there were broken bones, and cut heads and things like that.”
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On how he ended up going to prison for a few months in 1994, Legg went on to allege: “About a month after that I was walking out of a nightclub and I saw a friend of mine being arrested, I didn’t even know what it was for.
“And I thought the police were being a bit rough with him, I had a thing about the police when I was younger.
“I had a bad relationship with the police because they’d strangled me when I was about 15-16 on my motorbike.
“They knocked me off my little 50cc bike and strangled me with a torch and hit me – so I never got on with them.
“So I saw the police manhandling my mate, so I’ve said ‘calm down, you ain’t got to chuck him around like that’.
“They’ve had a go at me and I’ve attacked them again. So that was three violent things within about a month so the police remanded me straight away, because you can’t have three violent ones.”
After leaving prison Legg kept boxing, often in the Watford amateur scene observed by none other than a young Anthony Joshua himself.
Pro bouts would follow, primarily taking place at venues like Watford Town Hall and York Hall.
AJ defeated Legg in one roundCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
The underdog was floored by AJ early onCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Legg did get to mix it with the best, however, sparring Tyson Fury and even sharing the ring with AJ at Wembley.
Talking about his experience sparring the Gypsy King in 2010, Legg said, with a grin: “I landed one punch.
“I saw he’d put on Facebook, ‘all you British heavyweights, you’re all p***ies, none of you will spar me let alone fight me’.
“So my mate rung me up and said ‘have you seen this?’ So I went on the Facebook and said ‘Tyson I’ll spar you, how much are you paying?’
“And he put ‘ten grand if you can knock me out’ and I went ‘alright, what if I don’t knock you out, how much you paying?’
“It was good money, I think it was £350, £450 for four rounds, that was it.
“So I said ‘I’ll come tomorrow’, I got on the train on my own, the next day went to Manchester, Tyson picked me up with his brother Shane from the train station, drove me to the caravan site, Peter Fury had a caravan site.
Matt Legg beat James Toney at York HallCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Legg got to spar Tyson Fury in 2010Credit: PA
“Then me, Tyson and Shane got warmed up, Shane did the first round with Tyson. I did the second… we did it like that.
“And it was hard! Even then.”
Fearless Legg kept plugging away, registering pro wins over Radek Linka, James Toney and Deyan Mihailov – before a fairytale opportunity arose.
Asked where he was when he got the call to fight AJ, Legg said: “I was on a building site in Milton Keynes. It was Milton Keynes Dons’ stadium.
“I was lifting plasterboard upstairs, which I really loved. Two blokes were doing it before and then I started and I was doing it by myself, 44 kilo boards, and I was doing a hundred a day.”
I would have done it for freeJames Legg
He then added: “My manager called up and said ‘Anthony Joshua’s team have offered the AJ fight, at Wembley Stadium on the Carl Froch-George Groves rematch. I went ‘100 per cent I’ll take it.’
“I would have done it for free. If they’d have said ‘the thing is you’ve got to do it for nothing’, I’d have went ‘alright’.
“Because it was an opportunity to fight on a massive show. At the time it was the biggest show in Britain, so I said ‘yeah I’ll do it’.
“I think I had about six or seven weeks to train for it.”
Asked how much he was paid for the fight, he replied: “Eight grand, but the bloke before me got four. Eight grand but I got some sponsorship money so altogether about 11.”
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On his expectations going into his dream bout, Legg said with a wry smile: “Before the fight I was confident I could catch him, I had that belief in myself, which is crazy really!”
The Brit was knocked out in round one by Joshua, in what would turn out to be his final pro bout. More

TYSON FURY’S undisputed clash with Oleksandr Usyk is “not far off” collapsing, according to promoter Frank Warren.The Gypsy King, 34, has been in talks with the Ukrainian’s team ever since he successfully defended his WBC crown against Derek Chisora in December.
Tyson Fury’s potential clash with Oleksandr Usyk is continuing to stallCredit: Getty
Usyk has not fought since beating Anthony Joshua in AugustCredit: PA
A clash in Saudi Arabia appeared to be the most likely location for the bout – which would see all four world heavyweight titles on the line.
But a failure to secure a site fee in the Middle East has left them looking at Wembley on April 29.
However, Fury’s promoter Warren has now cast doubts about the fight taking place at all.
Speaking to iFL TV, he said: “We’re getting to a situation where one way or another we’re going to have to make a decision.
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“And we’re not far off that.”
Fury and Usyk are both undefeated as professionals and widely regarded as the two best heavyweights in the world.
Since moving up from cruiserweight, Usyk has beaten Derek Chisora and Anthony Joshua twice.
But before that, Fury ended Wladimir Klitschko’s reign with a superb win in 2015 and then left the sport for three years due to mental health issues.
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He returned in 2018 and has gone on to beat Deontay Wilder on two occasions, as well as Dillian Whyte and Chisora.
If a Fury-Usyk fight does not materialise, an all-British dust-up with Joe Joyce could be next up for the WBC champion.
Last month, Warren hinted at a summer clash between his two men Fury and Joyce.
Joyce is set to face Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang at the Copper Box Arena on April 15 as he awaits a world title shot.
But he could be thrown into a Fury clash instead should the opportunity arise.
Speaking in a recent column, Warren said: “Our big hope, of course, is that the Juggernaut [Joyce] remains on a collision course with Tyson Fury and a big summer date at Wembley.
“That is the plan if Tyson takes all the titles from Oleksandr Usyk and Joe does the business on April 15 in Stratford.” More

TYSON FURY claims he survived four thunderbolt knockdowns in his Deontay Wilder trilogy because “size matters”.Fury was floored two times in drawing his opener with the world’s hardest hitter and got up twice more in the second of two wins that followed.
Tyson Fury admits he knew nothing about what was going on when Deontay Wilder downed him twice in their trilogy contest in October 2021Credit: Getty
Fury’s size, power, skill and determination earned him two victories over Wilder after they drew their initial boutCredit: Getty
And he reckons Wilder could never KO him due to his gargantuan frame.
TalkSPORT’s Michael Benson reports Britain’s unbeaten heavyweight king as saying: “I think my sheer size and weight has a lot to do with him not being able to knock me out cold.
“He hits a guy 6ft 3ins and 225lbs, they’re nailed to the canvas. But a guy 6ft 9ins and 277lbs – size matters.”
Talks over Fury fighting Oleksandr Usyk in a title unifier on April 29 appear to have stalled.
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And a fourth clash with Wilder, plus a bout with Anthony Joshua, are also possible.
But the Gypsy King, 34, has no doubt the Bronze Bomber has given him the severest tests in his 33 victories and single draw.
Fury said: “My most formidable opponent was Deontay Wilder.
“All three times it could’ve been curtains for me at any second. He knocked out every single person that he ever fought, apart from me.
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“I’d back him to beat everybody in the division apart from myself.”
Fury recovered from an almighty knock-down in the 12th round of his first fight with Wilder in August 2018 to deserve more than his draw.
And in February 2020 he dominated the American, flooring him twice on the way to a seventh-round KO.
But Fury said he had to overcome mental health issues in a thrilling trilogy conclusion in October 2021.
And he admitted afterwards he didn’t know what had happened to him when he was twice flattened.
In the end, though, he triumphed via a stoppage in the final round.
Fury said at the time only someone “made of something a little bit different” could have come back from Wilder’s “absolutely massive” punches. More

THIS is the never-seen-before footage of John Fury snapping when quizzed about his son Tommy’s double-or-nothing bet with Jake Paul.TNT, 23, claimed a split decision victory over the Problem Child in Saudi Arabia on Sunday after years of bad blood despite being knocked down in the final round.
Tommy Fury missed out on an extra £4m after beating Jake PaulCredit: AFP
John Fury reacted angrily when he was asked about the betCredit: Bet R Combat
Fury celebrated wildly in the ring after two judges scored it 76-73 in his favour with the other favouring Paul 75-74.
He then broke down in tears and declared he would accept a rematch if Paul wanted it before the American reeled out a number of excuses for his loss.
Fury secured a £4m purse for the blockbuster showdown in the Middle East.
But he could have walked away with £8m had he taken up Paul’s offer during the week.
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Paul rocked up with a contract for Fury to sign after they had previously shaken on a double-or-nothing bet that would either see the Brit take home £8m or be left empty-handed.
However, Fury ultimately refused to put pen to paper as he held on to his agreed £4m payday.
And after the bout had finished, his father John lost his cool when quizzed about it.
In footage shared by Bet R Combat, a reporter asks John: “The world wants to know about the deal that was proposed.”
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With Logan Paul, Jake’s brother, stood up pulling faces behind him, John says: “Let’s talk about boxing, that’s what we are here to talk about.”
The journalist replied: “It certainly is a deal about boxing.”
Only for John to retort: “I’m concentrating.”
The footage then skips a few moments to where John is about to leave his media duties, only for him to be asked about the deal again.
This time he angrily blasts: “Why don’t you shut up. Little video boy.
“Just shut up video boy, little nobody.”
At that point an individual steps between John and the camera and says: “I’m his manager, so go away.”
Then Logan jumps back into shot to say: “I’m curious to, I’m curious to.” More

BOXER Audley Harrison has revealed which opponent he faced had the hardest punch.The 51-year-old was on the receiving end of four knockouts during his career and he gave a shock answer when choosing the hardest hitter he fought.
Audley Harrison snubbed a number of top fighters when naming the hardest punch he tookCredit: AFP – Getty
David Haye’s ‘Haymakers’ were not chosen by HarrisonCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Deontay Wilder beat Harrison by a knockout in 2013Credit: Getty
The 2000 Olympic gold medallist stepped into the ring with heavyweights like David Price, David Haye and Deontay Wilder.
But none of those three, including the Bronze Bomber, who is regarded to have one of the biggest punches, was the hardest Harrison has been hit by.
Instead, he surprisingly singled out a man nicknamed ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’.
Harrison told Mega Casino about coming up against him, saying: “I always say the hardest puncher I ever faced in my career was Samuel Peter – ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’.
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“I boxed him in a pre-Olympic tournament, with a headguard on, he hit me on the top of the head and it sent shockwaves all the way through my body.
“The thing with David Price, I went to sleep when he knocked me out. When you’re knocked unconscious like that, you don’t know too much about it.
“Deontay hit me and then he threw 100 punches after that, so it was just all a blur.
“I just took the Samuel Peter shot and the headguard probably stopped me from getting knocked out.
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“But, I know that was the hardest shot I faced.
“The David Price and Michael Sprott knockouts put me to sleep.
I woke up and wanted to start fighting again, but my corner told me ‘Audley, the fight has been over for 30 seconds’.”
Peter held the WBC title in 2008 after beating Oleg Maskaev.
He then lost his belt to Vitali Klitschko later that year before losing to his younger brother Wladimir in 2010.
Peter ended his career with a 38-9 record with many of his losses coming towards the end of his time in the ring.
Hughie Fury, a relation to Tyson, Kubrat Pulev and Robert Helenius have all defeated him.
Samuel Peter was nicknamed ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’Credit: Getty More