Tag: Joshua

Tyson Fury has laughed off the suggestion of Anthony Joshua wanting to fight Deontay Wilder on the undercard of his clash with Oleksandr Usyk.

The Gypsy King goes on-on-one with former UFC Champion Francis Ngannou this Saturday in a hotly anticipated crossover bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Provided he comes through the fight unscathed, the contracts have been signed to see Fury finally step into the ring with Usyk later this year in an undisputed heavyweight world title showdown in the Middle East.

With both fights taking place in Saudi Arabia, there has been some speculation that Joshua’s bout with Wilder could also take place in Saudi, with Joshua himself even suggesting it could be part of the Fury Usyk undercard.

However, Fury has shut down these claims and blasted Joshua as an embarrassment for begging to be part of the card.

“It’s quite embarrassing really when you’ve got a former heavyweight world champion begging for a fight, begging to be on the undercard.” Fury told IFLTV.

“Is he a child or what? He wants to go on my undercard? Him vs Wilder? Battle of the biggest loser? Go and get your own show.”

Read Also: Joshua, Fury to earn £100m in Battle of Britain clash

No firm deal has been signed between Joshua and Wilder, but the British boxer seemed to be under the impression that it could be part of the undercard when he spoke to Sky over the weekend.

Joshua said: “If they get this undisputed fight on, which has been looming for a while, word on the street is that it’s supposed to be the undisputed fighters and then the undercard is supposed to be a big, lively one with me and Wilder.”

Fury and Osyk are slated to meet in December, although no official date has been confirmed for the fight.

The Ukrainian has revealed he’s set to be ringside for Fury’s bout this weekend, but the 35-year-old told MailSport in an exclusive interview it’s not about Osyk on Saturday.

Fury stated: “I say this, f*** Usyk. It’s not about him. This is the Tyson Fury show. It’s about me and Francis Ngannou.

“The African King is meeting the Gypsy King and you know, we are throwing it down. So, anything that happens after that, happens after that and anything before that, is not important.”

Anthony Joshua could face unbeaten German fighter Agit Kabayel on December 23, his promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed – after ruling out a showdown between the British star and Deontay Wilder.

Joshua is looking for his next opponent as he continues his road to recovery following crushing back-to-back defeats against Oleksandr Usyk, with AJ getting back to winning ways against Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius this year.

But despite fans demanding a mouth-watering clash between Joshua and former WBC world champion Deontay Wilder, talks for that fight are now on the rocks. It was set to be staged in Saudi Arabia before changes in the country’s boxing management left it in doubt.

Hearn had been discussing possible opponents after giving up hope on the Wilder fight coming to fruition this year, saying Kabayel – who has won all 23 of his pro bouts – was a contender. He also suggested unbeaten Croatian star Filip Hrgovic and Swedish fighter Otto Wallin.

However, he dismissed suggestions that WBA ‘regular’ champion Mahmoud Charr could step in and fight AJ.

Read Also: 14 things to know about late Rashidi Yekini

 “[Charr] is looking for an opponent. He’s got the WBA regular title, which we certainly wouldn’t be saying Joshua is a three-time heavyweight champion [if he won that belt]. Definitely not,” he told SecondsOut.

 “But at the same time, if he’s going to fight someone in December, I’m not saying it will be Charr, but it could be Kabayel. It could be Hrgovic or Wallin out of this situation, let’s see what happens.”

Kabayel’s most famous win came when he shocked Dereck Chisora by beating the British star by unanimous decision in 2017.

Hearn said anyone who wanted to see Joshua fight Wilder, Zhilei Zhang – fresh off his second victory over Joe Joyce – or old opponent Andy Ruiz would be disappointed as he revealed how his star boxer was insistent that he fight three times in 2023.

“It’s not going to be Deontay Wilder, it’s not going to be Andy Ruiz, and it probably won’t be Zhang, so you have to look at that top-15,” he added.

 “We’re more [sure] on the date than the opponent. He wants to fight in December.

“In his head he says he wanted to fight three times in a year. But I said, “you fought in April”. He said, “no, I want to fight three times in 2023”. So he would love to get in in December. And we’ll have to keep one eye on the 23rd (of December) because we just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Speaking at the United States Grand Prix this weekend, Joshua remained coy about the December bout.

 “It won’t be a championship fighter – which is Usyk and Fury,” he said. “It won’t be none of them guys and I am not too sure about the Wilder situation.”

He did talk up the possibility of facing Wilder next year and even suggested it could take place on the same card as Tyson Fury against Usyk.

 “They want to put Usyk v Fury and Joshua v Wilder on the same night,” he added.

 “When Fury gets through Ngannou it is going to be late October going into November, so I doubt he will prepare for Usyk and then fight in December.

 “It is too short. So the next window will be in March or April and that is when the undisputed fight will happen. What we are being told is that they want to make it a mega card.”

Eddie Hearn has said that Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury could make over £100million each if they are to have a Battle of Britain clash next year.

Fury and Joshua had been locked in talks over a Battle of Britain bout last year but discussions broke down after the Gypsy King grew impatient.

Fury decided to move on and secure a bout with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, while AJ fought against Robert Helenius.

However, Hearn is adamant a fight between the pair will happen after Fury fights Oleksandr Usyk and AJ takes on Deontay Wilder.

If Fury and AJ win those bouts, Hearn said they will be in line to make over £100m for a Battle of Britain bout next year.

Hearn told The Overlap’s Stick To Football podcast with Sky Bet: “They will make over £100m each. If Fury beats Usyk and AJ beats Wilder, they’ll make over £100m each. That’s when it starts to become easy because, well, come on lads.”

When asked whether he thinks the bout between AJ and Fury will actually get over the line, Hearn said: “I think they will fight and I think it will be the biggest fight of all-time. But, you just never know with Fury. Fury could hang him up.

Read Also: ‘Joshua, Fury December’s fight contract yet to be signed’

“I don’t think Fury is over the moon to fight Usyk. He just knows it’s a really tough fight. I think Fury wins and I think Fury thinks he wins but he knows how good Usyk is.

“But, they came up with the money and if they come up with the money he will fight. He thinks he can take AJ too. But, he might take the money from the Usyk fight and go missing.”

Fury and Joshua had been locked in talks over a Battle of Britain bout last year but discussions broke down after the Gypsy King grew impatient waiting for AJ to sign the contract.

Negotiations over the highly-anticipated bout had been ongoing for months before both parties declared the fight – which was scheduled to take place on December 3, 2022 – was officially off the cards.

The Gypsy King said he was furious at AJ for ‘wasting his time’ and stated he would never fight the 32-year-old in the future as a result. However, Fury made a shock U-turn just a couple of months later and returned to the negotiating table.

He took to social media to tell his fans that Queensbury had sent AJ a draft contract. His caption read: “A few days ago I sent a draft contract to Anthony Joshua for a fight in September.

Eddie Hearn is expected to match Anthony Joshua, a lower fringe-level contender, for his December fight now that the match against Deontay Wilder is no longer happening.

Joshua will not be facing Wilder for his fight in December. Instead, he will be matched against an unknown opponent who is no threat to him. In other words, it’ll be someone similar to Joshua’s last two fringe-level foes that Hearn dug up for him.

Hearn is working hard to protect Joshua’s career by avoiding dangerous fighters like Deontay and Zhilei Zhang, who would surely end his career and finish him for good as a money-fighter.

Putting Joshua in with a killer like Deontay would be bad news for him, and Hearn doesn’t want to risk his golden goose before she’s finished playing 24K gold eggs.

It’s become obvious that Hearn isn’t going to risk Joshua’s career being finished off by the knockout artist Deontay (43-2-1, 42 KOs), who would ruin everything before AJ has gotten the huge pot of gold against Tyson Fury money.

It is believed that Hearn is intentionally delaying the fight with Wilder until after Joshua faces Tyson Fury in March, which is expected to be the biggest payday for AJ.

Read Also: Paris 2024: Nnadozie, Ohale, Oshoala, 19 others to face Ethiopia

The rumored names for Joshua’s December fight are Agit Kabayel, Demsey McKean, Otto Wallin and Jonathan Guidry.

“We had an offer from Saudi Arabia to fight Deontay Wilder. We accepted it, and Wilder accepted it. It didn’t materialize. So, now we’re at other venues for that potential fight,” said Eddie Hearn via talksport boxing.

“No offer came from Skills Challenge in Saudi Arabia from finances. So, the fight between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder collapsed. The money isn’t there,” said Gareth A. Davies.

“Eddie Hearn traversed to talk about it potentially happening in the UK or happening in America in Las Vegas. There was even talk about a fight with Zhilei Zhang in China.”

Anthony Joshua is keeping busy after two wins in 2023 that may lead him into a fight against Deontay Wilder.

The former world champion left coach Robert Garcia after his rematch loss to Oleksandr Usyk. That one-fight partnership was followed by a link up with Derrick James, who has guided him to victories over both Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius.

Despite a strong relationship with the Texan trainer, it appears that the Olympic Gold Medalist is still keen to learn from as many people as possible.

Speaking to Boxing King Media, David ‘KD’ Ghansa, Chief Operating Officer of 258 Management, said that Joshua was currently working with Ben Davison in England before returning to James’ World Class Boxing Gym in Dallas.

Read Also: Arsenal cruise to victory at Bournemouth

Davison was credited with helping Tyson Fury return to the sport following a period of depression and alcohol abuse. The partnership saw ‘The Gypsy King’ fight to a draw with Deontay Wilder in 2018.

Fury would have Davison in his corner twice more, a stoppage victory over Tom Schwarz and a unanimous decision win over Otto Wallin in which he was cut above the eye leading to 47 stitches.

Following that fight, he switched from the Brit to SugarHill Steward – nephew of Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Steward of Kronk Gym fame. He would go on to knock Wilder out in the two remaining trilogy bouts.

Any work with Davison – who currently trains Leigh Wood amongst others – may give ‘AJ’ into an insight in preparing for a Wilder fight, or Fury himself down the line, however the world champion’s style has changed significantly since their split.

 ‘KD’ said that the team were working on making the Wilder fight, but that the aim was for Joshua to fight three times within twelve months regardless.

Tyson Fury has dismissed the possibility of fights with Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk in an interview with Rio Ferdinand ahead of his fight with Francis Ngannou next month.

The Gypsy King is set to face the former UFC heavyweight champion in a crossover bout in Saudi Arabia on October 28.

Despite excitement over the fight, there has been disappointment among many boxing fans that a fight with Fury against either Joshua or Usyk has never come to fruition.

Read Also: Ngannou enlists Mike Tyson  for  Fury ambush

When asked about a dream British showdown with Joshua, Fury suggested that he lost interest in a match after his rival lost his unbeaten record against Andy Ruiz Jr, before later losing his titles to Usyk.

He said: “AJ’s been beat now. I was interested when he was a virgin when he was taking a test. “We want big fights and this, that or the other” but who are you?

“You don’t have any belts anymore. You don’t have anything to give. I’m interested in doing the biggest fights, the most money, the most glamour. This is why I’m going to Saudi to fight Francis Ngannou.”

The Gypsy King also ripped into Usyk, insisting that there’s nothing for him to gain from fighting the Ukrainian.

Terms have been agreed for Anthony Joshua to fight Deontay Wilder but the Briton may walk away if contracts are not agreed soon,  so said Eddie Hearn.

Promoter Hearn said Joshua could fight Tyson Fury instead, while a third go at Andy Ruiz Jr is also on the cards.

Former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua has been strongly linked with fighting Wilder with a December date in Saudi Arabia touted in recent months.

“We’ve agreed the money, we’ve agreed everything,” said Hearn.

peaking to BBC 5 Live Boxing, Hearn, who has promoted Joshua since he made his professional debut in 2013, said: “We’re waiting on the official contract, but we won’t wait forever.”

He said Saudi Arabia as a potential location had been complicated by “a change of environment in Saudi Arabia with the operators in boxing”.

Joshua, 33, has picked up two victories this year over Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius respectively, following consecutive defeats to unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.

“He [Joshua] is just training away but he wants Wilder,” added Hearn, who said the 2012 Olympic gold medallist wants to remain active.

“If it can’t be made, he wants to stay active. If he fights in December, that’ll be three fights in eight months which is incredible for him.”

However, Hearn believes a super fight between Joshua and WBC heavyweight champion Fury could still be in contention, should a deal with Skills Challenge Entertainment, who Hearn has been negotiating with for the Wilder fight, fall through.

“People keep saying he should have one more fight and then fight Wilder, but we don’t think so. If it ends up that way, so be it and nothing would surprise me,” said Hearn.

“If he fights in December, if he fights Deontay Wilder, if he fights Tyson Fury next – nothing would surprise me.”

Read Also: Joshua dumps Wilder for Fury fight in Africa

The boxing promoter confirmed that Joshua will more than likely fight outside of England and has mentioned old rival Ruiz Jr as one potential opponent.

“There’s Filip Hrgovic and there’s Andy Ruiz Jr, but it probably won’t take place in this country,” added Hearn.

“He’s had two now on the spin at The O2 Arena, so maybe we go to Madison Square Garden, somewhere in the Middle East. It’s just about activity for him.”

Joshua avenged his defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia in 2019 after the Mexican sensationally knocked him out in New York at Madison Square Garden.

Anthony Joshua ‘has stopped Deontay Wilder talks’ with Tyson Fury fight finally on the cards

British boxer Tony Bellew has claimed Anthony Joshua has stopped talks with Deontay Wilder.

And that’s because the 33-year-old is now apparently eager to agree a fight with Tyson Fury that would go down in British history.

Joshua and Wilder had been linked up for an epic showdown in Saudi Arabia, with negotiations ongoing to make that showdown happen.

Yet Bellew, who is close with AJ, has claimed Eddie Hearn and the Watford-born boxer are now looking towards Fury instead.

He told Bitcoin Casinos: “I am hearing rumours that [talks between AJ & Wilder’s camps] have stopped at the minute and [AJ’s camp] are looking more towards Fury vs AJ again instead of AJ and Wilder.

Read Also: Wilder vs Fury: ‘Why Joshua won’t be at ringside’

“The talk is of another fight going to Africa, which would be absolutely incredible.

“Rumble in the Jungle all over again in Zaire or something along those lines.”

Joshua recently beat Robert Helnius, knocking out the 39-year-old before calling out Wilder.

As for Fury, the 35-year-old will return to the ring on October 28 when he faces ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou.

Yet with negotiations collapsing, he then opted to go up against Ngannou instead – despite facing a backlash for his decision.

Explaining why that showdown hasn’t happened yet, Fury said last month: “We don’t really know the reasons why Usyk didn’t take the fight in April.

“I’m sure he’s got his reasons and then we find out he’s signed with Skills Challenge, the Saudi Arabian team of boxing people out there.

“So whatever his reasons are, I’m sure that they suit him and his family. It is what it is.

“But I do believe that you can only do what you can do in this sport.

“If the fights are available at that time then you take them and if they’re not available then you can’t take them.”

Boxing promoter Hearn, meanwhile, recently said Joshua could fight again in December – while providing an update on talks with Wilder’s camp.

“Talks are ongoing. We are still in the same position of a January fight,” he said.

“If we don’t conclude that fight and they about moving it to February or March, we will probably fight in December.

“Wilder is talking about fighting in October, but it’s already September now.

“He will wait to fight Wilder in January. He’s training now. He wants to fight in December.

“If they turned around and said, ‘Let’s do the Wilder fight in December’ he’d do it.

“But everybody is talking like it’s happening, but until it’s happening it isn’t on. Until it’s on, we’ll keep our options open for December.

“Ideally, we’d like to go straight into the Wilder fight.”

Anthony Joshua believes the negotiations for him to fight Deontay Wilder next are going in a “positive” direction.

The Briton, a former unified heavyweight champion, ruled out taking an interim bout before facing Wilder. He still wants to have that fight in December, although the American’s team are targeting January.

“In reality we’re trying to schedule a fight for December so unfortunately no. That’s the time scale we’re looking forward to really. In reality I’m going to focus on the Wilder fight for now.”

He sees a potential “stumbling block” in trying to combine the blockbuster heavyweight event with a Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk undisputed championship showdown.

“Fury’s got to get past [Francis] Ngannou. Usyk’s got to get past [Daniel] Dubois. Good luck to both of them. Good luck to every party involved and we can sit down and then rejig things around,” he revealed.

Read Also: Neymar, Benzema set for Asian Champions League

“The goal is to have Usyk and Fury compete for the undisputed heavyweight championship, myself and Deontay Wilder, two big punchers, great fighters, been to the top of the mountain, slug it out and may the best man win.

“It’ll be a great event potentially. Wait to see what happens and then finalise the devil in the detail.”

Speaking on Toe2Toe, Barry Jones assesses Anthony Joshua’s win over Robert Helenius.

Joshua vs Wilder would match two of the biggest punchers in boxing against one another. But Joshua also emphasizes the elements of his craft that set him apart. He is not solely a big hitter.

“I’m a bit smarter than that. That’s my approach to boxing. My approach to boxing is IQ and intelligence,” he said.

“At the end of the day it’s a fight and if it goes down that route, if someone’s good enough to bring that out of you, you’ve got to know that you’re man enough to stand up and fight for your territory.

“I’m saying I’m better than that and I should be able to beat any opponent, just by using one hand – I’m that good. That’s my mindset.

“Whoever’s good enough to bring that side out of me and take me to the trenches, let’s go. That’s what I’m looking for. I’m looking for an opponent that’s good enough to take me to the trenches.”

Joshua intends to stay true to the change of style that’s taken him from the all-out aggressor of his early years to the more considered boxer we see today.

He has though noted the criticisms of his two most recent performances, where many observers thought he should have stopped Jermaine Franklin, rather than go the distance, and that he ought to have knocked out Robert Helenius sooner.

“Everyone’s got an opinion,” he said. “But also, there’s only one man in the ring. And there’s one man in the arena in my view and that’s me and I’m focused on my process. I’m following a process that I trust.”

He added, with some understatement: “I’m two-time heavyweight champion, two-time unified champion so I’m sure I have a small understanding of what it takes and what I should be doing in that ring.”

His mission to become a three-time heavyweight world champion continues and Deontay Wilder, he hopes, is the next stop along the way.

Anthony Joshua’s much-anticipated heavyweight showdown with Deontay Wilder is set to be finalised before the end of the month.

Final talks will ramp up at the start of this week over a clash between the pair in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of next year following Joshua’s victory over Robert Helenius.

Joshua was watched ringside at the O2 Arena by Wilder’s trainer Malik Scott, who said Wilder was planning a warm-up fight in October before a meeting with Joshua in January.

Prince Khalid bin Abdulaziz, a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family pushing boxing’s promotion in the country, was also ringside at the weekend.

It is believed both fighters have been offered nearly £50million to bring the fight to the Middle East.

Read Also: Guardiola to miss two Man City games after back surgery

Joshua knows he will need to lift his game against Wilder after a seventh-round knockout against the unheralded Helenius, which led to boos from some inside the O2.

Despite lacking explosivity for much of the seven rounds, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said he was confident of his charge going into the Wilder bout.

He said: “If Joshua hits Wilder on the chin then it is over. This is about Anthony Joshua now, it is not about pleasing others. He has given everything to British boxing.”

Joshua, meanwhile, defended his approach to the Helenius fight and insisted it was about building towards the Wilder fight in 2024.

 “Why am I going to go in there and trade from round one?” he asked. “We are building confidence in myself, which is important and I have confidence in my team.

 “I am just happy to get the win because I always know after one win it can lead onto something spectacular and I believe we’re onto something big.

 “When you are playing, it is the most interesting and thinking man’s sport but, from the outside, chess is a boring game.”