Boxing News

“NO REMATCH clause,” exclaimed Tyson Fury on Monday. “The winner takes the glory, the loser goes home with his dick in his hand. How about that? Agree to that you f**king b**ch.” That charming social media address to Oleksandr Usyk, as negotiations reach a crucial stage to seal their April 29 showdown at Wembley Stadium, instigated the latest twist in the saga to bring together the two best heavyweights on the planet. Last week, after speaking to key players at the negotiating table, we reported that the contest was close to collapse. Within days of going to press, however, it seemed that the fighters had resurrected the most important fight in boxing after Usyk admirably agreed to Fury’s public demands of a 70/30 split in his favour. After Usyk accepted the terms –…

TRYING to goad an opponent into a winner-takes-all bet is nothing new. Frequently, the challenge is issued on the spur of the moment when emotions are running high. But apparently in Jake Paul’s case, he had meticulously planned his challenge to Tommy Fury. Paul wisely set up the parameters where his risk was minimal compared to that of Fury. Paul insisted that Fury bet his whole purse on the outcome of the match. If Fury should win, then Paul would double the amount. What was left unsaid was that Paul was guaranteed substantially more money for the fight than Fury was. So, even if Paul were to lose and make good on the bet, he would still come out of it being paid more than his opponent. If we are to…

GOOD grief, talk about the stench from some home cooking clogging up the Paris air. It is frankly disgraceful that one judge felt that Tony Yoka beat Carlos Takam on Saturday night. It shouldn't matter that 'the right man won', what should be more important is that one man clearly can't do the job he’s being paid to do. Interesting to note that the judge in queston, Smail Alitouche, also scored the Macauley McGowan-Farrhad Saad contest a draw when McGowan appeared to win at least five of the eight rounds. If those cards were handed in over here in Britain, the stink would be incredible. Carl Lees RETURN TO CINEMAS, PLEASE I WATCHED Creed III recently and was impressed with how realistic the fight build-up felt. With staged 'all access' showtime previews, DAZN…

1 TO FIND OUT THE TRUE NUMBER ONE This reason shouldn’t require explaining and should, in fact, be the only reason needed when it comes to making any fight. However, just in case it needs simplifying, there is no chance either Fury or Usyk can be considered the best until they share a ring. 2 THERE IS MONEY TO BE MADE There is an obscene amount of money on the table for both should this fight happen. And that should be reason enough to see it over the line. 3 BOTH HAVE HINTED AT RETIREMENT Fury has been threatening retirement for years now, whereas Usyk mentioned after beating Anthony Joshua a second time that the only fight of interest to him now was Tyson Fury. It would a travesty, then, if both were to walk…

THEY just walk away and are never seen or heard from again. They are the vanished boxers, the true lost souls from our sport. They are the fighters with the names and fights you have forgotten, and then they are mentioned in casual conversation and you invariably utter: “What happened to him?” Some had a handful of fights; others were champions, and some were getting ready for their big night. They are united by their vanishing. Ahmet Patterson disappeared in 2016 in the run-up to a British title fight against Liam Williams at super-welter. He was getting ready for his shot; he was running at dusk and never heard the insults being thrown at him and he never saw the brick that was thrown at his head. The fight was off, he…

WEBSITES THE promotion for the ‘superfight’ between Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia kicked off in earnest last week with a couple of press conferences in New York and Los Angeles. And this is a superfight, despite the fact neither man has a truly defining win yet. That’s testament to their exciting styles and marketability. But these press conferences lacked that true big fight feel, something Garcia himself noted – the 24-year-old highlighted how the April 22 promotion is “rushed” in order to accommodate Davis’ “personal issues”. What he’s referring to are the four traffic offences to which Davis recently pleaded guilty, and the sentencing hearing he will have on May 5 as a result of the judge presiding over the case rejecting a plea deal. Garcia’s vague reference was the only mention of…