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Wilder “had to regain” his love for boxing, and now it’s time for business

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In April, Deontay Wilder walked into a compact conference room at London’s Marriott Hotel, with manager Shelly Finkel right behind him promoting his upcoming fight with Zhilei Zhang. His confidence radiated, but he also seemed to understand the pressure involved. Depending on the outcome, Zhang’s fight could be his “last dance,” Wilder said.

His heavyweight clash with Zhang on Saturday is perhaps the most intriguing fight on a card billed as “5 on 5: Matchroom vs. Queensberry” in Riyad, Saudi Arabia.

After three defeats in his last four fights – two of them by KO to Tyson Fury – this fight gives the 38-year-old Wilder a chance to redeem himself after being dominated by a one-sided unanimous decision loss to Joseph Parker. in December.

But does the former WBC champion have what it takes to get back to the top? Does he still have the fighting spirit that helped him win 13 world title fights?

“Or you do [fighting spirit] or not, and I’m that type of person, I’ve got it,” Wilder said. “I don’t have to be mad at you, I don’t have to dig up anything you said. He will never go anywhere, he is just tame.”

Wilder has not lost that untamed side of his character, an aggressive artist with 42 knockouts in his 43 competition victories.

“Everyone wants to see this monster come out. But when he was here [people said] “oh my God, he’s too sloppy for boxing, he talks too violently, he wants a body on his record”… everyone was criticizing me, everyone was dragging my name through the mud. Everyone thought I was bad for business.”

But business – in the heavyweight division – is booming these days.

Wilder wants to be part of the action in Saudi Arabia, where the biggest fights in the division are currently taking place.

If Wilder wins, a fight with compatriot Jared Anderson is announced on August 3 in Los Angeles. It will be the first boxing gala organized by the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia in the USA. Saturday’s defeat would spell disaster for Wilder at a time when the division is growing stronger.

“I fell out of love [with boxing] at some point and I had to get it back,” Wilder said.

Power brokers in the division still seem to have faith in Wilder. Not only are rival promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren pulling in the same direction and collaborating on Saturday’s show, but who would have thought that Hearn, who has never been eye to eye with Wilder or Finkel, would call Wilder, sign with him a one-fight deal to represent him and give him a chance to return to stardom?

“I’m a very mature and smart person, so when it comes to certain things… it’s business,” Wilder said. “I can smile at my enemies, I can laugh at my enemies, I can eat, I can hunt my enemies. I have mouths to feed.

“We are all businessmen. …Every time it comes to a point where: ‘Okay, I don’t like you, you don’t like me, but business is good,’ do you understand me?”

A mega fight between Wilder and fellow former champion Anthony Joshua has been rumored for years and could happen in the future as well.

We know one thing: the most significant fights take place in the heavyweight division. It will be up to Wilder on Saturday to show that he still belongs to them.

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Manny Pacquiao vs. Mario Barrios is not dead and buried yet

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Manny Pacquiao vs Barrios PBC

LAS VEGAS — Team Barrios is still eager to fight Manny Pacquiao when they “take care of things” on November 15 when they face Abel Ramos.

Mario Barrios and Abel Ramos fight for the WBC welterweight world title in one of the biggest combat sports events of the year – Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Bob Santos, Barrios’ trainer, recently told World Boxing News that they are in camp and focusing on Ramos.

“There’s nothing better than Netflix,” Santos told us.

With approximately 275 million subscribers worldwide, the possible reach of the Tyson vs Paul event on Netflix could make it one of the most watched boxing events of all time.

Ramos has been in the ring with Maurice Hooker, Regis Prograis, Ivan Baranchyk, Jamal James and Yordenis Ugas, but since losing to the Cuban boxer in 2020, he has only two wins in four fights.

Barrios and Ramos are one fight out of four so far, alongside the highly anticipated rematch of Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano.

Ramos is quite a surprise opponent for Barrios, as both Santos and Manny Pacquiao’s representative, Sean Gibbons, have been talking to World Boxing News all summer about a substantial fight between them later in the year, possibly even at a Premier Boxing Champions event.

“[The Pacquiao fight] for some reason it couldn’t come to fruition,” Santos told us. “We were in the middle of negotiations. I know Pacquiao wanted to fight. We wanted to fight. This would have been a great world title fight, but they just couldn’t get it together in time.

“This opportunity came up with Netflix and Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson,” Santos added. “And this is not just a boxing event, but one of the biggest events. The numbers will be crazy. Everyone loves Mike Tyson and everyone wants to support him in many ways. Of course there is publicity, especially with Jake Paul. This event – ​​it is huge.”

Even though Barrios will fight in the middle of next month, his team would still be content with a fight against Pacquiao. So they know they have to “take care of business” and maintain the championship.

It was this WBC world title that Pacquiao reportedly motivated the Filipino legend to return to the ring and attempt to break his own record as the division’s oldest champion.

“The only reason why Pacquiao [would] Of course, to come back at this stage is to make history and it would have to be a world title,” Santos told us.

“So if we don’t take care of business and keep the world championship, obviously this fight will fail.

“So first we have to focus 100% on Abel Ramos,” concluded Santos.

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“I was an enforcer in a gang,” admits Chris Eubank Jr

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CHRIS Eubank Jr currently mixes on the fringes of the world boxing scene, but he used to mix things up in a different arena. The boxer from Brighton, who will face Kamil Szeremeta on October 12, revealed video showing he was an enforcer in a gang.

“You just have to deal with it. You’re a child, you don’t know better. That’s one of the reasons I moved to Las Vegas, to get away from this scene, this lifestyle,” Eubank Jr. said.

Although Chris has now managed to escape his father’s shadow and gang life to pursue a career on his own, as quickly as things change, some things remain the same. The location, venue and pay packages may be different for the 33-3 (24 KO) pro, but the competitive spirit and desire for the scrap are still there.

“I liked the competition. I love challenges. I’ve got a guy in front of me trying to eliminate me, and I’m trying to eliminate him. And who will get there first? Who will strike the first blow? It’s always been just sexy to me. And that just turned me on. I don’t know why.

When it comes to street laws, the only way to prepare is to be ready, alert and trained for a fight. Born fighters often grow up in extreme poverty, where violence is the only universal language, and in the case of boxing, it is also a way out of the hood. Grainy footage of Chris taking part in an illegal war circulated years ago and now shows what his life has evolved from.

I don’t know how it happened, but I was a street kid. I was a man of the road who went home every evening to a million-pound mansion. It doesn’t make sense,” Eubank Jr. mused.

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Joselito Velazquez knocks out former title challenger Andres Campos in Cancun

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by Francisco Salazar |

Joselito Velazquez made his presence felt in the novel weight class with a decisive victory over the former world title challenger.

Velazquez defeated Andres Campos twice en route to an impressive knockout victory Friday night at the Poliforum in his adopted hometown of Cancun, Mexico. The victory earned Velazquez (20-1-1, 13 knockouts) the 115-pound regional championship belt and the WBC world ranking.

About halfway through the first round, a combination momentarily staggered Campos, who fell back against the ropes. Velazquez followed the punch, but Campos was able to survive the attack by clenching his fists or fending off the attacks in spurts.

Velazquez scored a knockdown in the second round, dropping Campos with a main left hook to the head. Campos defeated the count and again survived the onslaught of hooks and crosses that Velazquez threw after the action resumed.

Undeterred, Campos gave it his all in rounds four and five, trying to take Velazquez down to land some of his punches.

The fight ended in the latter part of the sixth round when a left hook to the head forced Campos back into the corner. Velazquez threw the combination while Campos was already on the court, prompting referee Javier Espinoza to immediately stop the fight (2:09).

Velazquez, who hails from Oaxaca, Mexico, previously fought on March 22, defeating Luis Araujo Arellano en route to a unanimous decision victory. On November 24, Velazquez defeated Pablo Carrillo by decision after 10 one-sided rounds.

The victories over Arrellano, Carrillo and now Campos all came in Cancun.

The 31-year-old has won his last five fights since a unanimous decision loss to former world champion Cristofer Rosales.

Velazquez has been trained for the past few years under Eddy Reynoso, who also trains Ring Magazine super middleweight champion and unified world titleholder Canelo Alvarez. He represented Mexico at the 2016 Olympics.

Campos drops to 16-2-1, 5 KOs. In his previous fight, which took place on May 18 in his hometown of Santiago, Chile, Campos fought Edinson Martinez to a majority draw.

The 28-year-old Campos, who is coached by Tony Tolj, challenged then-IBF flyweight world titleholder Clear Edwards on June 10 last year, losing by unanimous decision. Campos returned to action three months later, defeating Ben Ligas before winning by seventh-round knockout.

In the co-main event, junior featherweight Celex Castro, who also resides in Cancun, improved to 18-0, 14 KOs, defeating Argentine Ckari Cani Mansilla twice en route to a third-round knockout victory.

Castro dropped Mansilla (17-4, 12 KO) once in round two and again in round three before the fight was stopped at 2:34.

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