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UK Boxing

Oleksandr Usyk proved Anthony Joshua right when Tyson Fury’s feelings come to lithe

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Anthony Joshua correctly predicted that Oleksandr Usyk would beat Tyson Fury – and now he wants to fight both, according to Eddie Hearn. The former unified world champion was at his best in Saudi Arabia as Usyk handed Fury the first boxing defeat of his career, recording a split decision victory.

In the British Olympic gold medalist’s history, both fighters have lost twice to Usyk and have seen plenty of potential fights with the Gypsy King falling in the dying stages. Nearly two weeks since the mammoth Middle East clash, Hearn revealed that Joshua had correctly predicted that the Ukrainian would prevail over Fury.

The judges awarded Usyk the win, based on scorecards of 115-112 and 114-113, while one judge declared Fury the winner with a score of 114-113. Interestingly, Joshua supported the Ukrainian in defeating the Morecambe player on points long before the first bell.

“I don’t think it’s that deep,” Hearn continued True Geordie podcast when asked what Joshua’s feelings are now towards Usyk and Fury. “I think probably deep down he’s thinking, ‘Well, I lost, especially the second fight, by decision in crucial moments.’

“By the way, honestly, AJ was 50% of the fighter he is now. You saw in the press conference, his reaction in the ring, he wasn’t himself, I don’t think he was in a good place.

“Now he’s firing on every cylinder there is, so he watches this fight and thinks, ‘I’d like to fight Usyk again.’ He thinks: “I would like to fight Fury again”, but before the fight he told me: “Usyk will win on points” and he was right, it’s a great fight.

Hearn also admitted he still wants to see Joshua fight Fury in the near future. He added: “I always liked the style of the AJ-Fury fight. Fury defeats Ngannou. Let’s be truthful, Usyk is not a powerful boxer.

“AJ didn’t really get into trouble until the 12th round because AJ was exhausted and hit him with all he had. All I know is that if AJ punches Fury in the chin, it’ll be over. But Fury is a brilliant fighter.”

Fury has accepted a rematch clause and will face Usyk on December 21 in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, it looks like Joshua’s next fight will be against the winner of Daniel Dubois and Filip Hrgovic, who will fight in Riyad as part of the Queensbury vs Matchroom 5v5 card.

However, Hearn also believes that the clash with Deontay Wilder could breathe modern life if the energetic American puts in an impressive performance against Zhilei Zhang.

“From the point of view of the action plan, [it’s] Hrgovic vs Dubois fight, which will be another brilliant heavyweight fight,” Hearn said. “The likely scenario is that the winner of this fight will fight AJ for the world heavyweight title in September.

“But if Deontay Wilder knocks out Zhilei Zhang and His Excellency (Turki Alalshikh) he will say: ‘This fight is back.’ Don’t forget that this fight has been signed, we were supposed to announce it in the ring on December 23. If he looks great in the match with Zhang, the whole world will be calling for the Wilder vs Joshua fight again and we can do it at Wembley.

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UK Boxing

Janibek vs. Andrei Mikhailovich – preview and predictions for the huge fight

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Janibek and Mikhailovich were supposed to meet in July Photo Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Janibek Alimkhanuly defends his IBF middleweight world title against Andrei Mikhailovich on Saturday in Sydney, live on Sky Sports. Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
Janibek Alimkhanuly defends his IBF middleweight world title against Andrei Mikhailovich on Saturday in Sydney, live on Sky Sports. Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Unified middleweight world champion Janibek Alimkhanuly goes to Australia next Friday, to The Star in Sydney, where he will risk winning the IBF title in a fight with undefeated Up-to-date Zealander Andrei Mikhailovich, although his WBO crown is not at stake.

ESPN+ Janibek vs. Mikhailovich live in the USA Heavenly sports broadcast the fight in the UK.

This match was originally scheduled to take place in July in Las Vegas, but the champion was reportedly hospitalized after trying to gain weight and the fight had to be canceled after a delay.

Janibek (15-0, KO10) was promoted from WBO interim champion in 2022 and defeated Denzel Bentley in a competitive first defense.

After knocking out Steven Butler in two rounds, the Kazakhstan added the IBF title to his collection by defeating Vincenzo Gualtieri in six rounds last October.

Janibek and Mikhajłowicz were supposed to meet in July. Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
Janibek and Mikhajłowicz were supposed to meet in July. Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank

“Qazaq Style” will now face undefeated Aucklander Mikhailovich (21-0, 13 KO), his country’s top amateur who has won multiple free titles but has no professional victories.

The 26-year-old, who holds the IBF Pan Pacific title, has not faced anyone in the Kazakhstan class, and last April he fell before scoring to stop Edison Saltarin in the fifth round.

Mikhailovich was last seen stopping Less Sherrington in the round in April.

Motu meets O’Connell

The undercard features another undefeated Kiwi in action, with Mea Motu taking on Shannon O’Connell in a scheduled top ten super bantamweight bout.

Motu (19-0, 7 KO) is scheduled to win the IBF and WBO titles in three weeks against defending champion Ellie Scotney and cannot afford to slip up in this fight.

“The Night” will bring her IBO title to England, which she won last April on points over Tania Walters.

The 34-year-old defended twice, and in her only fight in 2024 in April, she stopped Noppaket Srisawas in two rounds.

Former Commonwealth champion O’Connell (24-7-1, 12 KO) has fought for two world titles, most recently losing an eighth-round fight for the IBF bantamweight crown against Ebana Bridges in December 2022.

O'Connell was stopped by Australian rival Ebanie Bridges in December 2022. Photo: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing
O’Connell was stopped by Australian rival Ebanie Bridges in December 2022. Photo: Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing

The 41-year-old was last sidelined in May, defeating Siriphon Chanbuala in the second round.

Undercard remaining

Prospective lightweight competitor Charlie Kazzi (6-0, 2 KO) fights for eight rounds for the second time in his career and should have already defeated Lui Magaiva (4-6, 1 KO), and the fighter from Papua Up-to-date Guinea was suspended five times in six defeats.

Wayne Telepe (1-0, 1 KO) can claim his second straight stoppage victory, this time in a scheduled four-round lightweight fight against Bashir Nassir (0-1-1).

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UK Boxing

The British heavyweight sensation is considering quitting boxing after a huge offer from WWE

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Olympic boxer Delicious Orie admits he is considering quitting boxing after receiving an offer to join WWE.

Super heavyweight Orie, 27, won gold medals at the European Championships and Commonwealth Games before representing Team GB at the Paris Olympics this summer.

He lost in the first round by a controversial split decision to former world silver medalist Davit Chaloyan. It seemed certain that Orie, who was born in Russia and moved to Wolverhampton at the age of seven, would turn professional and lead the next generation of British heavyweights.

However, the 6-foot-6-inch heavyweight admits his career path is in doubt after receiving an offer from WWE – the world’s leading professional wrestling promotion – with offers also on the table from top boxing promoters.

“I was invited to potentially join WWE, as crazy as that sounds,” Orie said Finger 2 Finger. “I just went there and saw what it was all about. It was a fantastic experience, I learned a lot in the few days I was there, and it’s definitely something I have on the table as an option.

“This is real. I got this news during the Olympics and at that time I wasn’t really looking at the news, I was completely focused on the Olympics. Then I was on vacation and then I slowly started replying and saw the message.

“At first I thought it was a scam, but then I looked into it more and it turned out to be legit. They said, “We see your potential and we would like to work with you.”

Orie, who is 29-9 as an amateur, was flown to the WWE Performance Center in Florida, where he learned the basics and worked on a finishing move called the “Delicious Haymaker.”

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However, deciding on his future is a stern matter and he will not rush the process. He continued: “Ultimately I have to make a decision and it’s not something I take lightly. I really need to spend some time on this because ultimately it will shape my entire career. This will be huge.

“I’m at the stage now where I’m waiting for offers, including from WWE, looking at contracts and seeing what WWE expects of me. [boxing] promoters and WWE website.

“I just want to have all the options on the table to be able to make a full decision because no matter what decision I make, I’m going to commit 100% [into it] and I will sacrifice everything to be the best at it.”

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UK Boxing

Nick Ball vs. Ronny Rios – Gigantic Fight Preview and Predictions

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Ball and Rios face-to-face ahead of Saturday

Nick Ball defends his WBA featherweight world title for the first time against Ronny Rios on Saturday in Liverpool. Photo: Stephen Dunkley/Queensberry Promotions
Nick Ball defends his WBA featherweight world title for the first time against Ronny Rios on Saturday in Liverpool. Photo: Stephen Dunkley/Queensberry Promotions

Nick Ball defends his WBA featherweight title for the first time when he defeats Ronny Rios this Saturday at the Echo Arena in Liverpool.

Frank Warren’s Queensberry are promoting the Ball vs Rios match, with TNT Sports broadcasting live in the UK and the event being broadcast on ESPN+ in the US.

Ball (20-0-1, 11 KO) can consider himself unfortunate not to have become a world champion before his momentous world title win in June, when he drew with Rey Vargas in the WBC title fight. March, despite two knockdowns against the Mexican.

The 27-year-old didn’t have to wait long for redemption as he put in an outstanding performance last season dethroning Ray Ford via split decision in Riyad to win the belt he is defending in his hometown this weekend.

Rios (34-4, 17 KO) is a protected first defense for “Wrecking” Ball, and the 34-year-old has suffered defeat in his two previous attempts to win the super bantamweight world title, including against the previously mentioned Vargas.

Ball and Rios face-to-face ahead of Saturday's showdown Photo: Stephen Dunkley/Queensberry Promotions
Ball and Rios face-to-face ahead of Saturday’s showdown Photo: Stephen Dunkley/Queensberry Promotions

After being stopped in the last round of his fight for the IBF belt in June 2022, the Californian was sidelined for almost two years, only to return to featherweight in April, knocking out Nicholas Polanco in five rounds.

Cain clashes with Casseres

Andrew Cain has bounced back well from a split decision loss to Ionut Baluta last March and is fighting for the vacant WBC International Silver super bantamweight title against Lazaro Casseres.

Cain (12-1, 11 KO) was last seen in July in Birmingham, stopping Ashley Lane for the British and Commonwealth belts, while Casseres (11-1, 4 KO) is on a seven-fight winning streak since becoming the only beat by a professional.

Cain became the new British and Commonwealth Bantamweight Champion. Photo: Stephen Dunkley/Queensberry Promotions
Cain became the novel British and Commonwealth Bantamweight Champion. Photo: Stephen Dunkley/Queensberry Promotions

Rafferty attacks Turner

Commonwealth super-lightweight champion Jack Rafferty puts his title on the line against WBC International silver champion Henry Turner, with the vacant British belt also up for grabs in the 12-round fight.

Rafferty (23-0, 14 KO) won the Commonwealth crown with a first-round stoppage of Lee Appleyard last December, before picking up a third-round victory over Sabari Jaishankar in June.

Turner (13-0, 5 KO) won his belt in 2022 and has defended it four times, most recently a fifth-round stoppage of Maykol Mendoza in April.

Undercard remaining

In the second and final tenth round after Cain’s fight with Casseres, the talented Cuban Jadier Herrera (15-0, 13 KO) will appear, and the lightweight star can score another early victory, this time against Oliver Flores (31-5-2, 20 KO). . from Nicaragua.

In eight rounds, lightweight James McGivern (9-0, 3 KO) can win on points against Argentinian Reuquen Cona Facundo Arce (17-16-2, 7 KO), who knocked down Archie Piercing twice before losing on points in May.

Super bantamweight talent Brad Strand (11-1, 3 KO) is coming off a defeat in the fight for the British and Commonwealth titles against Dennis McCann, but he should return to winning ways here with a victory against Marvin Solano (24-19, 24- 19, KO) 8 KO).

In six rounds, Jack Turner (8-0, 7 KO) may have to settle for points success against the tough bantamweight Gonzalo Corinaldesi (5-6-1, 1 KO) and Nelson Birchall (5-0, 2). KO) should do the same in his super featherweight fight against Mark Butler (3-12, 1 KO).

Heavyweight Hope, Boma Brown (4-0, 2 KO) will have to be content with a points victory over Amine Boucetta (8-16).

In four rounds, Walter Fury (1-0) should triumph on the scorecard in the super welterweight fight against Dale Arrowsmith (6-114-5, 1 KO), and in the middleweight fight Joe Cooper (1-0) should also win decision against Łukasz Barabasz (4-13, 2 KO).

Debutant Lucas Biswana should start with a points victory over Jakub Laskowski (4-31-1, 2 KO).

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