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Anthony Joshua’s opponent was paid just £5,000 to fight former heavyweight champion

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Anthony Joshua’s former opponent Dorian Darch has revealed he earned just £5,000 for his fight with the heavyweight powerhouse. The Aberdare-born 40-year-old faced AJ in February 2014 at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, long before Joshua had established his legacy in the boxing ring.

It was Joshua’s fourth professional fight, which he entered on the heels of three straight wins, including technical knockout wins over Emanuele Leo, Paul Butlin and Hrvoje Kisiček.

At the time, Darch was much more experienced in the ring, boasting a respectable 7-2 record and prepared for six rounds with a younger opponent. However, the fight did not go as the Welshman expected, as Joshua dominated the first round and knocked out Darch with a solid right just before the bell.

A right hook early in the second round, along with a few grazing left hooks, knocked Darch off balance before referee Terry O’Connor stopped the fight, marking AJ’s fourth consecutive TKO win.

Although AJ has since earned colossal sums from heavyweight boxing fights, the most notable being a reported £53million for his 2022 rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, Darch revealed his earnings were paltry compared to his fight with AJ a decade ago.

Darch candidly revealed: “I’m trying to remember who I was with at the time, I think I was with Sammy Simms, he was my manager at the time. He offered me the fight and, as you know, I lost to Ian Lewison, so I knew my career wasn’t going anywhere.

“So Sammy Simms called me and said, ‘I’ve been offered the AJ fight if you want it?’ I said, ‘How much?’ and he said, ‘Five grand,’ so that’s all I had for it, five grand, because it was a long time ago, or was it 2014-15 or something? So I just took the fight, the five grand paid for a nice vacation, and the rest is history.”

Reflecting on his fight, Darch mused, “I was doing pretty well in the first round, I thought. If you watch the fight, I was making him miss. When he catches you, you get caught, if you know what I mean. He caught me with a right hook at the end of the first round, in the final seconds, and then I was like a ball in the corner until the bell rang.”

“So I managed to get to the second round and then I got hit with a huge left hook and it just knocked me off balance, my legs went down, my arms went down, and luckily the referee jumped in before he could take me down or hit me again. I’m just being candid; my legs went down.”

Darch, who hasn’t stepped foot in the ring since 2020 and has a record of 12-12-1, has seen Joshua rise to prominence in the boxing world. Joshua, who is incredibly busy, secured the WBC heavyweight title just eight months after the Darch fight by defeating Denis Bakhtov.

A year later he won the Commonwealth and British heavyweight titles.

In 2016, he added the IBF heavyweight title to his collection by knocking out Charles Martin in the second round at the O2 in London. The following year, he won the WBA (Super) and IBO belts by defeating Wladimir Klitschko.

In 2018, he added the WBO title to his growing list of accomplishments by defeating Joseph Parker, but lost all of his titles to Andy Ruiz Jr. a year later.

AJ currently boasts an impressive 28-3 record with his other two losses coming to Usyk, the latest boxer to achieve undisputed heavyweight greatness with a split decision victory over Tyson Fury in May.

Now 34 and aiming for another shot at heavyweight glory, Joshua is set to face Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on September 21 for the IBF heavyweight title. Dubois, with a 21-2 record, won the vacant title in June with an eighth-round technical knockout of Filip Hrgovic and will be hoping to defend his title when the fight is over.

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UK Boxing

“I was knocked out by Oleksandr Usyk – here’s how Tyson Fury can beat him” – EXCLUSIVE

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Tony Bellew has highlighted where Tyson Fury needs to improve to have a better chance of beating Oleksandr Usyk the second time around.

The Gypsy king suffered the first defeat in his career when he was defeated on points by Usyk earlier this year. He will have the opportunity to avenge his loss when both fighters resume their competition in Saudi Arabia next month.

Bellew is well placed to provide insight into where Fury needs to improve after being knocked out by Usyk in his last professional fight in 2018.

Asked how Fury should approach the rematch, Bellew told Express Sport: “He can’t afford to be bullied. It surprised me. I was one of the few analysts who picked Usyk before the fight.

“Everyone thought Fury would be too huge, too powerful and too massive. I told anyone who would listen that Usyk would win. I just couldn’t imagine him winning by tormenting Tyson Fury.

“It surprised Fury and everyone. He didn’t get away with it again. This time he will be much more pointed and aware.

“It’s crazy that a man six-foot-three and barely 100 kilograms was able to abuse this twenty-stone, six-foot-nine monster and did just that. He won’t have that element of surprise when he walks in. revenge.

“But ultimately he did [Usyk] this is the best natural heavyweight boxing I have ever seen. I never thought he would be huge enough to fight in the heavyweight division.

Do I think Fury is completely out? Absolutely not, but do I think he will win? NO. Again, I would lean towards Usyk. I think it’s going to be a really close fight and I think Usyk will win it on points.”

Bellew spoke to Express Sport as a brand ambassador Men on a mission campaign in conjunction with DRINKiQ AND Men’s shedsraising awareness of mental health and unhealthy drinking patterns among men over 50.

“We know that statistics tell us that one in four men aged 50 to 75 think almost nothing about their well-being and mental health,” he explained.

“It’s not really talked about. It’s like a taboo topic. They don’t really want to talk about it, they don’t feel the need to. They actually think it’s frail. These are the guests who turn to drink.

“Before you know it, the problem is upon you, it’s getting worse, and you have to do something about it. We need to be out there talking to men of this age and letting them know there are other things to do, because it is, it’s so strenuous.”

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UK Boxing

Darren Till threatens to kick Tommy Fury in the head after the match and risk disqualification

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Former UFC welterweight fighter Darren Till has shockingly stated that he will utilize illegal tactics in his upcoming boxing match with Tommy Fury. Tommy, the younger brother of heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, is set to return to the ring following his recent victory over YouTuber KSI.

The fight was officially announced on social media by Fury and in a press release, which confirmed that Till, who triumphed over Mohammad Mutie in his boxing debut, will face “TNT” at next year’s Co-Op Live event in Manchester. An excited Fury commented: “It’s great to finally say I’m back! I’ve been out of the ring too long.”

He added: “I have itchy ankles so I’m excited to announce my return and headline a huge event in my hometown and in front of my fans. Till has had a good career in the UFC, but he steps into the boxing ring now against a real professional and he will quickly realize that he has reached his limit and this is not the game for him. “I plan to deal with Till decisively and then compete in even bigger fights in 2025.”

The highly anticipated fight is scheduled for January 18, and tensions already rose during the first press conference on Tuesday evening.

During a fiery press conference, Till boldly threatened Fury, stating: “At the end of the day, I can’t beat you, I’ll just kick you in the face,” and continued with a cheeky declaration of his fighting skills: “How about this? I’m a real fighter, not a boxer. I don’t go into a room like that, watch boxing and say “f**k.” I’m going in, no one here is a threat to me. Not a single person in this room, security, you and your dad, pose a threat to me. I’m an MMA fighter, so if I want to kick you or elbow you in the face, I’ll do it and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”

Fury quickly responded, dismissing the threat: “Well, it’s not going to happen if it’s Darren. Because we are not in a cage now, we are in a boxing ring and you will find that boxing is very different from MMA.”

However, Till stood by his earlier statement: “Well, it’s obvious, how are you going to stop me? If I lose the fight, I’ll kick you right in the face. You won’t know what will happen.” he hit you.”

Tensions escalated further when Tommy’s father, John Fury, caused a stir by throwing water at Till, leading to a fight requiring security intervention. Despite heated exchanges and a physical altercation, the fighters were eventually separated and serene was restored.

At the age of 31, Darren Till stepped into the MMA spotlight, quickly rising to prominence as a top fighter in the sport. The Liverpool fighter made headlines in 2018 when he challenged for the welterweight title but was defeated by Tyron Woodley.

After this match, Till moved to the middleweight division. His last win in the Octagon came in 2019 against Kelvin Gastelum, after which he recorded a three-fight losing streak.

His eight-year stint with the UFC ended last year when he was released from the organization. Despite his transition to boxing, Till foresees a return to his MMA roots in the future.

He confirmed his intentions, stating emphatically: “Yes. “100 percent,” when asked about a potential return to the UFC. “Of course I want to return to MMA. In a few years I will come back and fight again. I want to make a lot of money, but it wouldn’t work in the UFC, it’s all about the money. I want to have some good fucking fights there again. That’s what I want to do.

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UK Boxing

Jake Paul could fight Anthony Joshua next if the YouTuber’s stance on the British boxer is clear

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Jake Paul has decided to fight the sport’s established elites after defeating Mike Tyson, his promotional partner has revealed.

Paul won last week’s big-money fight in Texas by unanimous decision, but the YouTuber-turned-boxer was criticized for taking on the 58-year-old.

However, after the fight, it is believed that Paul will be looking to take his boxing career to the next level and will want to “test the limits of what is possible” in the ring.

I’m talking to Heavenly sportspromoter Nakisa Bidarian said: “He has a lot of options. He will take a few days off and next week we will meet with him, his advisors and coaches to determine next steps.

“It was an opportunity to capture the world’s attention and remind them why it is such a stunning sport. Jake was instrumental in this during the Mike Tyson match and we strategically placed Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano right in front of them.

“As for Jake’s future – honestly, whatever he wants.”

Speculation is rife as to who Paul might face next, with Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua among his potential opponents.

Dubois even called out the 27-year-old after the Tyson fight, posting on social media: “Hi Jake, good business this weekend, but how would you feel about fighting for the legitimate world heavyweight championship, Daniel Dubois calling you out Let’s get into it.

Bidarian revealed that this is something his client would like to get involved with.

He continued: “Jake gave me the word that I wanted to do this fight [against Dubois]. Not now. But I want to fight this fight.

“I want to do this by wanting to become the world cruiserweight champion. The second is to test the boundaries of expectations. Testing the limits of what is possible.

“That event with Mike Tyson, which tested the limits of what the world could see, and his fight with Anthony Joshua or Daniel Dubois, are in a way the same thing.

“Jake weighed 227 pounds, but he actually weighs 215 pounds. But he will do it under the right conditions and within the right framework.”

According to reports, Paul earned £32 million for the fight with Tyson, but Bidarian would like to emphasize that the American is not involved in the sport for the money.

When asked about Paul’s motives, Bidarian stated: “It’s not about the money. He has made a lot of money since he was 18. It’s really about disruption.

“It’s really about doing things that make you say, ‘Wow, that really happened.’ That excites us.”

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