Boxing
Hamzah Sheeraz and Jaime Munguia accused of avoiding ‘boxing bogey’
“If he feels like he needs a good fight, I like that because it tells me he’s not entirely confident because he’s had 12 good rounds against Makhmudov, right? To the point where do you really need more rounds? That’s what the fans will say. Does he need one more? Because that creates a risk of something going wrong,” Hearn told Sky Sports Boxing.
Hearn pointed to Fury’s recent comments about Joshua’s return and questioned why the former heavyweight champion now believed another fight was necessary.
“He said to us, ‘Oh, you don’t need another fight. We had four rounds with Jake Paul.’ I mean, in two years of boxing, come on,” Hearn said. “You had 12 rounds with Makhmudov at Tottenham but you still feel you need more rounds to prepare for Anthony Joshua.”
Fury defeated Arslanbek Makhmudov over 12 rounds in April after coming out of retirement. At the time, many expected him to go straight to the fight with Joshua. Instead, Fury continued to push for another performance ahead of his clash with the British heavyweight.
Hearn doesn’t believe the extra rounds will make a difference when Fury eventually splits the ring with Joshua.
“But now I’ll tell you something. More rounds won’t support you, because I can see it. When Makhmudov came out in this fight, I just know what AJ will do.”
Promoter Matchroom said Joshua remains focused on Prengi, but admitted a sturdy performance next month could mean he enters the fight with Fury with renewed confidence after a hard period away from the ring.
“If we keep that confidence, if we can go there and put on a great performance together on July 25, we will go into the fight with Tyson Fury with a lot of confidence. It will be an vital moment for the sport, but July 25 has to be the first,” Hearn said.
Xander Zayas believes his entire professional career has been leading up to the challenge he will face on June 27 against Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
The undefeated champion remained confident throughout the build-up to his highly anticipated super welterweight fight, but he also made it clear that Ennis represented the toughest test he has faced as a professional.
“He’s the toughest opponent of my career,” Zayas said during a behind-the-scenes look at his training camp released by Matchroom Boxing. “Every fight was a step in that direction, and facing someone like Boots, a former world champion coming into a fresh weight class and wanting to be the king of that weight class, is obviously a challenge because you know he gives his all.
“But you have to expect the best from me, and I promise Xander Zayas will bring out the best version of himself.”
Instead of treating the fight as something different from previous camps, Zayas said he approached his preparation in the same way that led him to the biggest opportunity of his career.
“Same focus, same hunger, same dedication, same everything,” Zayas said. “Nothing changes. This is another fight, the most significant fight of my career. But every fight is significant. Nothing else. I have to stay who I am, be true to myself, know what works for me, apply it.
“That’s what it comes down to. I know who I am, I know what I’ve been through at every camp and I know how to make changes when I have to, so whatever he says won’t affect me because I’ve been here before. I’ve been here since I was 16.”
Ennis comes into the fight having moved up from welterweight, where he held world titles before settling on the top of the 154-pound division. Zayas sees that ambition as part of what makes the fight so unsafe, but he also sees it as a fight his career has been preparing him for all along.
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Last update: 2026/06/01 at 23:08
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