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Billam-Smith is counting on the cruiserweight titles with Wilder

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Image: Billam-Smith Eyes Cruiserweight Titles, Leaves Door Open to Wilder

His focus remains on the cruiserweight titles that are familiar to him, even if not every significant fight is at 200 pounds.

One name that keeps coming up is Deontay Wilder.

Billam-Smith doesn’t present this as a change of department or a career turning point. He talks about it as a specific fight. He openly said that heavyweight as a category did not suit him and this view has not changed. Wilder, potentially at a bridge weight, is treated as the exception rather than the rule.

“I don’t think my style suits the heavyweight division,” Billam-Smith said on the show Toe2Toe Podcast. “But I would love this fight.”

He pointed to his past with punches and fighters who rely heavily on one gigantic shot. In his opinion, these fights often used his strengths instead of highlighting his weaknesses.

“When I punched with my gigantic right hand, I did well,” he said. “Stylistically, it would be good for me.”

He also made it clear that this thinking does not extend to the division as a whole. Billam-Smith only mentioned two scenarios that would take him out of the cruiserweight division.

The first is Lawrence Okolie. Billam-Smith remains the only man to have beaten him as a professional. If Okolie were to win the heavyweight title, this result would take on modern meaning and the rematch would have an obvious narrative.

The second one is Wilder. A known risk, a known name and a fight that continues to attract attention despite Wilder’s recent setbacks.

For now, Billam-Smith is focusing on the cruiserweight division, where Noel Mikaelian holds the WBC title. This is the lane he will now be aiming for and it will be a direct step back to the title picture.

However, the division may not remain plain for long.

David Benavidez is expected to move up from featherlight heavyweight and challenge Ramirez for the WBA and WBO titles. If this fight does happen, it will immediately reshape the top of the weight class and Billam-Smith will be watching it closely.

“We want him to beat Zurdo and we want to fight him,” Billam-Smith said. “This is my view. This is the team’s view.”

The rationale is practical. If Benavidez defeats Ramirez, he will become the champion, as well as the man who defeated the fighter who won Billam-Smith’s title. This connection still has significance in boxing, even if it has not been revealed.

Billam-Smith believes the fight is close.

“I think Zurdo is the favorite,” he said. “But he’s close. Very close. Benavidez has the style to beat him. Zurdo is very intelligent.”

He didn’t change clothes.

“What a name,” he said. “What a fight.”

The gigantic names are still critical to him, as are the stages that come with them. Las Vegas remains part of the ambition rather than a box already checked.

“If I can go to Vegas, it will be even better,” he said. “That dream still exists.”

First and foremost is Jai Opetaia, the IBF champion, and Billam-Smith has already figured out how he wants to achieve that.

First, Mikaelian. Then Benavidez. Then Opetaia. Three fights in succession, each leading to the next.

This path will give him titles, influence and control. This would put him in a fight with Opetaia where he could negotiate rather than just hope.

“In an ideal world, this would be the way to go,” he said.

He didn’t pretend that boxing usually allows for perfect routes. He knows plans change quickly. But the direction is clear. He chooses shots, knowing that the window doesn’t stay open forever.

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Audley Harrison candid verdict on Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua: ‘He only has one way to win’

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Audley Harrison delivers honest verdict on Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua: “He only has one way to win”

Audley Harrison wondered how fellow Olympic gold medalist Anthony Joshua would fare against Tyson Fury later this year.

Both agreed to clash in the long-awaited heavyweight showdown, but only if “AJ” successfully completes his next fight against Kristian Prenga.

He hasn’t fought since knocking out Jake Paul in the sixth round in DecemberJoshua is now preparing for his clash with Prenga on July 25 in Riyad, Saudi Arabia.

This is his first assignment since he lost two of his closest friends in a car accident in Nigeria, where he was also involved in the tragic incident.

Naturally, he spent the next few months recovering from his injuries, although Joshua now appears to be getting closer to a showdown with Fury.

Meanwhile, “The Gypsy King” has already finished his pre-fight, ending a 16-month break with Arslanbek Makhmudov, whom he outpointed by unanimous decision last month.

Shortly after the triumphant victory, Fury called out Joshua, who was sitting at ringside, refusing to take part in the fight.

But at the same time, Harrison did he told Sky Sports that he saw a fire in the 36-year-old’s eyes, dazzling enough to suggest he was ready for the task ahead.

“From a boxing point of view, it’s a sexy fight because style makes fight.

“[Joshua] he can’t win the fight by trying to box Fury – he has to go in there, break him down and try to eliminate him. This is the only way he can win this fight.

“You’re fighting a champion boxer who knows how to slip [and] slide. after [Makhmudov] fight…he [Joshua] he looked at Fury [with intent].

“When they get into that fight, he’s going to take the fire – everything he went through after his friends died.”

Despite getting back into the win column after back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, Fury clearly wants to enter his second warm-up fight.

Whether that happens remains to be seen, but he certainly wouldn’t be willing to risk a potential clash with Joshua.

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Mike Tyson Opens Up About Cus D’Amato and Cocaine on Theo Von Podcast

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Former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson appeared on comedian Theo Von’s podcast “This Past Weekend,” in which the 59-year-old former titleholder became visibly emotional while talking about his behind schedule mentor Cus D’Amato and offered unfiltered memories of his past struggles with cocaine addiction.

Tyson breaks down remembering Cus D’Amato

When asked by Von what period of his life he would most like to have documented on film, Tyson didn’t hesitate.

“That was when I first met my mentor Cus D’Amato,” Tyson said.

D’Amato, a coach from Catskill, Novel York, who previously coached Floyd Patterson and Jose Torres to world titles, adopted Tyson when he was 13 after meeting him at the Tryon School for Boys, a juvenile correctional facility in upstate Novel York. D’Amato became Tyson’s legal guardian after the death of Tyson’s mother in 1982, and trained him until D’Amato’s own death in November 1985, about a year before Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history.

“I started boxing, I started changing my life. Then I met him. That’s the part I want you to come back to,” Tyson said on the podcast.

When Von asked how Tyson knew D’Amato loved him, the former champion’s voice broke and he covered his face with his hand.

“I had someone I loved and he loved me,” Tyson said.

Tyson explained that D’Amato protected him from criticism during his amateur years, and Von noted that the juvenile Tyson would attack anyone who spoke negatively about him. Tyson, clearly moved by the memory, asked Von to change the subject.

“So why are you making me talk about this nonsense? Stop it,” Tyson said.

Stories about cocaine

Elsewhere, Tyson described episodes from his well-documented history of cocaine apply, which he has discussed publicly many times over the years, including in his 2013 autobiography, “Undisputed Truth.”

Tyson told Von that he once didn’t sleep for four consecutive days while filming, and the drug caused scabs and bleeding in his nose. He said the supplier instructed him to take more cocaine for pain relief.

“I took the punch and wow, I feel better. I never knew. I just took the punch and went numb. It wasn’t numb anymore. It started bleeding. I had to take another punch to numb it,” Tyson recalled.

Tyson also recalled going to his personal doctor to ask for assist in quitting smoking, but the doctor asked Tyson for some of the medicine. The former champion said he later checked himself into a rehabilitation facility and gave the remaining supplies to a staff member, who Tyson said kept the drugs for himself.

“I gave him coke, my last coke. I said, ‘Here, I’ve got some coke.’ “The motherfucker took my Coke,” Tyson said.

Tyson’s recent activity

Tyson last fought professionally on November 15, 2024, losing a unanimous decision to Jake Paul over eight two-minute rounds at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. They said the event, which was streamed live on Netflix, attracted 108 million live viewers worldwide data published by the streaming platform.

Tyson’s professional record is 50-7 with 44 knockouts. In the years 1986-1990 he was the WBA, WBC and IBF heavyweight champion.

Theo Von’s full episode is available on the comedian’s This Past Weekend podcast.

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Richard Torrez Jr. preparing for “two good knees”

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Image: Richard Torrez Jr. Preparing For “Two Great Knees” Against Frank Sanchez

Torrez said that he does not expect a weakened opponent when they meet at the Glory in Giza gala, headlined by Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven.

“Yeah, I think it’s definitely in the back of my mind,” Torrez Jr. said. Mr. Verzace in Ring Magazine when asked about Sanchez’s knee problems. “But I’m going out there preparing for the best, Frank. I’m going out there preparing for Frank, who has two great knees. That’s the Frank I hope to expect because I want to fight the best. I don’t want to fight someone who’s 60% fit.”

“I think his team, doing their due diligence, wouldn’t let him get in the ring with me when he’s at 60% power, and that’s why they postponed the last fight. So I’m 100% ready for Frank Sanchez.”

Torrez also provided a technical breakdown of Sanchez’s style and said that pressure could be the key to breaking him over time.

“I think Frank, being of Cuban descent, has that Cuban style. He can kick his ass when he needs to,” Torrez Jr. said. about Sanchez. “I think he has a very robust backhand. I think he knows how to put you to sleep in the moment where he can hit the shot he wants.”

“But I think he lacks pace. If you’re able to take control of it and put pressure on him and impose your will on him, I think that’s where things start to basically break down in the game plan. I think we saw that with Kabayel.”

The 2024 Olympic silver medalist also revealed that his professional career almost never happened at all. Torrez admitted he believes he would have retired from boxing had he won gold instead of silver in Paris.

“If I won gold, I would retire. I wouldn’t box anymore. That would be it. I would feel like I achieved what I needed to achieve,” Torrez Jr. said.

“I feel that winning silver has given me the drive and determination to prove something not only to myself but to everyone who has sacrificed for me.”

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