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Eddie Hearn Reveals Awkward First Meeting With Turki Alalshikh

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Hearn was critical of Fury-Ngannou Photo Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images

Eddie Hearn opened up about his awkward first encounter with Turki Alalshikh. Photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
Eddie Hearn opened up about his awkward first encounter with Turki Alalshikh. Photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

Eddie Hearn has forged a forceful partnership with Saudi Arabia’s head of sport, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh.

Hearn and Alalshikh have had two fights with Anthony Joshua, a five-on-five bout pitting Hearn’s Matchroom against Frank Warren’s Queensberry, and Alalshikh’s first fight in the US, which was headlined by Terence Crawford’s victory over Israil Madrimov earlier this month.

As he himself admitted, the now fruitful cooperation was not so bad in the past, and Alalshikh even ignored messages from Hearn.

Alalshikh, head of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, entered the world of boxing with the highly controversial fight between then-WBC champion Tyson Fury and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in October, opening an significant season in Riyadh.

Hearn, like many observers, was openly critical of his rival ahead of the fight, in which Fury came off the bench to defeat the Cameroonian by split decision.

“I probably did one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done,” the 45-year-old said in Conversations about cigars.

Hearn critical of Fury-Ngannou match Photo source: Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images
Hearn critical of Fury-Ngannou match Photo source: Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images

“I really didn’t speak positively about the Fury-Ngannou match.

“So he’s organizing this event and there’s this massive promoter there who’s worked with these other guys [Skills Challenge] and now he criticizes Fury-Ngannou a bit, and I slowly move on to the ranking of the best songs of the month.

“When I realised that His Excellency wanted to stay here permanently, I contacted him on social media and said, ‘you are in London, let’s meet up’ and he felt that ‘we see’.

“I thought, ‘Oh no.’

“A few people told me, ‘he’s not joyful with everything you said about Fury-Ngannou.’

Hearn and Alalshikha’s relationship has improved significantly. Photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
Hearn and Alalshikha’s relationship has improved significantly. Photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

The Essex promoter met with the Saudi boss to discuss the terms of a deal that would see Joshua face Otto Wallin in December, and their first interaction was, unsurprisingly, a bit frosty.

“Luckily he’s not driven by ego or politics, and he wanted to fight Anthony Joshua, so he probably thought, ‘I’m going to meet Eddie Hearn.’

“I went to his apartment in London, sat down and he said to me, ‘I have to say I didn’t like what you said about Fury-Ngannou.’

“I thought to myself, ‘I didn’t like it, but it ended up being amazing, so well done.’

Alalshikh played a key role in repairing the relationship between Hearn and Warren. Photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
Alalshikh played a key role in repairing the relationship between Hearn and Warren. Photo: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing

“He told me, ‘We’re a bullet train. Do you want to be on the train or on the platform waving at the train as it goes by?’

“And I just said, ‘Chuck, choo-choo!’

“We’ve built a great relationship since then.”

Their partnership grew stronger, with Alalshikh even supporting Matchroom-sponsored snooker events, and acting as a mediator between Hearn and Warren, once fierce rivals who now collaborate on a number of events.

The pair will reunite in September to support Joshua in his three-time heavyweight title fight, before he faces Daniel Dubois for the IBF title at Wembley Stadium on September 21.

If Joshua beats his compatriot and Tyson Fury gets revenge on Oleksandr Usyk in December, Alalshikh and Hearn could secure victory Fury vs Joshuaa struggle that has escaped the world’s attention for years.

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UK Boxing

Junto Nakatani vs Tasana Salapat – results and post-fight report

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Nakatani

Nakatani continued his knockout streak (Image: Sky Sports)
Nakatani continued his knockout streak (Image: Sky Sports)

Junto Nakatani defended his WBC bantamweight title for a second time with a sixth-round knockout victory over Tasana Salapat in Japan.

Nakatani (28-0, 21 KO) entered the Salapat fight as a three-division world champion after serving as the WBO flyweight champion and great flybefore winning the WBC bantamweight title by defeating Alexandro Santiago in February. He last dropped in July, needing less than a round to knock out Vincent Astrolabio in his first defense.

Chitpattana (76-1, 53 KO) entered this fight with a very flattering record of 77 fights. His most essential fight was in 2018, but he was clearly defeated on the cards by Takuma Inoue in the fight for the interim WBC super bantamweight title.

In his last fight, he defended his WBC Asian belt for the fourth time, scoring in ten rounds over GuiMing Li 6-5-1 in Rangsit in July.

Nakatani’s punch was a powerful weapon in the first round and proved to be a very good measure as Chitpattana’s punches were mostly insufficient in the first three rounds.

Nakatani's strength proved too much for Salapat (photo: AFLOSPORT)
Nakatani’s strength proved too much for Salapat (photo: AFLOSPORT)

Although the Thai challenger had little success in round four, Nakatani was able to better capitalize on the exchanges and had more power in his punches.

Both men started with vicious punches in the fifth round, and a round later the champion scored a hefty knockdown, landing with his remaining strength, followed by several pointed combinations.

Chitpattana survived the count, but the end came behind schedule in the round when Nakatani hit Chitpattana with a left hammer that knocked his opponent forward and the referee waived the count.

Tanaka stunned Cafu

Kosei Tanaka (20-2, 11 KO) defended his WBO super flyweight title for the first time, but a knockout in favor of Phumelele Cafu (11-0-3, 8 KO) proved crucial to winning the South African split title decision.

Cafu got angry because of Tanaka (photo: Kyodo News)
Cafu got irate because of Tanaka (photo: Kyodo News)

A huge opposing right hand from Cafu had Tanaka on board in the fifth round, but after surviving the count he rallied brilliantly and the two had great action until the final bell, where two scores of 114-113 for Cafu ensured that the belt would have a recent owner, after a third time with the same result for Tanaka.

Olascuaga vs Gonzalez match summary

The third world title fight on the bill ended in disappointment, as WBO flyweight champion Anthony Olascuaga (7-1-1, 5 KO) and Jonathan Gonzalez (28-3-2, 14 KO) had to settle for a technical draw during the gala. first round. Gonzalez was ruled out of the competition with a nasty cut caused by a clash of heads, and after four incompletes, the fight was ruled a technical draw.

Tenshin covers the distance with Asilo

Tenshin Nasukawa (5-0, 2 KO) won the vacant WBO Asia-Pacific bantamweight title, scoring over ten rounds against Gerwin Asilo (9-1, 4 KO). Nasukawa scored a knockdown that looked more like a foul in the penultimate frame, but Nasukawa still came away with the win by two scores of 98-91 and the third by a score of 97-92.

Kobayashi held by James

Super lightweight hopeful Ayato Kobayashi (1-0-1, 0 KO) and Excell James Junior (2-1-1, 0 KO) couldn’t be separated over four rounds, with two judges scoring the score a 38-38 draw, meaning the result of the third The judge’s 39-37 score was unnecessary for Kobayashi.

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UK Boxing

Mike Tyson questions Jake Paul’s decision to fight someone 30 years his senior

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Former world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson admitted that if he were 27 years elderly, he would not even consider fighting the 58-year-old.

“Iron Mike” will return to the ring next month against YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, with the fight scheduled for November 15 at the AT&T Arena in Arlington, Texas, potentially in front of a crowd of 90,000. The fight will be a heavyweight fight lasting eight two-minute rounds.

The two were originally scheduled to face each other earlier this year, but Tyson, 58, had to withdraw due to an inflamed ulcer. Doctors advised him to stop training, but after returning to the gym he feels prepared to fight the 27-year-old.

Since the fight was confirmed, many have expressed concern about Tyson’s health and criticized the 31-year age difference between the fighters.

Tyson’s last fight was an exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr in 2020, and the boxing legend has not competed in a professional fight in almost two decades. As for “The Problem Child,” he knocked out former UFC fighter Mike Perry in his last fight in July.

With the age difference being a significant factor in the upcoming fight, Tyson recently took the opportunity to call out his future opponent. At a recent press conference, “Iron Mike” was asked how the fight would have gone if he was 27 and Paul was 58, to which the American replied: “Well, I would never fight a 58-year-old if I was 27.” “

In a recent talkSPORT interview, Paul addressed the criticism surrounding his upcoming fight with Tyson. “First of all, I think it’s disrespectful to Mike,” he said.

“And then I told them, ‘Get in the ring with him.’ If Mike wants to fight, then Mike wants to fight. If he wants it to be a professional fight, then: «OK!» I want to fight Mike Tyson, he’s a legend. It’s an honor to be in the ring with him, and if he wants this fight to be a professional fight, then “OK, let’s do it.”

“You look at his training videos, you look at him with the gloves, you look at him in person. He has a 30-pound weight advantage and is incredibly forceful. So people can say whatever they want, but they will still watch it.” .

“I understand the elderly guard, and the elderly guys want to see me lose. Ultimately, that’s what makes this fight so captivating, because two generations come together. I think people over 30 want Mike Tyson [to win]25 and younger want me to win. That’s what makes it very captivating.”

With only a few weeks left until the fight, some fans are skeptical about “Iron Mike” and his involvement in the upcoming match. On Jimmy Kimmel’s show, Tyson revealed his tough training regimen: “I train extremely demanding, I exercise six hours a day. I start at 11 a.m. and can leave the gym at 5 p.m..”

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UK Boxing

Social media reacts to the fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol

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Beterbiev becomes the undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world after a majority decision victory over Dimitri Bivol. Photo credit: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry Promotions
Beterbiev becomes the undisputed airy heavyweight champion of the world after a majority decision victory over Dimitri Bivol. Photo credit: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry Promotions

The long-awaited, undisputed clash between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol ended in a controversial way on Saturday evening. Beterbiev won by majority decision, with the judges scoring him 114-114, 115-113, 116-112.

Bivol likely dominated the first third of the fight, and Beterbiev finished stronger despite never going that distance in his professional career.

In an interview immediately after the fight, Dimitry Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, he told our reporter “I couldn’t find anyone who would score for Beterbiev. Then you hear 116-112. How can you give Dmitry Bivol 4 rounds in this fight? This is no disrespect to Artur Beterbiev. (Turki Said) bad decision, we will do a rematch.”

There was plenty of reaction on social media after a historic night on the boxing calendar.

Previous articleArtur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol – results and post-fight report

Matt Taylor is a boxing enthusiast and fan who has been interested in the sport and has been involved in it for over 15 years. He loves watching and analyzing fights from around the world and is a huge fan of the heavyweight division.

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