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Frank Warren reveals how Usyk scored against Verhoeven before half-time: ‘The cards were terrible’

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Frank Warren reveals how he scored Usyk vs Verhoeven before the stoppage: “The cards were atrocious”

Many boxing fans believe that Oleksandr Usyk was just a round away from one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight history against Rico Verhoeven, and now Queensberry promoter Frank Warren has expressed his views on the fight.

With only one professional boxing fight under his belt, most people gave Verhoeven minimal chances ahead of his unconventional clash with Usyk at the Pyramids of Giza.

The Dutchman quickly proved that he should be taken seriously as his style caused problems for Usyk, who had trouble winning rounds and was constantly off the pace.

Before round 11, it was revealed that two judges had the fight level while one had Verhoeven ahead 96-94. In interview for iFL TVWarren described the result as “horrible”, believing that the underdog’s performance deserved a bigger advantage.

“I actually thought it was a really good fight, fun to watch and he won it. I had him four or five [rounds] up, I thought the scoring was terrible.

In this penultimate round, these scorecards became redundant as a judge Mark Lyson intervened after Verhoeven met Usyk’s uppercut and then applied pressure in a corner.

Continuing, Warren said a more experienced operator would take some extra time and look at the entire round.

“I think if he [Verhoeven] when he fell, he had a little more experience [he could have survived the round]. I noticed that his rubber cover had half fallen off and he put it back on without touching it, he sort of swallowed it back.

“Anyone with a bit of experience would spit it out and maybe gain a little more from it [of time]”

Verhoeven appealed the outcome of the fight, hoping to have the fight result changed to a “no contest” or force an immediate rematch, although the WBC confirmed that Usyk would next have to have mandatory challenger Shit Kabayel, promoted by Warren.

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Boxing

Errol Spence Finally Shares What Went Wrong During Pre-fight Camp With Terence Crawford: ‘A Disturbed Situation’

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Errol Spence finally shares what went wrong in camp for Terence Crawford fight: “Messed up situation”

Errol Spence Jr has explained how a “screwed up” training camp cost him an uncontested showdown with Terence Crawford.

“The Truth” lost the WBC, IBF and WBA welterweight titles to “Bud” in July 2023, suffering a ninth-round defeat in what was widely believed to be a 50-50 fight.

He has remained out of the ring since then, but the 36-year-old is now preparing to face fellow former world champion Tim Tszyu on July 25.

The pair will compete in Australia at the 158-pound catchweight, and Spence will not only compete at the higher weight, but will also train under novel head coach Ronnie Shields.

A major change appears to have been necessary, both in terms of bulking and training, with the American hoping that Shields would lead him to his first win since April 2022, when he scored Final in the 10th round with Yordenis Ugas.

At least Spence is certainly confident that his preparation for Tszyu will be easier than for Crawford, whose shift-hitting style will be a nightmare to replicate in sparring.

In fact, the former unified champion said All smoky boxing that esteemed former coach Derrick James failed to arrange appropriate sparring partners.

“NO [no conversations with Derrick James about how to go about the fight]. This camp sucked. I didn’t take part in sparring. The guys didn’t fit in – I didn’t have any southpaws there to spar with. Everything was wrong.

Basically, I was living a bad life. Even outside the camp you have to live properly, so once you get to the camp, that’s it [is] Nippy.

Derrick [job to pick the sparring partners]he’s a teacher, right? We just worked on the gloves. You’d think he’d put on gloves and tell me to block shots, but nothing like that.

I just felt feeble, exhausted. Even though I exercised, I feel like I wasn’t getting stronger. The whole camp – it was just a whole crazy situation.

It’s clear that Spence also blames himself for not getting back to his best, but credit shouldn’t be taken away from one of Crawford’s career-defining performances.

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Change of opponent Oscar Collazo is waiting for the WBO’s decision after issuing a visa to Joey Canoy

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Image: Oscar Collazo Opponent Change Awaits WBO Decision After Joey Canoy Visa Issue

The World Boxing Organization has confirmed that Miguel Cotto Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions have formally approached former world title challenger Luis “Flechita” Castillo as a last-minute replacement for Collazo’s WBO minimumweight title defense scheduled for Saturday in California.

Castillo, a 25-year-old Mexican fighter, has a professional record of 22-1-1 with 14 knockouts. However, since the WBO does not currently have a 105-pound weight class, the sanctioning body must first determine whether he can be added to its rankings before approving a championship fight.

In a statement released Tuesday, WBO president Gustavo Olivieri explained that the organization’s Ratings and Championship Committee would meet on Wednesday morning to consider the request.

“The Assessments and Championships Committee will meet tomorrow morning to carefully assess the application, the relevant facts and the athlete’s merits.” Olivieri wrote. “Once the review is completed, the Commission will issue an appropriate ruling.”

Collazo was originally scheduled to defend his WBO title against Canoy in a fight that was considered by many to be one of the most invigorating fights in the minimum weight division. Canoy’s inability to obtain a work visa forced promoters to quickly look for a replacement to keep the champion on the card.

Castillo previously challenged for the 2024 world title, losing a unanimous decision to then-WBA minimumweight champion Knockout CP Freshmart. Since that defeat, the Mexican has gained momentum with several victories that have put him back in the conversation at a global level.

Collazo, 29, unified the WBO and WBA minimum weight titles with a seventh-round victory over Thammanoon Niyomtrong in November 2025. The Puerto Rican southerner is considered one of boxing’s top fighters below the main weight classes and is looking to continue his streak towards further unification fights.

If Castillo is approved by the WBO commission, he will have just a few days to prepare for the biggest opportunity of his career.

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Unified champion Oscar Collazo is scheduled to replace him at the last minute because his opponent cannot enter the U.S. in time

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Unified champ Oscar Collazo set for last minute replacement as opponent unable to enter the US in time

Joey Canoy was scheduled to challenge Oscar Collazo this weekend, but the challenger is currently prohibited from entering the United States.

Puerto Rico’s Collazo has established himself as the man to beat in the minimum division, and his regular activity and lofty ambitions make him a must-see on the 105-pound scene.

Collazo stopped Melvin Jerusalem in May 2023 and has since defended the belt seven times, including a title unification with then-WBA champion Knockout CP Freshmart, also known as Thammanoon Niyomtrong, in November 2024.

Since defeating the Thai champion, Collazo has defended the unified title a total of three times and was scheduled to face Filipino Canoy 25-5-2 (15 KO) on Saturday night.

The duo was scheduled to headline at the Frontwave Arena in California, where standout amateurs Ruslan Abdullaev and Joshua Edwards will also appear on the Golden Boy card.

However, even though the event is just days away, Canoy has not yet been able to travel to the United States due to visa complications and will withdraw from the fight “if he cannot fly to America by Thursday evening,” he claims Daily Tribune.

“As of Monday afternoon, Canoy was still waiting for his U.S. visa to be issued. Sources say that if Canoy cannot fly to America by Thursday evening, he will simply remain in the country.

“The official weigh-in is scheduled for Friday. Canoy’s travel documents were submitted to the U.S. Embassy over three weeks ago.”

Canoy has fought abroad in the past, in both South Africa and Japan, but it is believed that recently tightened US immigration policy combined with a delay in announcing the venue may be to blame for this ongoing problem.

The latest update from WBO president Gustavo Olivieri shows that Canoy indeed missed his shot and was replaced by Mexico’s Luis Castillo.

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