Boxing
Joseph Parker worked lightly Martin Bakole in Riyadh, what will happen next is uncertain
Published
2 years agoon
Despite the rapid flattening of the hazardous pretender Martin Bakole, Joseph Parker can still miss the fight for the title of champion.
Bakole entered only two days of notifications of a plot in the fight for ponderous titles and came to Saudi Arabia from the Democratic Republic of Congo after the disappearance of Friday weighing.
Parker (36-3, 23 KO) was to challenge Daniel Dubois for the title of World IBF, but instead he blew up the bacols (21-2, 16 KO) in two rounds. Bakole could have been a overdue replacement and was too ponderous, but it was still the impressive performance of Parker.
It is certainly arduous to predict what the next six or seven months looks like, but the withdrawal of Dubois has changed all plans for promoters, managers and Saudi payers.
Instead of re -facing Parker, after withdrawing from the defense of the world title compared to the Recent Zealander with a viral infection during the fight week, IBF Dubois champion will probably face Oleksandr Usyk in the unquestionable fight for the world championship title.
For Parker, his best option seems to be a rematch with former champion Anthony Joshua – but it depends on Parker’s friend, Tyson Fury, and not a return to Joshu this summer.
“I want to fight for the world championship title and become the world champion again,” said Parker later. “I will fight with everyone and everyone.”
When Joshua returns in the summer, he and the rest of the box hopes that it would be against his long -time rival Fury, who announced his pension after the defeat of Utyk. The former WBC World Heavyweight champion will receive an offer this week to face Joshua, probably at the Wembley stadium, and Fury will not decide for a long time whether he is really finished with this sport.
Promoters have tried to match Fury and Joshua for the last five years, and this will be the last attempt to realize the fight.
But if the Fury remains retired, another Joshua fight can be against someone who trains at the same gym as the Fury: Parker.
Parker from Auckland in Recent Zealand constantly rebuilt his career after losing in round 11 with Joe Joyce in September 2022. The 33-year-old registered six consecutive wins, including winning in Deontay Wilder and most points win over Zhilei Zhang in March last year. While Joshua, Fury and Wilder saw their performances fall in the standards, Parker is in the best form of his life and better than in his first rule as a master, as he showed in the absolute shipping of Bakole.
Fighting Joshua, even if there is no world title on the line, will have a huge charm for Parker. When he faced Joshua under the roof at the Principality stadium at Cardiff in Wales, he was in the best state. That night he lost the WBO belt from Joshua, but became the first person to take Joshua to points as a professional.
Like the speed and movement of Parker, they denied Joshua’s openings in 2018, so once again he will want to refuse Joshui a chance to unload his blows.
Parker has previously refused Joshua Ko and he will be sure he did it again. Together with Dubois, another warrior who could share the ring from Usyk, who was in Riyadh on Saturday, is Agit Kabayel, who recovered from Terrunia in round 5 to stop Zhilei Zhang with the body of a shot in round 6 for Fringe WBC Tineim Tineim heavyweight title.
While Kayabel does not look like a stern threat to Uyka, because he lacks shock, he can still be a man who will face world 1 in his last fight at the end of 2025. Kabayel (26-0.18 KO), 32, with German, he was under pressure at an early stage of a 41-year-old Chinese warrior who is based in Recent Jersey, but his work rate began Blow Zhang (27-3-1, 22 KO).
Zhang dropped such as Wilder, Parker and Joyce, so there was no shame in Kabayel coming from a compact left hook. Then he quickly recovered and gathered a quick response to stop the tiring Zhang with a combination of the body.
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Boxing
Gervonta Davis Seeks Redemption with Opportunity to Regain Old Belt: I Want Him on My Record
Published
14 hours agoon
October 1, 2026
Gervonta Davis is set to return to action in the new year and ‘Tank’ may well do so in an immediate world title challenge, with one fighter willing to offering him a shot at his old belt under one condition.
Davis has held titles at super-featherweight and super-lightweight but was most recently the WBA lightweight champion, until his prolonged stretch of inactivity – since March 2025 – caused the Baltimore knockout artist to be stripped of his world title.
Instead, the 31-year-old has been named as the WBA’s ‘champion-in-recess’ in the 135lb division, with Floyd Schofield and Lucas Bahdi scheduled to compete for the full vacant WBA crown next weekend in Chicago.
Speaking ahead of that fight, Schofield told Fight Hub TV that he would be more than willing to defend the title against Davis, if he is able to overcome Bahdi and become the new lightweight world champion at the age of just 24 years old.
“I’m not going to lie. If Tank did want to come back and was like, ‘I want that fight and I want that belt back,’ I have no problem with it because he is the so-called boogeyman.
“Like I have always been saying, if you get Tank on your record, if you beat Tank, then there is not a lot that people can say.
“Until then, I am looking to collect all of the belts at 135lbs and to then go on to 140lbs.”
Schofield-Bahdi will take place at the Wintrust Arena on Saturday, October 10, with Ricardo Sandoval defending his unified WBC and WBA flyweight world titles against fellow Mexican Sergio Mendoza Cordova in the co-main event.
Boxing
Lennox Lewis Shares Verdict on Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua After Friendly Press Conference
Published
15 hours agoon
October 1, 2026
Either Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua will join Lennox Lewis as the second three-time heavyweight world champion from the UK when they collide in later this year, and ‘The Lion’ has now updated his prediction for the contest.
After prolonged negotiations and their respective ‘warm-up’ bouts against Mariusz Wach and Kristian PrengaFury and Joshua are finally set to enter the ring against each other. Wednesday’s launch press conference saw the two men come face to face for the first time, following what was a surprisingly friendly affair.
Having witnessed those fights back in July, Lewis admitted that he was favouring ‘The Gypsy King’ to come out on top in the long-awaited bout, believing his two most recent showings to be more impressive than those of Joshua, as per DAZN.
“Fury is closer but both are shadows of their former selves.I’dside with Fury,
“He showed me more in his two fights [against Arslanbek Makhmudov and Wach] than Joshua has recently. He boxed a YouTuber [Jake Paul]now boxed a guy [Prenga] who knocked him down twice and next faces Fury? That’s a big step up.”
However, at the launch press conference for the fight between the duo – which will now be for the WBA (Super) heavyweight world title – Lewis declared that the bout will be determined by punch accuracy.
“For me, the most accurate puncher out of the both of them [will win]. Tyson is an accurate puncher and ‘AJ’ throws a great one-two.
“He has caught many people with the one-two. That is his most accurate combination, to me.”
Fury-Joshua will take place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on December 11, with Amir Khan now being linked to an appearance in the co-main event.
Boxing
Simon Jordan Confronts Rick Reeno on Dana Whites Leadership in MMA
Published
18 hours agoon
October 1, 2026
Simon Jordan dismissed Rick Reeno’s praise of Dana White as the king of combat sports promoters, insisting that the UFC boss’s corporate profits mean little to the athletes risking their health in the ring.
The disagreement exposed two different measures of success: building a lucrative promotion and ensuring the fighters receive a fair share of what they generate.
Reeno, The Ring’s chief executive, chose White over Eddie Hearn when asked who belonged at the top of the promotional business. He pointed to the UFC’s growth and the strength of a brand that, for many viewers, has become interchangeable with MMA itself.
Jordan accepted White’s achievements in that sport but rejected the comparison within boxing.
“If we’re talking about in the boxing world, Eddie Hearn is light years above Dana White in the boxing world,” Jordan told talkSPORT. “Whatever you say about Hearn, and I have lots to say about him, he will pay his fighters. He will pay his fighters fairly. And he will pay them promptly.”
Evaluating Dana White’s boxing venture requires looking past his promotional hype. A promoter can draw massive crowds while quietly shortchanging the talent in the ring.
Reeno countered that every promoter wants to make money. He also argued that some MMA fighters were earning $50 fighting in bars before the UFC created greater opportunities.
That defense explains the value of building a market. It leaves Jordan’s question about compensation unanswered. What fighters earned before a business became successful does not settle what they should receive once it secures major commercial deals.
Jordan’s argument carries flaws as well. Eddie Hearn holds decades of boxing experience, yet that background does not automatically guarantee he will outmaneuver White moving forward.
Reeno highlighted White’s ability to tap directly into UFC and WWE audiences to build a Tyson Fury versus Anthony Joshua fight. That crossover audience provides massive leverage.
The real issue centers on how much money actually trickles down to the fighters. Reeno argued that Dana White knows how to expand commercial revenue better than anyone else. Jordan questioned if revenue growth by itself justifies giving him top billing.

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