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Ukraine on top, Kabayel the body snatcher and the Torrez tornado

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THE MOST IMPORTANT events from the last week of the campaign

Oleksandr Usyk was knocked out in the ninth round and won a split decision over Tyson Fury, thanks to which he unified the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC and WBO titles and became the undisputed heavyweight champion.

Australian Jai Opetaia scored a unanimous points victory over Mairis Briedis to capture the vacant IBF cruiserweight title.

IBO super featherweight champion Anthony Cacace stopped IBF champion Joe Cordina in the title unification process.

Denys Berinchyk won a unanimous decision over Emanuel Navarrete for the vacant WBO lightweight title.

Brian Norman defeated Giovani Santillan twice to win the WBO interim welterweight title.

German heavyweight Agit Kabayel stopped undefeated Frank Sanchez.

Robin Sirwan Safar knocked down and outpointed former featherlight heavyweight titleholder Sergei Kovalev.

Also victorious in Saudi Arabia were Mark Chamberlain, Moses Itauma and Isaac Lowe.

Richard Torrez, Emiliano Vargas, Alan Garcia and Jonathan Lopez won the San Diego show.

Jin Sasaki stopped Joe Noynay for the OPBF and WBO Asia-Pacific titles.

Karen Chukhadzhian scored points by defeating Harry Scarff in an IBF welterweight eliminator.

Flavius ​​Biea and Ronald Gavril won in Romania.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – MAY 18: Tyson Fury punches Oleksandr Usyk during the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO and Undisputed Heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk at Kingdom Arena on May 18, 2024 in Riyad, Saudi Arabia. (Photo: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)


Who won the week?

Most significant: Usyk’s victory over Fury was the undisputed heavyweight championship! Don’t say anything else.

Most fun: Usyk vs. Fury not only met expectations, but arguably exceeded them.

Warrior of the week: Usyk for the historic victory. Kudos to Fury for putting in a great fight.

Punch of the week: Usyk’s right, which shocked Fury so much in the ninth set, was a lightning bolt. Additionally, Brian Norman’s uppercut that finished off Giovani Santillan and Mark Chamberlain’s shot that knocked down Joseph Wahab for the first time.

Upset of the week: Brian Norman did not look like a threat to WBO No. 1 Santillan entering the ring.

Potential watch: Modern Zealand cruiserweight David Nyika (9-0) is worth watching.


Combat card observations

Rosette: Usyk and Fury for rising to the occasion.

Red card: Ahead of the IBF, which is expected to soon strip Usyk of his title for not fighting mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic.

It was necessary to stop one long series without defeat. As far as I know, the last time Usyk lost a fight was in 2009, when he was overtaken by Yegor Mekhontsev in the semi-final of the World Championships, and in 2007, Fury was overtaken by Maksym Babanin in the final of the European Junior Championships – but I (Eric) could be wrong!

What a good night for Ukraine. Usyk won the heavyweight title, Berinchyk won the WBO lightweight title, featherlight heavyweight Daniel Papin scored a first-round KO and welterweight Karen Chukhadzhian won the IBF eliminator title (on Friday night).


May 18

Kabayel dashed Cuba’s hopes of defeat in seven rounds. Sanchez was already tired in the fifth set, landing only single, sweeping punches and spending most of his time on the ropes, while Kabayel attacked him with left hooks to the body and right hands.

Sanchez didn’t give much in return while Kabayel bombarded him with punches. The seventh was about the same until after a few body shots, Sanchez fell on his haunches but was counted out. He got up at seven, then went down again with a left jab to the body and was counted out. Kabayel entered the heavyweight mix in a massive way.

Southpaw Chamberlain blasted Joshua “Wealth Machine” Wahab in the first round. Chamberlain immediately took control, firing difficult right-click punches as Wahab looked to tuck inside. Near the end of the round, Chamberlain landed his jab with a powerful straight left that knocked Wahab to the ground. Wahab got to his feet, and on the count of eight, Chamberlain landed a left that sent Wahab into the corner, crashing to the floor sideways. The referee waved off the fight as Wahab needed medical attention before he fully recovered.

In San Diego, Torrez defeated Moore in five rounds. Torrez was his usual ultra-aggressive self. Moore tried to hit with his southpaw, but he lacked the punch to stop Torrez’s attacks. Moore had a good period in the fifth, but when he threw a right, Torrez’s left hook sent him across the ring.

Torrez followed Moore and then landed a series of punches that knocked him down. Moore had barely made the count, stumbling and dazed under the violent attack, when the referee came in to end the fight.

Former British, European and Commonwealth champion McGregor made a winning comeback by defeating newborn Colombian Jorge Moya in the second round.

McGregor showed no signs of rust as he knocked Moya down with a body shot in the second. Moya stood up but was unable to continue.

Lee McGregor (Warren Little/Getty Images)

Karen Chukhadzhian overtook Harry Scarff in the IBF eliminator. Scarff started changing players well, which put pressure on Chukhadzhiana. Chukhadzhian used speed and skill to beat Scarff, who put pressure on fourth, fifth and sixth. Chukhadzyan fired a lot of body shots and dealt with a cut.

Chukhadzhian still had some left in the tank and planned a stronger finish to emerge the winner after a score of 116-112 on each of the three judges’ cards. The rounds were so close that it could have been called something else and there was no reason to complain.


MAY 18

Jordan White defeated former title challenger Jonathan Oquendo-Arnaldi in the first round. As the smaller Oquendo lunged forward, White caught him with a left hook that knocked him to the ground. Oquendo got up but was rocked by another left hook and took punishment against the ropes when the referee stopped the fight.

Now it’s 13 straight wins for white. Oquendo (40) had a chance to win the WBA featherweight and WBO super featherweight belts, but it was only his second fight in almost four years.

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Joshua’s former coach gives his verdict on a potential rematch with Dubois

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Joshua vs Dubois

TONY SIMS believes a potential rematch between Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua could only go one way.

Sims, who trained Joshua for his first 17 fights, including his first world title in 2016, would love to see his former student turn the tables on Dubois, but he knows father’s time waits for no one.

Asked if the rematch would end in a similar fashion to their Wembley clash eight days ago, Sims replied: “I think so.”

“Dubois is a unsafe player. I would like to see Joshua win because Joshua is a good friend of mine and an aged fighter I trained. But history tells us otherwise.

I think it will be very hard to try to rematch this fight and get back on top after what happened last night. It’s a game for teenage men and I think he has a huge future ahead of him, Daniel Dubois.

After surviving three knockdowns, Joshua’s courage and lack of defense were put to the sword by Dubois in round five when a tiny opposite hand knocked out the 34-year-old.

“That first knockdown was tough,” Sims said. “It was a robust right overhand and a robust shot.

“Of course, before the knockout, Dubois caught a good shot. However, Dubois fended off these shots.

“And I thought, oh, is he hurt there? But he just shook it off. He took another right hand, shook it off again, and simply answered with his own. And that’s what youth is all about, when you’re so teenage and your desire is so great that sometimes you can walk through the shots.

“I thought it was just a really great, inspiring performance from him. This will give you a lot of self-confidence. He will probably be a better fighter after this fight.”


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A more aggressive Anthony Joshua would fare better against Daniel Dubois, says Tony Bellew

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According to Tony Bellew, it was how the fight between Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua started that led to its ending.

Dubois came out wanting to fight. Anthony Joshua came out looking at boxing.

“There was no warm-up or rest in the fight, just ‘come out and let your hands go'” Bellew said in an interview with Instant Casino’s Liam Solomon. Bellew is a former cruiserweight titleholder who is currently a boxing commentator and is also friends with Joshua.

“Joshua went out and started fencing, and when you start fencing with that jab, if your jab isn’t acute and powerful at the beginning of the fight, you’re going to let someone in. This is a weapon, it is not a rangefinder. This is not a toy. This should be used as a weapon at the beginning of the fight.

“Lennox Lewis did it brilliantly. After stabbing Lennox Lewis, he would come out and be the first to let them know who was bossing them around. Boom, boom, straight down the pipe and then it’s easier for him to get inside. Then the odd jab will be a speed jab and it will be a variation of the jab. But at the beginning of the fight everything has to be acute and swift. You don’t want to get counted out and catch a frigid early in the fight.

Joshua was caught with a tidy right hand early in the first and then knocked down as the round came to an end. Joshua returned to the canvas time and again, getting knocked down in the third and fourth rounds. He had some success in the fifth set and became overconfident, executing a right chinlock while dropping his left hand, leaving himself wide open for Dubois’ compact right-hand counter, which was a devastating punch that knocked Joshua to his knees.

“He just didn’t let go of his hands and that’s really the bottom line,” Bellew said. “If Anthony Joshua meets him face to face and lets go of his hands, it will be George Foreman and Ron Lyle again, but I tell you what, it will be over even faster. I think it’s to Anthony Joshua’s advantage. But apparently he didn’t feel the same. His team didn’t feel the same and adopted a different game plan. I understand that what I am saying is very risky. And that is risky. But when your attributes stack better than your opponent’s – when you’re a little faster than your opponent, stronger, have better technical skills, better footwork, better defense – I don’t understand why you don’t get into exchanges with them right away.

“With the analogy I just gave, if you’re a little faster, you’ll get there first. If you are a little more explosive, the shots will be more damaging. He just didn’t take that approach and that’s his and the team’s fault.”

Bellew disagreed with those who believe that Joshua’s past success in the sport, whether it be his two world titles or the riches he has acquired, has taken away from his current hunger. There is a saying often attributed to Marvelous Marvin Hagler about how complex it is to get out of bed early for road work when you sleep in silk pajamas.

“The last thing Anthony Joshua has is the silk pajama effect,” Bellew said. “I watched him in training camp in Texas with players like Derrick James. I saw how he worked and how much he put into his preparations. He is one of the best athletes I have ever seen in heavyweight boxing, if not the best athlete and specimen. What happened was that in the first round he was shaken to the boots, and a right hook would have knocked out the horse. To get up and continue fighting after being pinned so difficult, you’ve seen stills and leisurely shots. It’s on the button. This is a bull’s-eye. There’s nothing wrong with Anthony Joshua’s beard because he stood up.

“I think the ‘silk pajama effect’ is a uninteresting and uncomplicated analogy to represent. He goes in there. He’s in great shape,” Bellew said. He soon added: “The only thing that lifts your spirit is physical fitness. How fit are you? And as we know, the return to form takes place during the 14 weeks before the fight, during the camp. Anthony Joshua gets up from the floor after a hammer blow, mate, and getting up like that shows how fit he was. To be in such shape, you have to work difficult at camp.

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Nate Campbell explains why Artur Beterbiev beats Dmitry Bivol

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Image: Nate Campbell Explains Why Artur Beterbiev Defeats Dmitry Bivol

Former unified lightweight champion Nate Campbell says Dmitry Bivol will only last as long as he can endure the punishment he will inflict on October 12 in Riyad.

Campbell chooses IBF, WBC and WBO delicate heavyweight champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KO), who will win by knockout against WBA champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KO) due to his strength. Nate will pick Beterbiev until someone proves him wrong, and he doesn’t believe Bivol is a mighty enough puncher to do it.

Bookmakers still consider Bivol the favorite, even though more and more fans support Beterbiev’s victory. It’s uncomplicated to see why bettors are choosing Bivol because he’s 33, younger, isn’t dealing with a knee injury like Beterbiev, and has an impressive win over Canelo Alvarez.

“Beterbiev [will win]. One of my fans tried to get him on the podcast, but he hit the jackpot at the gym. My boyfriend said, “Damn, who keeps slamming the door to your gym?” He said, “That’s not a door.” This is Arthur hitting the head,” Nate Campbell said YSM sports mediatalking about why he chooses Artur Beterbiev to defeat Dmitry Bivol on October 12.

“Until you prove me otherwise, Beterbiev. Can you punch? You can neutralize the punch by being a bigger punch. Tell me which guy packs a bigger punch [than Beterbiev]. Bivol can box; I know he can box. But can he hit? I could box and punch.

Bivol has decent punching power, but it’s not extraordinary. He can knock out fighters, but he has to fire many shots during the fight. By doing this, he puts himself at risk of being hit. Fighting Beterbiev this way would be too threatening for him to get away with.

“It changes the vigorous of the game when you can box and punch. What is the most threatening style in boxing? [boxer-puncher]. It will be over when he can’t take it anymore,” Campbell said of a fight that will only last as long as Bivol can withstand the punishment from Beterbiev.

Bivol will likely make things ugly by staying on the move, jabbing and holding down Beterbiev as he gets close. He knows he can’t afford to fight from the inside without getting knocked out. This will be a hit-and-run fight with Bivol.

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