Anthony Joshua and Dominic Breazeale have weighed-in ahead of their IBF heavyweight title fight tomorrow night (one of three big heavyweight fights set for the summer that will still actually go ahead as planned: Deontay Wilder-Alexander Povetkin and Tyson Fury-Wladimir Klitschko II both falling apart due to a failed drugs test and a damaged ankle respectively) – and as expected, Joshua looked in tip-top shape.
James Slater
Tyson Fury – Wladimir Klitschko Postponed
By now, fight fans may have read or heard about heavyweight champ Tyson Fury’s claims that his rematch with Wladimir Klitschko, set for July 9, will be postponed due to an ankle injury Fury says he suffered whilst out running ten days ago. So far, we have not heard from anyone else – not Peter Fury, Tyson’s trainer, nor have we heard anyone from the Klitschko camp react to the news. But Fury sounds truly disappointed to have had to have broken this news.
Arum hoping Mike Alvarado can come through Saturday’s fight with Josh Torres; says Crawford, Bradley, Pacquiao, Vargas all possible future foes
Thought former interim WBO 140-pound champ Mike Alvarado was all finished? Most people wrote the gutsy warrior off after his corner retirement of a loss to Brandon Rios in January of 2015. Alvarado was never in the rubber-match, being easily beaten and this loss came after punishing defeats at the hands of Ruslan Provodnikov and Juan Manuel Marquez. Plenty of people instinctively wrote Alvarado off, after all, suffering three back to back losses is no joke.
Klitschko calls Fury “An imbecile champion”
Wladimir Klitschko’s main motivation going into his July 9 rematch with Tyson Fury seems to be Fury’s mouth, and his very real desire to close it with a gloved fist. It’s no secret Klitschko does not like some of the things Fury has come out with in recent times – indeed, Fury has caused nothing but outrage in some quarters, what with his views on everything from homosexuality to the Jewish race – and the ex-champ who was dethroned by Fury last November has again laid into Fury for his verbal outbursts.
Klitschko was not in any way satisfied by Fury’s apology for his recent on-line video that featured him talking about, amongst other things, how “the Jews own all the banks.” Fury issued an apology stating he is neither a racist nor a bigot, but Klitschko has called for Fury to be banned from boxing, or suspended.
Canelo – Golovkin: De La Hoya says verbal agreement reached for Sept 2017
It seems we will have to continue playing the waiting game as far as getting to see a middleweight showdown between stars Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez. According to Canelo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya, who put out a Tweet that has been reported by a number of sources jumping on the story, he and GGG’s promoter Tom Loeffler reached an agreement for the fight to be held off until next September.
Dillian Whyte says don’t be surprised if Briggs KO’s Haye
Heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte does not see the upcoming, agreed fight between former heavyweight champs David Haye and Shannon Briggs as a mismatch. Far from it, Whyte says he will not be at all surprised if 44-year-old Briggs KO’s 35-year-old Haye. Speaking with The South London Press, Whyte – will face Ivica Bacurin, his third change of opponent, on Saturday’s Joshua-Breazeale card – said he has been hugely disappointed by the quality of Haye’s comeback opposition.
Get ready for the cruiserweight fight of the year: Krzysztof Glowacki-Oleksandr Usyk on for Sept. 17th
In what will almost certainly be the most interesting and exciting cruiserweight world title fight of 2016, and possibly a FOTY candidate, period, WBO ruler Krzysztof Glowacki will meet mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk in the champion’s homeland of Poland on September 17th, ESPN.com reports. An absolutely fascinating, can’t-miss fight between two powerful and talented unbeaten fighters, Glowacki-Usyk is as close to a 50-50 fight as you could mention.
Kell Brook picks Shawn Porter to beat Keith Thurman on Saturday
IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook is an ideal person to predict this Saturday’s big welterweight clash between Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter, having been in there with Porter; being the only man to have beaten him. Brook won a very close decision over Porter back in August of 2014, to win the IBF belt he now holds and looks to defend against Jessie Vargas, the WBO champ, in a September unification (that still has not been 100-percent finalized).
Brook scored the biggest win of his career in winning a majority decision over Porter – since then, Brook has been ranked as the number-one welterweight in the world by Ring Magazine as well as a top-10 pound-for-pound fighter by “The Bible of Boxing” – and he now picks Porter to upset Thurman in their WBA title clash.