As we are today, fans, most of them British, were getting ready for a heavyweight showdown in Cardiff, Wales back in October of 1993. Back then, Lennox Lewis was defending his WBC title (the one he had picked out of the garbage after Riddick Bowe unceremoniously placed it there rather than face Lewis in a return meeting of their 1988 Olympic clash) against British folk hero Frank Bruno.
James Slater
Deontay Wilder has a change of heart, ready to “see” Dillian Whyte to secure mega-fight with Joshua
Fans may have read about British promoter Eddie Hearn’s offer to WBC heavyweight king Deontay Wilder: take a (high paying) defence against London’s Dillian Whyte and then, if victorious, get the massive unification fight with WBA/IBF ruler Anthony Joshua.
Wilder initially balked at such a notion, as did his US promoter Lou DiBella; who stated how Whyte is “irrelevant in the career of Deontay Wilder.” But now, going by what “The Bronze Bomber” had to say to Sky Sports, things might well have changed. It seems Wilder – who must get past former champ Bermane Stiverne in a rematch next Saturday before he can even think about fighting anyone else – is now interested in getting it on with the once-beaten Whyte.
Terence Crawford named mandatory challenger for Jeff Horn’s WBO welterweight title
It’s a fight Bob Arum has expressed a good deal of interest in making and now, due to the WBO installing Terence Crawford as the mandatory challenger for WBO welter ruler Jeff Horn, the fight is a big step closer towards taking place.
As per a twitter message from the WBO: “Crawford is mandatory contender for Jeff Horn. Fight will have to be arranged within 90 days after Horn next optional defence.”
Should Golovkin-Canelo II take place somewhere other than Las Vegas?
Middleweight king Gennady Golovkin signed a promotional deal with Tecate earlier this week, as his promoter Tom Loeffler tweeted. GGG and Loeffler were in Dallas to sign the deal and, according to Loeffler, to scout possible venues for Triple-G’s next fight.
Of course all fans hope and anticipate that Golovkin’s next fight will be a return showdown with Canelo Alvarez. This one is a rematch that simply has to happen, and the last we heard, it is being targeted for May of 2018. But where should the return super -fight take place?
Sam Sexton’s trainer refutes David Haye’s claims of offering the British champ “career-high pay day” to defend against Joe Joyce
Immediately after 2016 Olympic gold medal winner Joe Joyce had won his ambitiously matched pro debut, against experienced pro Ian Lewison, David Haye stated how his fighter would be capable of defeating reigning British heavyweight champ Sam Sexton, 24-3(9) in his very next fight.
Joyce, looking to be moved fast at age 32, could fight David Allen next instead, and Haye says he hopes either Sexton or Allen agrees to fight his new star next, ideally on the under-card of Haye-Bellew II on December 17. But Sexton’s trainer, Graham Everett, in speaking with Eastern Daily Press, says Haye’s claims of offering Sexton a “career-high pay day” are false.
Heavyweight great Larry Holmes says Anthony Joshua “would have knocked out a prime Mike Tyson”
Heavyweight legend Larry Holmes has heaped a ton of praise on new heavyweight star Anthony Joshua while at the same time he has surely annoyed a whole lot of Mike Tyson fans. Speaking recently and quoted by The Express, Holmes came out with the claim that prime-for-prime Joshua would KO Tyson.
Big words from Wilder, Stiverne ahead of rematch: “I’ll retire if I lose,” says Wilder, “No-one can knock me out,” declares Stiverne
With the fight, a rematch that will take place almost three years after their first encounter, just days away, both Deontay Wilder and Bermane Stiverne have their game-face very much on.
This much was evident during a recent teleconference call to further hype the November 4 rematch between the two that will contest Wilder’s WBC heavyweight crown (Stiverne of course being the man Wilder defeated to take the title back in January of 2015). Both men came across as somewhat irritable, Stiverne especially (Stiverne said he really doesn’t want to talk to anyone until after the fight; sure as he is that he will “get asked a whole lot of different questions after November 4”) and both punchers seem ready to rumble.
“Is Anthony Joshua Britain’s greatest ever heavyweight?” – Sky Sports poll derided by many, Lennox Lewis included
A poll launched (now removed without trace, for obvious reasons) by the folks at Sky Sports News, that asks the simply ridiculous question: Is Anthony Joshua Britain’s greatest ever heavyweight – has been derided by many people; including heavyweight great Lennox Lewis.
It’s a sign of the times that Joshua, a good fighter who still has many years ahead of him, is even having such a question asked of him at this, still very early stage in his career. Yes Joshua has that excellent win over a 41 year old Wladimir Klitschko, but does this, along with his current achievements, make such a question a valid one? Not a chance.
Amir Khan calls out Mayweather once again, says no-one has ever outboxed him; Brook responds
Amir Khan will not let it go as far as his getting a massive fight with Floyd Mayweather; he can’t, as utterly convinced as he is that he would defeat Mayweather if the two did meet. And while fighters should be commended for going after the biggest and best fights, it’s different with Khan, for a few reasons: his critics says he has done nothing to earn a mega-fight with Mayweather, and Mayweather’s critics insist “Money” is no longer one of the best fighters out there.
35 years on: Is Holmes-Cobb still the most one-sided world heavyweight title fight ever?
In the list of infamous, never to be forgotten fights, the world heavyweight title fight taht took place 35 years ago next month – between defending champ Larry Holmes and unimaginably tough challenger Randy “Tex” Cobb – holds its own distinctive place in fans’ memories.