The celebrated Michael Buffer was on hand to conduct MC duties (always the sign of a big fight) and bitter British heavyweight rivals David Haye and Tony Bellew weighed-in moments ago, ahead of their big non-title fight at The O2. Not surprisingly Haye was the heavier man, tipping in at 16st 9oz (233 pounds) while reigning WBC cruiserweight champ Bellew weighed a career-high 15st 3lb 8 oz (213 pounds).
It’s the biggest, most intense British heavyweight match-up of the year and opinions remain divided over just what will happen when passionate rivals David Haye and Tony Bellew collide in London. The supercharged atmosphere surrounding the fight has led to both excitement and controversy; Haye’s pre-fight threats of inflicting serious, career-ending damage on his rival offending many.
British boxing fans are pumped up right now, looking ahead as we are to Saturday’s grudge-fight between David Haye and Tony Bellew. Over the years, fans have grown accustomed to trash-talk between the two fighters, they have got used to seeing pushing and shoving taking place at press conferences and fans have even tired of seeing punches and other missiles thrown in the lead up to a fight.
Former heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko today began his training camp for his massive 90,000 sell-out fight with IBF ruler Anthony Joshua. The fight, just under two months away, will contest the WBA belt as well as Joshua’s IBF strap and Klitschko told The Daily Mail that he is “obsessed” with reclaiming two of his old belts and of redeeming himself for letting himself down against Tyson Fury in November of 2015.
After all the hype, the ward of words and the entertaining press conferences, it would be a massive blow if Saturday’s David Haye-Tony Bellew fight got called off. Believe it or not, there is apparently a chance that this will actually be the case. A story broke this morning regarding Haye suffering an injured Achilles tendon.
Haye flew out to see his German doctor, Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt yesterday, to have his Achilles checked out. When this was revealed, a number of publications and web sites jumped on the story, suggesting Saturday’s fight was in jeopardy. And of course Haye has form; having pulled out of a few fights due to injury – sometimes at the eleventh hour. But, in speaking with ESPN.com, Bellew’s promoter Eddie Hearn said that the fight will take place and that he knew about Haye’s Achilles problem weeks ago.
They’re both big fights and fans have shown huge interest, with both the March meeting between middleweight king Gennady Golovkin and challenger Danny Jacobs and the May “Battle of Mexico” between Canelo Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. reaching sell-out status.
Fans are bracing themselves for some good, maybe even great action, and arguments are being made on both sides, about both fights, regarding who wins. In terms of betting odds, both GGG and Canelo are very big favourites to win: Golovkin faces an 8/1 underdog in Jacobs, while Canelo faces a 7/1 underdog in his countryman Chavez Jr.
Immediately after scoring his impressive 5th round stoppage win over former champ Lucian Bute, unbeaten light-heavyweight contender Eleider Alvarez called for his earned shot at reigning WBC 175 pound champ Adonis Stevenson. Alvarez, 22-0(11) said he hoped to fight Stevenson, 28-1(23) next and yesterday the WBC ordered Stevenson to defend against his mandatory challenger.
Breazeale says he was “blindsided by sucker punches”
Deontay Wilder releases statement
It seems heavyweights Deontay Wilder and Dominic Breazeale did not fight once each on Saturday night in Alabama, but twice – their second fight, or brawl, being between each other. Wilder, who retained his WBC crown with a come-from-behind stoppage win over a game Gerald Washington, later got into it with Breazeale, who won an exciting fight with the unbeaten Izuagbe Ugonoh – so claims Breazeale.
As per the WBC, a return meeting between the governing body’s heavyweight ruler Deontay Wilder and former champ Bermane Stiverne is on the way; ordered as the rematch has been. Wilder, who took the green belt he now holds from Stiverne back in January of 2015, wants to unify the titles, but he will seemingly also have to accommodate the man he out-pointed (Wilder’s best win to date).
Deontay Wilder looked a little rusty in the early going of his fight with Gerald Washington last night, but the defending (for the fifth time) WBC heavyweight champ got the job done in style in the end. Rust or no rust, Wilder is certainly capable of being outboxed and his critics will no doubt point to the opening four rounds of the Washington fight as more proof of this, but Wilder has the big, the monstrous, the devastating equaliser: his crushing right hand.