James Slater

Deontay Wilder: Once I’ve got Povetkin out of the way, I am looking forward to fighting Fury

Deontay Wilder: Once I’ve got Povetkin out of the way, I am looking forward to fighting Fury

Not too long ago, heavyweight champion Tyson Fury posted his “wish-list” on Twitter, with the big fights he wants, in order, revealed. Well, WBC heavyweight king Deontay Wilder – the fighter who, in the opinion of many, is the third best big man in the sport after Fury and Wladimir Klitschko – has listed the big fights he would like next.

Speaking with Sky Sports, “The Bronze Bomber” said he would like to fight Tyson Fury after his upcoming defence in Russia against Alexander Povetkin (a fight Wilder says he is not “foolish enough” to look past) and then after that, he wants the winner of the upcoming Charles Martin-Anthony Joshua bout.

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Eddie Hearn says this November is a possibility for Fury-Joshua showdown

Eddie Hearn says this November is a possibility for Fury-Joshua showdown

British promoter Eddie Hearn is working on making a number of big fights this year, and top of the list is a potential all-British blockbuster up at heavyweight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. Hearn, in his column for Mail Online, wrote how he is somewhat amused by people suggesting, via social media and on the boxing web sites, that he would not let his fighter Joshua in with Fury so soon.

Not so, writes Hearn, who feels the fight is a natural and will be worked on for as soon as this November providing both heavies win their next fight. Fury will of course fight former champ Wladimir Klitschko at a still-to-be-determined date (possibly June 4th), while Joshua will challenge IBF ruler Charles Martin next month. The would-be unification would be a “huge fight,” Hearn writes and that “all being well we might make Joshua-Fury in November.”

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Roach says Pacquiao’s right hand is now “stronger than his left!”

Roach says Pacquiao’s right hand is now “stronger than his left!”

Superstar Manny Pacquiao began working at the Wild Card gym of his equally famous trainer, Freddie Roach on Monday, and Roach liked what he saw from Pac-Man in sparring. Getting ready to face Tim Bradley for a third and final time – Pacquiao repeatedly stating how the April 9th fight will be his final ring appearance before saying adios – the future Hall of Famer is also overcoming the shoulder injury he carried with him into the “Fight of the Century” against Floyd Mayweather Junior last May.

But, as Dan Rafael reports on ESPN.com, there are no concerns about the shoulder. Not for Roach anyway. Roach, who has said a few times he believes his southpaw dynamo will score a KO over Bradley this time, has been amazed at the strength of Manny’s right hand. Pacquiao tore his rotator cuff, a quite common injury for boxers, and had to undergo surgery to repair it. Roach is praising his fighter’s doctor, who, he says, has worked a near miracle!

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GGG promoter Loeffler: Khan-Golovkin would be a huge fight

GGG promoter Loeffler: Khan-Golovkin would be a huge fight

Tom Loeffler, the promoter of middleweight sensation Gennady Golovkin, has strongly suggested the unbeaten terror known as GGG could have not one but two fights in the UK, against British opposition, this coming summer. As has previously been reported, Billy Joe Saunders is a very real possibility for Golovkin at a big stadium in the UK this summer (provided Saunders gets past Max Bursak in April and Golovkin gets past Dominic Wade also next month), but Loeffler, in speaking with Sky Sports, also has his eye on a possible Amir Khan fight.

Khan, if he manages to beat Canelo Alvarez in May, would be in the exact position Canelo is in right now: mandated to fight Golovkin. And Loeffler says he feels a Khan challenge of GGG would be a big fight in both the UK and the U.S.

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Bombs Away? David Lemieux to face Glen Tapia on Canelo-Khan card

Bombs Away? David Lemieux to face Glen Tapia on Canelo-Khan card

As has already been reported, the supporting card for the big Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-Amir Khan clash in Las Vegas on May 7th is beginning to take shape. One fight that is set for the pay-per-view event looks like an exciting if possibly short affair. Numerous sources (including Boxrec) have said how former IBF middleweight champ David Lemieux will face Glen Tapia at The T-Mobile Arena.

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Huck wants to go to war with Glowacki for a second time, convinced he can gain revenge

Huck wants to go to war with Glowacki for a second time, convinced he can gain revenge

Back in August of last year, cruiserweight champ Marco Huck, defending the WBO crown he won way back in 2009, went to war with unbeaten Polish hard man Kryzsztof Glowacki in his American debut. To the surprise of his fans, Huck was stopped in dramatic fashion in the 11th-round – but not before a great fight, which featured some incredible two-way action, was fought.

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Billy Joe Saunders says he believes he will fight Gennady Golovkin this summer

Billy Joe Saunders says he believes he will fight Gennady Golovkin this summer

Recently, top British promoter Frank Warren was quoted as saying how he feels there is only one middleweight in the world that has a chance of beating the dangerous, seriously talented and avoided Gennady Golovkin, and that is his fighter, reigning WBO 160-pound king Billy Joe Saunders. Warren also spoke, at a recent press conference to promote Saunders’ next fight, set for April 30th against Max Bursak, of how the Saunders-Golovkin fight had to happen at the right time.

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Canelo-Khan card could be a real blockbuster – a number of possibilities in the works for May 7th bill

Canelo-Khan card could be a real blockbuster - a number of possibilities in the works for May 7th bill

Let’s face it, many numbers of fight fans are likely to buy the May 7th Canelo Alvarez-Amir Khan fight; perhaps even close to a million fans in the U.S alone. The fight has, and is, attracting plenty of attention, opinion and excitement, and a smash hit is likely. But, in wanting to guarantee fans a spectacular show, Golden Boy are currently working on making the under-card one that will give value for money.

According to Dan Rafael of ESPN.com, there are a number of interesting possibilities for the card that will take place on Cinco de Mayo weekend. The most exciting possible match-up that could support the main event is a Luis Ortiz-Alexander Ustinov fight that would see Cuban southpaw Ortiz fulfil his WBA mandatory obligation to defend against the Russian giant. Rafael reports how talks are ongoing between Golden Boy and Frank Warren, who promotes Ustinov.

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Bellew to face Ilunga Makuba for vacant WBC title (Drozd is now “Champion in recess”)

Bellew to face Ilunga Makuba for vacant WBC title (Drozd is now “Champion in recess”)

Liverpool’s Tony Bellew will get a second chance to become a world champion this summer, as his promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed Bellew will face Ilunga Makuba for the vacant WBC cruiserweight title. Grigory Drozd was supposed to defend against Makuba but pulled out of the April fight injured and will now become either “Champion in Recess” or will be stripped of the title completely.

So Bellew and Makuba get their chance. There is no date or confirmed venue yet, but the word is June 4th is likely and Bellew wants the fight in Liverpool. Bellew, a former challenger of WBC light-heavyweight ruler Adonis Stevenson (“Bomber” losing inside six-rounds in 2013) has won six in a row since moving up to cruiserweight where he says he feels more comfortable and more powerful. Bellew has some good cruiserweight wins on his record, most notably a revenge points win over Nathan Cleverly and a EBU title win over Mateusz Masternak, which came in the 33-year-old’s last fight in December.

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Khan compares his upcoming fight with Canelo to Sugar Ray Leonard’s challenge of Marvelous Marvin Hagler

Khan compares his upcoming fight with Canelo to Sugar Ray Leonard’s challenge of Marvelous Marvin Hagler

Not surprisingly, Amir Khan says that if he manages to beat Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in their hugely intriguing May 7th fight, it will be the biggest and best thing he has ever done in his boxing career. The former 140-pound champion, in talking to Sky Sports, said it would be a “dream come true to be called the middleweight world champion.”

And Khan, who has been bulking up with weights as well as strength and conditioning training yet claims he is just as fast, with both his hands and his feet, is looking at an exceptional fighter’s exceptional achievement as inspiration going into the 155-pound clash: Sugar Ray Leonard’s fabulously unforgettable (and also controversial) points win over Marvellous Marvin Hagler in 1987.

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