Dillian Whyte (16-0, 13ko) has questioned bitter rival Anthony Joshua’s (14-0, 14ko) mental strength ahead of their much-hyped, grudge British and Commonwealth heavyweight title clash on Saturday night, saying that he feels the gold medal winning Olympian is too heavily reliant on his promotional ‘hype-machine’ and myriad elite resources, stating mentally, the man he calls ‘Fake-J’ is feeling the heat inside.
Olly Campbell
Eubank Jr Out to ‘Punish’ O’Sullivan
WBA interim middleweight titlist Chris Eubank Jr, has vowed to punish bitter rival Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan on Saturday night in London, saying that the Irishman will live to regret his deliberate antagonism across social media in the build up to the fight.
Eubank Jr has deemed ‘personal’ twitter posts from O’Sullivan, that were directed towards his famous father and other family/team members, as a ‘step too far,’ yet the Cork-born fighter insists it was ‘banter’ merely to land the fight, and in that sense, it’s mission accomplished.
Stevenson: I Want Kovalev Fight Made!
Lineal light heavyweight champion, Adonis Stevenson is again insistent that he wishes to put his WBC title on the line against consensus divisional #1 and WBO/WBA/IBF champion, Sergey Kovalev, saying ‘I want that fight made!’
Saunders: ‘Bet on Me Becoming World Champion’
Unbeaten British middleweight contender Billy Joe Saunders, has told his fans to ‘feel free’ to bet on him beating WBO champion Andy Lee on Dec. 19 in Manchester, saying he doesn’t feel the Irishman ‘can win this fight at all.’
Mandatory challenger Saunders, finally gets his world title opportunity after two previous postponements delayed the fight considerably, and the former Olympian is brimming with confidence, telling fans they can attempt to cash in on him emerging victorious in much the same way as he bet on fellow gypsy, Tyson Fury, beating Wladimir Klitschko recently – picking up a cool £20k!
‘I’m In a Crossroads Fight’ says Tony Bellew
British cruiserweight contender Tony Bellew (25-2-1, 16ko), says his career is at a crossroads ahead of Saturday’s EBU title fight with Mateusz Masternak (36-3,) in London, affirming victory is the only option so as to stay on course for his goal of winning an eventual world title.
Bellew has had an indifferent 2015 in the ring thus far, spending a portion of the year in the States filming Rocky spin-off movie ‘Creed,’ he twice struggled to look good against limited opposition, his last outing against (16-26-5) journeyman Arturs Kulikauskis in September.
Pascal: ‘Errors Have Been Corrected’
Former light heavyweight world champion Jean Pascal, has stated that he has fixed the flaws that cost him his first fight with WBA/WBO/IBF 175 champion Sergey Kovalev, and that his hook up with esteemed trainer Freddie Roach will be the difference maker in their Jan. 30 rematch.
Pascal was stopped by Kovalev in 8 rounds back in March before going on to a controversial decision victory over Yunieski Gonzalez in July, yet claims that now he has the wisdom of Roach in the corner, he will be ready to effect a different strategy when Kovalev returns to his Quebec backyard next month.
Fury: Critics Can ‘Suck my B***s’
Lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, has responded to some of the scathing criticism of him in the British press with an admirable insouciance, telling his detractors in his now customary style to, ‘suck my balls.’
Fury has been under the kosh from large swathes of the wider mainstream press in the UK for the perceived offensive nature of his views on religion and sexuality in particular, though large sections of sports writers have also ludicrously attempted to play down the magnitude of his benchmark achievement in ending the championship tenure of the long-dominant Wladimir Klitschko in Dusseldorf 8 days ago.
DeGale: Happy to Fight GGG at 168
IBF super middleweight champion James DeGale, has stated that he would happily fight avoided middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin, should the big-hitting Kazakh decide to make the jump up to 168.
DeGale most recently defended his title against Lucian Bute in Canada, in a gutsy display that he hopes leads to a unification fight with WBC 168 champion Badou Jack, though for all the perceived faults the gold medal winning British Olympian has out of the ring, one thing he will do is fight anybody inside of it – including the avoided Golovkin – displaying a refreshing attitude in today’s often fragmented, ‘cherry-picking’ climate.
Deontay Wilder: Promising to Unify ‘for America’
WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has promised that he is the man to truly unify the heavyweight titles and revitalize big-time heavyweight boxing in America.
Wilder is set to box another voluntary defence of his title in January, and is indirectly embroiled in the ‘Czar’ Glazkov/IBF/threat-to-strip Fury saga that has been well publicized this week (see previous articles)- a saga that saw [IBF #1] Glazkov passing on a shot at the American WBC titlist in favour of a fight for the [vacant] IBF belt that looks set to be stripped from new lineal champion Tyson Fury, for immediately rematching Wladimir Klitschko as contractually bound, instead of fighting Glazkov.
Brook/Khan Speculation Intensifies
IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook will potentially fight bitter domestic rival Amir Khan next summer according to promoter Eddie Hearn, though not before a mandatory defence against little-known Canadian Kevin Bizier, which has been ordered by the sanctioning body.
Hearn took to his social media accounts this week and warned fans to log a summer ’16 dust-up between the pair of Brits, before then also warning of the Bizier mandatory, which is going to be another tough sell for the Sheffield fighter, especially in the UK where fans are keen to see a step-up in competition, meaning he will potentially travel to North America for it.