Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Josie Harris, the ex-girlfriend of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the mother of three of his children, was found dead Tuesday night in Valencia, California.
Josie Harris, the ex-girlfriend of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the mother of three of his children, was found dead Tuesday night in Valencia, California.
DAZN announced Monday that it is increasing its global presence to 200 countries this year…
DAZN, the so-called Netflix of sports, is doubling down on its global footprint. And boxing will be the focus.
The subscription streaming app announced Monday that it will expand its English-language service centered on boxing to 200 countries and territories from the nine in which it currently operates.
The inaugural event in the rollout will feature Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez in his annual Cinco de Mayo Weekend appearance on May 2. Alvarez’s opponent has not been confirmed, but 168-pound titleholder Billy Joe Saunders appears to be the front runner.
“Beginning this spring, most of the world will have access to DAZN and its unmatched schedule of boxing events,” said DAZN’s Executive Chairman John Skipper. “Our roster of championship fighters represents some of the world’s most popular athletes, and we’ll be working with them to stage spectacular international events for years to come.”
The global service will include DAZN’s growing archive of classic fights, many of which feature top names like Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather. New subscribers will also gain access to DAZN’s original shoulder programming, like the Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg-produced “40 Days,“ a documentary series that takes a look at fighters’ training regime, and the Sylvester Stallone-produced “One Night,” which chronicles the sport’s most historic fights.
DAZN, which is backed by billionaire Len Blavatnik, first launched in 2016 in Japan, Germany, Austria and Switzerland with a focus on international soccer. Two years later it entered the United States behind a lucrative 8-year, billon-dollar partnership with British promoter Eddie Hearn in a bold attempt to corner the boxing market. It has not been shy about its ambitions, paying top dollar to retain exclusive rights to some of the best fighters in the world, including Gennadiy Golovkin, Anthony Joshua and Alvarez, whom it signed to a five-year, $365 million deal in 2018.
“Since our launch in 2016, we’ve seen an encouraging level of interest around our key events from both international fans and potential partners, which highlighted the opportunity to capitalize on our existing rights portfolio within boxing to fuel our expansion,” said DAZN Executive Vice President Joseph Markowski, who will oversee the global service. “Establishing DAZN as the global home of fight sports is just the first step, and we couldn’t think of a better attraction for our inaugural event than Canelo’s traditional Cinco de Mayo Weekend fight.”
DAZN’s global plans will have particularly dramatic ramifications for the boxing landscape in the U.K., where the company is headquartered but has never operated. Heavyweight stars Tyson Fury and Joshua have exclusive deals with traditional networks BT Sport and Sky Sport, respectively.
According to the DailyMail, DAZN is planning to charge a £4.99 ($6.39) monthly subscription in the U.K. and aims to bid heavily for the rights to stream the third match between Fury and Deontay Wilder tentatively scheduled for July in Las Vegas.
Last November, it was reported that DAZN was up to nearly 8 million subscribers worldwide.
Read more:
The fight will take place Saturday, July 18th in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the same arena as their rematch in February.
The fight will take place Saturday, July 18th in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the same arena as their rematch in February.
The fight will take place Saturday, July 18th in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the same arena as their rematch in February.
The fight will take place Saturday, July 18th in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the same arena as their rematch in February.
The fight will take place Saturday, July 18th in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the same arena as their rematch in February.
The fight will take place Saturday, July 18th in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the same arena as their rematch in February.
Deontay Wilder has exercised his right for a third fight, and we have the date and location details.
Deontay Wilder will exercise his right for a third fight against Tyson Fury, and the trilogy is on.
According to a report from ESPN’s Dan Rafael, Wilder has asked for a third fight, and the turnaround will be quick — They are scheduling for it to happen on July 18 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
That’s a quick turnaround for a third fight, but it’s clear they want to capitalize on the attention that the heavyweight matchup has garnered over its first two iterations.
Wilder won the first bout by knockout, with Fury dominating the second fight until Wilder’s corner threw in the towel in the seventh. Wilder suggested after the fight that perhaps the ref, or the 45-pound costume he wore before the bout, were to blame for the loss.
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So much for that excuse.
In the days since Deontay Wilder took the first professional loss of his career at the hands of Tyson Fury, the former WBC heavyweight champion has unleashed plenty of excuses to explain what went wrong on Saturday night.
He blamed referee Kenny Bayless for not enforcing his pre-fight warnings about punches to the back of the head. He blamed his corner for throwing in the towel (despite that being the correct and responsible move). He also blamed the elaborate, 40-pound costume he wore during the ring walk for tiring out his legs by Round 3.
While it could theoretically be draining to take a long walk to the ring with 40 pounds of costume on your person, Wilder acted like it was a shock to his system and not something he’s been accustomed to. Back in 2018 and after the first Fury fight, Wilder discussed using a 45-pound vest as a key component for his training regimen.
🗣️ Deontay Wilder told Joe Rogan he wears a 45 pound vest while training
🤔 He then blamed his loss to Tyson Fury on his 40 pound costume#CostumeGate x #FuryWilder2 pic.twitter.com/qvuSuvQr4l
— BetOnline.ag (@betonline_ag) February 26, 2020
He said to Joe Rogan:
“We want to activate the fast-twitch muscles. We do everything with rapid speed. If I’m doing anything that consists of me moving my feet, it’s sprinting and stuff like that. I wear a 45-pound vest on me as well to all my exercises and everything that I do to have that extra weight on me.”
If a 45-pound vest was a regular component of “ALL” his exercises, then that really makes his costume excuse look weaker than it already did. He should have been used to the weight.
Wilder has said that he’ll activate the rematch clause of the contract, so we’ll have to see what kind of costume he opts for ahead of his next fight. And how heavy it is.
[jwplayer dduKEtcy-q2aasYxh]
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This is an all-timer of an excuse.
Deontay Wilder was in trouble against Tyson Fury from the very start of their heavyweight championship fight last Saturday night in Las Vegas, and now we’re learning that what he wore into the ring might have had something to do with it.
Well, at least that’s the excuse Wilder is apparently using a few days after the fight.
Wilder wore an elaborate costume into the ring, which weighed 45 pounds.
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According to a report by The Athletic, those 45 pounds took a lot out of Wilder’s legs as he made his way to the ring.
You can’t make this stuff up:
Full story coming to @TheAthleticBOX shortly: Deontay Wilder @BronzeBomber tells me he is definitely exercising his rematch clause for a summer trilogy against @Tyson_Fury, that his legs were weakened by his 45-pound costume he wore to the ring to honor Black History Month.
— Lance Pugmire (@pugboxing) February 24, 2020
I mean, that is an all-timer of an excuse.
Boxing fans agreed:
Costume weakened his legs? Wow lol
— Izzy OG (@IzzyOG2) February 24, 2020
That might be the best worst excuse ever
— Chris (@ChrisJonesInuk) February 24, 2020
One of the worst excuses ever made for a L
— Marcus (@MarcusSantiFlo) February 24, 2020
the reasoning may be 1000000% legit…put thats something you just gotta keep to yourself man
— Ehhh what? (@ehhh_what) February 24, 2020
Don't get me wrong, his legs looked weak early- before he started getting hit. But holy crap that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
— DMachetto (@DMachetto) February 24, 2020
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“I was on the verge of suicide. That’s when I would have quit. But I didn’t quit on myself and I didn’t quit on the world. That’s why I’m back here to tell the story.”
Tyson Fury put on an absolute show Saturday night, dominating his heavyweight title fight against Deontay Wilder before the fight was finally called in the seventh round.
It was an incredible performance by Fury, who is now easily one of the biggest stars in all of sports.
For those who don’t know his full story, Fury has battled with mental illness over the years and used to often have suicidal thoughts. He abused alcohol and drugs during his darkest times and put on a ton of weight while staying out of the ring for three years after beating Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.
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Since then he has been incredibly open about his battles with mental illness. Fury also donated his entire $9 million purse from his first fight against Wilder to homeless and mental health charities.
In 2019 during an appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show” he opened up about his struggles and what got him through the worst of times. This interview went viral again after Saturday night’s fight, and rightly so because it’s pretty darn inspirational:
Re-upping for anyone who wonders where @Tyson_Fury gets the resolve and desire to overcome all.
Please share with anyone who suffers from mental illness. You too can be a champion. https://t.co/QUcy5pN2cs
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) February 23, 2020
Powerful, indeed.
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Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was watching the fight between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury, which was won by Knockout by Fury.
LeBron James, like many sports fans on Saturday night, was watching attentively during the rematch between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas. Fury won the rematch decisively after scoring a knockdown early that caught Wilder behind the ear before the referee called the fight and Wilder’s corner simultaneously threw in the towel to call of the fight for their fighter.
Although some who were watching the fight wanted it to continue in order to let Wilder have another chance at a knockout, he was frankly stumbling around and had little balance after the first knockdown. LeBron believes Wilder’s corner, and the referee did him a favor on Saturday.
His corner did he a FAVOR straight up!! No question about it. Equilibrium was super off and he may have been concussed too!
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 23, 2020
LeBron, as he addressed this week when he weighed in on the Houston Astros scandal, loves sports. But he also loves a good competition and it is clear that the fight had already gone Fury’s way on Saturday night. While James did watch the fight, his business partner Maverick Carter and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green were actually in attendance. LeBron, meanwhile, has an early game at 3:30 p.m. EST at home against the Boston Celtics.
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