Tag: Frank Warren

Frank Warren comfortable with Tyson Fury’s change of trainers

Promoter Frank Warren said he’s fully confident Tyson Fury “knows what he’s doing in bringing in Javan SugarHill Steward.”

A new trainer is sometimes interpreted as a sign of uncertainty, if not turmoil, but Tyson Fury promoter Frank Warren is comfortable with Fury’s decision to fire Ben Davison and hire SugarHill Steward before the heavyweight rematch with Deontay Wilder on Feb. 22.

No worries, Warren says

“I know there is some concern about Fury changing trainers ahead of such a colossal clash,’’ Warren told The Mirror, a U.K. publication.  “I’m certainly sad to see him split with Ben Davison because the pair were great together.

“But when Fury appointed Davison as the man to help him get back to the top many questioned him using such a young trainer. How wrong they were.’’

Davison was a key in helping Fury fight his way back into the championship mix after he slipped into a lifestyle that included more drugging, drinking and dining than training. Fury was reportedly about 400 pounds about a year before his controversial draw with Wilder on Dec. 1, 2018 at Los Angeles’ Staples Center.

But a difficult decision over then-unknown Otto Wallin on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas generated widespread criticism of Davison in a fight that left Fury badly bloodied. On Dec. 15, Davison was fired and Steward was hired.

Fury, who says he is already in camp for the rematch, said he made the move because he had grown “stale.’’ He said he already had a relationship with Steward, the former Javan Hill and a nephew of the late Hall of Famer Emanuel Steward.

“I am fully confident he knows what he’s doing in bringing in Javan SugarHill Steward to take the corner for the Wilder rematch,’’ Warren said. “Few fighters know what’s best for them (more) than Fury and he will not have made the decision lightly.”

Frank Warren: Anthony Joshua should give up belts, fight Wilder-Fury II winner

Frank Warren suggests that Anthony Joshua give up his titles and wait to fight the Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury II winnner.

Tyson Fury promoter Frank Warren is already looking beyond the Fury-Deontay Wilder rematch on Feb. 22, urging Anthony Joshua to relinquish his belts and wait for the winner.

Warren says Joshua’s mandatory title defenses could get in the way of putting together a fight between the unified heavyweight champion against the winner of the Wilder-Fury fight at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand on pay-per-view.

“If I was Anthony Joshua, I wouldn’t fight again until we know the winner of this fight and then make them make the fight,’ Warren told the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph. “I’d let them strip me of my titles and not fight anybody until the big one.”

Joshua, who holds three of the titles, is considering a mandatory defense against Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev in March, April or May of next year. But an upset is always a danger, especially in the heavyweight division. To wit: Andy Ruiz Jr.’s stunner on June 1 over Joshua, who went on to reclaim the belts in a rematch on Dec. 7 Saudi Arabia.

‘The one thing about Pulev is that he can whack,’’ Warren said. “So, for me, I would say: ‘You know what. I want to fight the winner of our fight (Wilder-Fury II).’

“Get all the parties together, work something out, maybe with some step-aside (money), because that’s what the public want.

“They want to know who’s the No. 1. The No. 3 and the No. 4 fought in Saudi. The No. 1 and No. 2 are fighting on Feb. 22.”

Daniel Dubois stops Kyotaro Fujimoto in second round

Daniel Dubois wasted no time in stopping Kyotaro Fujimoto in the second round of their heavyweight bout at the Copper Box Arena in London.

Daniel Dubois ended 2019 the way he began it: With a no-frills knockout win.

The rising British heavyweight stopped Japan’s Kyotaro Fujimoto in the second round Saturday at the Copper Box Arena in London, bringing to a close a banner year that began with a knockout of Razvan Cojanu in the same round in March.

It was business as usual for Dubois, who neutralized Fujimoto with his jab before putting him down early in the second round. Moments later, Dubois iced him for good with a deftly-placed straight right.

The official time of stoppage was 2:10.

“I knew I had the power, and I was really confident in what I was going to do tonight,” Dubois (14-0, 13 knockouts) said. “What can I say? The light switched on, and that was good night.”

It’s the fifth knockout win in as many fights in 2019 for the London native, who also drubbed journeymen Razvan Cojanu, Richard Lartey and Ebenezer Tetteh. His most notable was win came against domestic rival Nathan Gorman, whom he steamrolled inside five rounds.

Not surprisingly, there is now growing anticipation for Dubois to face some of his dangerous countrymen, such as Joe Joyce, or, if you’re Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren, possibly even the recently re-crowned Anthony Joshua.

“Some people may laugh about it,” Warren said in the press conference before Saturday’s fight. “If I could make (Dubois) against Anthony Joshua, I would make it. I’m so confident. I would make that fight today. And I know who I’d have my money on.”

In any case, the drum roll has begun for the 22-year-old Dubois to face a legitimate threat in 2020.

Frank Warren says there will be a Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder III

Whatever the outcome for the Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder rematch on February 22, there will be a third fight, according to Frank Warren.

Whatever happens in the Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury rematch Feb. 22 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, you can count on a third fight.

So says Frank Warren, the co-promoter of Fury. He told the British outlet talkSPORT that the heavyweight rivals have already agreed to fight again in the summer.

“Tyson is going to be back in the ring with Wilder on February 22,” Warren said. “And they will fight again, irrespective of who wins, in the summer.

“So that, at the moment, is all tied up.”

The Feb. 22 rematch – on pay-per-view – will be a bi-partisan effort between rival companies Top Rank (which promotes Fury) and partner ESPN, and Premier Boxing Champions (Wilder) and Fox. Both networks are planning to market the fight heavily through their Super Bowl coverage.

The first fight took place on Dec. 1 of last year at Staples Center in Los Angeles and ended in a disputed draw. Although Wilder scored two knockdowns, many observers believed Fury had outboxed the hard-hitting Alabaman.

 

Daniel Dubois vs. Kyotaro Fujimoto, or the latest Frank Warren mismatch

Daniel Dubois faces Kyotaro Fujimoto on December 21 at the Copper Box Arena in London. Fujimoto struggled twice against a career 160-pounder.

OPINION

Call it a Frank Warren special.

Rising British heavyweight Daniel Dubois – and one of Warren’s most vital promotional assets – is set to face Tokyo’s Kyotaro Fujimoto on December 21 at the Copper Box arena in London. It will be Dubois’ fifth fight of the year, highlighted by his solid knockout win over domestic rival Nathan Gorman in the summer. It’s clear, however, that when it comes to charting out Dubois’ promotional future, he will be led along the path of least resistance.

In his last fight, Dubois (13-0, 12 knockouts) snuffed out Ebenezer Tetteh in one woebegone round. Sure, Tetteh was undefeated, but if you look closely, his record was built on the backs of undistinguished middleweights and light heavyweights in his native Ghana. Middleweights. Yes, you read that correctly.

Enter Fujimoto.

The 33-year-old may not have a record as visibly padded as Tetteh’s, but like the Ghanian, he has at least one instance of fighting a career middleweight, Nobuhiro Ishida. Remember that name? Ishida was the middleweight who scored a stunning knockout of a prime James Kirkland in 2011. His name would come up again later in 2013 under different circumstances, when then trailblazing Gennadiy Golovkin starched him inside three rounds.

How can Daniel Dubois grow as a fighter against pushovers? Julian Finney / Getty Images

For some strange reason, Ishida decided to move up to heavyweight and took on Fujimoto – and it was competitive! Though Ishida dropped a unanimous decision, he gave Fujimoto enough of a fit to call for a rematch, which Fujimoto would win by a split decision.

Anyway, this is who Dubois will be fighting, and while it’s to be commended that he is staying active, it’s not clear how he will improve against dramatically inferior opponents. Of course, anything can happen in the ring, as just about every promoter in the game will tell you to justify his self-interested motives.

It seems the fight has already become something of a joke.  In a strange twist during a press conference to announce it, Fujimoto brought in a sparring partner dressed as a panda and began comparing himself to Rocky Balboa.

“He thinks he’s going to be Rocky Balboa? If he starts getting hit with the type of shots Rocky got hit with in the films, then it’s going to be a short night,” Dubois said.

Short night, indeed.