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Anthony Joshua exploring possibility of fight in Congo

Anthony Joshua became interested in fighting in Africa after visiting Nigeria, the homeland of his ancestors.

The Rumble in the Jungle, Muhammad Ali’s stoppage of George Foreman in 1974, in what was then Zaire has taken on almost mythic proportions. It was the subject of an Academy Award-winning documentary, “When We Were Kings.” It’s remembered by authors, filmmakers and promoters wanting to make a buck.

It begs for a sequel, and one might be in the works.

There is interest in redoing a version of the legendary event, this time involving Anthony Joshua, according to Joshua manager Freddie Cunningham.

Cunningham told Sky Sports that Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn “is exploring an option” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the former Zaire.

“There has been an approach,’’ Cunningham said.

Joshua, a U.K. heavyweight champion of Nigerian descent, became interested in fighting in Africa after visiting Nigeria about a year ago. He traveled for his last two fights – an upset loss to Andy Ruiz on June 1 at New York’s Madison Square Garden and a rematch victory on Dec. 7 in Saudi Arabia.

Joshua’s immediate plan, however, is for a title defense in the U.K., perhaps against mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev at Tottenham’s soccer stadium.

“For the next fight, Africa is not the right time,’’ Cunningham said. “But, at some point, he 100 percent wants it.

“It went so well in Saudi that they will want to be kept in the loop. And there are always options in the U.K. Tottenham’s stadium is great and local to where AJ grew up.”

Anthony Joshua would ‘take notes’ in sparring session with Tyson Fury

Anthony Joshua on sparring with Tyson Fury: “I know I can take my notes and go back when I’m ready to fight him and correct all my wrongs.”

It’s a novel idea. Perhaps naïve, too. But Anthony Joshua still says he’ll work as a sparring partner for Tyson Fury in Fury’s training camp for a rematch with Deontay Wilder, scheduled for Feb. 22.

Champions have long employed rising prospects and emerging contenders as sparring partners. Muhammad Ali sparred with Larry Holmes. But he didn’t spar with Joe Frazier or George Foreman.

Wladimir Klitschko sparred with Wilder and Joshua. But Holmes, Wilder and Joshua hadn’t developed into titleholders or even true contenders at the time they sparred with the reigning champs of their respective eras.

It’s unusual for rivals, both champions in their own right, to spar.

Joshua has all but one of the major acronym belts. Fury says he is the lineal champ, a claim based on his victory over Klitschko on Nov. 28. 2015 in Germany. They are U.K. rivals for what some are already calling the Battle of Britain. If the battle is destined to happen, wouldn’t Joshua in Fury’s camp be a little bit like the Germans joining the Brits on maneuvers before World War II?

But Joshua hasn’t withdrawn his offer to Fury. Meanwhile, Fury is already on record as saying he would welcome him into his camp.

“It’s all for experience at the end of the day,’’ Joshua told Sky Sports this week. “What I learned from myself and who I am – if I make a mistake once, I don’t make it again. With Fury, sparring him for the first time, maybe for my benefit. I might go in there and just batter him around the ring or he might batter me around the ring.

“If that is the case, I know I can take my notes and go back when I’m ready to fight him and correct all my wrongs. Everyone’s like ‘you wouldn’t do it.’ But no one knows how my brain works. Everyone talks from their own experiences, and I can only talk from my own.

“So, when I say I’ll go and spar Fury, it’s because I have a plan in my mind that no one will really understand.

“I’ll beat him.”

Which is exactly why Fury might not want him there.

Special feature: 10 hardest punching heavyweights in modern history

Who are the hardest punching heavyweights in modern history? Here are the Top 10.

Deontay Wilder’s legend continues to grow with every spectacular knockout he delivers. The man can punch.

The Bronze Bomber demonstrated his unusual ability most recently on Nov. 23, when he ended the night of Luis Ortiz with one perfectly timed right hand from hell in the seventh round of a heavyweight championship fight Ortiz was winning on the cards.

But Wilder is hardly the first man to enter the ring with inhuman power. A number of legendary big men over the generations have had the ability to strike down their opponents with one blow as if they were hit a lightning bolt.

Who were the most lethal?

Here is a list of the 10 hardest punching heavyweights of the modern, post-World War II era (from No. 10 to No. 1).

NO. 10 LENNOX LEWIS

KO percentage (of wins): 78
Years active: 1989-2003
Record: 41-2-1
KOs: 32
KOs inside 3 rounds: 16
Notable KO victims: Frank Bruno, Andrew Golota, Oliver McCall, Tommy Morrison, Hasim Rahman, Donovan Rudduck, Mike Tyson
Background: Hall of Fame boxing writer Colin Hart paid Lennox Lewis the ultimate compliment in British boxing circles when he wrote about Lewis’ knockout of Razor Ruddock in 1992. Lewis put Ruddock down with a monstrous right hand in the first round and then finished the job in Round 2. Wrote Hart for The Sun: “The blow that floored Ruddock in the first round was, without doubt, the best single punch I’ve seen from a British heavyweight since ‘Enery’s ‘Ammer (a reference to Henry Cooper) put Cassius Clay on his backside at Wembley Stadium almost 30 years ago.” Lewis, an Olympic champion who held six major titles over a decade that he dominated, was a complete boxer. He was a good, athletic – especially for a 6-foot-4 man – and clever technician, with one of best jabs of his era. However, his straight right – usually landed from the perfect distance – was his calling card. When it landed flush, his fights generally changed in an instant. The Ruddock punch, the one that ended Hasim Rahman’s night in their rematch and the shots that led to Mike Tyson’s demise stand out but many more are noteworthy. One sparring partner reportedly said: “The man hit like a tank.”
More quotes: Graham Houston wrote for ESPN.com: “There were fights in which Lewis was frustratingly hesitant, but when he stepped in and really let the right hand fly he was one of heavyweight boxing’s most potent practitioners.” … TV commentator Max Kellerman once called Lewis “one of the most devastating right-handed punchers in the history of boxing. You don’t think Lennox has historical power in his right fist? OK, who has ever hit harder? George Foreman? Maybe in his first incarnation, when he had more snap on his punches, but then the 1973 version of big George checked in around 220. Lewis has him by nearly 30 pounds. Earnie Shavers? The champ has him by nearly 40. Foreman and Shavers hit harder for their size, but they were significantly smaller.”

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Anthony Joshua says he would like to defend his titles in Nigeria

New heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua wants to fight one day in his ancestral homeland of Nigeria.

Boxing is hitting the road and Anthony Joshua is among those who has his bags packed and is ready for what he hopes will be a heavyweight title defense in Nigeria one day.

Joshua’s dream of fighting in his ancestral home were revived Saturday when he reclaimed his belts in a redemptive rematch victory over Andy Ruiz Jr. in Saudi Arabia.

“Africa’s rooting for me for sure, so I would definitely love to fight out there,” Joshua told The Telegraph after he arrived in London to a warm U.K. homecoming Monday.

Joshua’s immediate itinerary appears to include at least one home date. The first defense of his reclaimed belts, a mandatory against Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev or Russian Oleksandr Usyk, is expected to be in London, possibly at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in April or May.

Then the road beckons.

Joshua, an Olympic gold medalist at the 2012 London Games, grew up admiring Muhammad Ali, who was a world champion in every way. Ali traveled, defending his title all over the globe, including a memorable victory in Zaire over George Foreman in 1974.

Joshua visited Nigeria earlier this year. While there, he thought about Ali-Foreman, the legendary “Rumble In The Jungle”. It was then that he decided he wanted to fight where his mother was born.

“People had been telling me I should go back for ages,’’ said Joshua, who was born in the U.K. and then spent a few years as a student at a Nigerian boarding school. “It was crazy because they don’t have 24-hour electricity, but they still know me and support me.

“I went to the ghettos of the ghettos where it’s not all about egos and beef, it’s about people who are hungry to survive. It was one of the best things I’ve done. ‘’

Deontay Wilder: ‘I am the hardest puncher in boxing history – period’

Deontay Wilder said his one-punch knockout of Luis Ortiz on Saturday was further evidence that’s he’s the biggest puncher ever.

LAS VEGAS – Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder made a bold statement after his breathtaking one-punch knockout of Luis Ortiz in their rematch Saturday at the MGM Grand: “I am the hardest … puncher in boxing history. Period.”

Of course, that can’t be quantified but he definitely is building a case for himself.

Start with his knockout ratio: 42 victims, 41 knockouts. That means Wilder (42-0-1) has scored a knockout in 98 percent his victories, an all-time record. Earnie Shavers, George Foreman and Joe Louis, who are often cited as the biggest punchers of all time, had KO percentages of 92, 89 and 79 percent, respectively.

One could argue that those legends stopped better opposition but it’s not as if Wilder is avoiding anyone. Ortiz is a good fighter and Wilder has now stopped him twice. Also, a rematch with Tyson Fury, who went the distance with Wilder, and possible showdowns with Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua await.

Luis Ortiz tried but failed to gather himself after Deontay Wilder landed his big shot. AP Photo / John Locher

And the way Wilder has tended to end fights – with one monstrous shot – stays with those who witness it, enhancing Wilder’s reputation as a knockout artist. The final blows seem to come out of nowhere, which makes them particularly chilling.

That was the case on Saturday. The possibility of a big shot is always there for Wilder but he gave no indication that it was coming against Ortiz, who was leading on all three cards (59-55, 59-55 and 58-56) after six rounds.

Everyone watching the Deontay Wilder-Luis Ortiz fight had to be thinking that same thing at that point: Wilder was digging himself into a deep hole. If he couldn’t stop Ortiz, he was in danger of losing a decision.

One person not concerned? Wilder.

“To be honest I never worry about if I’m losing a fight or not,” he said. “I’m blessed with something that these other guys aren’t blessed with, that’s tremendous power. I know that when I hit guys, it hurts them. When you have power like I have, you’re not worried about if you’re winning rounds or not. I don’t want that to be in my mind … because I don’t want my mind to be cloudy thinking about rounds.

“Most of the time these guys win rounds on me anyway. I know that sooner or later it’s going to come. And when it comes, good night.”

As we know, the scorecards were irrelevant in the end. Wilder positioned himself as arm’s length in the final seconds of Round 7, saw his opening and pulled the trigger. Fight over.

Special feature: Greatest heavyweights of the modern era

Boxing Junkie presents in this special feature its list of the 10 greatest heavyweights of the modern era.

The process of selecting the 10 greatest heavyweights of the modern era – post World War II – made one thing clear: There have been many outstanding big men over the past 75 years.

Boxing Junkie was able to whittle the list down to the desired number but it wasn’t easy. The criteria we used wasn’t complicated: Our decisions were based on the accomplishments of the fighters, with some consideration of their impact on the sport.

We decided not to include active fighters such as Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury and Andy Ruiz Jr. We thought it made sense to let the current crop of heavyweights sort things out before considering them.

Wilder faces Luis Ortiz in a rematch on Saturday. Ruiz does the same with Anthony Joshua on Dec. 7.

So here is our list, with the “next five” listed after No. 10.

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