Tag: heavyweight

Oleksandr Usyk shows off bulk in Instagram photo

Is Oleksandr Usyk evolving physically into a legitimate heavyweight?

Is Oleksandr Usyk evolving physically into a legitimate heavyweight?

The former unified cruiserweight champ, who is 6-foot-3, weighed 215 pounds for his heavyweight debut against Chazz Witherspoon — a seventh-round knockout — this past October in Chicago.

For that fight, he was a small heavyweight. However, some have taken a look at the photo Usyk posted on Instagram Friday (see below) and have concluded that he’s using his time off to bulk up.

One could argue that he has heavyweight guns in that image, although he didn’t exactly have an biceps issue before now.

One could also argue that he remains a cruiserweight from the waist down, perhaps in the mold of pioneer Bob Fitzsimmons. Maybe he’s still working on his legs.

Either way, the image is striking. Usyk looks strong. And we know he has all the ability in the world.

We’ll see how this plays out as Usyk continues to fight as a heavyweight. He was scheduled to face Dereck Chisora on May 23 at O2 Arena in London but that fight was postponed indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Video: Joseph Parker says ‘remember to have fun’

Heavyweight contender Joseph Parker, who is more fun-loving than some realized, Tweeted a video that is sure to bring a smile to your face.

Everyone could use a lift these days. And heavyweight Joseph Parker provided it.

The longtime contender, who evidently is more fun-loving than some of us realized, Tweeted a video that is sure to bring a smile to your face. Who knew the big man had these kind of dance moves?

And he did it for the right reason: To provide a bit of happiness during a difficult time.

He wrote: “To everyone at Home and around the World, keep your families safe…..and remember to have FUN!”

As of Saturday evening, more than a half million people had viewed the video. Check it out.

Oleksandr Usyk ring return stalled again because of old injury

Oleksandr Usyk’s second fight at heavyweight, against Derek Chisora, has once again been delayed out of concern for an old injury.

Oleksandr Usyk may want to think about trying to get on the good side of the boxing gods: Pour out some libations, sacrifice a lamb, say a prayer, something.

The former unified cruiserweight champion has had his share of bad luck since he moved up to the heavyweight ranks. A right biceps injury ruined his debut, delaying it for 11 months before he eventually returned to stop Chazz Witherspoon in seven rounds last October. Now, in his sophomore attempt at heavyweight, reportedly against British contender Derek Chisora, the Ukrainian finds himself facing yet another setback.

Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs) requested a six-to-eight-week postponement of his bout against Chisora (32-9, 23 KOs) to allow for the proper rehabilitation of an old injury to his left below, according to BoxingScene. Usyk had sustained it ahead of his match against Murat Gassiev in the 2018 World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight final.

This means that his bout against Chisora, originally penciled in for March 28 on a card headlined by a potential heavyweight showdown between Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev, will have to wait.

“We expect him fighting in May versus Chisora,” Usyk co-promoter Alex Krassyuk told BoxingScene.

Krassyuk also clarified that Usyk did not sustain another injury, as has been reported by several outlets; the delay is a precautionary measure.

“Usyk is not injured,” Krassyuk said. “He is 33 and as the professional sportsman has some issues about his body. Normally he does his recovery routine once a year. This year, his doctor emphasized some rehab measures on his elbow and [the full recovery] took a bit [longer] than usual.”

Usyk was originally in the running to face Joshua as one of his mandatories, but the nod went to Pulev under the condition that Usyk is guaranteed an opportunity to face the winner.

UFC 246: Aleksei Oleinik vs. Maurice Greene odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Saturday’s UFC 246 lightweight bout between Aleksei Oleinik and Maurice Greene, with UFC betting odds, picks and best bets.

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Aleksei Oleinik and Maurice Greene will battle at UFC 246 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas Saturday night in a heavyweight bout on the pay-per-view card (To watch, sign up for ESPN+ now).

Oleinik (57-13-1) is battle tested with a lengthy history in mixed martial arts. He is 42 years old after all. Since joining the UFC June 28, 2014, he has fought some of the best in his division with mixed results. He owns wins over Anthony Hamilton, Mark Hunt and Jared Rosholt, while suffering losses to Curtis Blaydes, Walt Harris and Alistair Overeem. Oleinik’s last two bouts have ended up knockouts, including just 12 seconds against Harris at UFC Fight Night July 20. He is nicknamed ‘The Boa Constrictor’ – he wants to get fighters on the ground and win by submission. Five of his six wins in UFC have been by submission, and that’s how he has made a name for himself over the years.

Greene (8-4) heads into this one with a five-inch height advantage, a slight reach advantage and he lands many more significant strikes per minute. He’ll be trying to blast Oleinik and knock him out early, looking to avoid tiring out and becoming susceptible to the takedown and the alligator-jaw like legs of Oleinik. Greene isn’t much for the ground and pound, and he has just a 0.65 submission average and no takedown average or takedown accuracy to speak of. He’ll need to do whatever he can to avoid going to the mat, or Moe Greene will be out of the Tropicana … err, T-Mobile Arena. That’s for you, Irwin Fletcher!

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Per BetMGM, Greene (-134) is considered the favorite by an ever so slight margin over Oleinik (+100). The oddsmakers also show a heavy lean to the match not going the distance (three rounds), with odds there being set at -715 for no, while odds to go a full three rounds is at +400.

New to sports betting? A $10 wager on Greene is even money, returning a $10 profit if he wins. A $10 bet on Oleinik to win returns a profit of $7.46 with a victory.

Also See:

With the distance wager odds, you can tell Vegas fully expects that the judges will not be involved. This one is either ending in a knockout by Greene, or a submission win by Oleinik. But that’s where it gets tricky, and when will the victory occur? I like Greene to punch himself out early, trying to tire the 42-year-old Russian with an early flurry. If Oleinik can withstand those early blows, it will be good news for his backers. OLEINIK to win by SUBMISSION (+170) is a tremendous value, while Greene to win by KO/TKO or DQ is (+100) even money. My suggestion is taking the better value, going with Oleinik to win by submission, and taking him to win in ROUND 2 (+500), which will make for a tidy little payday. If Greene wins, it is going to be by punches and in Round 1, paying (+210). I can see either scenario, but for my money, I like OLEINIK to snap his two-bout skid and get a win.

If you want some action on this mixed martial arts bout, place your wagers at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and analysis, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Tyson Fury at 400 pounds serves as cautionary tale

Tyson Fury took a moment to recall when he was walking around at 400 pounds, suicidal and depressed, by posting an image on social media.

Tyson Fury remembers when he was the 400-pound elephant in the room.

As he prepares to face off against Deontay Wilder on Feb. 22, the Manchester heavyweight took a moment on social media to remember when he was at rock-bottom, posting a photo depicting him at the absolute nadir of his life – 150 pounds overweight, depressed and utterly lost

He used his misfortune as a cautionary tale.

“When someone says you can’t do something,” Fury wrote, “look at this and remember anything is possible. This is me at over 400lb.”

Grainy though the image is, the rolls of fat around Fury’s midsection are unmistakable, a reminder of the strenuous rehabilitation that he endured over the past couple of years to whip himself back into title contention.

Again, it didn’t look so good for Fury.

After upsetting then-unified heavyweight titleholder Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, Fury fell apart at the seams, unable to handle his newly-wrought fame. His career, or rather his life, quickly descended into a dark morass of cocaine and alcohol binges. It got so bad, he claims, that one night while on the road he tried to take his own life.

Now all that’s in the past, presumably, as Fury has scripted a remarkable turnaround, highlighted by his disputed draw with Wilder in their first fight, in 2018. Fury provided the fight’s most-memorable moment when he came back from a devastating right hand-left hook combination that put him flat on his back. Fury not only beat the count, but he roared back to put Wilder on his backfoot. 

The rematch, a joint pay-per-view effort between Fox and ESPN that will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, figures to be one of the most intriguing bouts of the early 2020 schedule. 

Anthony Joshua could fight at Tottenham instead of occupied Wembley

Anthony Joshua’s next fight could take place in a new venue. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium officials have been keen on hosting the heavyweight.

If Anthony Joshua’s next fight takes place in his hometown of London, don’t expect it to take place at Wembley Stadium.

Promoter Eddie Hearn told The Independent that a scheduling conflict might prevent Joshua from fighting at the 90,000-seat venue, which has become the de facto home for the British heavyweight who regained his titles from Andy Ruiz Jr. this past Saturday in Saudi Arabia. Instead, Joshua and Co. might turn to another soccer stadium nearby.

“Wembley does not look great, date wise,” Hearn said. “Tottenham Hotspur is a nice new stadium for a U.K. fight and we have to look at it.”

The stadium, named for the popular soccer club, has a seating capacity of 62,000. It opened its doors in April.

“The phone has gone crazy with people saying ‘bring him here, bring him here,’” Hearn said.

Joshua is expected to face one of his mandatory challengers in Oleksandr Usyk or Kubrat Pulev.

Hearn said Joshua wants to fight back home after having traveled for both of his fights of 2019, a loss to Ruiz in New York and the victory in the Middle East.

“People have seen what we have just done in Saudi Arabia,” Hearn said, “and there are a lot of options internationally, but A.J. wants to box back in the U.K.”

The Boxing Junkie Analysis: Andy Ruiz Jr. vs Anthony Joshua II

This much is certain: Rarely has a fight been more shrouded in doubt than the heavyweight title rematch between Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua on Saturday in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia on DAZN. Even the locale seems to have air of uncertainty: a …

This much is certain: Rarely has a fight been more shrouded in doubt than the heavyweight title rematch between Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua on Saturday in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia on DAZN.

Even the locale seems to have air of uncertainty: a makeshift, 15,000 seat arena pitched in the middle of the Arabian desert in a country that still ritualizes public beheadings. What could possibly go wrong?

Whatever happens, the burning questions that opened up like Pandora’s Box on June 1 will finally – one hopes – be answered when Joshua tries to reclaim his heavyweight belt collection from Ruiz, the underdog incarnate.

At stake are three of the four major titles and a possible title-unification fight with the winner of tentative Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury matchup.

 

ANDY RUIZ JR. (33-1, 22 KOs)
VS. ANTHONY JOSHUA (22-1-0, 21 KOs)

Date: Saturday, Dec. 7
Location: Diriyah Arena, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
TV: DAZN
Division: Heavyweight
At stake: Ruiz’s WBO, IBF and WBA titles
Current win streak: Ruiz, 4; Joshua, 0
Ages: Both 30
Stances: Both orthodox
Trajectory: Both at peak
Also fighting: Michael Hunter vs. Alexander Povetkin, heavyweights; Dillian Whyte vs. Mariusz Wach, heavyweights; Filip Hrgovic vs. Eric Molina, heavyweights.
Worth watching (up to five stars)? * * * * *

 

SKILL SET

Ruiz

The fact that Ruiz can throw rapid combinations without looking like a klutz already puts him at an advantage over most contemporary heavyweights. He has a solid jab, which he threw consistently at Joshua’s chest in the first fight, and is skilled at parrying, which allows him to get closer to his opponent to unload his combinations. He may not be the most elusive fighter, but Ruiz shifts his upper body as he comes forward, which keeps the opposition guessing. He also doesn’t tip his shots. And his footwork is underrated. Against Alexander Dimitrenko, Ruiz pulled off the so-called “Fitzsimmons shift,” in which one switches stances to land a punch.

 

Joshua

Although he is fundamentally sound – Joshua can put together short, concise punches on the inside – it’s evident that he came late to the sport. The criticism that Joshua is robotic is true to the extent that he seems to overthink his strategy in the ring. Joshua is the antithesis of a “natural” boxer like Ruiz, who picked up the sport early on and whose punches arise more out of muscle memory and instinct, rather than deliberation. Joshua’s trainer, Rob McCracken, recently insisted that Joshua’s best bet is to box on the outside. But one wonders whether Joshua, a puncher by trade, can keep that up for 12 rounds. Moreover, he looked uncomfortable working behind his jab and moving off the back foot from the opening bell in the first fight.

 

Edge: Ruiz

 

PUNCHING POWER

Ruiz

Nobody ever viewed Ruiz as a power-punching heavyweight. He has gone the distance with a fair share of undistinguished journeymen in the past. Still, as it pertains to Joshua, Ruiz knows he can hurt the man, and that’s all that matters in this case.

Joshua

There is a reason Joshua was a heavy favorite going into the first fight. He is a heavyweight who can crack with both hands. Ruiz may feel emboldened after absorbing some major leather early on in the first fight, but best not to test the chin too many times. Joshua will need to force Ruiz to respect his power this time around.

Edge: Joshua

 

EXPERIENCE

Ruiz

Ruiz has been boxing since he was a child and had a largely successful amateur career. That said, outside of the Joshua win, his professional resume is pedestrian.

Joshua

Though Joshua’s ledger includes victories over a trio of top heavyweights in Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker and Dillian Whyte, nothing can disguise the fact that he picked up boxing at the late age of 18. His freakish power may have shored up some of his weaknesses, but he appears to be a fighter still learning on the job.

Edge: Ruiz

 

DURABILITY

Ruiz

Most fighters would have wilted after eating a right uppercut- left hook combination from Joshua, but Ruiz, who touched the canvas, was able to rebound. When Joshua followed up with a caterwauling straight hand, Ruiz didn’t blink. The Mexican, to be sure, has an iron chin.

Joshua
Though he is built like Adonis, Joshua’s chin has always been suspect, as evidenced in fights against Klitschko, Whyte and Povetkin. Ruiz merely confirmed it. Indeed, since the Klitschko win, his trainer has tried to mold Joshua into more of a finesse boxer, less open to heavy counters at close range. If only one could add muscle to the jaw 


Edge: Ruiz

 

INTANGIBLES

Ruiz

Ruiz may just have Joshua’s number. At the very least, he has the psychological advantage of having completely outclassed Joshua in the first fight. Recently, he said that there was not much he planned to change going into the rematch, and that makes sense. If it ain’t broke 


Joshua

When it was announced that Luis Pabon had been chosen to referee the fight, some observers viewed (groaned?) it as a clear advantage for Joshua. Pabon has a history of allowing fighters to clinch (see the Klitschko-Povetkin fight) while he breaks up the action. Holding, it should be reminded, is illegal in professional boxing, although it is rarely enforced. Pabon certainly has not shown much inclination to do so.

Edge: Ruiz

 

PREDICTION

The fight will play out similarly to the first fight, with Joshua moving tentatively around the ring as Ruiz stalks him. Joshua will have early success using his size and length to keep the shorter Ruiz at bay. Eventually, Joshua will begin to tire, as he customarily does, in the second half of the fight. Ruiz will turn up the pressure, cutting the distance to land quick-fire combinations against which Joshua will have little defense.

Ruiz TKO 8

Ruiz-Joshua II: Construction of 15,000-seat arena well underway

The site of the Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz rematch is coming along well, according to Eddie Hearn, who posted updates on his social media.

It appears the biggest rematch of the year will have a home.

When it was announced in September that Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz II would take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, there was just one problem: An actual arena had to be built from scratch.

No biggie, it turns out. Promoter Eddie Hearn shared photos of the near-complete, 15,000-seat outdoor arena on his Instagram, adding, “haters said it wouldn’t be ready.”

Hearn’s decision to stage the fight in Saudi Arabia was not greeted universally with open arms. Many critics pointed out the country’s dreadful human rights record. But the site fee offered Saudi backers, reported to be at least $40 million, was too much to turn down.

Joshua recently traveled to Saudi Arabia and was given a tour of the construction site.

The rematch will stream live on DAZN.

‘TUF 28’ winner Juan Espino eager to return from second hand surgery: ‘It’s a personal matter’

Juan Espino is ready to make noise in the UFC heavyweight division just as soon as he’s fully recovered.

[autotag]Juan Espino[/autotag] is almost in the clear.

The winner of Season 28 of “The Ultimate Fighter” is preparing a return to the octagon after having undergone his second hand surgery in September. Although not close to being fully recovered, Espino is confident the darker days of his recuperation are behind him and can’t wait to fire on all cylinders.

“The toughest part is over. I’m close to getting my cast off and rehabilitation should start soon after (December),” Espino told MMA Junkie in Spanish on Wednesday. “The bone is basically back together. Now it’s just time to start the therapy to gain back all hand mobility and then maybe in January I can start to strike again.”

Espino hasn’t competed since his first-round submission of Justin Frazier to claim the “TUF 28” title back in November 2018. The Spanish fighter dealt with an injured right hand throughout the competition, including the final, but was only able to take care of the injury once the competition wrapped.

Being a “TUF” champion and riding a seven-fight winning streak, paired with an inability to compete, hasn’t been an easy situation to handle. Yet, the long layoff hasn’t discouraged the promising heavyweight.

“I spent many years wanting to get to where I am today – being a UFC fighter – and I had the luck of winning ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ something that for me was unthinkable, so it’s not just the time that I’ve been out now, but the desire I’ve had all these years,” Espino said. “This didn’t happen yesterday that I said, ‘Oh, I want to be an MMA fighter and tomorrow fight in the UFC.’ This has been in the works for years to get to this point.

“And now that I’m here, well, the patience that I developed through so many years getting to the UFC, that’s helped me. I’m in. I’m part of the company, and even though I’m injured, this won’t discourage me. It’s just now getting 100 percent healthy because I want to compete. I want to make noise. I don’t want my career to go by like any other. I want to win good fights and have people take note of me.”

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If all goes right, Espino, who’s already training but just not using his right hand, should start rehab in December. Once that’s over, he could very well be ready for a March or April return. Espino can’t wait for the day he’s able to step inside the UFC cage.

“I’m so eager to fight,” Espino said. “It’s not a necessity. It’s not an economic thing, nothing. It’s a personal matter. It’s something spiritual of wanting to fight and make my mark.”

Since joining the UFC roster, the heavyweight division has undergone a lot of changes. Not only has the belt switched hands, but several new contenders have risen. Espino is looking forward to his return and believes his presence will bring up a notch the revamping of the UFC’s heavyweight division.

“There are a lot of new names, most of them strikers,” Espino explained. “Interestingly enough, we’ve only seen one wrestler, who is Sergey Spivak. Most of the other guys don’t have great wrestling, and they’re not so good on the ground either.

“But I see a very lively division. It’s changing a lot. My rival in ‘TUF,’ Maurice Greene, has had a good run, three wins (and) one defeat. So that shows the kind of level that was in my season of ‘TUF’ and, yeah, things are changing, but I plan to change things even more.”