Eddie Hearn said that if Anthony Joshua is determined to hang onto his three belts, he’ll likely fight Kubrat Pulev next.
Anthony Joshua might have had to pay a baggage fee, along with all those sanctioning fees, for the trunk of title belts he took home from his redemptive decision over Andy Ruiz Jr. on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.
Joshua had all but one of them safely back in his wardrobe, which is where they might stay for at least awhile.
Joshua is in no mood to relinquish any of them.
For weeks, there was talk that at least one of the belts would be vacated, whatever that means. Rooms go vacant. Belts don’t. It would be nice if the sanctioning bodies just vacated the word, put vacate on permanent vacation. But that’s about as likely as an end to those sanctioning fees. Anyway, let’s just say that it sounds as if Joshua isn’t prepared to move out of any corner to his regained position at the top of the heavyweight division.
Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn anticipated that Saturday’s winner would give up at least one of the belts. The promotional idea, perhaps, was that Oleksandr Usyk would have a quick and easy path to the first available belt. But Joshua wasn’t ready to give up anything to Usyk or anybody else.
On Sunday, the WBO ordered Joshua to face Usyk in a mandatory title defense. Then the IBF quickly followed with its own mandatory, ordering Joshua to face Kubrat Pulev. Hearn was expected to sort out those orders and presumably a few more during the next few weeks. He foresees Joshua back in the ring in spring.
“I think April or May,’’ he told Sky Sports. “That’s a realistic date.’’
By then, Joshua and Hearn should have a better idea about the only heavyweight fight that matters: Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury. Wilder holds the only other significant belt. Fury calls himself the lineal heavyweight champion. A Fury-Wilder rematch looms in February at a still undisclosed location.
For Joshua’s projected return in spring, Hearn expects Pulev.
“A.J. will want to maintain the belts, and if that’s the case, I think it will be Pulev, and then Usyk,’’ Hearn said.
Pulev, a Top Rank-promoted Bulgarian, was scheduled to fight Joshua on Oct. 28 in Cardiff, Wales. But he withdrew because of a shoulder injury.
Tyson Fury, known as much for his mouth as his ability as a boxer, hasn’t weighed in on the Anthony Joshua-Andy Ruiz Jr. fight.
When Tyson Fury speaks, the media listens. The media also listens when he doesn’t.
Fury generated lots of talk on social media for not talking in the immediate aftermath Saturday of Anthony Joshua’s victory over Andy Ruiz Jr. in a heavyweight rematch. Silence from Fury is surprising. It’s a little bit like man biting dog. It just doesn’t happen. It’s a good bet to think it probably won’t last long either.
But U.K. fans have grown accustomed to hearing from Fury – always and immediately – on just about anything. Yet while there was plenty of reaction from Deontay Wilder, there were only crickets from Fury during the first few hours after Joshua carefully and cleverly boxed his way to a unanimous decision over Ruiz, who stopped him in a huge upset last June.
It could be that the multi-tasking Fury was just too busy. There’s a looming rematch with Wilder in February. There’s wrestling, mixed-martial arts, singing, a book tour and who-knows-what-all. Still U.K. fans wanted to know. Where was Fury?
In a review of social media reactions by the Express, a U.K. newspaper, there was this among many from one Joshua fan:
“Ahhhhh That feeling when you wake up in the morning to the realisation of who the real Dossers are!!!!!”
The social media attack also targeted Wilder, who didn’t take long to respond. But Fury was mute, at least for a while, which in the Twitter age is way too long.
Meanwhile, Fury trainer Ben Davison did respond.
He said Ruiz’s weight was a critical factor. Ruiz showed up about 15 pounds heavier than he was in his stunning stoppage of Joshua on June 1.
“I think the weight killed him,’’ Davison told iFL TV. “I think that he knew he needed to close the gap. Except, if he thought Joshua was going to close the gap for him, which was his (Joshua’s) mistake in the first fight.
“He’s not got the quickest of feet anyway. So, to put that extra weight on was going to slow his feet down even more. That was a big, big hindrance for him.”
Davison went on to talk about Joshua’s tactics. He praised Joshua in what was also a backhanded compliment.
“It was like a poor man’s Tyson Fury, wasn’t it?’’ Davison said. “That’s not in a nasty way, because, you know, obviously he can’t do it to the level of Tyson. But it was the tactics and he did well. It was a 50-50 fight and he came out with the win, so it was a good performance.”
Davison then tried to backtrack on what he said about Joshua, saying that Fury’s U.K. rival was smart to maintain distance with footwork and always knowing where he was in the ring.
“It looked a big ring,’’ Davison said. “But listen, I’m not going to say, ‘Oh this, oh that.’ It’s better for British boxing that Joshua won, because that means there’s big shows in the U.K.’’
Anthony Joshua barely had time to savor his victory over Andy Ruiz Jr. when the WBO ordered him to defend its title against Oleksandr Usyk.
Could Olexsanr Usyk be next for Anthony Joshua?
Joshua barely had time to grasp what he accomplished by outpointing Andy Ruiz Jr. in their rematch Saturday in Saudi Arabia, winning back three heavyweight titles, when the WBO ordered him to defend its belt against Usyk.
Joshua (23-1, 21 knockouts) must face Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs) by early next June, according to the Daily Mail.
Joshua, who was stopped by Ruiz last June, thoroughly outboxed him in the rematch to win a wide decision to regain the clout that comes with holding heavyweight titles.
In a perfect world, he’d fight the winner of the Feb. 22 fight between Deontay Wilder, who holds the fourth major belt, and Tyson Fury to unify all the titles. It’s not that easy, though.
If Joshua decides not to defend against Usyk, he could be stripped of the belt and any immediate chance of becoming undisputed champion. In that case, Usyk, the mandatory challenger, could fight someone (Derek Chisora? Joseph Parker?) for the vacant title.
However, Usyk, a cruiserweight-turned-heavyweight who was 2018 Fighter of the Year, is an attractive opponent for Joshua. He could possibly take that fight and, if he wins, take on the Wilder-Fury winner afterward.
Another option for Joshua is a third fight with Ruiz, as Joshua suggested immediately after the fight.
Joshua is likely to take some time to enjoy his victory and then sit down with his advisors to plot out his future. All possibilities undoubtedly will be considered.
Deontay Wilder was no fan of the way former heavyweight titleholder Andy Ruiz comported himself during and after his loss to Anthony Joshua.
Add Deontay Wilder to the mix of observerswho were displeased by Andy Ruiz Jr.’s title-losing performance against Anthony Joshua on Saturday night in Saudi Arabia.
Joshua pitched a near-shutout over 12 rounds to regain the three heavyweight belts he lost to Ruiz on June 1.
In a radio interview with SiriusXM Fight Station, Wilder, who holds the fourth major title, opined on what he felt were both tactical failures and character flaws on the part of the Mexican-American. Joshua worked behind his jab and moved his feet to keep away from Ruiz’s mid-range combinations. Ruiz never quite adjusted.
“Ruiz followed him all night long,” Wilder said. “With a guy (Joshua) with such a long reach, you can’t just follow him. You know what’s going to happen, a punching bag, as they call it. Just sit there and receive punches. And he did that all night.”
Wilder also was disappointed in the fact that Ruiz allowed the money and limelight to affect him after his earth-shattering upset in June. Ruiz weighed in at 283.7 pounds for the rematch, roughly 15 pounds heavier than his weight in the first fight.
“But what really got me about Ruiz was not just what he did in the ring, but what he said, as well,” Wilder said. “Because as you know, one thing that I mentioned to Ruiz when I was doing an interview on TV is, I told him, ‘Don’t get comfortable. Congratulations, but don’t get comfortable with the lifestyle and stuff. It can grab you. But you know you’re just beginning. There can be more to this for you and your family. Don’t dwell on this.’”
Manny Robles, Ruiz’s trainer, mentioned to reporters that he wanted Ruiz to start training in July, but his charge showed up in September. During the post-fight press conference, Ruiz pleaded for a third fight with Joshua and admitted that he didn’t train hard enough, saying “I think we started too late. I didn’t want to say three months of partying affected me, but to tell you the truth, it did.”
Wilder wasn’t happy about that admission.
“‘Oh, I ate too much and I could’ve trained a little harder,’” Wilder said. “Like, what the f— are you talking about. That is exactly the opposite of what it takes to be a champion. What do you mean? You were telling the world that you weren’t letting it get to your head and how it’s such a blessing. You can’t come in and say the rematch, the third fight, I’ll promise I’ll train. Like what are you talking about!”
Wilder is scheduled to face Tyson Fury in a rematch Feb. 22 on pay-per-view.
Anthony Joshua, one of the biggest punchers ever, used his brain and athleticism to turn the tables on Andy Ruiz Jr. on Saturday.
Sometimes it’s better to be smart than sensational.
Anthony Joshua, one of the biggest-punching heavyweights ever, turned into safety-first, stick-and-move boxer against the fighter who knocked him out six months ago. The result wasn’t exciting to watch but it couldn’t have been more effective.
A trimmed down, nimble Joshua essentially jabbed his way to a near-shutout decision over a 283.7-pound Andy Ruiz Jr. on Saturday night in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, to regain the three heavyweight titles he lost to Ruiz in June. The scores were 118-110, 118-110 and 119-109. Boxing Junkie scored it 119-109.
“Look, this is about boxing,” Joshua said in the ring afterward. “I’m used to knocking guys out. You know what I’m saying? I realized I hurt the man (in the first fight) and got caught coming in. I gave the man credit. There were no excuses, right?
“… I wanted to put on a great boxing masterclass and show that the sweet science of this lovely sport is hitting and not getting hit.”
Anthony Joshua (right) built his impressive victory over Andy Ruiz Jr. with a superb left jab Saturday in Saudi Arabia. AP Photo / Hassan Ammar
Joshua (23-1, 21 knockouts) was beaten up and embarrassed in his first fight with Ruiz, who put the Adonis-like Englishman down four times and stopped him the seventh round at Madison Square Garden in New York.
That raised many questions about him. Did he have a weak chin? It held up Saturday. Did he suffer psychological damage the first time around? If so, it wasn’t evident. What could he do to turn the tables? We found out on Saturday.
And Ruiz (33-2, 22 KOs) did his part to help Joshua, coming in extra-flabby, which he said afterward hindered his efforts to chase down a quick-footed foe.
Joshua essentially won the fight by jabbing and moving, which made it next extremely difficult for a frustrated Ruiz to get close enough to do damage. And when Ruiz did manage to get inside, Joshua generally clinched until referee Luis Pabon separated them.
Joshua landed some power shots, although none hurt Ruiz. The same goes for Ruiz, who connected on a few big punches — particularly later in the fight — but none that wobbled Joshua as they did in the first fight.
To be sure, this fight wasn’t about power punching. It was about a fit, hungry former champion with an excellent game plan who made an out-of-shape opponent look foolish with his skill and athleticism.
Joshua landed some power shots but he won the fight with his brain, not his brawn. AP Photo / Hassan Ammar
So focused was Joshua that on the rare occasions he did engage Ruiz, thereby placing himself in danger, he calmly but quickly used his feet to back out of trouble. He was in full control.
That was the pattern of the fight from beginning to end. It never really changed.
“It’s all about preparation,” Joshua said. “… Careers are all about experience. There’s no losing or winning, just creating great memories in this game that we all love. I took my ‘L’ and bounced back. Anyone can do it.
“Life is a roller coaster. What did you want me to do? Give up? I heard a man say I should retire. C’mon man, I love this sport.”
Joshua, standing in a crowd in the ring, then looked Ruiz’s way. “Andy,” he said, “are you ready to retire?” Ruiz responded, “Uh, no.” The loser then pulled Joshua’s arm and the mic to his face. “Who wants to see a third fight?,” the now-former champion bellowed.
Some might argue that Ruiz didn’t earn a rubber match. He came in 15-plus pounds heavier than he weighed in their first fight, which suggested to everyone that he didn’t train properly for the rematch.
He admitted as much afterward.
“I think I didn’t prepare how I should have,” he said. “I gained too much weight. But I don’t want to give no excuses. He won, he boxed me around. You know what? If we do a third fight, you best believe I’ll get in the f—ing best shape, be in the best shape of my life.
“(The extra weight) kind of affected me. I thought I’d feel stronger, I thought I’d feel better. The next fight I’ll be more prepared.”
A frustrated Andy Ruiz Jr., said his extra weight slowed him down in the fight. Nick Potts / PA via AP
What’s the next fight for Joshua, who as champion again can call his shots?
Yes, one option would be Ruiz. The winner of the projected fight between Deontay Wilder, who holds the fourth heavyweight belt, and Tyson Fury would be another, much more lucrative possibility.
Joshua and Co. weren’t tipping their hand at all after the fight Saturday. Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, was asked about the future.
“The future plans are to celebrate,” he said. “Celebrate, and celebrate hard. They wrote him off. He had to come back from humiliation at Madison Square Garden. Tonight he’s the governor, the governor of the division, a two-time heavyweight champion of the world.
“… We’re coming home tomorrow night. Heathrow, we’re landing. It’s going to be a hell of a flight home.”
Jarrell Miller, who threw away a chance to fight Anthony Joshua when he tested positive for PEDs, is working his way back into the sport.
Jarrell Miller is getting the red carpet treatment.
Not even six months out from his PED bust, the disgraced heavyweight contender has signed with noted manager James Prince, the fighter announced recently on his Instagram.
The news comes on the heels of a reported multi-year deal being mulled between Miller and Top Rank. Prince, also a music executive, currently manages Top Rank-promoted 126-pound titleholder Shakur Stevenson and Bryant Jennings. He is best known in boxing for managing the career of Andre Ward.
3,175 Likes, 171 Comments – JARRELL BIGBABY MILLER (@bigbabymiller) on Instagram: “Coming back with a vengeance is a understatement . Hungry determined and can’t wait to get back in…”
www.instagram.com
Miller drew headlines when he tested positive multiple times for banned substances leading up to his June 1 fight against Anthony Joshua. Aside from losing out on what would have been a career high payday, reported to be $6.5 million, Miller was stripped of his license in New York and banned for six months by the WBA.
Should Miller sign with Top Rank, he will join a heavyweight stable that includes Tyson Fury and Kubrat Pulev.
Miller (23-0-1, 20 knockouts) hasn’t fought since a fourth-round knockout of Bogdan Dinu in November of last year.
Representatives of Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury told ESPN.com that their rematch is officially on for Feb. 22.
It’s set. Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury will fight again on February 22, according to ESPN.com.
The fighters signed the deal months ago but it became official after Wilder knocked out Luis Ortiz on Saturday in Las Vegas, according to the report.
The site of the rematch has not been determined, although representatives of both fighters said the MGM Grand in Las Vegas – the site of Wilder-Ortiz II – is the likely venue.
The fight will be televised jointly by Fox (Wilder) and ESPN (Fury) on pay-per-view.
“We’re going to have an announcement before Christmas, but the fight is happening Feb. 22. You can go to sleep on that,” Bob Arum of Top Rank, which promotes Fury, told ESPN.com.
Arum said that Feb. 22 as the ideal date because of marketing opportunities.
“Everybody involved factored in that, it was the big date they could get the most bang and publicity for the event,” Arum said. “The college football season is over, the NFL season is over, the playoffs haven’t started yet in the NBA, and March Madness is a month away.”
Deontay Wilder said he will be more patient in his rematch with rival Tyson Fury in February.
The rematch between Deontay Wilder and arch rival Tyson Fury is on for February 22, according to a report on ESPN.com. Wilder expects it to look at least somewhat different from the first fight.
Wilder’s primary goal is to become the only heavyweight champion, which would require victories over Fury and the winner of the Dec. 7 rematch between Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua.
“My mindset is to get ready for the next one because I’m on a mission,” said Wilder, who stopped Luis Ortiz with one punch last Saturday. “Like I said, I want one champion, one face, one name. And I’m so close, closer than I’ve ever been. There are a couple of obstacles to get out of the way but I’m not worried. I’m ready to go, ready to live out my dreams and reach them.
“It’s been a big goal for me to be undisputed, unified heavyweight champion and I’m here. One more step to go. If everything goes as planned, you can finally see a unified champion in the heavyweight division.”
Of course, Fury is a significant obstacle. In their first fight, last December, they fought to a split-decision draw even though most observers thought Fury did enough to win.
In the most dramatic moment of the fight, Wilder put Fury flat on his back with an enormous right-left combination in the 12th and final round yet Fury was able to get up and hear the final bell.
Wilder believes Fury was down for the 10 count, which means referee Jack Reiss shouldn’t have allowed the fight to continue, but he also blamed himself for his lack of patience. He pushed too hard for the knockout.
That’s the past, though. He says he learned from that experience and will be better in February.
“I can’t wait,” Wilder said. “(Fury) showed me everything he’s going to be able to do. I don’t think there’s (anything) Fury can do at this point to improve. Even in the first fight, he had three training camps, he had two warmups, he had like four, five different trainers come to help him out.
“He gave me his all that night. For me, that wasn’t the best Deontay Wilder. … I rushed it. This time around, I’ll be even more patient. I’ll pick my shots. I know exactly what this man wants to do. Like I say, don’t blink. You don’t know what it’s coming, but when it does, good night.”
He added for good measure: “I’m going to knock him out again … but in more devastating fashion and quicker fashion. It will be good while it lasts.”
Darren Till, who recently trained with Tyson Fury, believes there’s a 70 percent chance we see the boxing star compete in MMA.
[autotag]Tyson Fury[/autotag] made headlines when he announced that he’d like to make the transition to MMA, and [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] believes he’s pretty serious about it.
The heavyweight boxing world champion has recently dabbled in just about every part of the combat sports world, with his recent appearance at a WWE event, as well as his trip to Liverpool, to train with UFC middleweight contender, Till at Team Kaobon.
And Till, who was impressed by Fury during the training session, thinks there’s a pretty big chance we’ll actually see Fury compete in MMA someday.
“I think it’s about a 70-30,” Till said in an interview with BT Sport. “Seventy yeah, thirty no, we’ve got to remember boxing to MMA is very different as well with a lot of things, especially pay. He’s in WWE, he’s making a lot of money there, he’s making a lot of money – he’s a top, top three heavyweight. I’d love to see it, I’d love to see it for the entertainment factor. It’s all about the entertainment and he’d probably do well, whoever he gets.”
Till ran Fury through an intense training session which included hitting pads, wrestling techniques and more, and Till says he was surprised at how committed Fury was to the whole thing.
“I had a terrific chat with him after we trained but I thought to myself, he’s going to come down, he’s going to lay in a few techniques and that’s it,” Till said. “He said to me when we were starting, I’ve come to train you know. I was like what do you mean, he was like I’ve come to train hard, and I was like ok, let’s crack on and I had just fought, even my knee was a bit niggling.”
[lawrence-related id=465641,462871]
“Collin was like give a proper training session, make sure he knows so I said Tyson, I’m going to teach you about what I think you need for MMA. If you’re considering this, I’ll teach you what I think you need so we started off, we ran around, we done warmups that coach Mike, the wrestler always teaches us and then I got him involved in some sprawls, some shadow boxing and then we went straight into sparring, pads.”
Fury had initially thrown a few names such as UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic, Francis Ngannou and Curtis Blaydes as potential opponents, and all three automatically agreed to fight the boxing superstar. But with Fury’s rematch with Deontay Wilder imminent, we may have to wait for Fury’s octagon debut.
Deontay Wilder deserves credit for what he has accomplished even if you’re critical of his boxing skills.
GOOD
One tweet seemed to represent the anti-Deontay Wilder sect after the heavyweight titleholder’s chilling one-punch knockout of Luis Ortiz on Saturday night in Las Vegas: “Wilder is still pure (excrement).”
What does Wilder have to do to cease being excrement?
The Tweeter obviously was referring to Wilder’s perceived lack of elite boxing ability. What about results? Wilder has had 43 heavyweight fights. He has ended 41 of them early, including Bermane Stiverne in their rematch. The only opponent he hasn’t knocked out is Tyson Fury, with whom he drew last December.
Isn’t the objective to win? The man is unbeaten and has successfully defended his title 10 times, which ties Muhammad Ali at No. 5 on the all-time list in a single heavyweight reign. He also moved into No. 7 for total defenses.
And isn’t a second goal to entertain the spectators? The fans love spectacular knockouts and Wilder delivers … again and again and again.
Wilder will never be a great technician. He admits it. If that is something you require to enjoy boxing, then Wilder isn’t for you. If you admire a fighter who wins consistently and provides one thrill after another, enjoy Wilder while you can. He’s 34.
And for the record: He certainly is a good enough boxer. He has the ability to set up his big shots, to position himself at the right distance, to recognize an opportunity and to unload at just the right time. That takes skill.
Wilder said at the post-fight news conference: “I deserve respect.” Yes, he does.
BAD
Deontay Wilder’s knockouts should be celebrated on a grander scale than they are now. Ryan Hafey / Premier Boxing Champions
The reported attendance at the Wilder-Ortiz card was 10,000-plus. The capacity at the MGM Grand Garden Arena is around 17,000. And if I had to guess the number of domestic pay-per-view buys it will have generated, I’d say around 350,000.
Those aren’t impressive numbers, which is not a good commentary on Wilder’s popularity.
What’s going on? One theory is that this isn’t a good time of year, with the holidays around the corner, to stage a major fight. That makes sense. Competition from the NFL, college football and the NBA doesn’t help, obviously.
Frankly, fighters aren’t promoted like they used to be. And, who knows, maybe he’d resonate with more sports fans if he fought more often. That just isn’t how it’s done these days.
What’s the point? All of the above is a shame given the excitement Wilder generates. His knockouts should be celebrated in a way that Mike Tyson’s once were because they’re every bit as dramatic.
Again, though, these are different times. Boxing, while perfectly healthy, isn’t as mainstream as it once was. Even a dominating heavyweight champion, as Wilder is becoming, can largely fly under the radar in today’s environment.
Perhaps Wilder will gain more and more traction across a larger landscape with every opponent he puts to sleep going forward. In the meantime, those who are paying attention now are having a blast.
WORSE
Brandon Figueroa (left) said Julio Ceja’s extra weight was a factor in their fight. Ryan Hafey / Premier Boxing Champions
The word knowledgeable people use is “unprofessional.”
Luis Nery came in a pound overweight for his scheduled fight against Emmanuel Rodriguez on the Wilder-Ortiz undercard. He was given time to lose the pound but reportedly refused to make an attempt. He subsequently offered Rodriguez money and a rehydration limit but Rodriguez decided that danger exceeded reward and the fight was canceled.
Nery also has failed to make weight in the past. Suggestion: Move up a division.
Julio Ceja failed to make the junior featherweight limit by a whopping 4½ pounds, which technically made him a junior lightweight, for his fight with Brandon Figueroa. Still, Figueroa agreed to go ahead with the fight.
Perhaps that was a mistake. Ceja was an immovable object in the fight, which ended in a controversial draw. Afterward, Figueroa said Ceja’s extra weight was a factor.
“I basically fought a person in a weight class above mine tonight,” Figueroa said. “I’m pretty sure if he weighed 122, it wouldn’t even be a close fight. We have to run the rematch back but he better make the weight.”
Fighters have always pushed the limit on weight, believing they’ll have an edge over their opponents the lower they go. That’s not going to change. Fighters will continue to miss weight.
That said, it might be good idea to follow this plan: One, make weight. Two, in the event that doesn’t happen, try to make the limit within the extra time allotted. And, three, if that doesn’t work, make a reasonable offer when negotiating to step into the ring overweight.
