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Top Heavyweight Who Fought Joshua And Klitschko For World

By Al Faqiih February 4, 2025

Top Heavyweight Who Fought Joshua And Klitschko For World Title Has 10 Years Of Results Overturned

A retired heavyweight who faced both Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko is facing the prospect of having a decade of results overturned after testing positive for a banned substance.

Alexander Povetkin has reportedly had 10-years worth of accomplishments in the ring wiped from his record, which would include his victories against David Price, Carlos Takam, Mike Perez and Dillian Whyte.

The Russian tested positive for Ostarine back in 2014, as well as failing another test in 2016 which showed traces of Ostarine and Meldonium, leading to him being served with a 1-year suspension.

As reported by Boxing Scene, it has been revealed that Povetkin is currently serving a 4-year ‘Period of Ineligibility’, following the revelation of the 2014 failed test which had reportedly been kept under wraps until now.

The International Testing Agency had this to say about the Russian’s situation:

“After being notified of the case and informed of his procedural rights, the athlete decided not to challenge the anti-doping rule violation. In addition, the athlete’s results from October 25 2014 until the start of the athlete’s provisional suspension on October 21 2024 have been disqualified, including the results obtained during a boxing match held on the night of October 24/25 2014.”

The 45-year-old faced Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium in September 2018, pushing the Brit all the way until he suffered a 7th-round knockout defeat to lose out on the chance at becoming the unified WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion. He had also lost in a previous title tilt against Klitschko.

Povetkin secured a monumental upset victory over Whyte in August 2020, knocking ‘The Bodysnatcher’ out with a crushing left uppercut in the 5th-round.

They went on to face one another in a rematch seven months later, with Whyte gaining his revenge over the Russian with a 4th-round stoppage. The Russian has not fought since that defeat to Whyte, announcing his retirement from the sport in 2021 at the age of 41. Povetkin said a number of ‘re-occuring injuries’ led to him making this decision.

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Anthony Joshua Sums Up Oleksandr Usyk’s Chances Of Beating A Prime Lennox Lewis In Just 2 Words

By Al Faqiih February 1, 2025

Anthony Joshua has seen the very best of Oleksandr Usyk so has a good idea of how he might have fared against Lennox Lewis.

Joshua came up against Usyk twice, the first time in 2021 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and a second time the following year at Wembley.

Going into those fights he was a unified belt holder with wins against the likes of Kubrat Pulev, Carlos Takam, and Wladimir Klitschko, and a revenge rematch victory over Andy Ruiz Jr.

As such he was in a good run of form, but that came to an end after 12 tight rounds with the Ukrainian who managed to stay away from Joshua’s biggest shots and land plenty of his own punches to take away a points win.

The rematch went the same way and again left Joshua frustrated and without any of his world title belts. Usyk has since twice beaten Tyson Fury to cement his status as the very best of the current era.

The last time one man was as dominant in the division was Lewis back at the turn of the millennium when he became the undisputed champion.

In a round of winner stays on with Mail Sport Boxing, ‘AJ’ was asked who would come out on top if Usyk and Lewis fought but he couldn’t decide.

“50-50.”

He was then forced for an answer.

“Oleksandr Usyk.”

Usyk doesn’t currently have a fight scheduled but many hope he might take on the winner of the fight between Joseph Parker and Daniel Dubois in a second undisputed contest.

Joshua, meanwhile, was hoping to fight Fury in what would be a career-defining fight, but Fury has since announced his retirement.

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Mike Tyson makes worrying confession following controversial Netflix

By Al Faqiih January 30, 2025

Mike Tyson makes worrying confession following controversial Netflix fight against Jake Paul

Mike Tyson has revealed that he has not fully healed from his loss to Jake Paul – more than two months after they clashed in the ring.

The 58-year-old was beaten on points by the YouTuber-turned-boxer in November, in a fight that sparked controversy – and even claims it was rigged.

Tyson struggled against Paul, who has had only 11 professional fights but is more than three decades younger than the former world heavyweight champion.

The fight broke records but Tyson has now revealed the physical toll it took on him. He told the New York Post: ‘I don’t know if I’m 100 percent recovered, but I feel good.’

‘Iron’ Mike, once known as the Baddest Man on the Planet, previously admitted he could barely remember the eight rounds at AT&T Stadium in Texas.

‘I don’t remember the fight that much, I kind of blanked out a little,’ he told Fox Sports Radio in December.

‘I remember coming back from the first round and Jake is doing some kind of… I don’t know what he was doing (Tyson leans forward, pretending to bow) and that’s the last thing I remember.’

The controversial fight – Tyson’s first professional bout for 20 years – had to be pushed back several months after Tyson suffered an medical scare.

Ahead of the original date in July, Tyson had an ‘ulcer flare-up’ on a plane. The boxing legend become nauseous and dizzy before paramedics later came on board.

He and Paul were recently reunited as they mingled among political heavyweights, tech titans and media moguls to celebrate Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington DC.

Paul, 27, and Tyson, 58, joined the sporting A-listers headlining the inauguration celebrations, including the likes of Conor McGregor, Dana White and Paul’s brother, Logan.

In a viral video, Tyson was seen getting on his former rival’s shoulders as onlookers chanted words of encouragement.

Both dressed in tuxedos for the black-tie event, Paul easily lifted Tyson as the boxing legend put his hands over his face.

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‘Closer than people think’ – Anthony Joshua advised to take comeback fight against surprise rival

By Al Faqiih January 29, 2025

Anthony Joshua has been urged to take a comeback fight against Filip Hrgovic before deciding his next moves.

Joshua is currently at a crossroads in his heavyweight career after being brutally dropped three times and stopped by Daniel Dubois in September.

He was first expected to rematch Dubois but those plans were shelved after it was suggested he would not be ready for the targeted February date.

AJ then instead declared he would like to settle his rivalry with Tyson Fury in 2025, but the ‘Gypsy King’ then decided to announce his retirement from the sport.

The former two-time champion could now face a number of alternative opponents if he chooses to return, with the division’s boogeyman Martin Bakole also issuing a call-out.

But boxing broadcaster Ade Oladipo suggested on the latest episode of talkBOXING, that Hrgovic would be a sensible step for his next outing.

He said: “It is now a case of what do you do? Do you do a rebuild and go down a level and fight them Jermaine Franklin types?

“If he is here for the next two or three years then you do the rebuild, but I think he is only here for 12 months.

“If the fight with Fury doesn’t happen, I honestly think you go Hrgovic vs Dubois or Hrgovic vs Bakole.

“I don’t want to see the Dillian Whyte fight or the Deontay Wilder fight.

“I think you go in with someone who has only lost once in Hrgovic, and then go. It is a gauge of where you are.”

talkSPORT host Simon Jordan then questioned the value in Joshua fighting Hrgovic to which Oladipo replied: “Just to see if it is still there.

“To go through training camp and sparring to see if you still have it, it’s one thing saying it and another knowing it.

“I think Hrgovic will look at the Dubois fights and think he can win. I think it’s a closer fight than what people think.

“It’s still someone in the top ten and top 15, but then we can work out from that performance if we want to see a Dubois rematch or a fight with Bakole.”

Joshua has been linked with a clash against Hrgovic in the past, with the pair having both been stopped by Dubois.

It would be a reasonable test to work away any ring rust before challenging Bakole.

Bakole is considered an avoided fighter in the heavyweight division, and is campaigning for a huge clash against Joshua in Africa.

Joshua has surprisingly faced off with Bakole, but could have other priorities including future revenge against Dubois.

‘Dynamite’ currently holds the IBF belt and Joshua could become a three-time heavyweight champion if he does pursue future redemption.

But Oladipo and Jordan have themselves cast doubt on if there is genuine interest from Joshua in pursuing a sequel in 2025.

Jordan said: “It’s his decision, he is the captain of his own ship. He’s said this himself.

“If he wants to fight Daniel Dubois, he will fight Daniel Dubois but I’m questioning that.”

Oladipo added: “If AJ wants to fight Dubois, it should be happening tomorrow, he should be that guy.

Jordan continued: “So I assume by the very nature of it that he doesn’t want to fight Dubois, because he isn’t fighting Dubois.

Oladipo replied: “Yeah, I can’t argue with that because I suppose if AJ wanted to fight Dubois, we wouldn’t be seeing Dubois vs Parker.”

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Floyd Mayweather Admits He’s Glad He Avoided One

By Al Faqiih January 29, 2025

Floyd Mayweather Admits He’s Glad He Avoided One Welterweight Champion: “They Said I Was Scared”

Floyd Mayweather Jr is one of the few fighters in boxing history to walk away from the sport with an unblemished professional record.

The 47-year-old from Grand Rapids, Michigan won world titles five weight divisions during his tenure, defeating the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya and Miguel Cotto. His unique defensive style earned him a place as one of, if not the greatest fighter of all time.

Although he faced an array of great fighters throughout his career, ‘Money’ was once accused of ‘being afraid’ of a showdown with Antonio Margarito, which was reportedly due to happen back in 2006.

In an interview with Marca, Mayweather was asked to explain why this fight did not go ahead, as he claims he was ‘glad’ to not face the three-time world welterweight champion.

“Antonio Margarito said over and over again that I was afraid of him. He was pressing, and he wanted to fight so badly, because he was beating fighters with loaded gloves (with ‘casts’), so I’m glad God didn’t let that fight happen.

Because you don’t know what kind of effect it would have had on me. Those (punches) would have wreaked havoc after my boxing career was over. He could have ended up killing me in the ring, you don’t know what could happen. So sometimes you have certain signals (to face fighters or not), I was never afraid of him and at that particular moment it didn’t make sense for us to fight”

Just before he was due to face Shane Mosley in a defence of his WBA light middleweight title in 2009, Margarito was found with illegally wrapped hands that had to be re-wrapped three times to make them legal. Despite this, Mosley went on to stop Margarito in the ninth round to capture the WBA title, although things could have been very different for ‘Sugar’ Shane if it wasn’t for his trainer Naazim Richardson who spotted the issue.

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Shakur Stevenson Makes an Unexpected Confession on Gervonta Davis’ Retirement Talks

By Al Faqiih January 28, 2025

WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson has made a surprising U-turn regarding his stance on fellow lightweight champion Gervonta Davis’ retirement plans. Last December, the WBA lightweight champion stunned the boxing world by revealing his intention to retire after 2025. He cited politics within the sport as a major factor behind his decision.

He also suggested that he want to stay out of the way and make money. Currently, ‘Tank’ is scheduled to lock horns with WBA super featherweight champion Lamont Roach Jr. on March 1st in Brooklyn, New York. And if Davis follows up on his plans to call it quits, a fight against Stevenson has a lot less time to be made.

Stevenson, meanwhile, has been calling for a fight against Davis for over a year. It’s a pursuit that has transformed their previously friendly relationship into one marked by rivalry and contention. The WBC lightweight champion is also gearing up for a showdown with rising star Floyd Schofield Jr. on February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Ahead of his upcoming fight, Stevenson shared his thoughts on Davis’ retirement plans during an interview with iFL TV. When asked if he could relate to Davis’ decision to step away from the sport, Stevenson responded candidly, “I get it, I understand it. It’s a lame a** game, boxing has turned very lame.”

“There’s a lot of politics and it is not about how good you are as a boxer. Sometimes it’s who you know,” he added. However, this statement seems different from what Stevenson said in another interview a couple of weeks ago.

Shakur Stevenson brands Gervonta Davis soft for retirement talks

Shakur Stevenson has criticized Gervonta Davis’ retirement talk, calling it “soft” and expressing his disagreement with the decision. Speaking to Fight Hub TV during The Ring Awards ceremony in London, Stevenson said, “If he wants to retire with the career that he got, then go ahead and do whatever you got to do. I disagree with it. I think it’s soft, but that’s on him.”

Stevenson made it clear he’s not interested in chasing Davis. “I ain’t gonna lie. I ain’t into chasing people around. If he’s willing to fight, I’m ready to fight. I think it should happen, but I can’t sit there and chase you, and then he’s going to try to make it seem like I need him. I don’t need him.”

If Davis retires without fighting Stevenson, the boxing world will miss out on one of the biggest, if not the biggest, lightweight battles in recent decades.

That said, it appears Shakur Stevenson has grown tired of chasing Gervonta Davis for a fight. By the looks of things, their potential fight seems like a distant dream, which may never become real. But what do you think? Do you think the fight will happen? What do you think about Stevenson’s changed opinion?

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Gervonta Davis Destroys Issac Cruz’s ‘Pitbull’ Image With One Line

By Al Faqiih January 28, 2025

Gervonta Davis is arguably one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world currently. After 30 straight career victories and five world titles in three different weight categories, he is the fight that everyone wants. While no one doubts the Baltimore native’s in-ring capabilities, we can’t say the same thing about his social media skills.

The 30-0 boxer has found himself in trouble numerous times over his rants on X. Most of the time he deletes his controversial or fury-filled tweets, but it is often too late. He constantly attacks his opponents on the platform and on Sunday he did the same. While answering a question from one of his fans, Tank destroyed Ryan Garcia and Isaac Cruz in subsequent posts.

Gervonta Davis reveals his easiest fight

The controversy started when Gervonta Davis decided to reply to an ‘X’ user @jjusticcee’s question and revealed his easiest opponent out of his last 5 fights. Tank quoted the tweet and declared, “Ryan” as his least troublesome fight, sending the fans into a state of chaos.

Fans found the reply perplexing as many widely considered Ryan Garcia one of the most formidable opponents for Tank. Another ‘X’ user @enudiwisdom_ replied to the Baltimore native and claimed that Garcia was his hardest fight and not the easiest as he claimed. He even claimed that before the fight happened, many considered the Victorville native the only opponent with the potential to end Gervonta Davis’ undefeated streak.

However, during the April 22, 2023 clash, Gervonta Davis destroyed ‘KingRy’ and knocked him out in the seventh round. It was Ryan Garcia’s first and only loss out of 25 career fights. The user further claimed that “Since Tank KO Garcia no one else has come close,” and if Tank doesn’t get a rematch against the 25-1, he will retire as undefeated.

The tweet went viral as another X user @Ace_boogie_22_ denied those claims. He considered Isaac Cruz to be Davis’ hardest opponent yet. Once again, the tweet caught Tank’s attention who couldn’t help himself but gave another devastating reply, tarnishing Pitbull’s image.

Another Cakewalk, huh!

The WBA lightweight champion replied to Ace and wrote, “Pit bull was cake walk too,” claiming that even Cruz was not much of a challenge for him. Well, considering how the fight went down, that might not be the case.

The Mexico City native has lost three fights in his career and has had to climb back up the ranks every time after a defeat. He lost his first fight in 2016 against Luis Montano Alvarez via a unanimous decision. After that loss, Cruz rebounded with a string of impressive wins except one rare split-decision draw against Jose Calyecac Capilla in 2017.

After racking up 17 wins and 1 draw in 18 fights, Pitbull got his first big break in 2021 against Gervonta Davis after Ronaldo Romero withdrew. Not only did Cruz step in on short notice, but gave Gervonta Davis one of his toughest challenges yet.

Tank has won 93.33% of his wins via KO and Pitbull is only one of the two opponents who took him the entire distance of the fight. While Tank dominated the fight and won the fight via 113-115, 113-115, and 112-116 unanimous decision, the 26-year-old definitely put him on the back foot in the earlier rounds.

Well, only Gervonta Davis really knows whether he was just trolling or found Isaac Cruz and Ryan Garcia as easy fights. However, the stats show otherwise. Who do you think was Tank’s easiest fight or his toughest? Let us know your thoughts down below.

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Whyte wants Joshua showdown

By Al Faqiih January 27, 2025

British heavyweight Dillian Whyte is targeting a ‘trilogy’ fight with Anthony Joshua as he vows to retire his bitter rival.

The heavyweight duo first clashed on the amateur circuit 16-years ago, as ‘The Bodysnatcher’ claimed a points victory over a novice Joshua who hadn’t long had his first contest when the pair met.

Their bitter feud was reignited in December 2015 when ‘AJ’ captured the vacant British heavyweight title with an explosive 7th-round knockout victory over Whyte, who had rocked Joshua in the second round before eventually suffering the first defeat of his professional career.

Their highly anticipated rematch was due to happen in August 2023, but was cancelled after Whyte returned an adverse finding in a doping test. Finnish heavyweight Robert Helenius stepped in and was knocked out in seven rounds. Whyte was later cleared to box after an investigation found it was a contaminated supplement that caused the findings.

Joshua is expected to return to the ring for the first time since suffering a shock knockout defeat to IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois last September, with Whyte putting himself forward to face his rival as he vows to finally send him into retirement.

Speaking to Sky Sports Boxing, ‘The Bodysnatcher’ welcomed the idea of facing the 35-year-old for the third time, but claimed he is ‘finished’ after that defeat to Dubois.

“If he wants to fight, then all they’ve got to do is call me. I’m always up for fighting AJ. No problem for me. However, personally, I think he’s finished. I think he made a huge mistake not taking the immediate rematch with Dubois. It was a world title fight, a great payday and the perfect opportunity to avenge his knockout loss.”

“Me and him will always be a good fight. We just have that chemistry. I don’t want to lose to him, he doesn’t want to lose to me, and we want to prove each other wrong. We want to knock each other out so it will always be a good fight.

“Eddie [Hearn] has publicly stated Joshua could fight me next, but whether he will or not I don’t know whether he or his people want it, then we wait to see. I would love to retire him.”

Whyte returned to the ring in December when he knocked out Ebenezer Tetteh in Gibraltar. The 36-year-old is keen on returning to the ring as soon as possible, with a fight date and opponent expected to be announced in due course.

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Heavyweight Vows To Retire Anthony Joshua In Trilogy Fight: “I Want To Knock Him Out”

By Al Faqiih January 26, 2025

British heavyweight Dillian Whyte is targeting a ‘trilogy’ fight with Anthony Joshua as he vows to retire his bitter rival.

The heavyweight duo first clashed on the amateur circuit 16-years ago, as ‘The Bodysnatcher’ claimed a points victory over a novice Joshua who hadn’t long had his first contest when the pair met.

Their bitter feud was reignited in December 2015 when ‘AJ’ captured the vacant British heavyweight title with an explosive 7th-round knockout victory over Whyte, who had rocked Joshua in the second round before eventually suffering the first defeat of his professional career.

Their highly anticipated rematch was due to happen in August 2023, but was cancelled after Whyte returned an adverse finding in a doping test. Finnish heavyweight Robert Helenius stepped in and was knocked out in seven rounds. Whyte was later cleared to box after an investigation found it was a contaminated supplement that caused the findings.

Joshua is expected to return to the ring for the first time since suffering a shock knockout defeat to IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois last September, with Whyte putting himself forward to face his rival as he vows to finally send him into retirement.

Speaking to Sky Sports Boxing, ‘The Bodysnatcher’ welcomed the idea of facing the 35-year-old for the third time, but claimed he is ‘finished’ after that defeat to Dubois.

London, UK: Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois Weigh In ahead of their IBF Heavyweight Title fight tomorrow night.
20 September 2024
Picture By Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing

“If he wants to fight, then all they’ve got to do is call me. I’m always up for fighting AJ. No problem for me. However, personally, I think he’s finished. I think he made a huge mistake not taking the immediate rematch with Dubois. It was a world title fight, a great payday and the perfect opportunity to avenge his knockout loss.”

“Me and him will always be a good fight. We just have that chemistry. I don’t want to lose to him, he doesn’t want to lose to me, and we want to prove each other wrong. We want to knock each other out so it will always be a good fight.

“Eddie [Hearn] has publicly stated Joshua could fight me next, but whether he will or not I don’t know whether he or his people want it, then we wait to see. I would love to retire him.”

Whyte returned to the ring in December when he knocked out Ebenezer Tetteh in Gibraltar. The 36-year-old is keen on returning to the ring as soon as possible, with a fight date and opponent expected to be announced in due course.

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Joshua will knock Fury out – Bellew

By Al Faqiih January 26, 2025

Former WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew has backed Anthony Joshua to knock out Tyson Fury if the long-awaited all-British heavyweight clash eventually materialises, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Speaking to Fightlens, Bellew expressed confidence in Joshua’s ability to stop The Gypsy King, despite acknowledging Fury’s superior boxing skills.

“I’ve always said it and I’ll stick by it. I think Anthony Joshua will be forced to let his hands go, and he’ll knock out Tyson Fury,” Bellew said.

“Do I think he’s the better fighter? No. But not always the better fighter wins. I’ve been in fights myself where I’ve beaten fighters better than me, like David Haye. I beat him twice, but he’s a better fighter than me. Styles make fights.”

The highly anticipated showdown between the British rivals appeared close in 2021, with reports of a two-fight deal in Saudi Arabia, but Fury’s contractual obligation to face Deontay Wilder for a third time derailed those plans.

Joshua, who lost his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titles to Oleksandr Usyk later that year, bounced back with victories over Jermaine Franklin, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou before suffering a shock defeat to Daniel Dubois.

Meanwhile, Fury recently announced his retirement following his second loss to Usyk, though the 35-year-old has previously retired and returned on multiple occasions since his 2015 victory over Wladimir Klitschko.

Hopes of the mega-fight happening were rekindled when His Excellency Turki Alalshikh hinted at a potential clash between the heavyweight stars in 2025.

“Fury might be the better fighter on paper, but Joshua has the tools to force an outcome,” Bellew added. “Styles make fights, and AJ has the power and determination to cause an upset.”

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