The two fighters should look to boxing history before signing up to their world heavyweight rematch in the Middle EastIt is nearly 45 years since the Rumble in the Jungle – and still the myth of that wild night lingers, dangerously ignored.There is much to learn from deconstructing the most famous sporting event of the 20th century. When a fierce storm swept through Kinshasa shortly after Muhammad Ali had landed his perfect finisher on George Foreman in the eighth round, coming off the ropes to level the most feared champion since Sonny Liston, it was not enough to cleanse Zaire of the stench of collusion and bad dealings. Related: Amnesty International criticises sanctioning of Joshua v Ruiz Jr in Saudi...
Boxing should not be abolished but it may need reform from within after a tragic weekThere are no easy answers for the tragedies that have rocked professional boxing over the past week. The Argentinian junior welterweight Hugo Alfredo Santillan died on Thursday from injuries suffered during last Saturday’s fight against Uruguay’s Eduardo Javier Abreu in the Buenos Aires, becoming the second fatality in four days after Russia’s Maxim Dadashev succumbed to injuries suffered last Friday’s in Maryland.The double horror is a chilling reminder of the danger at hand any time a fighter climbs through the ropes into the squared circle, the only venue in society, with the exception of war, where a person can be killed but not legally murdered....
The heavyweight cartel that includes Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury has been broken but the Mexican is still Joshua’s best friendEddie Hearn has a problem: how to repackage a beaten champion. When Anthony Joshua was led away from his disastrous American debut at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night minus his world championship belts, he slipped out of the informal cartel that included Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury – temporarily, perhaps – into a lesser arrangement with the fat man who lives five miles from Tijuana and who had just knocked him down four times in seven rounds, Andy Ruiz Jr. Related: Andy Ruiz Jr shocks world with knockout of Anthony Joshua for heavyweight championship Related: Andy Ruiz Jr beats...
First-round destruction of Dominic Breazeale was bookended by grim gutter talk and a sketchy future fight scheduleDeontay Wilder is a man of towering physical presence and contradictions. He is a man of God who expressed no regrets for welcoming the chance to “get a body” on his CV by killing Dominic Breazeale in the ring, yet apologised and wished the poor man and his family all the best after icing him inside a round in Brooklyn on Saturday night.To some this is just the gutter talk of the business. But it is tasteless and dangerous. And it most certainly has nothing to do with God. Related: Deontay Wilder defends title with first-round destruction of Dominic Breazeale Continue reading...
The latest loss for the former world champion underlines he has little hope of returning to the summit of the sportIt was less than an hour after Terence Crawfords comprehensive beatdown of Amir Khan on Saturday night and the conversation had already shifted to what lies ahead for the talented American, whose uncommon blend of tactical aptitude, mental dexterity and power in both hands is drawing straight-faced comparisons to Sugar Ray Leonard. Related: Amir Khans painful display of self-preservation is the end nobody wanted Related: 'I messed up': Jarrell Miller posts video after reports of second failed drug test Continue reading...