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Almost a year to the day since their original matchup was scheduled and shelved after a pectoral muscle tear, UFC heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones finally faces two-time former titleholder Stipe Miocic in an encounter no-one asked for – yet we’re getting it nonetheless – while interim champion Tom Aspinall will watch cageside after defending his status against Curtis Blaydes in late July. Continue reading “UFC 309: Oh yeah, Jon Jones returns again this weekend… but Stipe’s an easy target”
Kieran Farrell, a former Central Area lightweight champion, was forced to cut short his career at 22 in 2013. A decade on, he’s part of Daniel Dubois’ training team and the Mancunian was honest about the IBF world titleholder’s preparations for an evening catapulting him into a new light, toppling Anthony Joshua as the former unified heavyweight king eyes an immediate rematch.
Continue reading “Dubois’ coach Kieran Farrell: Easier than we thought, rematch unwise for Joshua”
After consecutive stoppage wins over previously unbeaten duo Jarrell Miller and now-former IBF #1 heavyweight contender Filip Hrgovic, Daniel Dubois’ head trainer Don Charles has praised the 26-year-old’s boxing evolution, three months before the newly-upgraded world champion boxes former two-time unified titleholder Anthony Joshua at Wembley in an exciting London duel. Continue reading “Don Charles hails Dubois’ maturity, declares himself the missing jigsaw piece”
Former unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua scored another stoppage win, this time making quick work of former UFC champion-turned-boxer Francis Ngannou in their 10-round main event on a night where his former foe Joseph Parker snatched the WBO interim heavyweight title – despite conceding two knockdowns against Joe Joyce’s conqueror Zhilei Zhang. Continue reading “Knockout Chaos: Joshua drops, stops Ngannou in R2 with destructive display”
After yesterday’s weigh-ins, I spoke to former MMA and kickboxing champion Alistair Overeem for the retired Dutchman’s thoughts on a few topics: from predicting how his former foe would fare against Anthony Joshua to gauging interest in the Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic matchup and more besides. Read below for that conversation, as well as final tidbits before fight night.
Continue reading “Interview: UFC veteran Alistair Overeem predicts Joshua-Ngannou, Jones-Miocic”
As the fighters all weighed in before Friday’s Riyadh show, where the final touches are being wrapped up and the stage set… here’s a deeper look from someone with more intimate knowledge of Francis Ngannou’s MMA background – former UFC fighter-turned-analyst Dan Hardy, assessing his chances of an upset against two-time world champion Anthony Joshua tomorrow night. Continue reading “Interview: Dan Hardy on Ngannou being MMA’s flagbearer before Joshua encounter”
Deep into another Anthony Joshua fight week, build-up before Friday’s fantastic heavyweight clash continues. I spoke to Francis Ngannou’s highly-rated head coach Dewey Cooper about many topics including: how he and the team have studied the Olympic champion, helping their Cameroonian charge develop in a new sport while assessing the landscape across disciplines in 2024. Continue reading “Exclusive: Dewey Cooper interview – Joshua study, big predictions and future plans as Ngannou returns this Friday”
Armed with new improvements to his ever-changing team, Anthony Joshua has benefited from refreshing activity of late and continues that next weekend against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, buoyed by a moral victory on debut vs. Tyson Fury last October. Given the carrot dangling in the air for both here, the Brit must be sharp to avoid another banana skin.
Continue reading “Knockout Chaos: Finally active and in a groove, Anthony Joshua cannot leave Riyadh with regret next weekend”
Tyson Fury was expected to carry Francis Ngannou for a few rounds, then drop and eventually stop the former UFC heavyweight champion on the Cameroonian’s boxing debut. Instead, he had to rise from the canvas in round three and narrowly squeezed past with a split decision nod after 30 minutes, as the long-awaited undisputed world title fight against unified champion Oleksandr Usyk was again put on ice. What happens next, is unclear.
Continue reading “Sail into the sunset? Carl Froch, George Groves question Fury’s desire after Ngannou display – they’re not alone”
The difference in their body language at the final bell told its own story. The crowd rose, Cameroonian flags up high and the stunned reactions half-an-hour earlier were a thing of the past. Francis Ngannou had done the unthinkable, producing the most historic upset boxing had ever seen. Well, up until the judges’ scorecards were read out and WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury given a reprieve despite a third-round knockdown and anticlimactic finish. Continue reading “Ngannou stifles floundering Fury, who survives R3 knockdown to edge contentious split decision win”
With less than 24 hours until the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou card gets underway in Riyadh, multiple boxing personnel – from boxers on the card to promoters and invested spectators – spoke with me for exclusive interviews over the course of Friday’s festivities, from the afternoon weigh-in to an evening gala dinner hours later. Click below to see what they said, on multiple topics. Continue reading “Fury-Ngannou: Oleksandr Usyk, Badou Jack among several interviewed the night before Saudi showdown in Riyadh”
Why haven’t the WBC stripped him? Just another money grab, wasting his prime years. Those are some of the phrases used to describe Fury-Ngannou before their Riyadh showdown this weekend and as fight week begins, the outside noise will pale into insignificance once the two heavyweights from differing disciplines do battle after their loaded undercard on Saturday night. Continue reading “Fury-Ngannou: However you feel about it all, their lucrative exhibition bout is here”
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