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Terence Crawford Helps Train Former UFC Champion For Fight Night

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Terence Crawford

One former UFC bantamweight champion put some work in with one of boxing’s pound-for-pound best, Terence Crawford, ahead of his fight at UFC 300.

Cody Garbrandt is more than six years removed from his brief reign as the UFC’s bantamweight champion, but he’s coming off a first-round knockout against Brian Kelleher that gave the 32-year-old back-to-back wins for the first time since T.J. Dillashaw took both his belt and his unbeaten record at UFC 217.

“No Love” is now scheduled to face former flyweight titleholder Deiveson Figueiredo in a matchup between ex-champions at UFC 300, and Garbrandt recently posted a photo of himself and unbeaten boxing champion Terence Crawford at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas.

“Bud” only stepped into the ring once last year, but he put on one of the most dominant performances of his career when he handed Errol Spence Jr. his first loss and became boxing’s undisputed welterweight champion in the process.

Already known for his crisp striking and knockout power, any work that Garbrandt put in with Crawford will certainly help “No Love” prepare to face another heavy-handed fighter in Las Vegas at UFC 300.

Figueiredo earned a unanimous decision over Rob Font last December in his bantamweight debut following an epic four-fight series with Brandon Moreno, and “Deus da Guerra” will try to move closer towards a bantamweight title shot when he squares off with Garbrandt on April 13.

 

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BOXING

Gervonta Davis UK Return Talks: The Best Possible British Opponents Tank Could Face

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Gervonta Davis

What the world has been waiting for may finally happen soon! The boxing community is buzzing with the potential return to the ring for Gervonta Davis. The WBA lightweight champion hasn’t fought since April 2023 against Ryan Garcia, giving the world a spectacular seventh-round knockout. Things had started looking good for the undefeated boxer after that. But tragedy struck!

‘Tank’ Davis violated house arrest regulations concerning his 2021 hit-and-run case. So, he was sentenced to 44 days in a Baltimore jail and failed to appear in the ring for the rest of 2023. His coach, Calvin Ford, suffered a similar fate recently, putting his return in question. However, according to a report from Ring Magazine, Davis may be in the talks to fight sometime in the coming summer. Interestingly, the fight may take place in the UK, something that became even clearer after Davis shot down reports of his next fight in Las Vegas by Boxing Kingdom. So, it begs the question – which British boxer Davis will face?

Two best choices for Gervonta Davis

While there’s no official confirmation on Davis’ part about his next opponent, Josh Taylor has a good chance of appearing in the opposite corner from Davis. The Londoner is coming off his first career loss at the hands of Teofimo Lopez, held in June 2023. Previously, Davis was speculated to take on the winner of this fight if he decided to climb up to 140 pounds. However, since his UK fight narrows down the options, the former undisputed super lightweight champion isn’t a bad match.

Gervonta Davis

On the other hand, Jack Catterall could be a good match for Davis. They have almost identical records, leaving Catterall’s one loss that came from the previously mentioned Taylor. Catterall last fought in October, winning the fight via unanimous decision. Moreover, one other option for Davis could be Chirs Eubank Jr.’s cousin Harlem Eubank, who is coming off a win over Timo Schwarzkopf in November 2023. That aside, this won’t be Davis’ first fight in the UK.

Davis’ last trip to the UK

The only time ‘Tank’ Davis had to go out of his home country for a fight was back in 2017. Davis had defeated Jose Pedraza in the same year and was on the prowl for his next victim with his newly acquired IBF super featherweight title. So, he decided to take on the then-undefeated Liam Walsh in the Copper Box Arena in London.

‘Tank’ famously failed to make the weight, which prompted his eventual move to the lightweight division. When they finally met in the ring on 20 May, Davis knocked out Walsh in the third round after assessing him for the first two. It’s been seven years since that fight in the UK took place, and Davis seems primed to visit the English land again.With rumors of Gervonta Davis’ return to the ring, these were the two names he might be facing next. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean Davis will fight them. Who do you think Davis will fight next?

 

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BOXING

Gervonta Davis’ next fight being ‘planned’ to take place in the UK

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Gervonta Davis

Gervonta Davis next fight is reportedly being planned to take place in the UK.

The 29-year-old American boxing star won a breakout fight last year as he knocked out Ryan Garcia in their Las Vegas PPV blockbuster.

However, Davis has not returned to the ring since that victory in April.

This is because he spent 44 days in prison after violating the terms of a sentence that initially saw him set to avoid being jailed.

At the start of May, Davis was sentenced over his November 2020 hit-and-run car crash which injured four people.

Because he accepted a plea deal and pled guilty to four traffic offences, he avoided a custodial sentence.

Tank was instead ordered to fulfil 90 days of home detention, with three years’ probation, plus 200 hours of community service.

However, not even a month later, Davis was sent to prison after all.

He was adjudged to have violated the terms of his home detention order and was ordered to serve the rest of his 90-day sentence in jail as a result.

Gervonta Davis

It was revealed that he violated the terms by trying to serve the home detention order at the Four Seasons Hotel and a $3.4million penthouse, rather than trainer Calvin Ford’s one-bedroom home as the judge agreed.

Upon being released, Davis has spoken out on social media several times to express his anger about the restrictions he’s still facing and how they have prevented him from returning to training at times.

However, he’s now back in the gym and news emerged of plans for his next fight.

According to Ring Magazine, Tank’s return is being eyed for this summer in the UK.

At this point, no further details are known.

He previously boxed in London in 2017 when he knocked out Liam Walsh in his first world title defence as a 21-year-old.

Now that he’s developed into a major star, British boxing fans would no doubt welcome his return to the country.

 

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BOXING

Anthony Joshua to receive No1 world title ranking for Tyson Fury’s belt if he beats ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou

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Anthony Joshua

ANTHONY JOSHUA will be in line to challenge for Tyson Fury’s WBC world heavyweight title if he beats Francis Ngannou.

Joshua returns on March 8 in Saudi Arabia against ex-UFC champion Ngannou, in only his second boxing bout.

AJ currently stands as the WBC’s No1 ranked challenger meaning if he is victorious, he could be mandated to face Fury.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told Gambling.com: “He has had a sensational career and if he beats Francis Ngannou, then he is number one in the WBC while Francis Ngannou is number 10 so the winner will certainly be positioned for great things in the immediate future.”

Ngannou put his MMA career on hold last year to fight Fury on his boxing debut.

And he amazingly scored a knockdown only to be beaten via controversial split-decision.

Fury, 35, now faces Oleksandr Usyk, 36, on February 17 in Saudi for the undisputed heavyweight crown.

Anthony Joshua

Meanwhile Joshua, 34, takes on Ngannou, 37, just three weeks later.

Winners of the two super-fights could meet but as it stands, Fury and Usyk are already contracted to a rematch.

But WBC boss Sulaiman would consider altering plans if promoters requested.

He said: “The WBC already sanctioned Fury v Usyk and the rematch.

“We received the request and have already accepted a rematch if the promoters put it together so that’s where the WBC stands.

“If the promoters change their request for the rematch, we will certainly address it.”

 

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BOXING

Frank Warren: Ngannou Presents a Clear Danger To Anthony Joshua

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EARLY LAST WEEK we, officially, set the ball rolling for what is likely to become the biggest year in modern boxing history.

London last Monday evening marked the launch of the media activity for ‘Knockout Chaos’, which will take place on Friday March 8 in Riyadh, featuring the colossal collision between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou.

I don’t need to go over too much old ground when it comes to Francis, as opposed to when we announced his fight with Tyson Fury. Very few people will doubt his credentials now and, as for the event itself, it has obvious crossover appeal that will generate a wider audience.

As is well documented, the plan was to match AJ with Deontay Wilder, but boxing has a habit of getting in the way of best laid plans. Despite his limited experience in the sport, Francis presents a clear danger because, quite simply, he can fight and he showed against Tyson that he is a quick learner.

An interesting point was made during all the post press conference interviews that this will be the first time AJ will come up against someone of similar or bigger dimensions than himself. Francis is a man mountain and AJ cannot be accused of not picking on someone his own size this time around.

Will this be a factor on the night? We’ll have to wait and see, but in no way, shape or form will Francis ever be a knockover job for anybody. Let’s put it this way, if there are any more like him knocking about in Cameroon, forget about MMA and get in touch please. Just imagine if Francis had followed up on his first love boxing right from the start…

Anthony Joshua

The March date in Riyadh comes just a few short weeks after the ‘Ring of Fire’ undisputed spectacular between Tyson and Oleksandr Usyk and H.E. Turki Alalshikh indicated strongly that he would like the winners from the two occasions to fight later this year.

What an incentive for all four fighters! H.E. also proudly put on display the newly created Undisputed belt, which is an excellent innovation, in my book.

Look, we all know keeping all four belts in one place following an undisputed fight is often a nigh on impossible proposition. This being the case, it is completely appropriate for the achievement to be marked with a special belt so the recognition of reaching the pinnacle is maintained until such a time when the champion either loses or calls it a day.

The undercards for these two shows live up to the standards of what we have come to expect from these shows in Riyadh. They are of an unprecedented depth and quality and it is something that just cannot be done by any promoter from the traditional territories. If you manage to deliver a pricey main event then budget-wise it is difficult to invest in a deep undercard.

Thankfully, for our sport, our friends and colleagues in Riyadh have no such concerns and everyone is a winner in this respect.

Even though what is going down in Riyadh will dominate conversations and media commentary, our focus is also very much closer to home.

We’ve got our big opener at the Copper Box on February 10 headlined by Hamzah Sheeraz and Liam Williams and on Thursday we had our big reveal for a huge night of boxing in Birmingham on March 16.

I believe this version of the Magnificent Seven card is even stronger than the highly-acclaimed Manchester show back in November.

Boxing in 2024 is set to deliver the goods in a big way.

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BOXING

Is Terence Crawford Beatable? Bernard Hopkins Predicts Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ Fate Against ‘Bud’

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Who will Terence Crawford fight next? Not Errol Spence Jr., as he took to the sidelines because of cataract surgery! The chatter among pundits suggests Jaron Ennis is worthy! But can he put an end to ‘Bud’ Crawford’s reign in the welterweight division? Bernard Hopkins thinks he has the answer to that question, something he revealed in an interview today!

Crawford currently holds three major titles in the division, except for the IBF title, which was taken from him by the sanctioning body. It’s also the title ‘Boots’ Ennis currently holds, so Ennis is eager to allow Crawford to get it back. However, Crawford wants legacy-defining fights, something Ennis cannot provide. Nevertheless, when Fight Hub TV probed Hopkins about his prediction, here’s what he said.

Bernard Hopkins claims everyone is a threat to Terence Crawford

Answering the question from the reporter, Hopkins stated, “I think all of them [are] a threat to each other if they don’t come right. [Everybody] has a chance in that division. That’s what makes it so exciting to talk about that division.” He went on to praise every fighter in the division, claiming they were all talented

“Because [there is] so much talent – everybody is beatable in that division. I don’t favor anybody in certain divisions, especially that one,” said Hopkins. As far as his prediction was concerned, he claimed, “Anything can happen because [the division is] so talented,” said Hopkins. Meanwhile, an Olympic medalist thinks Jaron Ennis can prove to be a challenge for Crawford!

Ennis needs to take “a real punch”

Roy Jones Jr. doesn’t just back anybody out of the blue, but he thinks ‘Boots’ Ennis might have what it takes. In a 16 January interview with YSM Sports Media, the former champion expressed his thoughts of wanting to check Ennis’ chin. “We haven’t seen Boots Ennis against a guy who’s tested his chin. That’s the only thing we don’t know about him yet. We don’t know if he can take a real punch yet,” said Jones.

However, Jones is confident that Ennis has the skills he needs to get the job done. “As far as the skills go, he got everything,” said Jones. He further added that Ennis would be a difficult fight for Crawford because he has everything. “When a guy is as talented and has the skill level that Boots has, anything can happen,” said Jones Jr.

While there’s no clarity on whether the Crawford vs. Ennis fight would happen, Hopkins and Jones Jr. think it will be 50-50 if it does. Who do you think will win if Crawford somehow agrees to it?

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BOXING

Gervonta Davis Expected To Stage Return Fight In Unlikely Location

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Gervonta Davis

Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis is approaching one year out of the ring, but reports suggest he’s planning a return overseas this summer.

The southpaw from Baltimore was last out against Ryan Garcia, adding a 27th stoppages and 29th win to his record via a body shot in the seventh round.

It was one of the most lucrative fight nights of 2023, and entered the top five gates in Las Vegas history. ‘Tank’ was unable to build on the momentum afterwards as he was detained under house arrest and subsequently prison from a 2020 hit and run case.

Now the sole WBA Lightweight World Champion given Devin Haney’s decision to move up a division and vacate his belts, fans have been clamouring for news on the 29-year-old’s return. He was expected by some to feature in PBC’s first event with new broadcast partner Amazon Prime, but things haven’t played out that way.

Instead, The Ring Magazine now reports that multiple sources say Davis is slated to fight in the United Kingdom in summertime.

Gervonta Davis

Whilst the news comes with no potential opponents linked, there will now be speculation as to which British star might occupy the other corner.

Should the report be confirmed, it will be ‘Tank’s second fight in Great Britain, the first being a third round stoppage of Liam Walsh back in 2017 at the Copper Box.

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BOXING

Gervonta Davis Rumored To Return This Summer, But Not In The United States

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Gervonta Davis

When will Gervonta Davis fight next? Reports have emerged suggesting that the WBA Light titlist is looking at making a comeback in the sport in the summer this year, and it will not be in his home country. In April last year, the southpaw defeated Ryan Garcia in a 7th-round knockout. The undefeated fighter registered his career’s 29th win and his opponent’s first. Soon after the fight, ‘Tank’ was sentenced to a 90-day home detention at his trainer’s home for a 2020 hit-and-run crash.

However, he was ordered to spend the last 44 days behind bars for not following the court’s orders. After completing his sentence, the fighter announced that he’d remain out of the ring for the remainder of the year to work on himself. Having done that, his exile from the sport is set to end. What are the details of this comeback?

Gervonta Davis and his big return

Ring TV has reported that the 29-year-old, now named Abdul Wahid, will return to the ring in this year’s summer. However, he will not undertake a fight in the US. Instead, the publication suggests it will be a fight organized in the UK. While no opponent has doubled down yet, there are a plethora of fighters who’ve put their names in the hat to take on Tank.

 

Earlier, talks of his return on March 30th had intensified. Conjecture suggests that the Baltimore-based fighter will headline PBC’s first PPV event with Amazon Prime. As his opponent, Frank Martin’s name had picked momentum, Before that, Devin Haney had called on him for a fight on his X. While Davis agreed to fight in its initial stages, promoter Eddie Hearn later revealed that the fighter was not too keen on it. In a conversation with Boxing Social, the English promoter, based on his conversation with Tank, noted, “So that was it really. So I don’t think he’s very interested in a Devin Haney fight, but who knows?”

Furthermore, his trainer, Calvin Ford, shot down the idea of a clash between his fighter and Shakur Stevenson. To Marko Boxing, he noted, “His last fight got that out of my mind. That performance, I don’t even want to think about it. It was horrible; it was a bad night for boxing that night. Why would I put ‘Tank’ in a situation like that? When we can’t do what we do [and entertain fans].”, In November last year, Stevenson defeated Edwin De Los Santos via UD. However, his lack of control over the fight came heavily under the scanner.

That’s about the fights Tank could have had in hindsight. However, the interesting point of his summer return to the UK is the location. While Turki Alalshikh wanted to bring the fighters to Saudi Arabia, Davis shot down the idea. Why?

Ferraris for a Saudi fight

In a now-deleted X post, the 93.1% KO fighter wrote, “They made me mad; if they want me, they gotta send me something to my front door..like 2 Ferraris or something! like before, I even think about going over there.”

While his indication seemed vague, a fan asked if he was scared to fight in Saudi Arabia. To which the fighter replied, “Nope, I’m the one with the power [smirk emoji].”

Who will Tank fight against next? A question that many implore. Who do you think it should be? Let us know in the comments section below.

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BOXING

TANK DAVIS IS LOOKING TO RETURN THIS SUMMER IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

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Gervonta Davis

The Ring has learned that Gervonta “Tank” Davis is planning a summer return in the United Kingdom, multiple sources confirmed. Davis, the 29-year-old power punching southpaw, is viewed as the face of boxing. He will return after over a year out of the ring.

With Premier Boxing Champions’ multi-year deal with Amazon Prime Video in December, 2023, Davis will be a headlining attraction to the new venture.

He saw a very promising 2023 derailed when he pled guilty in May 2023 to four counts of traffic violations stemming from a November 2020 crash that injured four people.

The Ring’s No. 2-rated lightweight contender, Davis (29-0, 27 KOs) last fought on April 22, 2023, when he stopped Ryan Garcia in seven rounds in a lightweight megafight in Las Vegas that drew 1.2 million pay-per-view buys.

Tank handed Garcia’s his first defeat, after beginning 2023 by handing Hector Luis Garcia his first career setback in January 2023.

Gervonta Davis

No opponent is set yet.

Davis has a history of fighting in England. In May 2017, he knocked out Liam Walsh in three in his first IBF junior lightweight title defense at the Copper Box Arena, in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, in Middlesex.

Davis is one of boxing’s prime attractions. Despite a truncated 2023, he was among the top nominees for Fighter of the Year by RingTV.com and the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA).

The success of the 1.2 million pay-per-view buys for the Davis-Garcia fight is a good indication.

A million buys are considered today’s gold standard in the pay-per-view world. Davis-Garcia took place before a sellout crowd of 20,842 at the T-Mobile Arena. The gate revenue was $22.8 million. The 1.2 million Davis-Garcia buys translated to $102 million, and a total revenue of $136.8 million when considering merchandise sales, international sales and commercial revenue—and that’s an estimate on the low side. The total promotion generated close to $150 million.

The fight took place among a sea of celebrities—the kind Mike Tyson used to draw in his prime. The T-Mobile Arena was filled with NFL stars, like the Kansas City Chiefs’ Travis Kelce, movie stars and A-listers galore.

Davis has hardly been challenged, other than by Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz in December 2021. He currently holds a minor WBA title, though he has grown beyond titles.

He is a compact, lightweight Mike Tyson. He has stopped 27 of 29 opponents, the only two survivors being the aforementioned Cruz and German Meraz, who went the full six against Davis in October 2014 in Davis’ ninth pro fight. Still, Meraz tasted the canvas twice in the fight.

Davis has handed seven fighters their first defeat, including former IBF junior lightweight titlist Jose Pedraza, WBA junior lightweight titlist Mario Barrios, Rolly Romero, Ryan Garcia and Hector Luis Garcia, the former WBA junior lightweight titlist.

Tank’s resume also includes the first stoppage victory over Leo Santa Cruz.

So far in his career, the only one who has gotten in Davis’ path, however, has been Tank himself. He was stripped of the IBF junior lightweight title on the scales against Francisco Fonseca, on the Floyd Mayweather-Connor McGregor undercard in August 2017, and his recent brush with the law. In July 2023, Davis was released from a detention center on Friday, July 14, 2023, after serving 44 days after a judge ruled on June 1 that he violated the terms of his house arrest.

According to multiple sources who know the fighter, Davis has been back diligently training and working hard to return this summer in the United Kingdom.

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BOXING

Joshua tougher than Fury

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Anthoy Joshua

Otto Wallin’s knockout by Anthony Joshua after just five rounds last December, the Swedish boxer says the British-Nigerian is a tougher opponent than WBC champion Tyson Fury.

Before the ‘Day of Reckoning’ in Saudi Arabia, some boxing fans had backed Wallin to spring an upset and derail a planned fight between Joshua and Deontay Wilder.

However, after Wilder was easily outpointed by Joseph Parker on the undercard, Joshua took control in the main event. The former two-time heavyweight champion dominated Wallin from the first bell and forced the stoppage after just five rounds of boxing in Riyadh.

This marked Wallin’s second career defeat, with the first coming as a decision loss to Fury, and the Swede contender has refused to make any excuses, instead praising Joshua for a great performance.

“I know that he is one of the best fighters out there,” Wallin told Boxing News.

“I really have no excuses, he was just better. He did really well, used his reach well, and he hit me with some really good shots. He was just better. I think he had a good game plan. He felt like a very good fighter, and obviously, it was a much tougher fight than what I had with Tyson Fury. Maybe he’s found his home with Ben Davison.”

Anthony Joshua

Wallin’s nose was dripping blood after round five, and his long-timte coach, Joey Gamache, made the bold decision to pull his fighter out early.

The 33-year-old didn’t dispute the call at the time, and he still feels his trainer did the right thing.

“I didn’t disagree (with the stoppage), Joey told me, ‘I’m going to stop it.’ And I didn’t say anything. I trust Joey, he is always looking out for me. I feel very happy that I have a trainer who puts my health first. There’s a life after boxing, so I’m really appreciative that he is looking out for me,” he said.

Meanwhile, Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, says the British-Nigerian’s next fight is still set for March in Saudi Arabia.

Several names are being discussed for the British star’s next fight in Saudi. Some of the options include unbeaten contender Filip Hrgovic, MMA veteran Francis Ngannou, and Chinese giant Zhilei Zhang.

“Right now, we have three fights that were in discussions for they’re all big,” Hearn told IFL TV. “And that doesn’t involve Deontay Wilder. Before March our aim, and we’ve discussed this, is to fight the winner of Fury versus Usyk. That is all we want to do.

“Obviously there’s a Hrgovic fight out there for the world heavyweight title; there’s a Francis Ngannou fight out there which would be absolutely colossal. There’s other heavyweights as well, the Zhang fight possibly as well with Queensbury.”

Hrgovic is viewed by many as the frontrunner to face Joshua, while Oleksandr Usyk and WBC champion Tyson Fury are scheduled to collide in an undisputed fight February 17 in Saudi Arabia.

The IBF title is expected to become vacant after the first Fury-Usyk encounter and Hrgovic is the IBF’s mandatory challenger. A fight between him and Joshua for the vacant IBF belt has emerged.

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