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Terence Crawford’s latest social media post could suggest that a contracted Errol Spence Jr rematch is now off the table.

The Omaha native beat longterm rival Spence in nine rounds back in July to become the undisputed welterweight champion, capping off a campaign in the division that saw victories over the likes of Jeff Horn, Amir Khan, Kell Brook and Shawn Porter.

His fight with Spence was long-awaited and, for many, the standout boxing event of 2023. Although billed as a 50/50 fight, Crawford won handily, dropping Spence on three occasions before forcing the stoppage.

Given the beating – one that Spence says earned Crawford the Fighter of the Year award – many fans and pundits felt that a rematch wasn’t necessary, but it had been written into the contract that the loser on the night had the right to enforce it.

Terence Crawford

Spence did just that months later, although there has yet to be a date or weight announced for the second showdown.

Following news that Spence has had surgery on his eye, fans already knew that they may be facing an even longer delay. Now, Crawford has posted on social media to say he’s ‘glad it’s over and done with.’

Given Crawford had already previously responded to Spence’s surgery, his latest post suggests that more has happened behind the scenes.

If the rematch is indeed off, he will likely look to move up in weight rather than stick around at 147. The fight that seems to have interested him most in recent times is a three-weight jump to face undisputed super-middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.

Bob Arum rates Gervonta Davis highly.

Bob Arum is a huge admirer of Gervonta Davis, but he believes he has three fighters on the Top Rank roster who would defeat the Baltimore man.

Davis’ profile increased massively last year when he recorded the biggest win of his career so far when he stopped Ryan Garcia in one of the biggest events of 2023.

Since that result, Davis’ name has been linked to a number of high-profile fights against the likes of Vasily Lomachenko, Teofimo Lopez, and Shakur Stevenson.

All three are excellent fighters promoted by Arum and the veteran boxing figure has had his say on Davis and what the future might hold for him.

Gervonta Davis

“Tank Davis is an excellent fighter and a big attraction. So sure, we’d like to match [Stevenson, Lomachenko, and Lopez] against Tank Davis and see how well they would do,” said Arum when speaking to BoxingScene.

“I like our guys to win the fight. All three would beat Davis. I really believe that but that’s why they do the fights, right? Again, we’re open to any of that,” Arum said.

“I think [Davis] is the real deal. That’s why we’re talking about him. He’s a helluva performer. A terrific athlete, and a terrific boxer, but so are the other three.”

MMA veteran Francis Ngannou will push for a future rematch with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury – and it doesn’t matter if Fury is successful in his upcoming assignment.

On February 17, Fury will collide with WBO, IBF, IBO, WBA world champion Oleksandr Usyk. The winner will become the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis.

Ngannou is also scheduled for action, when he takes on former two-time champion Anthony Joshua on March 8.

Tyson Fury

Both events will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Last October, Ngannou made his professional debut against Fury in a ten round contest.

In a shocker, Ngannou dropped Fury in the third round and made it a very competitive fight until the end. Fury came away with a close split decision win.

“I’m not looking for the winner of Tyson Fury (and Usyk),” Ngannou told TMZ. “I’m looking for Tyson. Tyson owes me a fight. I don’t give a sh!t about the winner of Usyk and Tyson. I’m coming after Tyson. Win or lose, I want Tyson.”

Ngannou realizes that Joshua will be very well prepared for his style.

“He’s seen me box already, so he knows a little bit what is coming after,” Ngannou said. “Unlike Tyson Fury, that was out of the blue, didn’t know what to expect. Joshua kind of knows what to expect. I think this time I need to put it up even more to get the job done.”

And Ngannou has no issues with the oddsmakers making him a tremendous underdog with Joshua.

“I’m going in against a former champion, against a guy that’s been in the game for so long, winning, and all this stuff,” Ngannou said. “I think he’s 30-something and I’m 0-1. Come on, man. How do you make me a favorite?”

ANTHONY JOSHUA’s former coach has tipped him to upset Oleksandr Usyk in a trilogy fight – despite their apparent war of words.

Joshua’s reign as unified heavyweight champion came to an end at the hands of the undefeated Ukranian in September 2021 as he was outfoxed in their Tottenham tussle.

AJ failed to exact his revenge in their Riyadh rumble rematch 11 months later, suffering a second consecutive points defeat.

Anthony Joshua

A third fight could be on the cards should Usyk beat Tyson Fury and Joshua win the IBF title, which is expected to become vacant after next month’s eagerly-anticipated undisputed title fight.

And Robert Garcia – who failed to guide AJ to victory at the second time of asking against Usyk – can foresee the Watford warrior getting the job done the third time around.

In an interview with Boxing Social, Garcia said of AJ: “He is the second most-talented fighter in the [heavyweight] division.

Francis Ngannou is not letting the doubters get to him once again.

In a combat sports career and an overall life filled with overcoming the odds and proving people wrong, Ngannou is again staying supremely focused and confident.

Readying for his sophomore professional boxing bout by taking on generational great/ former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, ‘The Predator’ took to social media to show he sees what the haters are saying and frankly does not care.

Via his personal X account @francis_ngannou, Ngannou said:

FRANCIS NGANNOU has sensationally been backed by one of Anthony Joshua’s former sparring partners to win their fight.

Ngannou takes to the boxing ring for only the second time in March to face two-time heavyweight champion AJ.

It comes after he floored Tyson Fury in October, only to lose a controversial decision.

And Martin Bakole – who sparred with Fury before the fight after years of gym rounds with Joshua – fancies Ngannou’s chances.

Anthony Joshua

Bakole, 30, told iFL TV: “He [Fury] took Ngannou easy, not too serious.

“He thought he would stop him by round five but Ngannou took it serious and thought that if he stops Tyson Fury he will make a name for himself in boxing.

“To be honest, Joshua is going to be different because Joshua saw Ngannou was coming to box as well, he will take it serious.

“Ngannou as well is coming into it, wanting to make a name for himself in boxing, everyone is surprised after the Tyson Fury fight.

“He is a good man, he has got a good heart and he’s got everything up there, if he lands on Joshua, I think that he will stop him because this time he is taking it seriously as well and he will be working hard.”

Fury, 35, picked himself up from the canvas and a split-decision saw him keep his unification with Oleksandr Usyk, 36, alive on February 17.

Anthony Joshua went from dominant world champion to a shaky middling contender.

After suffering back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) attempted to shake things up in his camp. However, despite enlisting the help of a new coach and bagging wins over Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius, the now 34-year-old never looked sharp with Derrick James manning his corner.

Another change was needed as Joshua headed into his recent showdown against Otto Wallin. Some were bemused by his decision but Joshua was confident that both he and Ben Davison would gel well…he was right.

On December 23rd, there was nothing Wallin could do to trouble Joshua, leading to a quick fifth-round stoppage defeat. Even more so than Joshua, Eddie Hearn, his longtime promoter, may have been the happiest person in the arena.

anthony joshua

In the immediate, Joshua is going to face MMA veteran Francis Ngannou in March. However, while a win over Ngannou would be a solid one, Hearn is hoping to throw his man in the ring with Tyson Fury, who struggled in a split decision win over Ngannou last October.

By and large, Fury is considered a future Hall of Famer and the best heavyweight around. Superlatives aside, nevertheless, Hearn has all of the confidence in the world in Joshua getting it done if they matched up.

“I think he beats him all day long,” Hearn told Boxing Social.

Fury might be the only fighter on Joshua’s mind but the feeling isn’t mutual. In mid-February, Fury is set to go up against Usyk with all of the heavyweight marbles on the line.

In the past, Hearn has worked with Usyk and considers him an incredible fighter and a great man. With that said, he’s hoping that he doesn’t bring his A game and comes up short on the night.

“Hopefully Tyson can beat Usyk and we’ll be one step closer to that.”

Heavyweight title hopeful Martin Bakole has offered his prediction ahead of the recently announced crossover fight between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou, where he believes that the fight will end inside the distance.

Ngannou shocked the world when he knocked down Tyson Fury in the third-round of a fight that was expected to be a one-sided win for the WBC champion, before losing a disputed split-decision.

Anthony Joshua

Now, the former UFC superstar has the opportunity to go one better and defeat Joshua, to put the world of boxing on notice, with their fight coming out of the blue and formally announced last week.

In an interview with iFL TV, Bakole shared his intrigue and excitement at the bout, pondering how Ngannou will fare against an opponent who takes him more seriously, and predicting an upset.

Joshua-Ngannou will take place on March 8th in Riyadh, whilst Bakole has announced his ambitions to challenge Manuel Charr for the WBA Regular heavyweight title, as he continues to pursue world honours.

Simon Jordan is now taking a more favourable view about the future of Anthony Joshua’s boxing career.

Following AJ’s impressive win over Otto Wallin in December, and Deontay Wilder’s defeat to Joseph Parker on the same card, the talkSPORT host believes a pathway has been cleared for the Brit to become a three-time heavyweight world champion.

Speaking on the talkBOXING podcast after confirmation AJ vs Francis Ngannou is signed for March 8, Jordan began: “Joshua dealt with Otto Wallin.

“But what we haven’t learned about this ‘Joshua 2.0’ is whether he can take a shot and come back from it in the way he had to against Wladimir Klitschko.

“That’s the overriding question.”

At this point Oliver asked directly if Jordan believes AJ will win a heavyweight world title again and he replied: “Yes. I think the pathway’s been cleared for him.

Anthony Joshua

“Does he win a world title against Tyson Fury? I’m not sure. I don’t think so.”

Oliver interjected: “But it’s a closer fight than you originally thought?”

And Jordan agreed: “Only because of what we’ve seen from Fury in his recent fight [vs Ngannou].

“And we’ve seen people suggesting the reason why he’s meeting people in the middle of the ring is because he can’t move about anymore.

“The Fury we’ve seen against Dillian Whyte and Deontay Wilder – that Fury beats Joshua.

“The Fury we’ve got now may not do it, but I still think he does.

“But I go on with your question of, ‘Do I think he [Joshua] wins a world title?’

“Does he win a world title against Oleksandr Usyk? I think Usyk does him again.

“Now, because a pathway’s been cleared, does he win a world title against Filip Hrgovic – who I think is a strong fighter but not a real risk for Joshua compared to what Fury and Usyk are – yes I now do because the landscape has changed…

“Hrgovic lost to Zhilei Zhang and got the result, and wasn’t particularly impressive against Demsey McKean.

“And in his most recent fight against Mark De Mori, well f*** off, it wasn’t a fight for him, was it?

“I think Hrgovic is a decent fighter, but there’s levels in this game and Joshua is on a different level to Hrgovic.”

 

To think there are UFC fans out there that are still saying Francis Ngannou “fumbled the bag” when he rejected to sign a new contract in order to do his own thing is beyond understanding. He already won more than whathe earned during his entire UFC career with a single boxing match against Tyson Fury. After that spectacular debut, he landed another mega fight against Anthony Joshua as his second-ever boxing match. Riyadh sports events organizers are the ones we can all thank for that, they know what type of events people want to see worldwide. But there are many lingering questions about this event that still need to be covered.

How much is the Ngannou vs Joshua purse worth?

According to a recent report from Forbes, the estimated purse of the Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou purse will be worth an estimated $70 million. That won’t be split into two equal parts, Joshua is the one with the most prestige in boxing and he is the biggest box office draw. From that purse, the Brit is getting a reported $50 million while Ngannou is getting $20 million. All of this will be before pay-per-view sales. Once we know how well the fight does with viewership, we will know a more exct number of how much each fighter is getting paid for this event.

Ngannou vs Joshua date, venue and start time
Anthony Joshua

With both parties confirmed to have agreed on this fight, we can already offer some more details of the event that is taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A place that has slowly become the world’s boxing capital. Ngannou and Joshua will face each other on Friday, March 8 in a 12-round fight. This event is taking place on a Friday because the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit is taking place on the same weekend. The main event is starting at 13:30 PST but the undercard is expected to start four hours before that. As far as the broadcast goes, DAZN PPV will be the ones hosting the vent.