Anthony Joshua is still the undisputed heavyweight king of the boxing world.
The Englishman was able to retain his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO (Super), and IBO heavyweight titles against Alexander Povetkin. Joshua knocked out Povetkin in the 7th round of their bout from the Wembley Stadium in London, England.
The victory marked the 22nd consecutive win of Joshua’s career. He has won all but one of those fights via knockout. Check out Joshua’s finish of Povetkin here:
Joshua is the “money fight” in the heavyweight division of boxing. Fellow top-ranked heavyweight stars such as Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury have been trying to land a fight with the Englishman for quite some time. Unfortunately, a deal has never been able to come to fruition.
Wilder and Fury will instead fight one another in December. The winner is expected to be Joshua’s next opponent, likely in April from Wembley Stadium. There’s an April 13th date available from the venue that Joshua would like to make his return at for a big fight.
Whether it’s against Wilder or Fury, Joshua and Wembley Stadium will certainly do big business with each other when the time comes.
Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury is happening. One of the biggest possible fights to be made in heavyweight boxing has now been confirmed. Both Wilder and Fury have confirmed the news on their respective Instagram accounts. The fight will go down on Decem…
Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury is happening. One of the biggest possible fights to be made in heavyweight boxing has now been confirmed. Both Wilder and Fury have confirmed the news on their respective Instagram accounts. The fight will go down on December 1st with a venue still to be determined. The two arenas have […]
One of the biggest heavyweights fights in boxing today could be on the horizon. WBC heavyweight champion initially was hoping to land a fight with WBO, IBF, and WBA champion Anthony Joshua. Unfortunately negotiations for that fight fell through and the…
One of the biggest heavyweights fights in boxing today could be on the horizon. WBC heavyweight champion initially was hoping to land a fight with WBO, IBF, and WBA champion Anthony Joshua. Unfortunately negotiations for that fight fell through and the bout is more likely to take place sometime next year. In the meantime, Wilder would […]
Heading into their Aug. 26 showdown in Las Vegas, Nevada, Floyd Mayweather is certainly the favorite over Conor McGregor, and for good reason. “Money” is widely considered to be the very best boxer of his generation, possessing a perfect 49-0 record, while McGregor, the UFC’s lightweight champion, has never competed in a professional boxing match. […]
Heading into their Aug. 26 showdown in Las Vegas, Nevada, Floyd Mayweather is certainly the favorite over Conor McGregor, and for good reason. “Money” is widely considered to be the very best boxer of his generation, possessing a perfect 49-0 record, while McGregor, the UFC’s lightweight champion, has never competed in a professional boxing match.
Many have criticized the bout as being nothing more than a money grab, and many have given the “Notorious” one no chance of winning.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury, however, had quite an interesting opinion on how the fight will play out:
“I think McGregor will knock him out in the first 35 seconds, like he’d done to Jose Aldo,” Fury told IFL TV. “I think McGregor will do him inside one round. Come on, McGregor!”
Fury has been out of action since scoring an upset victory over Wladimir Klitschko in Nov. 2015. He relinquished his titles soon after the bout, however, due to mental health issues he was dealing with.
As far as the bout between Mayweather and McGregor goes, the Irishman has appeared to be quite confident. He hasn’t competed since last November when he scored a brutal stoppage victory over Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in New York City to become the UFC lightweight champion.
Mayweather, on the other hand, has been out of action since Sept. 2015 when he scored a one-sided decision victory over Andre Berto. He announced his retirement after the bout, but said earlier this year that he was returning to the ring to fight McGregor.
By now, you’ve all heard the news: The main event of Bellator’s inaugural pay-per-view has been cancelled due to one of the headliners getting injured only one week out from the fight…again. Except this time around, Bellator isn’t simply moving the remaining card to Spike TV. Instead, Bellator is making Rampage vs. King Mo the new main event, having Michael Chandler fight Will Brooks for a completely meaningless interim lightweight title, moving Alexander Volkov vs. Blagoi Ivanov to the main card, and asking us to kindly fork over our money for this new line-up.
I hate to be pessimistic, but I really don’t think this strategy is going to end well for anyone involved.
The biggest problem with the “Alvarez vs. Chandler III-free” Bellator 120 is that there’s no hook. Every good pay-per-view has to be about something, and if “These two aging light-heavyweights used to really hate each other five years ago” is that something, it’s doubtful that too many fans are going to spend both their money and a Saturday night on it. The boom period for MMA on pay-per-view is long gone. If a new competitor is going to put on a successful pay-per-view event, it’s going to need a stronger product than UFC Lite — it’s going to need something to make it actually stand out.
So it’s in that spirit that I’ve decided to offer up a few last-minute suggestions to make Bellator 120 a more interesting card, to both the casual MMA fans and the grizzled diehards who Bellator is hoping to attract. All of these suggestions are at least a little crazy. Some are crazy enough to actually work. We’ll start off with what I feel is the most practical, then descend further into madness in no particular order…
By now, you’ve all heard the news: The main event of Bellator’s inaugural pay-per-view has been cancelled due to one of the headliners getting injured only one week out from the fight…again. Except this time around, Bellator isn’t simply moving the remaining card to Spike TV. Instead, Bellator is making Rampage vs. King Mo the new main event, having Michael Chandler fight Will Brooks for a completely meaningless interim lightweight title, moving Alexander Volkov vs. Blagoi Ivanov to the main card, and asking us to kindly fork over our money for this new line-up.
I hate to be pessimistic, but I really don’t think this strategy is going to end well for anyone involved.
The biggest problem with the “Alvarez vs. Chandler III-free” Bellator 120 is that there’s no hook. Every good pay-per-view has to be about something, and if “These two aging light-heavyweights used to really hate each other five years ago” is that something, it’s doubtful that too many fans are going to spend both their money and a Saturday night on it. The boom period for MMA on pay-per-view is long gone. If a new competitor is going to put on a successful pay-per-view event, it’s going to need a stronger product than UFC Lite — it’s going to need something to make it actually stand out.
So it’s in that spirit that I’ve decided to offer up a few last-minute suggestions to make Bellator 120 a more interesting card, to both the casual MMA fans and the grizzled diehards who Bellator is hoping to attract. All of these suggestions are at least a little crazy. Some are crazy enough to actually work. We’ll start off with what I feel is the most practical, then descend further into madness in no particular order.
Throw a One-Night Heavyweight Tournament
Tell Rampage, King Mo, Tito Ortiz and Alexander Shlemenko to forget about that pesky cut down to 205, and throw in Cheick Kongo, Eric Smith, Alexander Volkov and Blagoi Ivanov for good measure. Keep the original four fights as the opening round of the tournament, then air Michael Page vs. Rickey Rainey before the semi-finals and Michael Chandler vs. Will Brooks before the tournament championship bout.
Why It Would Work: The appeal of one-night tournaments has been obvious since the dawn of MMA (no matter what you consider that to be), and the tournament concept is consistent with everything Bellator already does. Why It Wouldn’t Work: Well, let’s ignore the fact that this season’s light-heavyweight tournament will be decided by a heavyweight bout in this scenario, and instead focus on how this tournament would guarantee that at least one division’s tournament winner will go on to earn a title shot despite coming off of a loss. Also, anyone who thinks a one-night heavyweight tournament is a fool-proof promotional strategy has clearly never heard of YAMMA Pit Fighting.
On that note…
A One Night Open-Weight Tournament
Embrace your inner-Super Hluk. You know you want to.
Why It Would Work: This is the type of spectacle that practically sells itself to the hardcore fans who remember when staying up until 7 AM to find out that Sakuraba mangled his arm seemed like something a normal human being would do. Why It Wouldn’t Work: This is also the type of spectacle that the Mississippi Athletic Commission would (presumably) frown upon.
BellaTNA: The Hybrid MMA/Professional Wrestling Card
Why It Would Work: At least TNA Impact has a built-in fan base that has demonstrated they’re willing to spend money on the company’s pay-per-view events. And besides, Bobby Lashley is currently on the TNA Roster, so there’s that, I guess. Why It Wouldn’t Work: So, you expect TNA to announce its involvement in the pay-per-view on Thursday’s edition of Impact, hope that fans actually buy it in time for Saturday, and present it to an audience that paid for a show they assumed would only feature MMA bouts? TNA has made some boneheaded business decisions, but this would be a low point even for them.
On the next page: PRIDE, boxing, and the most obvious solution of all…
(Dos Santos went on to claim that Hayden Panettiere “could get it.” / Photo via Getty)
It’s no big mystery why MMA fighters from Anderson Silva to Quinton Jackson have voiced their desires to transition into boxing. For one thing, the potential paydays are bigger. (In theory at least, though not necessarily for guys like Silva and Rampage, who aren’t draws in boxing.) Also, there’s no chance that a half-feral Brazilian will tear your knee off in a boxing match. I’m not saying that boxing is easier than MMA, but you don’t have to worry about takedown defense, and nobody expects you to cut 25 pounds of water to be “competitive.” Sounds like a vacation compared to what MMA fighters have to go through.
But of course, boxing and MMA are completely different sports, being great at one doesn’t mean you’d be great at the other, blah blah blah, etc. I mean you’d have to be a total fucking moron to think you can just cross the combat sports Mason-Dixon line and start beating champions, right? Right?? Well somebody needs to send that memo to UFC heavyweight title contender Junior Dos Santos, who just threw down the gauntlet in facepalm-worthy fashion, claiming that he has the skills to beat Wladimir KlitschkoandVitali Klitschko at their own game.
“I think if they give me four months to get prepared, I can beat them,” Dos Santos said on The MMA Hour yesterday. “In the beginning of my all my camps, I do just boxing. I love to train boxing and I think I have enough skills in boxing. I know how to see a good fight. Four months, that’s what I need.”
(Dos Santos went on to claim that Hayden Panettiere “could get it.” / Photo via Getty)
It’s no big mystery why MMA fighters from Anderson Silva to Quinton Jackson have voiced their desires to transition into boxing. For one thing, the potential paydays are bigger. (In theory at least, though not necessarily for guys like Silva and Rampage, who aren’t draws in boxing.) Also, there’s no chance that a half-feral Brazilian will tear your knee off in a boxing match. I’m not saying that boxing is easier than MMA, but you don’t have to worry about takedown defense, and nobody expects you to cut 25 pounds of water to be “competitive.” Sounds like a vacation compared to what MMA fighters have to go through.
But of course, boxing and MMA are completely different sports, being great at one doesn’t mean you’d be great at the other, blah blah blah, etc. I mean you’d have to be a total fucking moron to think you can just cross the combat sports Mason-Dixon line and start beating champions, right? Right?? Well somebody needs to send that memo to UFC heavyweight title contender Junior Dos Santos, who just threw down the gauntlet in facepalm-worthy fashion, claiming that he has the skills to beat Wladimir KlitschkoandVitali Klitschko at their own game.
“I think if they give me four months to get prepared, I can beat them,” Dos Santos said on The MMA Hour yesterday. “In the beginning of my all my camps, I do just boxing. I love to train boxing and I think I have enough skills in boxing. I know how to see a good fight. Four months, that’s what I need.”
Dos Santos mentioned that he’s already mentioned this to Dana White, and plans on bringing up the subject to his boss again, because he’s serious about it. (“Now everybody is saying this, everybody wants to fight with boxing guys. It’s become not sincere. When I say that, I’m sincere.”)
https://t.co/j4BIUf4XnH pic.twitter.com/l6iWVfkt1T
