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Gennady Golovkin, now fast approaching 40, doesnโt appear to be in any rush to fight Canelo Alvarez for a third time. According to reports, DAZN โ with whom both Golovkin and Canelo have a broadcast deal โ and Caneloโs team want the trilogy fight to happen in September, once boxing has (hopefully) returned. However, speaking to Sports Illustrated (si.com), Golovkin claimed he intends to fulfil his mandatory obligations first: โI made a commitment before all this situation with coronavirus happened,โ Golovkin said. โIโm talking about my fight with [Kamil] Szeremeta. I intend to keep my word. Once the situation changes, as soon as everything is back to normal, I intend to have this fight first.โ
He went on to point out that Caneloโs team allegedly pushed back on the trilogy fight on two previous occasions, and so insists he is now getting on with his own career. It could also be the case that โGGGโ wants to give himself a run out before challenging Canelo again. Regardless, itโs a risk to hold off the third fight even longer, and surely puts Golovkin at more of a disadvantage, the older he gets.
Mike Tyson may not have fought professionally in 15 years, but such is his allure that simply posting a few videos of himself smashing the pads can land him a $20million offer to fight again.
A return to traditional boxing would be bad enough for the 53-year-old, but this offer came from David Feldman, President of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). Speaking to Heavy.com, Feldman said: โWhile we did make a guaranteed offer of $20 million for Mike to fight for BKFC, weโre open to many different options as to how we can work together.
โObviously, the excitement of seeing Mikeโs video showing himself training and desire to participate in exhibitions inspired us to reach out and make the offer.โ
Tyson had previously said heโs considering taking part in exhibitions to raise money for charity โ but going into a competitive bare knuckle fight is something else entirely.
If he were to fight in BKFC, things could get grotesque very quickly. Feldman also said Tyson could pick any heavyweight already signed to BKFC as his next opponent, which would include a now 48-year-old Shannon Briggs. Those two battering each other without gloves is something we really, really donโt need.
If that wasnโt enough, Evander Holyfield and James Toney โ both also in their 50s โ came out and expressed their desire to compete in charity exhibition bouts. Thereโs something quite gutting about seeing these Hall of Famers unable to tear themselves away from fighting, for whatever reason. Hopefully they all have someone to whisper a quiet word in their ear about how bad of an idea this is.
Matchroom Boxing just launched Matchroom Live, where fight fans can sign up for free and watch plenty of Matchroom fights from the past on demand. Nigel Benn-Chris Eubank was recently added, as were all of Anthony Joshuaโs early fights, though understandably none of his pay-per-view bouts.
YouTube
Ricky Hatton has long been open and honest about his mental health struggles, and was typically candid when speaking with IFL recently. Hatton spoke about how heโs coping during lockdown, and how important keeping himself active has been.
He also revealed how supportive Tyson Fury has been: “I put a thing on my Instagram, ‘Not having my best day, but we’ve gotta get on with it.’ Do you know who phoned me? Tyson Fury, within ten minutes, ‘Hiya Rick, what’s up with you? You alright?โ That’s the man, Tyson, just to make sure I was alright.”
It speaks volumes of Tysonโs character, but also highlights the importance of being honest if youโre struggling yourself, and to offer support if you know someone who is.
Speaking to FightHype, Floyd Mayweather played down ever-present comeback rumours, insisting: “I’m retired, I’m through with boxing. I’m older and a lot wiser, I don’t wanna end up like my uncle Roger when you don’t know when to hang it upโฆ Even if we did [a Conor McGregor fight] again, it’s entertainment and business. I’m not boxing no boxers.”
Wellโฆ at least heโs honest? Itโs the first time heโs admitted heโs got no plans to fight actual boxers, but isnโt closing the door on another crossover fight with UFC star McGregor. As Iโve said before, thereโs no sense in Mayweather returning to take on active boxers โ bar perhaps Manny Pacquiao โ and if he wants more events against non-boxers then fine, leave him to it. Iโm more interested in his apparent plans to become a trainer.
Furyโs third fight with Deontay Wilder could take place in Macau, China according to promoter Bob Arum. Speaking to IFL, Arum highlighted that, having staged two Manny Pacquiao fights there previously, Top Rank have close ties to representatives there.
He also claimed that Top Rank will be staging cards in June, which are currently being put together and could be announced within the next week. At the time of writing thereโs been no such announcement, but this is yet another sign that major promoters are firing their engines back up and preparing to hit the ground running once the sport gets the green light to return.
Podcasts
A real treat this week was Tris Dixonโs catch-up with Mikkel Kessler in the always excellent Boxing Life Stories. Kessler goes in-depth about his career, providing fascinating insight on his highs and lows and pulls no punches when asked who would win the mythical Joe Calzaghe-Carl Froch and Calzaghe-Andre Ward match-ups.
Also worth checking out: BBC 5 Liveโs illustrious duo Mike Costello and Steve Bunce churn out quality weekly pods for fun and have added the excellent โGreatest Fightsโ to their repertoire. In the inaugural show they relive the scintillating Sugar Ray Leonard-Thomas Hearns showdown with the victor. Leonard is in great form alongside the hosts and this promises to be an unmissable series.
Frank Warrenโs Heavyweight Podcast โ with Adam Catterall โ features Naseem Hamed this week and is thoroughly enjoyable. Much like the features on Naz in this weekโs issue!