Dillian Whyte is set to return to the ring on December 15th as he plots a return back to the business end of the heavyweight division.
After enduring issues with a drug test last year that forced his bout with Anthony Joshua to be postponed, Whyte has largely been absent from the bigger picture at heavyweight.
Once one of British boxing’s biggest draws thanks to epic contests with Derek Chisora, Tyson Fury, and Joshua, Whyte is currently rebuilding himself and is hopeful of a return to the grand stage in 2025.
The heavyweight scene is currently thriving with numerous big fights on taking place and that trend is set to continue with Fury vs. Usyk on December 21, live on DAZN , and Daniel Dubois set to defend his world title in February.
Whyte is eager to be part of such contests, and he can get those plans up and running when he faces Ebenezer Tetteh in Gibraltar next month, another fight that can be seen live on DAZN .
The tough Ghanaian has only lost one fight and that was when he was stopped by Dubois in 2019.
Tetteh possesses an impressive record on paper, but he’ll be facing a huge step up in class when he faces the former world title challenger.
Major decision on Anthony Joshua vs Dubois rematch revealed
Anthony Joshua‘s much-anticipated rematch with Daniel Dubois has been cast into doubt following his decision to delay his return to the ring.
Still reeling from his September knockout loss to Dubois before a record crowd of 96,000 at Wembley, the 35-year-old heavyweight ace has yet to secure a date for his comeback.
The defeat saw Joshua miss a chance to reclaim the IBF heavyweight title, and fans have been eagerly awaiting details of a rematch, initially expected to take place either in the UK or Saudi Arabia.
A tentative date of February 22 had been proposed, with boxing promoter Turki Alalshikh backing the event and Dubois keen to defend his title as soon as possible. However, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has dampened hopes for an early 2025 clash, suggesting that Joshua isn’t likely to return until next summer. Responding to a fan query on Instagram, Hearn said, “He had five fights in 18 months, he will be fine. Back in the summer.”
The delay has put Dubois’ plans in flux, as he remains eager to stay active. Dubois’ promoter Barry Hearn expressed doubts over an immediate rematch, stating, “I don’t see (AJ) happening next. We’re looking at other options, and we’ll make a decision soon.” Hearn added that Dubois is likely to seek other opponents if Joshua remains unavailable: “We’re in the Daniel Dubois business. He’s the champion, and he wants to be back in the ring by February.”
For now, the future remains uncertain, and fans await confirmation of who will be next to challenge the IBF titleholder.
Deontay Wilder’s trainer labels upcoming title unification fight as a ‘mismatch’
We have become accustomed to Deontay Wilder taking the headlines, however on this occasion, his trainer, Malik Scott, is the one taking the limelight.
It is just two weeks until WBA cruiserweight champion Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez faces off against WBO champion Chris ‘The Gentleman’ Billam-Smith in a unification clash out in Saudi Arabia, in the next instalment of ‘Riyadh Season’.
Scott is a trainer of Ramirez and will be there on the night to assist lead trainer Julian Chau.
After suffering the first defeat of his career to Dmitry Bivol in 2022, Ramirez has since moved up from light heavyweight to pursue a career in the cruiserweight division.
Now two fights in and having picked up the WBA strap last time out against Arsen Goulamirian, ‘Zurdo’ is looking to unify and set up a potential clash against Jai Opetaia.
His opponent, ‘CBS’ is in red-hot form.
After defeating former stablemate, now turned heavyweight, Lawrence Okolie, to become WBO champion, he has since defended his title against Mateusz Masternak and Richard Riakporhe.
Significantly, the victory against Riakporhe avenged the only defeat of his career to date.
Speaking to BoxingScene, ‘Zurdo’s’ trainer Scott has dismissed claims that this fight could be a 50:50.
“I had Zurdo for his fight with Joe Smith, and he did well. No disrespect to Billam-Smith, but this fight is a mismatch.”
Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury during the WBC Heavyweight Championship bout at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday December 1, 2018. See PA story BOXING Los Angeles. Photo credit should read: Lionel Hahn/PA Wire
Scott went on to explain why he believes his fighter is far too-good for his opponent.
“Zurdo is a big, strong southpaw who’s faced tougher opponents than Billam-Smith,” Scott said. “He’s a powerful body puncher with great angles and an incredible boxing mind. Billam-Smith is big and keeps coming forward, but he’s a one-trick pony.”
He did credit Billam-Smith’s trainer, but he went on to explain how this fight will play out and what will be next in his career.
“He has a good trainer, but I think Zurdo takes over in the second half,” Scott said. “Zurdo has a dream team in his corner. I believe he’ll become undisputed champion, with Jai Opetaia as his only real challenge.”
Malik Scott believes strongly that his man will win the fight and win it in impressive style.
However, with ‘The Gentleman’ on such a significant win streak, this fight may turn out to be much tougher than he is expecting.
Mike Tyson Posts Training Video For Jake Paul Netflix Boxing Fight: ‘Unconquerable’
Mike Tyson dropped another training video Friday on X ahead of his upcoming boxing match against Jake Paul.
The 30-second video, which is narrated by Tyson, shows the former world champion working out and breaking a sweat in anticipation of his first official professional bout since 2005:
Tyson also commented Friday on his expectations for the bout, telling TalkSport (h/t MMAFighting.com): “I see [Paul] running around, I have to catch him and slaughter him.”
The 58-year-old Tyson also made it clear that he isn’t afraid to get in the ring with the much younger Paul, saying: “No, [I don’t fear him] because he stepped into the ring. If my mother steps in the ring, she has a problem with me. Whoever’s in that ring, they have a problem. Don’t go in the ring if you don’t want that problem.”
Tyson and Paul were originally scheduled to clash on July 20, but the fight had to be moved back to Nov. 15 due to Tyson experiencing ulcer issues.
Now, it appears all systems are go for Tyson vs. Paul, which will pit a Hall of Famer with a career record of 50-6 against a YouTuber-turned-boxer who has only 11 career fights to his credit.
Tyson told TalkSport that while Paul is a “good little fighter,” he is considered an “amateur” in the boxing world.
Paul has technically competed in 11 professional fights and compiled a 10-1 record, however, most of his bouts were against former MMA fighters or low-level boxers.
Despite being out of boxing for years, Tyson will look to prove that he is still capable of winning a big fight, even at nearly 60 years of age.
Tyson vs. Paul is set for Nov. 15 at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and it will stream live on Netflix.
Oleksandr Usyk will defend his world heavyweight championship belts against Tyson Fury on 21 December after winning their first fight via split decision earlier this year
Anthony Crolla has suggested that Tyson Fury’s corner needs to be ‘addressed’ ahead of his highly anticipated heavyweight rematch with Oleksandr Usyk later this year.
In May, the Ukrainian fighter made history by becoming the first fighter to defeat ‘The Gypsy King’ in a professional fight after the 37-year-old secured a split-decision victory in Riyadh. They will now face off again on 21 December.
Following their initial meeting, Fury’s corner, which includes his father, John, faced backlash after video footage revealed them advising Fury that he was leading and didn’t need to push for a stoppage. Ultimately, only one judge concurred, with the other two favouring Usyk.
Since then, there have been numerous calls for Tyson to replace his father ahead of the rematch. Peter Fury, who coached his nephew to his first world title win against Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, acknowledged that too many voices were in the corner after the fight.
In a conversation with Freebets.com, Crolla reflected on the first fight back in May and maintained that Fury is ‘very confident’ about the rematch. “He’s looking really well, he’s speaking really well, seems on it, very confident,” he stated.
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – MAY 18: Oleksandr Usyk punches Tyson Fury during the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO and Undisputed Heavyweight titles’ fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk at Kingdom Arena on May 18, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
“You never know with Tyson. He comes out with some mad stuff, but it genuinely looks like he is in a great place.
“I’m really looking forward to it. Another tough one, but he more or less had the fight won last time at the halfway stage.
“I think he’ll target Usyk’s body a bit more this time. He’s got a great chance of putting it right, but Usyk finds a way to win; his adaptability is unbelievable.
“After the first fight, I’d put Usyk as favourite but wouldn’t be surprised if Tyson avenges it.”
Discussing potential changes Fury might implement for the rematch, Crolla mentioned that Fury’s corner could use some adjustments. “A few adjustments to make,” he said. “(Tyson) got a lot of stick last time, but I don’t know how much it affects Tyson because he is that kind of character; I think he does a lot of thinking for himself.”
“The corner certainly needs addressing; I’m a big believer of one voice in the corner, one clear voice, so we’ll see, but they’ll be the kinds of adjustments he’ll make.”
Despite this, earlier in the month, the 36-year-old boxer maintained that no significant changes would be made for the rematch. In a conversation with Paul Dempsey before the release of the new boxing game, ‘Undisputed’, Fury was asked how long he was spending on tactical planning for his second bout with Usyk.
“Not much time,” he responded. “I know what I’ve got to do, nothing drastic. People can say, ‘I want to change trainers, or I’ll blame it on my conditioning coach, or I’ll blame it on the cook, or I’ll blame it on the mouse next door.’ Same team, same everything. I know what I’ve got to do.”
He further commented: “I thought I won the fight last time. I gave him – me boxing all my life and watching boxing my whole career – I gave him rounds eight, nine and ten, and round nine was a 10-8.
“So that’s what I gave him out of the fight, but obviously, the judges saw it a bit differently; a couple of them did. One of them had me winning. That’s what it was. It was as close as it can be.”
Smart fighters win rematches and that could be a problem for Tyson Fury in late December when he fights Oleksandr Usyk again following last May’s defeat in Riyadh.
It was the great American boxing trainer and guru, Manny Steward, who put forward the idea that in any rematch, the smart boxer, having lost the first fight, will win the second fight. It was one of Steward’s cherished little gems and it is dependent on one of the boxers being smarter than the other – that is the problem for Fury: Usyk is his equal in the boxing brains department.
Steward talked about his theory one night in Las Vegas a few days before Lennox Lewis met Hasim Rahman in their hot rematch; seven months earlier in 2001, Rahman had shocked the boxing world and dropped and stopped Lewis in South Africa. The defeat was stupid, the revenge was clever.
Lewis, who passed on his undisputed champion mantle to Usyk in May, had already changed the result in two rematches before he climbed through the ropes and knocked out Rahman in four rounds at the Mandalay Bay. In 1997, Lewis beat Oliver McCall and two years later in 1999, Lewis outpointed Evander Holyfield. In the Holyfield rematch, Lewis was smarter; in the McCall rematch, Lewis was simply coherent.
Fury has a significant win in a rematch on his record, but it had little to do with being smart, boxing sensibly and being slick; in 2020, two years after their hard draw, Fury walked through Deontay Wilder in seven brutal rounds. It was one of the most outrageous changes in tactics in any rematch ever. Some might claim it was a smart move, a brilliant switch of tactics, but it was so risky. It showed Fury’s ability to stick to a plan and that is something that Usyk must be mindful of when the first bell sounds.
In the second Wilder fight, Fury was a different person, and Wilder had no idea how to deal with the man in front of him. Wilder was saved from his own bravery. Their third fight was just a ridiculous war, and both came close to losing before it finished in the 11th when Fury dropped Wilder for the third time. It was about guts and heart, not boxing brain in that incredible third fight.
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – MAY 18: Oleksandr Usyk punches Tyson Fury during the IBF, WBA, WBC, WBO and Undisputed Heavyweight titles’ fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk at Kingdom Arena on May 18, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Usyk also has an important rematch win, but it is possible to argue that his second win over Anthony Joshua was not as clear as his initial victory. In their first fight, outdoors at Tottenham Hotspur in September of 2021, Usyk boxed with sense and caution and won a unanimous decision. The scores were by five, four and two rounds in his favour. On the night, Joshua experimented with a variety of styles and fell short. The fight remains an oddity.
The rematch was just under a year later, in Jeddah, and this time, Joshua made some changes, and it was closer; Usyk won a split decision, but it was not as clear. In all fairness, Usyk just repeated the formula from the first fight and that same approach could be enough when the first bell sounds on December 21 for the Fury rematch – all the pressure is on Fury to change the outcome. The pair will meet in London this week to officially launch their December rematch.
There is a solid case that SugarHill Steward and Andy Lee, the cornerman duo from the second Wilder fight, will get Fury to be more aggressive and go for Usyk from the very first bell. In the months before the Wilder rematch, Lee and Steward had said that their boxer would walk through Wilder with two-fisted aggression; nobody really believed them. The same could happen in Riyadh in December; perhaps, the same should happen in Riyadh.
One of the differences between Wilder and Usyk is that Usyk can adapt; on the night in Las Vegas when Fury charged out and just let his hands go, Wilder was trapped in a web of his own technical shortcomings. Usyk can survive a charge like that, move, hold and use his ringcraft. It’s not simple beating Usyk, but Fury is both big enough and smart enough to apply the right type of pressure. However, Fury is nearly five years older and that matters. It is not an easy fight to predict.
Anthony Joshua is closer than ever to retiring from boxing based on his post-fight press conference according to Darren Stanton, ‘the human lie detector’ and a world-leading expert in deception and body language.
Speaking to OLBG, Stanton picked out some key moments from Joshua’s performance after the fight that rang alarm bells over his future.
“It was a very sterile, very stoic performance. When he talked about quitting or retiring there was no passion with his statements. There were a couple of things that concern me in terms of being deceptive.
“When someone asked him whether he’s quitting he said no I’m not quitting – we call that a contraction, or parroting. People tend to parrot the language of someone else. It’s not so much lying but a linguistic deflection.
“When someone catches us unawares with a question they may mirror the language back to them to buy themselves a few seconds.
“When someone asked will he carry on he came back and said of course he’ll carry on, so there’s something there – so yes, I do believe, by the true definition of the word, he was being deceptive.”
According to Stanton, Joshua is likely thinking about hanging up his gloves after his defeat to fellow British heavyweight Daniel Dubois.
“He’s not about to quit imminently but it’s something on the cards,” added Stanton. “It’s on the agenda.
“Basically, by mirroring the language, the lack of authenticity, no real passion in his words like there usually is, and his vocal tone being monosyllabic, it was very stale, and he usually speaks from the heart. Overall I do think there’s an issue there. Anthony Joshua was not being authentic.”
IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois wants to face Anthony Joshua in the boxing ring again,
‘Dynamite’ and ‘AJ’ faced off last month at Wembley Stadium in London, England. For Daniel Dubois, the fight was his first defense of IBF heavyweight gold, having won the title with a June knockout over Filip Hrgovic. Meanwhile, Anthony Joshua entered the ring fresh off his knockout victory over Francis Ngannou in March.
Despite the challenger entering the ring a heavy betting favorite, he was dominated early. Daniel Dubois knocked down Anthony Joshua repeatedly in the early rounds of the contest, but the ex-champion found new life in round five. ‘AJ’ hurt ‘Dynamite’ badly with a right hand early in the frame. However, Dubois quickly found his own counter, knocking out Joshua with a short hook.
For Daniel Dubois, the knockout victory was validation that he was truly among the heavyweight division’s elite. Post-fight, Anthony Joshua called for a rematch with the IBF champion, but some speculated that he could fight someone else. ‘AJ’ had no contractual right to order a rematch with Dubois to begin with.
Heavyweight boxing champion Daniel Dubois calls for rematch with Anthony Joshua
However, Daniel Dubois would love to face the British heavyweight again. Speaking in a recent interview with Seconds Out, the champion was asked about a potential rematch with Anthony Joshua. There, Dubois confirmed that the bout would be next and that he also enjoyed the first firefight with ‘AJ’.
“If he wants it, I want it too. I was the better man on the night but there’s no disrespect.” Daniel Dubois stated in the interview, when asked about fighting Anthony Joshua again. “I’m not gonna badmouth him or anything, it was a great fight and if we can do it again it’ll be even bigger.” (h/t Michael Benson)
He continued, “No-one said it was gonna be easy. I had to slay the king so I had to come through whatever fire he was bringing at me. I love those sort of match-ups where we’re just letting our hands go, back and forth, roll the dice, gun slinging. It was really exciting for me to be honest.”
What do you make of these comments from the boxing champion? Do you want to see Daniel Dubois vs. Anthony Joshua 2?
Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has explained the “calculated” reason why his fighter may take a rematch with Daniel Dubois next.
Joshua was dropped several times by Dubois en route to a knockout loss in September, as the latter retained the IBF heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium.
It was suggested after the fight that Joshua has a rematch clause, although some fans and pundits have advised “AJ” not to face his fellow Briton next. Hearn, however, has lifted the lid on Joshua’s thinking.
“My initial thought after the fight was: ‘Let’s just chill out, maybe wait for Fury vs Usyk,’” Hearn told Sky Sports, referencing the heavyweight title rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, scheduled for 21 December.
“AJ’s reaction was quite a bit different. Obviously, out of pride, you always want to take the rematch – but it’s a little bit more calculated than that.
“It’s more like: Well, what happens if Usyk vs Fury doesn’t happen? What if someone gets injured? And even if it does happen, they’re not going to fight again until July, August. Then [Joshua thinks]: ‘I’m out the ring for nearly a year, and I want to be active.’
“[Joshua thinks]: ‘I want to win the world heavyweight title, and I’ve got a shot there to win the world heavyweight title in my hand. Obviously it’s a dangerous fight [against Dubois], but I can’t box any worse than I did.’”
Hearn added: “When you start actually thinking about it, I don’t think there’s a bad decision to make. I know that he is leaning towards the rematch, because he wants to win the world heavyweight title – versus fighting [Deontay] Wilder, waiting for Fury, and then you’ve got all next year bubbling around, not really fighting for the world heavyweight title.
“If it’s solely down to AJ, which it will be at the end of the day, I think it’s going to be very hard to talk him out of taking the rematch.”
The situation could be complicated, however, by the news that the IBF has ordered a title eliminator between Martin Bakole and Agit Kabayel.
The winner of that fight would theoretically be Dubois’s next challenger, unless Joshua faces the champion in good time.
Why is there always a buzz around heavyweights? The sheer power, flying punches, exciting action, and brutal knockouts remain a constant theme. IBF has ensured fans witness two hard-hitting heavyweights, as they fight it out to punch a golden ticket to face Daniel Dubois next. However, it might rob fans of another thrilling encounter, as it could potentially derail Anthony Joshua’s plans.
Notably, the IBF has ordered a title eliminator between Martin Bakole and Agit Kabayel to determine who will challenge ‘Dynamite’ next for his IBF strap. While Bakole, 31, brushed aside Frank Sanchez in his last fight, Kabayel, 32, turned in the best performance of his career after he knocked out Jared Anderson. Their last respective wins had ensured the two moved up in the IBF hierarchy and looked to challenge for the title next.
TalkSports’ Michael Benson turned to his X handle and revealed this development to the fans. He wrote, “The IBF has ordered an eliminator between Martin Bakole and Agit Kabayel to determine a mandatory challenger to heavyweight titleholder Daniel Dubois. Really good matchup; both coming off career-best performances. Bakole is ESPN’s No. 7 heavyweight while Kabayel is No. 8.”
There is no concrete timeline yet for their fight but Bakole’s promoter Ben Shalom recently disclosed his intentions to get a date in December. The details are yet to be chalked out and it might not take time, given that getting a fight date early will only diminish ‘AJ’s chances of securing an immediate rematch with Dubois. But that’s a fight where the money will be, for the fighters and the promoters.
Anthony Joshua insists on Daniel Dubois rematch
Eddie Hearn admitted that Joshua, 34, was leaning towards the rematch to win the heavyweight title. Alternatively, he could fight Deontay Wilder or other top names in the division as the British boxer continued to wait for the result of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury. If Uysk vs. Fury is detailed, then Joshua, at 28-4, would have to wait longer for a fight.
But Dubois, 27, won’t be available till February too. So, waiting for a rematch could affect Joshua’s activity levels, especially when he has entered the twilight years of his boxing career. Hearn, 45, declared, “If it’s solely down to AJ, which it will be at the end of the day. I think it’s going to be very hard to talk him out of taking the rematch.” It remains to be seen how the IBF title eliminator and Usyk vs. Fury pan out and how these fights affect the Dubois vs. Joshua rematch.
What do you make of this coming fight between Martin Bakole and Agit Kabayel? Do you think it will affect Daniel Dubois’ rematch with Anthony Joshua? Let us know in the comments below.
