American says he has improved since defeat against Fury in 2020 and his ability to overcome adversity may stand him in good stead“I see me beating him up and then knocking him out,” Deontay Wilder said in his Alabama drawl soon after he arrived in Las …
Original Observer Photography
Anthony Joshua’s defeat, Bond star Lashana Lynch, and Mercury prize winner Arlo Parks – the best photography commissioned by the Observer in September 2021 Continue reading…
Judges ‘used signals’ to fix Olympic boxing bouts, McLaren report finds
Culture of ‘favours’ saw incorruptible officials driven outAiba president Wu Ching-kuo let ‘manipulation flourish’A damning investigation into boxing at the Rio 2016 Olympics has found widespread evidence of “corruption, bribery and the manipulation of…
Amir Khan feels removal from American Airlines flight ‘racially motivated’
Boxer feels he and colleague were picked on as ‘two Asian boys’ a week after the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 The British professional boxer Amir Khan has said he felt his removal from an American Airlines flight in the US was racially motivated.Khan, …
Boxing fans revel in cathartic energy of Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk | Sachin Nakrani
Even the challenger’s win couldn’t ruin the atmosphere among a raucous 68,000 crowd at Tottenham Hotspur StadiumSpeak to those who were lucky enough to be at fights in this country and elsewhere at the height of the pandemic and many will tell you they…
Oleksandr Usyk defeats Anthony Joshua to claim world heavyweight title
Ukrainian wins unanimous points decision after gruelling fightJoshua outclassed in front of estimated 67,000 crowd in LondonOleksandr Usyk is the new WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion of the world after, in a riveting display of skill and nerve, he…
Ryder Cup memories, the greatness of Jimmy Greaves and brawling boxers
This week’s roundup also features a perilous reaction to a run-out, animals on the pitch and road race rain hazards1) The Ryder Cup starts on Friday after a three-year pandemic-induced hiatus. Europe won impressively last time at Le Golf National, high…
Frank Smith: ‘I called Eddie Hearn tight – eventually he gave me a job’
Matchroom’s head of boxing, a key figure in organising Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk, began as the office tea-boy 13 years agoOn Saturday night, amid the bedlam of a sold-out crowd of 60,000 as Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua make their extravagant…
Oleksandr Usyk insists pressure is all on reigning champion Anthony Joshua
Unbeaten Ukrainian says he has no nerves for Saturday’s fightFormer cruiserweight Usyk in only his third heavyweight bout Oleksandr Usyk will watch Peaky Blinders and read the Bible in the last stressful hours before he steps into the ring against Anth…
Row erupts in Italy over boxer with neo-Nazi tattoos
Italian Boxing Federation criticised for not acting sooner over Michele Broili, who has numerous Nazi tattoos A boxing title match has sparked a row in Italy after it emerged that one of the contenders had several neo-Nazi tattoos.The boxer, Michele Br…