Coronavirus may have played havoc with the 2020 boxing calendar for the foreseeable future but that doesn’t mean there still isn’t plenty going on.
From the heavyweight Battle of Britain to returning legends, here’s five boxing stories you might have missed this week…
Anthony Joshua Vs Tyson Fury Can Be Made Quickly
Tyson Fury’s UK promoter, Frank Warren, has insisted that the door is open for a mouth-watering clash between ‘The Gypsy King’ and Anthony Joshua, who hold each of the heavyweight division’s major world titles between them.
"It's not a difficult fight to make. Whatever is on the table is 50-50," Warren told Sky Sports.
"Fury is the No 1 heavyweight but we don't say 60-40. 50-50 down the middle.
"Once we get the offer that we're supposed to be getting, we'll be in a position to sit around the table and knock it into shape. It's not about me or [Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn's company] Matchroom. It's about getting this fight made.
"If we can't make this happen between us, then we've got to point the finger at whoever doesn't make it happen."
Earlier this week, Hearn admitted to iFL TV that Tyson Fury had tried to make contact with Team Joshua, saying: "I had a couple of FaceTime missed calls from Tyson Fury the other day, so did AJ. I don't know what he was up to, I think he was just on the wind-up. It's a wonderful fight and I'm very, very, very confident you will see one, probably two, in 2021."
Floyd Mayweather Pays For The Funeral Of George Floyd
The world of sport has been vocal in its support of George Floyd, the unjust victim of police brutality in Minneapolis, and the Black Lives Matters movement this week and five-weight former world champion Floyd Mayweather has generously paid for Floyd’s funeral costs.
The unbeaten 50-0 boxer sent George Floyd’s family $88,000 and members of the family have taken to social media to thank Mayweather for his donation.
Speaking on Instagram, Mayweather’s uncle, Jeff, also added: 'I like to applaud my nephew for stepping up for the George Floyd family.
“But people are acting surprised about this when Floyd has done this many times... it's usually other boxers and plenty of them he's offered to pay for their funerals for many families he does it because he has a good heart and not for the publicity.”
Manny Pacquiao Vs Terence Crawford Could Happen In Bahrain
Despite being 41, Manny Pacquiao is still at the top of his game and the Filipino great is now in “advanced talks” to take on Terence Crawford, one of the pound-for-pound best boxers in the world, in Bahrain.
Pacquiao handed America’s Keith Thurman his first career defeat in July last year, picking up the WBA welterweight title in the process and now he has his sights set on the also unbeaten Crawford’s WBO title.
Speaking to iFL TV, Arum said: “We hope to get [Terence] Crawford and [Manny] Pacquiao in action this year through our friends at MTK.
"We’re in serious talks with Bahrain, doing major fights there."
This one is definitely Fight of the Year material.
Is ‘Canelo’ Heading For Japan?
Who Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez fights next has been a hot topic among fight fans for a while now with a whole host of mouth-watering ties apparently available for the 29-year-old.
British duo Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders have both been mentioned, as has a third fight with arch-rival Gennady Golovkin, but now it looks like the Mexican could be headed for the Land Of The Rising Sun, to face off with Japan’s uber popular Ryoto Murata, a gold medallist at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Murata, a bona fide A-lister in Japan, is as popular in his homeland as Canelo is in his own. This one could be huge.
Tyson Fury Opens Up On Personal Experiences Of Racism With Piers Morgan
Tyson Fury revealed to Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain that he has frequently been on the receiving end of racist abuse due to his traveller heritage and was even refused entry to a bar in 2016 which had a sign declaring “No Gypsies Allowed” on the door.
“I’m a white male, but I suffer racism in 2020, as a white person, because I’m a traveller and I come from an ethnic background,” Fury said on Wednesday morning.
“Even today, you go into pubs, bars and restaurants and it may say on the door ‘we reserve the right not to let travellers in. No travellers allowed, gypsies or travellers.’ It’s not just black people who suffer racism.
“I think travellers are the most acceptable form of racism, in Britain and in the world at the moment. It’s still acceptable to be racist towards travellers – nothing ever gets done about it, no one ever says anything about it, it’s just accepted. That’s it, it is what it is.”
