Boxing

The heavyweight boxing legend raised eyebrows when he recently revealed his plans for a return to the ring at the age of 53.

Former world champion Tyson is open to exhibition fights for charity 15 years after he retired.

Evander Holyfield, 57, said he would be up for a trilogy bout with Tyson, who looked in great shape as he showed he can still very much pack a punch in an Instagram clip posted on Monday.

Footage obtained by TMZ Sports appeared to show the former world heavyweight champion throwing punches at a man sitting behind him.

A spokesperson for the 55-year-old American told ESPN: "Unfortunately, Mr. Tyson had an incident on a flight with an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat."

The San Francisco Police Department confirmed officers had detained two people at San Francisco International Airport, but both had been released.

A police statement said: "On Wednesday April 20, 2022 at approximately 10:06 PM, officers assigned to the SFPD Airport Bureau were dispatched to a physical altercation onboard an airplane located at the Domestic Terminal at San Francisco International Airport.

"Officers arrived and detained two subjects that were believed to be involved in the incident. One subject was treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries. That subject provided minimal details of the incident + refused to cooperate further with the investigation.

"Both subjects were released under 849(b) of the CA Penal Code pending further investigation. We are aware of video that possibly captured the incident, which surfaced following the initial investigation. That video has been forward to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office."

Netflix and Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) announced the July 20 contest on Thursday, but there has been no clarification as to whether it will be an exhibition or a professional boxing match.

Former world heavyweight champion Tyson (50-6, 44KOs) ended his stellar career in 2005 with defeat to Kevin McBride, but did take on old rival Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition in 2020.

Paul fought on the undercard of Tyson’s draw with Jones Jr in Los Angeles and has gone on to forge a boxing career in recent years, notably losing to Tommy Fury – the brother of Tyson Fury – in Diriyah last year.

Boxing great Tyson, who will turn 58 in June, said: “I’m very much looking forward to stepping into the ring with Jake Paul.

“He’s grown significantly as a boxer over the years, so it will be a lot of fun to see what the will and ambition of a “kid” can do with the experience and aptitude of a GOAT.

“It’s a full circle moment that will be beyond thrilling to watch; as I started him on his boxing journey on the undercard of my fight with Roy Jones and now I plan to finish him.”

Paul’s experience in boxing extends to 10 official bouts after he first stepped into the ring in 2018 to beat fellow YouTuber Deji Olatunji in a white-collar match at Manchester Arena.

“It’s crazy to think that in my second pro fight, I went viral for knocking out Nate Robinson on Mike Tyson’s undercard. Now, less than four years later, I’m stepping up to face Tyson myself to see if I have what it takes to beat one of boxing’s most notorious fighters and biggest icons,” Paul (9-1, 6KOs) said.

“My sights are set on becoming a world champion and now I have a chance to prove myself against the greatest heavyweight champion ever, the baddest man on the planet and the most dangerous boxer of all time.

“This will be the fight of a lifetime.”

Speculation over a ring return for Tyson has grown since he posted a number of training clips on social media, with the 53-year-old stating "I'm back" during one Instagram training video last month.

A fight between the two-time world champion and former rival Evander Holyfield, 57, has been rumoured as a possibility. There has also been talk of Tyson taking on some of the current generation, though Anthony Joshua has made it clear he will not sign up for such a contest.

While some may hope 'Iron Mike' is tempted into exhibition or charity bouts at least, WBO featherweight champion Stevenson has no interest in seeing such an event.

"I'm not really a fan of fights that really don't make too much sense," Stevenson told Stats Perform News. 

"Like Mike coming back – he's like 50-something – and if he comes back you know he wouldn't come back against a top heavyweight fighter, he's probably going to come back against someone who is around his age.

"I'm not a big fan of watching that type of stuff. There's no reward in that. Non-boxing fans are really into that type of stuff. Me, I'm a big boxing fan and I'm not really into that.

"I'm into, like, Terence Crawford versus Errol Spence, that kind of fight would light me up. Mike coming back against Evander Holyfield again, I'm not really into that."

While Tyson was just 20 when first crowned world champion, Stevenson was just two years older than his fellow American when he claimed the vacant WBO featherweight title in 2019.

The unbeaten fighter boasts a 13-0 record having turned pro after collecting a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Any prospects with dreams of success at Tokyo 2020 have been made to wait for their opportunity as the Games have been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, though Stevenson insists he would not be rushing to join the paid ranks if he was still an amateur now.

"I understand with everything going on and try to put myself in their shoes. If I had my Olympics postponed, I would wait," he explained.

"The Olympics was a dream for me since I was a little kid. I'm the type of person who would have waited in that situation.

"However, for a lot of people the Olympics is not really their dream – they want to be professionals, making money. That's really their dream.

"It's all up to the person, but if it was me or anybody around me, I'd tell them to wait because that was something I grew up wanting.

"I felt like that if you go to the Olympics and come out of the Olympics with a gold, you're going to get a lot more money than if you turned pro now. Your stock would be a lot higher."

The American was due to do battle with Jerry Forrest at the MGM Grand on July 9, however the fight has been removed from the schedule amid reports the 31-year-old tested positive for a banned substance. 

Miller - nicknamed Big Baby - admitted he "messed up" after missing out on facing Anthony Joshua in June last year, leading to Andy Ruiz Jr replacing him in the main event. 

Speaking to Fight Network, the Brooklyn native revealed he and his team are investigating the current situation.

Miller explained: "This is something that was ingested. We don't know if it was contaminated, but we're investigating as of right now. Me and my team are just working due diligently to get the facts 100 per cent straight." 

Asked towards the end of the YouTube interview whether he had ever willingly taken performance-enhancing drugs, Miller replied: "No, I have never ever willingly taken a steroid for performance-enhancement purposes. No. 

"Did I take something for healing properties, for injury? Yes I have. Before a fight to win a fight and during a training camp? No, I have never done that." 

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman revealed that Miller had been "expelled" for failing to join the governing body's drug testing program. 

He told Sky Sports: "Miller specifically, he was expelled from the WBC, because he failed to enrol in the clean boxing program. Not once, but twice." 

Sulaiman refused to rule out the possibility of Miller fighting for a WBC title in future, however, saying: "I don't speculate. I don't like to - what if. 

"What I can say is that he's been out of the WBC picture for three years, because we did not consider him to be eligible for rankings, because he did not enroll in the clean boxing program. 

"When he was first ranked. We sent them the documents. He had three months to fill three pieces of paper, and he failed to do so. 

"Then somehow they claimed they didn't have the papers, so we rang him again and sent them the paper, and he didn't submit twice, so he has been expelled from the WBC for three years." 

Two-time world heavyweight champion Joshua faces Franklin at London's O2 Arena on April 1 looking to bounce back from successive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk.

Franklin was beaten by Dillian Whyte in his most recent fight in November, that being the American's only defeat in 22 professional bouts.

Joshua is now determined to battle his way back to the top of the heavyweight division, starting with victory over Franklin in his homeland.

Asked at a press conference on Thursday what his biggest motivation is for taking on the fight, Joshua said: "Money, money, money. I like making money, straight up.

"I've been broke, my family's been broke, I know what this s*** means. I always built businesses outside of boxing, out of fear of going back to square one.

"But when I'm said and done, no one will care about me anymore, so I'll make the most of it while I'm here.

"My own expectations are my pressure, but pressure is being broke, worrying about your bills. 

"Look what's happening in Syria, Turkey – the earthquake that just happened. Me going to fight is a blessing, no pressure."

Joshua lost the WBA, IBF and WBO belts with his defeat to Usyk in September 2021 and failed to win them back when they met again in Jeddah last August.

Having won each of his first 22 professional bouts, all but one of those by knockout, Joshua has now lost three of his past five fights since June 2019.

However, the Briton insists the pain of losing to Andy Ruiz Jr and twice to Usyk is motivating him to put even more into his boxing between now and retirement.

"I still feel really fresh and young," he said. "I made a conscious decision last year to put my heart into boxing and nothing else. 

"It's not just the mind, where your head's at, it's your heart.

"Throughout my career, this is probably the most serious I've taken it. Everything I've been through – positive, negative – I'm using it to fuel my camp now."

Franklin has a 21-1 record following his defeat to Whyte, with 14 of his previous victories coming by way of knockout.

It will be Joshua's first fight with coach Derrick James in his corner, with the 33-year-old spending time in the United States training in preparation for his return to action.

"The world hasn't seen the best of Anthony Joshua," James said. "He's a great fighter. Great athleticism, great foot movement, very intellectual first and foremost. 

"He understands this sport and understands what I'm asking him to do."

Muhammad Ali chose to brashly thrust greatness upon himself and then spent a lifetime living up to it.

It was the annotation to most of the three-time world heavyweight champion's towering exploits in the boxing ring.

"I'm the greatest thing that ever lived. I don't have a mark on my face and I upset Sonny Liston, and I just turned twenty-two years old," the exuberant new king of boxing's glamour division said after his stunning triumph at Miami Beach Convention Center in 1964. "I must be the greatest. I shook up the world!"

A decade on and the other side of a three-and-a-half-year boxing exile that robbed the man born Cassius Marcellus Clay of a chunk of his prime, he was similarly unsparing when addressing the doubters, having knocked out George Foreman in the eighth round of the Rumble in the Jungle.

"I told you today I'm still the greatest of all time," he growled down the camera. "Never again make me the underdog until I'm about 50 years old.

"I told you I'm the real champion of the world. All of my critics crawl! All you suckers bow!"

In purely boxing terms, those suckers still disagree slightly. The imperious Sugar Ray Robinson tends to edge Ali in all-time polls, such as ESPN.com's 50 Greatest Fighters in History from 2007.

But if Robinson is the man for the pugilistic purists, it is Ali who breaks out to the wider sports fan – a transcendent figure who continued to represent the celebrated glory of boxing's compelling brutality, while showing the bleak consequences of its inherent darkness through his long and dignified battle with Parkinson's disease.

You might not know football, but you will recognise Pele. Golf might bore you, but you will know the entertainment supplied by Tiger Woods. Even if basketball is not your sport, Michael Jordan will not have passed you by. You may loathe the spectacle of two men punching each other, but you will know Muhammad Ali.

A key ingredient for the transcendent sporting great is an irresistible narrative. Ali might not dominate boxing through sheer weight of statistics as, for example, Don Bradman does in cricket; in terms of narrative, he outdoes them all.

Pele and Brazil were kicked and fouled to an early exit at the 1966 World Cup before earning dazzling redemption with a third winners' medal at Mexico 1970.

Woods emerged from a prolonged fallow period, featuring debilitating injuries and revelations over his private life, to win a 15th major at the 2019 Masters. Even Jordan interrupted his mastery of the court to toil dutifully in minor league baseball.

Ali's wilderness years were of an infinitely more serious and therefore resonant nature – denied licenses to box in the United States for rejecting military service on the grounds of his religious beliefs and the fact he "ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong. No Viet Cong ever called me n*****".

By 1971, when the US Supreme Court unanimously overturned a conviction on charges of draft evasion, Ali was much more than a lion-hearted boxer who would rail against declining skills with success and unfathomable bravery to twice more regain the heavyweight title.

He was a proud Muslim, peace campaigner and black American who stood defiantly against the venomous abuse and discrimination such designations drew. Inside and outside the ring he was an unbowed inspiration. On this fourth anniversary of his death, those deeds arguably shine brighter than ever amid the lamentable gloom of our present moment.

Any attempted beatification of Ali should take into account his mercilessly nasty humiliation of Joe Frazier around their epic contests. He was no saint.

However, he was a hostage negotiator - helping to secure the release of 15 US hostages in Iraq before the first Gulf War, the man who lit the 1996 Olympic cauldron in a moment of unforgettable poignancy, a recipient of the presidential medal and countless millenial "greatest sportsman" gongs.

Sport is never stronger than when its heroes are embedded in the popular consciousness. Everyone knew of Muhammad Ali's brilliance and beliefs, with each as unflinching as the other, and of his successes and struggles.

Greatest or not, he was an irreplaceable one-off.

Here we take a look back at some of the most memorable moments of the boxing legend's career.

CLAY-LISTON I

Ali – then known as Cassius Clay – went into his first clash with Sonny Liston as the huge underdog, with the defending WBA and WBC heavyweight champion having picked up two emphatic first-round victories over Floyd Patterson. However, Liston failed to emerge from his corner for the beginning of the seventh round, handing Ali victory. The bout, as well as the re-match won by Ali, was dogged by allegations of fixing, although the claims were never substantiated.

Ali had won 31 fights on the bounce by the time he came to face Joe Frazier for the first time in 1971. Ali, having been stripped of his titles and served a three-and-a-half-year ban for rejecting military service, was looking to win back the titles he had been forced to vacate prior to his suspension. However, it was Frazier who eventually emerged as victor by unanimous decision, dropping Ali with a crunching left hook in the 15th and final.

RUMBLE IN THE JUNGLE

Victory over Frazier in a non-title rematch was the ideal morale-booster for Ali ahead of a showdown with feared champion George Foreman in Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo). Foreman had beaten Frazier in 1973 and successfully defended his belts in subsequent fights against Jose Roman and the Ali-conquering Ken Norton, heading to Africa as favourite. However, Ali employed what became known as his rope-a-dope tactic of leaning on the ropes, allowing Foreman to punch himself out and directing straight punches at his opponent's face. The approach worked, as Ali stopped an exhausted Foreman in the eighth.

THRILLER IN MANILA

The third and final bout between Ali and Frazier lived up to and beyond the promise of the earlier two, delivering a brutal and at times horrifying classic for the ages. Frazier's team spent the build-up warning against the underhand tactics they felt Ali used to emerge victorious in their second meeting. However, it was the champion who eventually came out on top, battered but victorious after 14 savage rounds.

THREE-TIME CHAMPION

There remains a strong argument that Ali should have disappeared off into the sunset after that final Frazier epic, but on he went. By the time he lost his crown to Leon Spinks – the 1976 light-heavyweight Olympic champion but a seven-fight novice as a professional – he was a shadow of his former self. Nevertheless, Ali retained enough wily ring smarts to win their 1978 rematch in New Orleans, becoming the first fighter in history to reign as heavyweight champion three times.

The Rumble In The Jungle and The Thrilla In Manila will forever echo through the ages.

Those celebrated triumphs over George Foreman and Joe Frazier arrived with Ali in his 30s, after his refusal to take part in US military operations in Vietnam brought about a three-and-a-half year boxing exile.

For the best example of his pure athletic brilliance, the man who floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee cast his mind back to November 14, 1966.

"Against Cleveland Williams," Ali told his biographer Thomas Hauser. "The night I was at my best."

Before a record indoor boxing crowd of 35,460 at Houston's Astrodome, Ali unveiled his aesthetic calling card during a three-round demolition of Williams, a dangerous 32-year-old slugger.

Football has the Cruyff Turn and athletics has the Fosbury Flop; that night in Texas a capacity crowd pondering the legitimacy of the reigning heavyweight champion's self-proclaimed greatness were treated to the debut of the Ali Shuffle, as the whirring feet of this renegade dance move peppered a brutal ballet.

Williams began with commendable orthodoxy, approaching an opponent who jogged almost gleefully from his corner at the opening bell, and thrust out a firm left jab towards the champion.

Unfortunately for the hometown favourite, Ali was operating a long way from the textbook. He slipped extravagantly away from the blow and circled away to his left – dancing on the balls of his feet, hands slung low.

It was the first time Williams, who survived a police shooting in 1964, would be bamboozled during seven minutes and eight seconds of exquisite punishment that must have felt like a lifetime.

Ali's constant, dazzling movement contrasted marvellously with Williams' stiff, high guard, soon penetrated by rapier lefts.

Midway through the opening round, the Ali Shuffle made a first fleeting appearance. Williams took this as an invitation to come in on the attack, only to be hammered by precise left hooks to body and head.

Overhand rights began to accompany the Ali jab for an already beleaguered Williams, who absorbed a seven-punch combination, watched a shuffle hesitantly from centre-ring and shipped four more.

Williams dutifully plodded after his quicksilver foe for much of round two until Ali, virtually fox-trotting backwards, landed a short right off the jab to send the challenger tumbling.

It was a canvas with which he would become well acquainted.

If the first knockdown demonstrated a sublime marriage of grace, timing and power, Ali showcased the savagery of his trade by concluding a follow-up onslaught with a left-hook to place Williams on the seat of his trunks.

The "Big Cat" rose and pawed at his battered nose. A sad left arced well short of Ali, whose precise one-two, double jab and crushing right had Williams splayed flat on his back as the bell sounded.

Pride overrode sanity as the challenger ambled back to his stool with the help of three cornermen, who patched him up for round three.

Against a foe now struggling to place one foot convincingly in front of the other, Ali almost mockingly broke into his most prolonged shuffle of the evening – the precursor to a succession of unerring head shots. Williams fell again.

Somehow he continued, skittering about like the town drunk under Ali's barrage.

Referee Harry Kessler saved Williams from his own bravery in the face of an awesome presence, dancing and punching close to perfection.

"The greatest Ali ever was as a fighter was against Williams,” celebrated American sports broadcaster Howard Cosell reflected.

"That night he was the most devastating fighter who ever lived."

The three-time world heavyweight champion was not only a master in the ring, but also a strong advocate for human rights and racial equality in the United States.

Ali's great fights against the likes of Joe Frazier and George Foreman draw emotion and passions from fans and commentators alike, but the numbers behind his career are equally as impressive.

On the fourth anniversary of his death, we run down some of the stand-out facts and figures of Ali's greatness.

91.8 per cent - Ali's win rate, having emerged victorious in 56 of his 61 professional fights. Three of his five defeats came in his final four bouts.

37 - Ali won 37 fights by way of knockout. He suffered just one stoppage defeat - to Larry Holmes in his penultimate matchup in 1980.

3 - Victory over Leon Spinks in 1978 made him the first three-time world heavyweight champion. Only Evander Holyfield has since surpassed Ali's mark, earning heavyweight glory on four occasions.

548 - The number of professional rounds Ali fought in his career.

1,315 - Ali did not fight for over three years (1,315 days to be exact) over his refusal to be drafted for the Vietnam War. Ali was 25 at the time of his exile starting, robbing him of some of the peak years of his career.

31 - Defeat to Joe Frazier in 'The Fight of the Century' at Madison Square garden in 1971 was Ali's first professional loss after 31 consecutive wins.

12 - Ali fought in 12 different countries, across four continents. Need a sign of how times have changed? Floyd Mayweather Jr fought all 50 of his pro bouts in the United States - and 26 of them in Las Vegas.

37 - Ali graced the cover of Sports Illustrated no fewer than 37 times. Only Michael Jordan tops him with 50 appearances.

Stepping up from light middleweight, Munguia's first fight at a new weight ended in victory after battering Irishman O'Sullivan on Saturday.

Munguia (35-0) grew in confidence as the bout wore on and the Mexican sent O'Sullivan (30-4) to the canvas in the 11th round.

O'Sullivan's corner threw in the towel, forcing the referee to stop the fight at 2:17 at The Alamodome.

Benn, the son of former WBO middleweight and WBC super-middleweight champion Nigel Benn, was due to fight Chris Eubank Jr in October.

But just days before the fight, it emerged Benn had tested positive for banned substance clomifene, and the BBBofC subsequently prohibited the fight from taking place despite promoters from both sides attempting to force a U-turn.

Benn admitted afterwards that he had failed tests and relinquished his BBBofC licence, though the 26-year-old has always maintained his innocence.

In a social media post on Monday, Benn once again reiterated he is a clean boxer and believes his team have now finally proven that fact.

"My team and I have worked extremely hard over the past seven years to make me the fighter I am today," Benn said on Instagram. "We have never cut corners or cheated the grind in any way.

"It's been really hard for me to accept that people think that I would do what I was accused of but what I've come to realise is people rush to judgement, without knowing the facts.

"Tony Sims [Benn's trainer] has had a clean gym for 26 years, I respect the gym. No one is bigger than the gym! Hard work and dedication is what we stand for. We don't condone cheating or cutting corners.

"I've stayed in the gym and continued to work extremely hard, staying positive that my innocence will be proven and the truth will come out.

"My team has proven my innocence and the truth will soon come out.

"Until then, I won't be commenting further due to confidentiality.

"There were times I feared it never would but we all had faith. I'm thankful to everyone who has supported me through this tough time... tough times don't last, tough people do.

"See you all in 2023, the year I become world champion!"

Jonas started strongly in the first defence of the world title she won by defeating Kandi Wyatt last July but Mayer steadily grew into the bout and was the busier of the two in several riveting exchanges.

It was an all-action affair but, despite being left with a cut below her left eye, Jonas, who raised her arm aloft at the final bell, was given the nod 96-94 and 96-95 as a third judge sided with Mayer 97-93.

The result divided opinion on social media but, after Jonas extended her record to 15 wins and two defeats with one draw in her home city, she indicated 2024 will be her final year in the sport.

The 39-year-old has won six fights in a row since losing on points to long-time rival Katie Taylor in May 2021, becoming a unified world light-middleweight champion before stepping down to reign at 147lbs.

She told Sky Sports: “Unfortunately I can’t be around forever, this is probably my last year in boxing and we want to make it the best chapter of the book.”

A rematch against an opponent six years her junior, a former unified world super-featherweight champion who was fighting at welterweight for the first time on Saturday night, would surely be welcomed.

Jonas said: “She’s in the top two people I’ve fought, she’s a very, very skilled operator and her time will come again. She beats a lot of the champions that are already here.

“That little bit of fear factor brings out the best in me, I need opponents like her to tango. With no disrespect to the likes of Kandi Wyatt, I knew I would dominate and I was supposed to win.”

Mayer, who slipped to her second defeat in 21 fights, wants a chance at gaining revenge over Jonas.

She said: “I thought I did enough to win. I would have given her the first round or two but after that, I feel like I out-punched her and landed the cleaner shots. I think that fight is worth seeing again.

“I just hope Natasha will be the stand-up champ that she is and give me another shot at the belt – I feel like I deserve it.”

The fight will take place on the undercard to the Savannah Marshall v Franchon Crews-Dezurn undisputed world middleweight bout at Manchester’s AO Arena on July 1.

It will be Liverpudlian Jonas’ first outing of the year after a stellar 2022 in which she stepped up three divisions to claim the WBC, IBF and WBO belts at super-welterweight.

She now has the chance to become a two-weight world champion after deciding to step back down to the 147lb division to fight for the vacant IBF title.

“I feel in good shape,” Jonas told the PA news agency. “It’s been a great camp and I’m ready. I’ve been ready for a long time.

“After such a busy and successful year last year, I just want to get the ball rolling and get back out there.”

Jonas, the first woman to qualify to represent Great Britain at the Olympics, has won 13 of her 16 professional fights, eight by knockout, with just one defeat.

Wyatt, the WBA Intercontinental champion, has previously challenged for welterweight world titles on three occasions.

Jonas, 39, said: “There isn’t much that we’ve seen of her, but I’ve underestimated people before and it didn’t work out well, so I will never do that again.

“Every fight now I come to be the best version of me and prepare for the best version of them.”

On her decision to drop a division, she said: “It’s about opportunities, but I was never a 154lb fighter.

“The heaviest I weighed in was 149 and that was with clothes on. It made sense just to drop down and go for more world titles at another weight and take the opportunities as they come.”

Becoming a world champion at a second weight would be a rare feat, but Jonas is focusing on the victory rather than the glory.

She said: “I’d be Liverpool’s first to do that – I know that – and it is a great thing, but I’m not focused on the accolades. I’m just focused on going in on the night and getting the win.

“There is an air of confidence you get when you are a champion, but the goal is just to get in the ring and win. Everything else that comes with it is just a bonus.”

Boxxer chief executive Ben Shalom said: “I’m very excited to see Natasha compete at the top of the welterweight division. When you look at what she’s achieved in the last year alone, you know you’re looking at an extra special fighter.”

The 18-0-0 Heaney became British middleweight champion on Saturday after an expert performance against London’s Bentley.

The Stoke supporter believes last week’s victory makes a future fight at bet365 Stadium more of a reality and set his sights on Alimkhanuly’s WBO and IBF belts.

“Frank (Warren) said the winner (Bentley or Heaney) fights for a world title and I think there’s no reason why I can’t fight Janibek (Alimkhanuly) and do my best,” Heaney told the PA news agency.

“Bentley did a very good job against Alimkhanuly himself (unanimous points defeat).

“Styles make fights and that could be a very exciting thing to happen.

“I want any of the world titles. Janibek has two world titles and so he’d be the best one to fight because you can get two birds with one stone there providing I can beat him.

“It lays the foundation to fulfil my dream which is to fight at Stoke City’s football ground.”

Bentley struggled to deal with the elusive Heaney, who showed signs of brilliance.

https://twitter.com/NathanHeaney/status/1726143846197936259

The undefeated Stoke fighter claimed he “played” with Bentley for 12 rounds and said the victory was emotional.

“Watching the fight back at times I was playing with one of the most dangerous middleweights in the division,” he added.

“He laid out his last title defence in 45 seconds but I’m in there with my hands on my thighs and I’m doing a little shoulder shimmy.

“Steve (Woodvine) told me exactly how to beat Denzel Bentley.

“In the first round I was moving my feet and I thought ‘he can’t close me down’. The plan Steve had set out for me was absolutely perfect.

“It must have been disheartening for him (Bentley) to be told before he’s going to knock me out and then not be able to land a shot on me.

“It was full of emotion. Some fighters online after I boxed behind closed doors said I’ll never get beyond area level.”

Heaney insisted the win was no surprise to him and that it was the best performance of his career.

He said: “It definitely didn’t surprise me (winning) but it did everyone else. It made the win even better because no-one expected it from me.

“Everything was flowing because I was enjoying it so much.

“It’s probably my best performance in terms of how I applied myself and the level of opposition.

“But there’s still lots of areas I could have improved on.

“When they announced me as the new British middleweight champion it gave me validation that I am a good fighter.”

The 34-year-old featured at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, joining in the headline clash between champion Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre.

Fury left his front-row seat in Cardiff when Austin Theory attempted to cash in his 'money in the bank' contract before downing the 25-year-old.

Reigns emerged victorious by pinning McIntyre before the pair were greeted in the ring by Fury, who treated the crowd to a rendition of Don McLean's 'American Pie'.

While Fury waits for a heavyweight unification clash against Oleksandr Usyk, he refused to rule out moving to WWE after his boxing career comes to an end.

"At the moment I'm a heavyweight world champion, and I have plenty of fights I have to take care of over the next few years," Fury responded when asked about the prospect of joining WWE.

"But I really, really have a passion for WWE. Never say never."

The Britain-based boxer overcame French hope Davina Michel by a unanimous points decision to reach the 75kg semi-finals on Sunday.

With no third-place bouts at the Games, Ngamba is set for at least a bronze medal even if she loses to Panama's Atheyna Bylon on Thursday.

Having led the Refugee Team as the flagbearer at the opening ceremony just over a week ago, Ngamba secured another piece of history here – though the Cameroon-born fighter is intent on not finishing just yet.

"It means the world to me, to be the first ever refugee to win a medal," Ngamba said.

"I'm just a human, just like any other refugee, athlete and refugee all around the world. But I hope I can change the medal in my next fight.

"I was fighting a very tough opponent today. A lot of people were not cheering for me. But I listened to my team, I listened to my coaches and I listened to myself.

"I stuck to the tactics and I stayed calm and composed. I'm happy that I got the job done. Hopefully, in the next one, I will also get the job done. No, not hopefully. I will get it done."

Ngamba became the first refugee athlete to make the Olympics boxing tournament in May, and the first in any sport to earn a place in the Games by qualification rather than selection.

The 25-year-old was born in ­Cameroon but moved to ­England in 2009, though is unable to return to ­her homeland because she is ­homosexual, which remains a criminal offence in the country.

Team GB have supported her citizenship application but to no avail, leading Ngamba to represent the International Olympic Committee's refugee team in the French capital.

Ngannou, who relinquished his UFC Heavyweight title as part of his move to the Professional Fighters League (PFL) earlier this year, will make his professional boxing debut against the WBC Heavyweight champion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 28.

Fury's decision to face the unranked Ngannou has been criticised by many boxing fans after the Gypsy King failed to reach an agreement on a unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk earlier this year.

Shields made the opposite switch from boxing to mixed martial arts in 2021 and has a 1-1 PFL record, meaning she is well-versed in the differences between the disciplines. 

Ngannou will be a huge underdog when he steps into the ring for the first time, and while Shields is excited to see him in such a high-profile fight, she knows he is at a major disadvantage.

"It's going to be very interesting fight," Shields told Stats Perform. "Francis left UFC because of low pay. He wasn't being paid properly as a champion, which I felt terrible for – he had a couple of injuries and everything. 

"I think him coming to the PFL, they can offer him a nice cheque and really honour that he was a UFC champion and that he's going to work hard to be PFL champion. 

"I'm happy that Francis is getting his just [reward], fighting against Tyson Fury in boxing. I think he's just so crazy. 

"All the girls in MMA, I think, are very, very smart. If they were to come to box me inside the ring, I would destroy them, truth be told." 

Ngannou is, however, known for his punching power and is being trained for the bout by Mike Tyson, which Shields hopes may help the Cameroon-born fighter keep things interesting. 

"Francis has great hands, but in boxing and in MMA, distancing and everything is completely different," she added.

"I just feel like I just want to see it. I'm excited about it, and Francis is training with Mike Tyson, so we may see some things we weren't expecting to see. 

"I just know that Tyson Fury is a really great boxer. He's strong and I believe Tyson's going to win the fight, but I can't wait to see what Francis does to move from the cage."

Fury has previously discussed the idea of competing in MMA, but Shields is sceptical, adding: "I heard Tyson talking about it, but I don't think he would get inside the cage. 

"Inside the cage, under MMA rules, he gets kicked, [opponents] take you down to the ground and knee you and things like that. I just don't see Fury doing it. But he's crazy, so you never know."

Elsewhere, Anthony Joshua says "positive" talks have taken place over a heavyweight meeting with Deontay Wilder following the Brit's one-punch knockout of Robert Helenius earlier this month.

While Shields is fond of both fighters, she feels compelled to back fellow American Wilder if the bout is made.

"I am a fan of both," she said. "Deontay Wilder's like a big brother to me and Anthony Joshua's the heavyweight I have a crush on because he is so gorgeous! 

"But it has to be the American Deontay. Even though I think Joshua has better skill, I think Deontay Wilder has just got dynamite in both hands and we've seen Joshua get knocked out before. 

"I know I'm going to be cheering for Deontay Wilder, he's like my brother."

On Wednesday, it emerged Benn had tested positive for the banned substance clomifene last month.

The British Boxing Board of Control subsequently prohibited the fight from taking place. Although promoters on both sides attempted to force a U-turn, their efforts were unsuccessful, with the fight officially postponed on Thursday.

Nigel Benn posted a video message to Instagram on Friday defending his son, calling him a "dedicated trainer" and a "clean athlete".

"As you know, we're in total shock," the former WBO middleweight and WBC super-middleweight champion said. "I've been with my son for the last 10 weeks, and the training has just gone the absolute best it could ever have been.

"He's a dedicated trainer, he leaves no stone unturned, and we'll get to the bottom of this.

"I love my son, I know he don't cut no comers. He just goes straight at it, 100 per cent.

"We'll keep you informed, we'll let you know what the next step is, but you know, he's a faithful trainer and a clean athlete. Speak to you all soon. God bless."

Nigel Benn famously twice fought Chris Eubank Sr in the 1990s, with Eubank winning the first contest and the second ending in a draw.

The WBC heavyweight champion has been touted for a match-up with his fellow Briton for a number of years, only to see each attempt to set up a bout fall short.

A fight looked closer than ever earlier this year before another breakdown in negotiations, leaving Fury instead to set up another fight with Derek Chisora next month.

Though Fury has retired, or indicated he would quit, multiple times before, the 34-year-old now says he will not depart from the sport before he fights his rival.

"I don't think I can retire today," he told The High Performance podcast. "Because I need that Joshua fight. We have been trying to make that fight for years.

"It's the fight that people want to see. It's the fight that I want to see as a boxing fan. 

"I think it would be an absolute dying travesty if me and Joshua didn't fight in this era."

Elsewhere, Fury spoke about the fresh wave of talent in the heavyweight division, led by Oleksandr Usyk, that has emerged around him, and how he sometimes wonders whether he still has the fight in him.

"For the last four or five years, there has been this three-headed monster: me, [Deontay] Wilder, Joshua," he added.

"Joshua and Wilder have been slain, and I'm the last one standing.

"All of a sudden, you've got some new people coming up now - Joe Joyce, Daniel Dubois, and Usyk's gate-crashed the party.

"Now there's a load of new blood that wasn't there five years ago and it's like, 'Can you beat this person?'."

Fury will fight Chisora at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 3.