Stevenson – the 2016 Olympic silver medallist – improved to 16-0 after the American claimed the WBO interim junior lightweight title in Las Vegas on Saturday.
A former WBO featherweight champion, Stevenson won 120-107 on all three judges' scorecards, though he acknowledged he was far from his best.
"I apologise to all my fans I didn’t feel good tonight but I did what I had to do to win," Stevenson – who scored a knockdown of Nakathila (21-2) in the fourth round – tweeted after the bout.
"Thank you for all da support I promise better for further fights to come."
The crowd in Las Vegas showered the fighters in boos in the 11th round as the 23-year-old Stevenson and his Namibian opponent Nakathila wrapped up an uninspiring affair.
"To be honest, I didn't really like my performance. I felt I could've performed a lot better," Stevenson said. "You had an awkward fighter throwing hard punches, and he knows how to grab and get away. He was a real awkward fighter.
"I tried to get him out of there a little bit, but I started getting hit with some solid shots. I ain't really like it, but next time I'm going to work on moving my head a little bit more and step it up a little more."
Stevenson is now set to face fellow WBO junior lightweight champion Jamel Herring (23-2) later this year.
"If I had the choice, I'd take Oscar Valdez, but if I have to beat up Jamel to get to it, I'll do that, too," Stevenson said. "Jamel can't beat me. He knows what it is."
Stevenson jumped on Jamel Herring from the opening round and did not let up, winning the WBO junior lightweight title with a 10th-round TKO in Atlanta.
The 24-year-old Stevenson (17-0) punished Herring (23-3) all night, leaving his 35-year-old opponent shaken by the middle of the scheduled 12-round bout.
The 2016 Olympic silver medallist ensured this one would not go the distance, with referee Mark Nelson stopping the fight at 1:30 of the 10th round shortly after having the ring-side doctor examine the bleeding Herring.
It was a dominant all-around performance for Stevenson, and a welcome one on the heels of his unanimous-decision victory over Jeremiah Nakathila in June.
The Las Vegas crowd showered both men with boos near the end of that tepid contest, which was marked by a lack of action from either fighter.
After taking down Herring, Stevenson referenced the criticism he received from ESPN announcers in June.
"I wanted a fun fight and I wanted to perform," he said. "I wanted to show my skill, my boxing skill, my defence and my power. I thought I showed everything tonight."
WBO featherweight champion Stevenson will be moving up a division on Tuesday in the first show for promoters Top Rank since the coronavirus pandemic shut down the boxing schedule.
The unbeaten 22-year-old – who has won 13 straight since turning pro, following an impressive amateur career that included a silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games – takes on Felix Caraballo in a 10-round main event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
However, there may not be too many more outings at 126 lbs for the American, who is planning a permanent move up in weight class.
"Honestly, I’m looking at Leo Santa Cruz a lot more," Stevenson told Stats Perform News.
“Leo is at 130, I’m already getting bigger and I don’t know how long I’m going to be at 126 lbs. We will see if I can get Leo in the ring.
"130 has got a lot of tough fighters there. I think it's a division that I could take over easily.
"I don't think it would be any problem making those fights there besides probably Leo, but I think if I say his name enough, he will end up wanting to fight me too."
Stevenson's grand plan may scupper the prospect of a meeting reigning IBF featherweight champion Warrington, though.
The duo have both talked up the prospect of facing each other but Stevenson revealed how he had dismissed an offer he considered unacceptable to travel to face the Englishman in Leeds, meaning the window may already be closed on a bout between two of the best in the division.
"I’ve called him out since I was like 8-0," Stevenson, who claimed the vacant WBO strap with a points triumph over Joet Gonzalez in October 2019, said.
"Even when I was getting ready for my title the first thing that he said was, ‘Go and win a title first, then I will fight you’.
"When I won a title, he can't fight until May, or something like that, and I wanted to fight earlier. I said forget it and was going to have a tune-up fight, instead of waiting all the way until May to fight.
"Then he tried to make it seem that I took another fight with someone else, and that he cannot wait for me when he was the one... we were the ones trying to get in the ring earlier. There's a lot of stuff going on with that.
"They sent contracts that were like nothing, like pennies to me to be honest. For me to be in a unification fight, going over to his home town with no problem at all about it, I think I should be paid that way.
"There's a lot going on with that fight. I don't know if it's going to happen."
The fight was judged 117-111 in the Croydon-born 27-year-old’s favour by all three judges in his first performance after signing with promoter Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom.
Edwards came out bursting with confidence and controlled the opening stages of the 12-round fight, frustrating his previously-undefeated opponent by the midway point.
But Campos, seventh in the IBF rankings, began to close the gap down the stretch, forcing Edwards onto the ropes in round eight before the Briton replied with a flurry of shots.
Campos found another gear in the 12th and final round but it was too late as Edwards closed the contest with a body blow.
Edwards, who called for a unification fight with Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, told DAZN: “I’m 27 years old. I don’t even think I’m at the peak yet.
“I think I’m still going and going, but Bam makes perfect sense. I want to be a great, I want to be perceived as a great, I want to go down as a great in British boxing history.”
Earlier in the evening, fellow Brit Ellie Scotney defeated Kiwi Cherneka Johnson to become the new IBF world super bantamweight champion with a unanimous 98-92, 98-92, 97-93 decision.
And in an all-British bout, Nina Hughes defeated Katie Healy by unanimous decision over 10 rounds to retain her WBA bantamweight world title.
The 30-year-old middleweight boxer was in preparation for upcoming Olympic qualifiers when news of the postponement came. Reality hit him hard.
“I was in the process of qualifying. The qualifying tournament, which was in Argentina, was to run from March 26- April 8. It was postponed and a week later, cancelled. All the remaining Olympic boxing qualifying tournaments have also been suspended until who knows when,” he told Sportsmax.TV.
“This is a huge disappointment. Like myself, a lot of athletes have been preparing for the last three-to-four years only to be hit with this postponement. “For some it's simple, but for those that have sacrificed for the last three years it's different.”
The development, he said, has forced him to change strategies in order to adapt to the new paradigm. “Like most athletes, I had to go back to the drawing board and reassess my preparation with another year to go. However, this may be a great opportunity,” he said.
“This year I've had the privilege to be sponsored by Spartan Gym and Mark Miller from MonkFit. I also have partnered with a new boxing coach, Nathan Boothe, from England. This additional year will allow me the time to cement my preparation. If I wasn't prepared before with this new team behind me, I'll definitely be prepared by then.”
In the meantime, he is hopeful that the Jamaica Boxing Board can get some meaningful fights for him and other Jamaican boxers once the situation allows.
“I've beaten Panama's middleweight and light heavy boxers but, to be truly prepared for the world biggest sporting event, the entire Jamaican boxing team needs more exposure. The Panama event was great, however, we need more fights against different opponents to sharpen our skills,” he said.
Sharpening those skills have also become more challenging with the increasing restrictions being imposed by the government as it seeks to flatten the curve with regards to the spread of the virus. However, he is ready to overcome the challenges that lie before him.
“This pandemic has been a shot to the heart for all sporting events. It has crippled my training and preparation. With all gyms closed and the curfew, it has become hard if not nearly impossible to train,” he said.
“However, I'm extremely determined not to allow this pandemic to divert me from my goal. I still train six times a week because from every disappointment comes an opportunity and when that opportunity comes I won't be caught off guard.”
The Puerto Rican became undisputed featherweight champion with her triumph, paving the way for a second bout against Taylor in Dublin on May 20.
Taylor joined Serrano in the ring following the victory over Cruz to confirm the showdown, having beaten Serrano on points last April.
"This is more than a dream come true. My debut in Ireland against Amanda Serrano, 'The Real Deal' Amanda Serrano. This is incredible," Taylor said.
"The last fight was epic, and I expect nothing less for the next one."
The pair set history in their initial fight, which was the first women's clash to headline a boxing card at Madison Square Garden.
The rematch will take place at Dublin's 3Arena after negotiations to hold a bout at Croke Park broke down due to security costs.
Taylor, an Olympic gold medallist and a two-weight world champion who demanded a rematch against Persoon following a contentious win in 2019, made it 16 bouts unbeaten when she came out on top 98-93 96-94 96-94 on the judges' cards.
Keen to dispel any lingering doubts from the first fight, Taylor made a rapid start, landing two clean blows in the first round and leaving Persoon bloodied by the end of the second.
Persoon steadied herself in round three, though – unlike in their first meeting – Taylor refused to be drawn in by the Belgian, who did land an overhand right in the fifth.
Despite heavy swelling to her forehead, Taylor got the better of Persoon again in the seventh round, picking off her opponent with some sharp jabs.
Taylor was twice wrestled to the ground as Persoon's aggression continued, and the Irishwoman was subsequently hit with a slew of clean shots.
Persoon seemed to take the final rounds, with a brawl in the closing 15 seconds leaving both fighters exhausted, but it was ultimately Taylor who edged it.
"This time I respect the result," Persoon, who also revealed she broke her nose two rounds in, told Sky Sports after the fight.
"The weight was too much. I ate, ate, ate but didn't have the power to hurt her. I could not hurt her. And if you can't hurt her, she is technical and runs around. You have to hurt her.
"She deserves the win. I respect her. I've got no problem. My respect to her. She deserves the win today."
Taylor, the undisputed lightweight champion, was due to meet Amanda Serrano in a rematch on the same date, but the Puerto Rican pulled out due to injury.
Instead, Taylor accepted a bout with Cameron after the English fighter challenged her on social media.
Cameron offered to move up in weight and has now got her shot, which will be the first professional fight Taylor has contested in her homeland of Ireland.
"Once Serrano pulled out this was the natural fight to make," the Irish world champion said.
"It's two undefeated, reigning undisputed world champions going up against each other and I believe that's the first time that's ever happened in the modern era of the sport.
"People have been talking about this fight for a long time now, so I'm delighted it's happening and I'm looking forward to becoming a two-weight undisputed champion."
Cameron has been victorious in all 17 of her professional fights, becoming the UK's first undisputed female champion after defeating Jessica McCaskill in November.
Meanwhile, Taylor's record stands at 22-0 with six knockouts, 17 of those bouts coming in title matches.
The 36-year-old made history alongside Serrano in New York in May 2022, with theirs the first female fight to headline at Madison Square Garden as Taylor won on points.
It was the 32-year-old Scotsman’s first bout since his contentious win over Englishman Jack Catterall in February, 2022 and it was another struggle at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
The Scot started well enough but Lopez grew in confidence and finished the fight strongly, landing some thumping shots, particularly in the second-half of the bout, which impressed the judges who declared a unanimous win for the 25-year-old Brooklyn boxer.
Steve Gray called it 115-113 as did Joe Pasquale with Benoit Roussel scoring it 117-111 for the new champion.
Afterwards Taylor, whose first loss came in his 20th fight, was magnanimous in defeat, telling Sky Sports: “No excuses. He was better on the night. It is what it is so congratulations to Teofimo.
“I would love to do it again. I know I am better than that and I know I can beat him.
“So yes, I would love to do it again but he’s the champ and the ball is in his court.”
Lopez said: “I just want to thank God first. It has been a long time coming.
“We just beat the number one champion, Josh Taylor, former undisputed champion.”
Taylor, who unified the division before vacating several titles, had started impressively.
Using his size and reach advantage, the Prestonpans southpaw delivered some accurate jabs and powerful body shots in the early rounds.
Lopez slipped to the canvas in the third and pushed Taylor to the ground in the fourth where he staggered the Scot in the final seconds of the round with a powerful shot.
Taylor came back in the next round with a clean left and right before Lopez landed a low blow in the sixth where he again finished the aggressor.
Lopez looked confident coming out for the seventh but had to absorb a couple of clean shots from the Scot before he rocked him with a right hand at the end of the round.
The home fighter indulged in some showboating in the eighth round as his confidence increased further.
Lopez’s hand speed was causing all sorts of problems for Taylor who was rocked again in the ninth round which the challenger dominated.
Taylor was clipped twice in the 11th round which ended with Lopez lifting his arms in a victory pose which the Scot replicated but less convincingly.
In the final round Taylor was again left unsteady on his feet after taking some shots with Lopez clearly believing he had won when the bell rang – the judges confirming that belief moments later.
American Crawford, who is the WBO welterweight champion and undefeated in 36 career bouts, ideally wishes to return when spectators are allowed back into venues once the coronavirus pandemic has eased sufficiently.
Pacquiao, 41, was previously a Top Rank fighter like Crawford but did not face him during that period.
His last fight was a split decision victory over Keith Thurman in July 2019, while Crawford, who is seeking a high-profile contest, stopped Egidijus Kavaliauskas in December.
The other options to fight Crawford are Kell Brook, Yordenis Ugas, Shawn Porter and Thurman.
"We're going to have Terence fight in September, or October, period," Arum said, per ESPN.
"We're looking to either match him with Pacquiao, Kell Brook, Ugas or Porter."
Of facing Pacquiao, Arum added to talkSPORT: "That's the opponent that I would most like Terence to fight, and I think he would.
"Now, that requires a lot of money and we've had proposals from the Mid-East.
"I don't know whether the Mid-East venues will allow spectators this year, they may not allow it until there's a vaccine. That is the problem.
"We're hamstrung because none of these [venues] want to commit to a fight this year because of the coronavirus.
"Otherwise, we have to look for Terence Crawford to fight a major welterweight. There are a number that are possibilities. Thurman, Porter or this kid Ugas, the Cuban who is a good, good welterweight.
"They're with Al [Haymon's] company PBC, but we're working well together with that company, so I don't think that'll be a problem.
"And then finally there is Kell Brook, whose management contacts me on almost a weekly basis.
"So the first possibility is Pacquiao, if that's possible. Second possibility is a fight against one of Al's guys. And the third possibility is Kell Brook if we can get him in the United States."
Crawford unleashed a flurry of punches in round nine to a wobbly Spence who could not defend himself, forcing the referee to step in and stop the fight.
It took just two rounds for Crawford to land his first of three knockdowns, with the next two coming in round seven.
Spence was brave throughout the bout, hanging on in a fight he was significantly behind in, but eventually Crawford took it out of his hands.
Crawford showed his respect to his downed opponent after the fight and said he would be up for a rematch.
“It was a good stoppage. I was on the verge. The referee did what he was supposed to do to protect the fighter,” Crawford said.
“If the fight happens again I am pretty sure the support will come out again for both of us.”
Usyk outclassed the Briton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last year, claiming the WBA, IBF and WBO belts.
The Ukrainian was challenged more in the rematch in Jeddah on Saturday, but produced a near-perfect display in the later rounds to defend his world heavyweight champion status with a split-decision victory.
One judge scored the fight 115-113 in Joshua's favour, while another had the same result for Usyk, with the third decisively awarding Usyk a 116-112 success.
An enraged Joshua picked up the belts after the fight before throwing them down, prior to returning to the ring to launch a bizarre yet impassioned rant on his background and Usyk's skills.
Joshua has now lost three of his past five fights, all of them for world titles, and could not hide his emotions at the post-fight press conference.
"It's really, really hard for me to say I'm proud of myself," he said. "I'm upset, really, deep down in my heart."
On his actions after the conclusion of the fight, Joshua added: "When you try and do things from your heart, not everyone is going to understand," Joshua explained.
"It was just from the heart. I knew I was mad at myself. Not at anyone, just myself. I was like 'I got to get out of here because I'm mad'.
"When you're angry you might do stupid things. Then I realised this is sport. I came back and did the right thing.
"I'm a fighter for life. That hunger never dies. Fighter for life."
Eddie Hearn, the promoter for Joshua, labelled his fighter an idol within world sport as he echoed the sentiments that the 32-year-old will not retire.
"This is someone who I want my kids to look up to," Hearn added. "If he's out in public, he gives everyone his time. He's one of the nicest guys. He's a competitor and winner.
"What you saw was raw emotion. A real person who wanted to win badly."
The 37-year-old is set to break a six-year layoff with an eight-round super lightweight bout this Saturday in Santa Marta, Colombia, against local fighter Luis Diaz Marmol.
In recent years, Walters had been visiting the boxing gym to keep in shape but admits he “wasn’t really serious about fighting” until experts around the gym encouraged him to come out of retirement.
“After sparring with other fighters here in Panama, my coach and other coaches asked me to come back to the sport,” Walters said.
“I was making it very difficult for the guys that I was sparring with, so everyone was saying I should make a comeback,” added Walters, who boasts a solid ring record of 26 wins (21 kos) against one loss and one draw.
The 29-year-old Marmol brings an aggressive style to this Walters bout and upset unbeaten Colombian prospect Diego Silva his last time out. Marmol has a ring record of 19 wins (11 kos) against 16 losses.
Originally from Montego Bay on Jamaica’s north coast, Walters became the first Jamaican ever to win a world boxing title at home when he defeated Daulis Prescott on December 8, 2012 in Kingston via a seventh round TKO. He will be fighting for the first time since 2016 but has been actively training for months.
Walters has also enlisted the services of well-respected manager Gabriel Barron as he returns in a weight class 14 pounds above his title-winning featherweight division. In his last bout on November 20, 2016, Walters quit against Vasiliy Lomachenko after being dominated by the outstanding Ukrainian for seven rounds in Nevada, USA.
Walters had turned pro in 2008 after an amateur career that included bronze at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games and two gold medals at the Caribbean Championships in 2005 and 2006. Within a few years he became one of the world’s most exciting fighters of the lower weight divisions after defeating big names like Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan.
Despite years of talk, a bout between the British former world champions has yet to materialise.
The prospect of the pair facing off appeared to be over, with Khan absent from the ring since beating Billy Dib in July 2019.
However, the 34-year-old is motivated to make a return in 2021 and has set his sights on Brook, whose most recent fight was a stoppage loss to Terence Crawford five months ago.
Should the British showdown get the green light, Khan would love it to be hosted at the iconic Old Trafford, rather than in the Far East or the United States like his last two fights.
"I was on the phone to Eddie [Hearn]. I said, 'Let's get the fight made'. We're not getting a clear response from Kell's team, that they want to take the fight," he told Sky Sports.
"It has been a fight that we've been talking about and it obviously didn't happen because I was campaigning in America, fighting over there.
"When I came back to the UK, I had mandatories. I had to defend my titles.
"But I think now is the right time to make that fight happen with Kell. We have both been world champions. We're both British and in the north as well.
"Imagine making a huge fight like that happen at the Old Trafford football stadium. It would be a massive fight."
Khan has won 34 of his 39 professional fights, 21 of those by knockout, while Brook has 39 wins and 27 knockouts from 42 bouts.
Bolton-born Khan is confident he can still challenge for titles, but first he wants the chance to finally settle an old score with Brook.
"Look, I'm still up there in the top 10 in the world," he said. "Getting a world title fight I don't think will be a problem.
"But what would be even bigger than a world title, because I've won a world title before, would be a British rivalry fight between myself and Kell Brook.
"That's something that would be big in Britain. I don't know how big it would be in America, but I know for a fact that us both being British, it would be a massive showcase here."
Twenty applicants had enrolled in the course that ran from October 13 to November 5. However, six men and seven women completed the course. It was the first time that this many women were being trained as boxing officials in Jamaica.
"We covered the duties and responsibilities of referees and judges. We looked at things the referee should do before the bout, during the bout and after the bout,” said Kevin Stupart, AIBA certified instructor, who conducted the course.
“The reason we broke that down into three segments was for ease and simplicity in terms of teaching it and letting them understand the different fundamentals as it relates to boxing officiating."
Toniann Lindsay, one of the graduates expressed her satisfaction at being able to complete the intensive course.
"I wanted to be one that passed. I didn't want to be come through and drop out because it wasn't just 13 of us that started the course but 13 of us finished strong,” she said.
“We learned a lot in this course. We learned the roles and responsibilities of both being a judge and a referee. It was a very interesting course and I am so elated to be here right now at this ceremony collecting my certificate. (I) look forward to Friday as we will also be displaying what we have learnt. I just want to thank everyone who made this possible."
Jamaica Boxing Board President Stephen 'Bomber' Jones and Chester McCarthy, Athletic Director at GC Foster College both welcomed the first cohort of trainees.
“This will first of all allow us to have more activity on the same evening or closer bouts, week to week as we are looking to have closer bouts now,” Jones remarked.
“It will open our minds, expand our thinking as we try and get into high school boxing where we could have officials at multiple venues. Now that we have 13 officials graduating, its huge. The graduates are very excited. They are young, enthusiastic and they are willing to work so starting from this Friday they will be in the ring.”
McCarthy, meanwhile, expressed similar sentiments.
"I am extremely elated for the primary reason that this is the first time in five or six years that we have been able to train a fresh set of officials for boxing here in Jamaica,” he said.
It’s an extremely good feeling to have partnered with the Jamaica Boxing Association to train these youngsters."
Come Friday, there will be nine amateur fights and a professional fight between Jermaine 'Breezy' Richards and Mason 'Common Fowl' Brown.
WBC champion Fury is set to fight Ukraine’s WBA, IBF and WBO title-holder Usyk on May 18 in Saudi Arabia in the first undisputed world heavyweight bout of the century.
Regarding his opponent, the former unified cruiserweight champion who made his heavyweight debut in 2020, Fury told a press conference on Wednesday: “It’s not personal, it’s strictly business for both fighters. There’s a lot of stuff on the line, but I don’t hate him, he don’t hate me.
“I respect him, as a man, as a fighter. Everyone has to respect the man’s achievements. Good fighter – I have a tough challenge in front of me. But I’m very confident in my ability and I’m very confident I’ll beat the guy.
“When the cruiserweights step up to the big boys, usually they get found wanting. You can beat the average big ones but you can’t beat the elite big ones, because size really matters. We have weight divisions for a reason and he’s going to be found wanting when he fights me on May 18.
“This is my time, my destiny, my era and my generation. Fact.”
Fury's camp want Anthony Joshua to step aside from his planned rematch with Oleksandr Usyk after the latter's triumph in September.
That would allow Fury to go up against the Ukrainian in a heavyweight unification bout.
The Telegraph reported on Sunday that Joshua had agreed to forego the rematch and receive a £15million payout in return.
However, Joshua denied the claims a deal had been struck. Should nothing be agreed by Wednesday, then purse bids with Dillian Whyte – the WBC mandatory challenger – will go ahead, with that lined up as Fury's next fight instead.
In a video posted to his official social media channels on Tuesday, Fury, who defeated Deontay Wilder last year in the final fight of their trilogy contest, made it clear that he had had enough of waiting.
"Another gym session done, Tuesday morning smashed," the 33-year-old said.
"Tick tick tick effing tick tock is the subject of today. Is Dillian Whyte going to fight me? Is Anthony Joshua going to step aside?
"Let me know. Because I am sick of looking at these bums, sick of listening to their excuses.
"Tick tick tock. The time has run out of the bottle. You're all getting a good hiding – cowards."
Usyk, who is two years older than Fury, has won all 19 of his professional fights, including 13 knockouts.
Fury's record stands at 33 victories and one draw – the contentious first fight against Wilder in 2018.
That is not to say Olympic gold in the ring cannot be a crowning career achievement in its own right, but making a national squad for the Games can often precede a glittering career in the professional ranks.
Ukrainian middleweight Oleksandr Khyzhniak, Russian heavyweight Muslim Gadzhimagomedov, Cuban light-welterweight Andy Cruz and British featherweight Peter McGrail are among those hoping to take the first step on the road to becoming household names.
Here, we look at some of the men and women they will be looking to emulate.
Muhammad Ali
Still known as Cassius Clay, 'The Greatest' first showcased his dazzling skills to the world as an 18-year-old at the Rome Games in 1960, carving out an elegant path to gold in the light-heavyweight division. Poland's 1956 bronze medallist and reigning European champion Zbigniew Pietrzykowski presented some problems with his southpaw style in the final but Ali would not be denied.
Sugar Ray Leonard
Future rivals Joe Frazier and George Foreman followed in Ali's footsteps with heavyweight gold in 1964 and 1968 respectively, but by the time that celebrated heavyweight era was winding down the United States had another golden generation of talent to get excited about in the form of their 1976 Olympic squad. The cream of the crop was a light-welterweight Leonard, who dazzled on his way to gold – not dropping a single round and then putting Cuban knockout artist Carlos Aldama on the canvas and forcing a standing eight-count in a stunning final victory.
Lennox Lewis
In a fitting precursor to his professional career, Lewis found Olympics glory was something worth waiting for. Representing Canada, he lost to American Tyrell Biggs at the 1984 games before returning four years later to stop Riddick Bowe in the Seoul 88 super-heavyweight final. Lewis avenged the Biggs loss early in his pro-career and a maiden reign as WBC champion came when Bowe refused a mandatory defence against the Briton. Career-defining wins over Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson to stand tall among his peers remained the best part of a decade away.
Oscar de la Hoya
De la Hoya captured the hearts of a nation with his mega-watt smile, making good on his mother's dying wish that he would become Olympic champion. The all-action Mexican-American with a devastating left-hook saw off Germany's Marco Rudolph in the lightweight final at Barcelona 92. The 'Golden Boy' moniker that would dominate the sport in the ring and – more significantly – in a commercial sense for a chunk of the modern era was born and De La Hoya went on to win professional world titles in six weight classes.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
For those hopefuls who leave Tokyo without gold, there are plenty of examples of elite fighters who went on to incredible success without Olympic glory. None more so than all-time great Mayweather, who had to settle for bronze at Atlanta 96 after a controversial points loss to Serafim Todorov. After 50 professional fights and 26 unblemished world title contests across five weight divisions, the unheralded Bulgarian Todorov – who had a brief 6-1 pro career – remains the last man to beat Mayweather in a boxing ring.
Andre Ward
Another US stylist who went his entire professional career without ever tasting defeat, Ward actually managed to go one better than Mayweather before dominating at super-middleweight and light-heavyweight. At the Athens 2004 Games, the Californian outpointed Magomed Aripgadjiev of Belarus to claim light-heavyweight gold.
Vasyl Lomachenko
Ukrainian master Lomachenko boxed for a world title in his second professional fight and quickly became one of boxing's leading pound-for-pound stars. That unprecedented progress through the paid ranks makes a little more sense when you consider his utterly absurd amateur record of 396 wins and one defeat. It wasn't really as if anyone in either the featherweight division at Beijing 2008 or at lightweight during London 2012 stood too much of a chance as Lomachenko swept to consecutive golds.
Anthony Joshua
Packed crowds roaring Joshua on to glory are a long-established theme of his two reigns as unified heavyweight champion. Joshua first felt the thrilling weight of a nation behind him when he snuck past reigning Olympic champion and two-time super-heavyweight champion Italian Roberto Cammarelle on countback at the ExCel Arena on the closing weekend of London 2012, having trailed by three points going into the final round.
Katie Taylor
The only fight on the same level as Joshua's gold medal bout – and arguably a level above – in terms of noise at London 2012 was Taylor's opening clash against Great Britain's Natasha Jonas, a rivalry they reprised in the pro ranks earlier this year. Both times, Taylor in all her whirring majesty was successful and the Irish icon secured lightweight gold in the English capital. She was a five-time world champion in the amateurs and, even though she could not go back-to-back in Rio, she then turned over and set about redefining women's boxing all over again as a two-weight world champion.
Claressa Shields
Taylor has indisputably blazed a trail for female boxers and it is one the classy and cocky Shields has ebulliently followed. Victories over Russia's Nadezda Torlopova at London 2012 and Nouchka Fontijn of the Netherlands at Rio 2016 gave the American back-to-back middleweight golds. She became an undisputed middleweight champion in the pros with a unanimous decision win over the great Christina Hammer in April 2019, before dropping down to do likewise at super-welterweight versus Marie Eve Dicaire earlier this year.
Fury said he could “be down the pub all day” and still beat the social media star-turned fighter in their X Series encounter in Manchester.
But he has loftier aspirations to follow in the footsteps of his famous brother Tyson.
“The plan is to get though these YouTube fights, do what I need to do in this sort of scene and I believe I am good enough to win a world title belt,” he told the PA news agency.
“I don’t know when or what weight division but when the time is right I’ll go out and I will challenge for a world title because I could not live with myself if I didn’t box for one.
“I believe I can do it, I have the right set-up around me so why not give myself a best shot?”
While Fury, who sprung to huge fame in 2019 reality show Love Island, comes from a fighting family KSI made his name on YouTube and, as part of the showbiz nature of the event, will wear a £40,000 gumshield.
The Manchester-born Fury has dismissed his opponent’s credentials.
“These guys don’t really call for me to step up to world title ability. I’m levels above these guys,” added the 24-year-old.
“I could beat KSI after 15 pints of beer. I could literally go down the pub all day, fight him at night-time and still beat him. If we fight 100 times I beat him 100 times.”
On KSI’s expensive mouthguard, he added: “He’s going to need £200 grand around his mouth by the time I have finished with him.
“It will be a lucky night for someone when they catch it in the crowd.”
American MMA fighter Dillon Danis, making his boxing debut, has refused to back down in his online vendetta against opponent Logan Paul’s fiancee, which has resulted in Nina Agdal lodging a lawsuit against him.
“It is years of me and the Pauls going back and forth. I don’t take anything personal, it’s just business. I don’t care about the guy or his w***e fiancee,” said Danis, who has sparred with one of MMA’s biggest names Conor McGregor and did not rule out the Irishman being ringside at the weekend.
The imperious Tszyu, son of boxing legend Kostya, improved to 16-0 in Townsville on Wednesday and quickly case his gaze towards a potential meeting with WBO light-middleweight king Patrick Teixeira.
Former WBO welterweight champion Horn, who defeated Manny Pacquiao in July 2017, was dropped twice before he retired on his stool ahead of round nine, succumbing to a third loss of his career.
The build-up to the fight was overshadowed by a claim that Tszyu had been training at a gym owned by one of the judges, while another was forced to apologise after it emerged he had tipped Tszyu to win.
The WBO refused to change the judges, but Tszyu ensured they were not needed.
After a scrappy start Tszyu found Horn's chin with a powerful left uppercut in the third round and sent him to the canvas.
Horn managed to get back to his feet but his opponent remained in control, working the head and body effectively to grind away at the 32-year-old.
WBO global super welterweight champion Tszyu followed an excellent right with a body shot to send Horn down for a second time in round six but he continued to show patience and was rewarded at the end of the eighth.
In a post-fight interview, Tszyu said: "All respect to Jeff, he's achieved so much. He's given Australia this platform. This is a young man's sport and I was better this night.
"I said, 'Give me competition, someone who can test me.' It was sink or swim and I'm not going to sink, I'm going to swim. I want the real world title strap around my waist soon.
"I'll be back in the gym Monday and I'll be training, because I know this is not the end, this is just the beginning and this motivates me to keep going.
"It was an honour to share the ring with Jeff."
