Fight

Barry Hall charges at Sonny Bill Williams at fight weigh-in

Hall aggressively pushed his head into Williams' face as the tension threatened to spill over ahead of tonight's heavyweight fight.

Hall is returning to the ring for the first time since he fought to a draw with former NRL star Paul Gallen in their 'Code War' bout in 2019.

Sonny Bill says the training camp in Ireland with the Tyson Fury camp had been eye-opening and he was in peak condition and ready to keep his 9-0 unbeaten record intact.

 

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Joshua bullish ahead of Usyk fight

The WBA (Super), WBO and IBF champion defends his titles on Saturday against former cruiserweight champion Usyk.

A cordial press conference today gave way to an intense face-off before a handshake between the pair.

Joshua, 31, said: "I'm not an easy fight for anyone, I like fighting."

He added: "If you tell me I was fighting King Kong I would give it a go. This is my job.

"I wasn't on the amateur scene long enough to know much about Oleksandr, but when I turned professional I did a lot of research and I love the Ukrainian style and the Ukrainian people.

Joseph Parker ready for Derek Chisora pressure

The New Zealand boxer had four straight wins to his name ahead of his bout with British fighter Derek Chisora in Manchester.

However, a lack-lustre victory over Junior Fa in February meant most pundits still felt Parker had more to prove in his quest to regain world champion status.

The 29-year-old admitted it wasn't his best work but said the fight wasn't much of a gauge for a clash with former title challenger and no-nonsense veteran Chisora.

"They're two totally different styles.

Fury and Joshua to fight

Joshua beat Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev in December to retain his IBF, WBO and WBA titles and set up the prospect of a mouth-watering clash with fellow Briton Fury, the WBC belt holder.

Fury, 32, has not fought for over a year since his knockout win against American Deontay Wilder, but said last month he would fight twice this year.

ESPN reported that both fights are set to take place in 2021 with the first in June or July followed by the rematch in November or December.

Fury plans to fight until he's 40

The 31-year-old has two fights remaining on his current contract and had previously spoken of his desire to walk away from boxing at the conclusion of that deal to spend more time with his family.

Having stopped Deontay Wilder to win the WBC title in February, Fury was set to fight the American for a third time this year before the coronavirus pandemic put boxing on hold.

And now, with talk of a unification bout against fellow Briton Anthony Joshua continuing to gain traction, Fury has suggested he is not hanging up his gloves any time soon.

John Hopoate banned from rugby league for 10 years

Hopoate fronted the NSW Rugby League conduct review panel last night after pleading guilty to three counts of contrary conduct and one of striking just minutes after coming off the bench while filling in for Narraweena against Forestville.

The ban sees him rubbed out immediately for five years, before another five are suspended with Hopoate required to apply for any role he wishes to fill in that time.

Miller issues challenge to Joshua

Joshua was present on American soil to promote the defence of his IBF, WBA and WBO titles against Russian Alexander Povetkin on September 22 at Wembley Stadium. 

However, Miller interrupted the head-to-head meeting between the two heavyweights to confront the unified champion, who responded to the goading by turning to face up to the trash-talking American. 

Quality ref the priority for Parker camp

Parker's promoter David Higgins and trainer Kevin Barry have been vocal in their thoughts about the referee for the bout in Whyte's backyard at London's O2 Arena.

Their concerns have been largely fuelled by the performance of Italian official Giuseppe Quartarone in the South Aucklander's unanimous points decision loss to English superstar Anthony Joshua in their world title unification encounter in April.

Wilder to be sent AJ terms

The unbeaten fighters have been on a collision course for some time, particularly since Joshua defeated Joseph Parker to add the WBO strap to his WBA and IBF belts.

However, despite plenty of back-and-forth verbal sparring, a deal has yet to materialise and Hearn, Joshua's promoter, recently suggested that an agreement to fight Alexander Povetkin was close and the Wilder clash would have to wait until February 2019.

Anthony Joshua demands Joseph Parker fights him in Britain

The location of the highly-anticipated unification bout remains one of the key points to completing negotiations for the heavyweight division's super fight.

Joshua confirmed the fight deal was 95 per cent over the line for a clash early this year.

Parker's promoter David Higgins is having the contract examined by legal experts and is likely to fly to London late this week to sign it off.

Parker could join him in the UK for a press conference the following week.