List of All Articles with Tag 'boxing'

The Premier League games you can expect to watch on Boxing Day during the 2023/24 season.

Chris Eubank has opened up on his split from his son’s team, claiming that Chris Eubank Jr ‘has never listened’. A rift emerged between Eubank and his son in October, ahead of a planned fight between Eubank Jr and Conor Benn – a bout that collapsed after the revelation that Benn had failed two drug tests. Eubank Jr went on to lose to Liam Smith via fourth-round TKO in January, with the pair’s scheduled rematch then falling through due to an injury sustained by Smith. As such, Eubank Jr, 33, is currently without a fight. Addressing the current state of Eubank Jr’s career, his father – a British boxing icon – told Talksport on Tuesday (13 June): “David Haye called me the other day and said [Eubank Jr] doesn’t spar, he does everything that he wants to do, he’s got ‘yes men’ around him. “And so it seems to me, by what David Haye tells me, that he’s still not listening. If you won’t listen, then life will teach you what it taught many of the other fighters. It is arrogance when you shut your ears, and what arrogance gets you is what it got him in his last fight. “The calibre of Liam Smith does not beat Chris Eubank Jr on my watch. Junior on my watch is not supposed to lose to Liam Smith; on the watch of these PE teachers anything can happen, and anything did. He has never listened. “My son could have been a tremendous fighter, he electrified me when watching him, but he hasn’t because he doesn’t listen, and if you don’t listen then you have to feel. The truth will set you free. I did not go missing, he sent me away, you gave me the ability to go away and live my own life. Of course I will accept anything he asks me, but you have to have the humility to ask. Dad is no longer chasing you.” Addressing a past comment made by Simon Jordan, in which the Talksport host labelled Eubank Jr a ‘charlatan’, Eubank Sr said: “In the world of honesty, how can I disagree with you? I guess my silence says it all. Truth is truth.” Discussing the role he played in helping his son secure significant paydays, Eubank, 56, added: “Without me, you can’t make the money that he’s made. “There were three fights he had [...] with fighters who were like [Avni] Yildirim; $9 million, I got him that. He can’t make that kind of money without someone like me, they’re paying these guys $60,000 a fight.” Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Chris Eubank Jr and Liam Smith rematch postponed for second time Josh Taylor plunged into the unknown as Teofimo Lopez earns redemptive win Dmitry Bivol hits out at ‘unfair’ WBC ban on Russian boxers

Dmitry Bivol has labelled the World Boxing Council’s ban on Russian boxers ‘unfair’, as he looks ahead to his next fight. The Kyrgyzstani-born Russian holds the WBA light-heavyweight title and has been linked with a bout against Artur Beterbiev, who holds the WBC, WBO and IBF belts. Russian-born Beterbiev represented his country of birth until last year, when he opted to represent Canada – where he has lived for 16 years – amid sporting sanctions relating to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Among those sanctions was a decision by the World Boxing Council (WBC) not to recognise Russian and Belarusian fighters, including champions. That decision also precludes Bivol, 32, from fighting Beterbiev, 38, in a unification bout at light-heavyweight, despite strong demand from fans. “Of course it’s not fair,” Bivol told Seconds Out on Monday (12 June). “How could [someone] say, ‘I am the champion of the world,’ if somebody from some country couldn’t fight for your belt? But this guy could be better than you. “It’s not fair. And this guy is just training, spending his time in the gym, and he’s not allowed to fight. He’s the same [as] you, he’s just living in a different apartment in a different place, but he’s working the same [as] you. “He’s training, he’s fighting, his mentality is similar, but why is he not allowed to fight? It’s not fair.” Bivol last fought in November, comprehensively outpointing Gilberto Ramirez to retain the WBA light-heavyweight title, which he also retained in his previous fight, against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in May 2022. Meanwhile, Beterbiev most recently fought in January, stopping Anthony Yarde in the eighth round. He is next due to box in August, defending his titles against another Briton, Callum Smith. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Teofimo Lopez and his father share emotional exchange during Josh Taylor fight Josh Taylor says move up to welterweight is ‘imminent’ after first career defeat Jake Paul agrees to 10 rounds in Nate Diaz fight

For someone who is such a monolith of a man, there are a surprising number of layers to Joe Joyce. At certain points during our half-hour conversation, Joe Joyce the heavyweight boxer is speaking; at others, it’s Joe Joyce the fine-art student, the swimming instructor, the cheerleader, or the trumpet player. “When I was a swimming and diving teacher, it was a really great feeling to have someone who was really afraid of the water and to get their head under the water – or have them swimming three, four strokes by the end,” the Londoner tells The Independent. “To have people who have spent their life not being able to swim, and to get them to even put their head under the water in their late sixties and seventies, that’s something I found really rewarding. “I also played trumpet for quite a few years, I was in the choir at school. I could do a little bit of percussion; I used to go on music holidays. My little brother is the more musical one; he’s at uni doing something musical and was in the Brit School; he was also in Thriller Live. My dad’s an art teacher, he restores antique mirror frames, and my mum was into pottery; she does a series of African-esque heads. Growing up, music and sport was encouraged, as was art. I did my first oil painting when I was seven years old. “It would be nice to make more art and create more things, be more creative than the destructive boxing side.” These other sides to Joyce are all “authentic” elements of the 37-year-old, as he puts it. “I wake up Joe Joyce, I go to sleep Joe Joyce. I’d like to inspire the next generation coming up and teach them, lead by example. It’s good to give back. I’d like to lead a movement, like how Muhammad Ali transcended boxing and is one of these pivotal names in history – like Bruce Lee, Bob Marley, Michael Jordan. That’s the kind of thing I’d like to leave behind, or at least something close to that.” They are huge aspirations for a man who comes across so humbly, but while there is some way for Joyce to go in achieving such status, his profile swelled significantly in the aftermath of his knockout of Joseph Parker in September 2022. “Overnight I saw the change, where people were kind of putting me in the top five [at heavyweight] and were interested and excited about certain match-ups with these top fighters,” he says. Joyce, who claimed silver for Great Britain at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, hammered Parker to the canvas with a left hook in the 11th round in Manchester to become interim WBO champion. “When I was in there, I couldn’t remember what shot I stopped him with; it wasn’t until I got back to the changing room and they showed me the clip of it. I was like, ‘Woah!’” The final shot capped off an indefatigable performance from Joyce, who marched down the New Zealander relentlessly and was unperturbed by Parker’s best strikes. “He did his best, he put his best effort in, and it wasn’t enough,” Joyce says matter-of-factly, before morphing his voice into a fine impression of a 1970s professional wrestler: “And it’s gonna take a wrecking ball to take me down, I’ll tell you that much!” he bellows, making a whipping motion with his index finger, before his voice cracks into a laugh. Unfortunately for the Briton, Zhilei Zhang became that wrecking ball in April. While the Chinese heavyweight did not quite take down Joyce, he battered the “Juggernaut”’s right eye to the point of closure, forcing the referee to wave off the bout in Round 6. With the result, Joyce lost the WBO Interim belt and saw his professional record fall to 15-1 (with 14 of his wins having come via knockout). The clashes with Parker and Zhang, similar to Joyce’s bout with rising heavyweight Daniel Dubois in 2020, were risky affairs on paper. But in a business in which the best rarely do battle with one another, Joyce has shown no trepidation in confronting tough combatants. At 37, he cannot afford to waste time on tune-up fights or meaningless match-ups. “I’m not out here just to earn money or be heavyweight champion of the world,” he insists. “It’s about taking them challenges on and overcoming them. I think some of that can be lost in the sport. It’d be good to bring back those good times of everybody fighting everybody. People don’t wanna lose their ‘0’. I don’t know where that mentality came from... Maybe from Floyd Mayweather? That’s why a lot of the [big] fights don’t happen.” It is a trend that is at odds with what fans want – one that goes against basic fighting instinct, Joyce argues. “There’s that excitement when you’re at school, and someone in the playground shouts, ‘Fight!’ It kicks off, and the whole school gathers around... It’s that primordial excitement that people get, it’s that kind of raw entertainment. When I was in primary school, I had quite a few fights – two on one, or they’d start the fight and I’d finish it. I was always a head taller than everyone. Early days of rugby, there’d be five or six guys hanging on to me, trying to slow me down.” Ironically, a criticism of Joyce has been his perceived lack of speed, but if that is a valid critique then it has not prevented the Juggernaut from building momentum in fights through his pressure and the volume of his output. Before Joyce’s meeting with Zhang, there was a clamour for the Briton to face the likes of Tyson Fury and fellow Olympian Anthony Joshua. The visual of Joyce being scaled by school students on the rugby pitch, coupled with discussions around Fury and Joshua, leads us naturally onto whether Joyce would rather fight five smaller Furys or one gargantuan Joshua. “Five little Furys would be a pain in the ass, wouldn’t it?” he laughs. “That’d be so annoying, being surrounded by them! They’d be coming from all angles, you can’t hit them, the head movement... But imagine the punch on a massive-sized Joshua... ” Before long, Joyce might not even have to imagine the punch on a life-sized Joshua, who – as the 37-year-old acknowledges – is an intriguing enough proposition as is. Joyce’s eagerness to embrace such challenges is an endearing element of his personality – and of his approach to his profession. That dichotomy, between the gentle Juggernaut’s personality and profession, will only make his journey all the more enthralling. Read More Joe Joyce arrives at boxing’s top table with brutal knockout of Joseph Parker Tyson Fury: Joe Joyce ‘couldn’t lace my boots’ but beats Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk Tyson Fury to record ‘Sweet Caroline’ cover for mental health charity Jake Paul agrees to new stipulation in Nate Diaz fight Josh Taylor says move up to welterweight is ‘imminent’ after first career defeat Teofimo Lopez and his father share emotional exchange during Josh Taylor fight

Jake Paul has agreed to extend his fight with Nate Diaz to 10 rounds, as he prepares to test the UFC veteran’s ‘cardio’. YouTuber star Paul is due to box the mixed martial arts icon in Dallas on 5 August, with their bout originally scheduled for eight rounds. However, Paul, 26, has now agreed to a stipulation of 10 rounds against his fellow American, 38. “Nate Diaz wants 10 rounds,” Paul tweeted on Tuesday (13 June). “I guess he has good cardio. “Ok Nathan, 10 rounds it is.” Diaz, who left the UFC in September after submitting Tony Ferguson, will be making his professional boxing debut when he faces Paul. The YouTuber, meanwhile, is 6-1 as a pro boxer, having beaten former UFC champions Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva, among others. Paul outpointed Woodley in their first clash before knocking him out in a rematch, and the 26-year-old dropped Silva en route to a points victory over the MMA legend. He also holds a first-round knockout win over ex-UFC star and former ONE champion Ben Askren. Most recently, Paul boxed Tommy Fury – half-brother of heavyweight boxing champion Tyson – in February, losing on points. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More MMA great Amanda Nunes retires after win over Irene Aldana at UFC 289 Amanda Nunes took ‘coward’s way out’ by retiring at UFC 289, says Julianna Pena Meet Charles Oliveira, the UFC’s miracle man Jake Paul makes startling Conor McGregor claim in intense rant at UFC star Josh Taylor says move up to welterweight is ‘imminent’ after first career defeat Teofimo Lopez and his father share emotional exchange during Josh Taylor fight

Footage has revealed an emotional moment between Teofimo Lopez and his father on Saturday, during the super-lightweight’s title win against Josh Taylor. Lopez Jr, 25, outpointed Taylor to win the WBO belt at Madison Square Garden’s Theater in New York City, with his father and coach, Lopez Sr, in his corner throughout. And the Americans shared an emotional exchange in between rounds, as footage from Saturday (10 June) has shown. “I love you,” a smiling Lopez Jr told his father. “I love you, too,” came the response, before Lopez Sr kissed his son on the forehead and added: “You look amazing. Let’s figure him out already.” “I got him,” said Lopez Jr. The former unified lightweight champion beat Taylor on all three judges’ scorecards, handing the Scot his first defeat as a professional. Taylor, 32, last fought in February 2022, winning a controversial decision against Jack Catterall to remain undisputed super-lightweight champion. He later vacated two of his titles and was stripped of another as he pursued a rematch with Catterall, which fell through earlier this year. That led Taylor to box Lopez, who made his super-lightweight debut in December with his own controversial win, when he outpointed Sandor Martin. Taylor has vowed to move up to welterweight following his loss to Lopez, who has claimed that he may retire at just 25 years old. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Teofimo Lopez hands Josh Taylor his first defeat with decision win in New York Josh Taylor plunged into the unknown as Teofimo Lopez earns redemptive win Josh Taylor says move up to welterweight is ‘imminent’ after first career defeat

It was a bad night for Josh Taylor in the Garden ring in New York City on Saturday. Taylor was beaten by Teofimo Lopez over 12 rounds in a shock. It was certainly not the fight that Taylor expected. Taylor suffered defeat for the first time in 20 fights, he lost his one remaining world championship belt and at the end he offered no excuses. “The better man won,” he managed, his voice crackling with emotions. Taylor was putting on a brave face to mask the despair. It had been a fiery and ugly build-up and Lopez had talked of killing Taylor in the ring. Lopez, who has his own personal battles away from the ring, apologised for the comment and received a peck on the cheek for his honesty. “It’s all song and dance,” Taylor told him. It was an oddly respectful end to a week of promises, insults and stupid claims. It was also glorious redemption for Lopez, once the No 1 at lightweight. Lopez had lost his way on both sides of the ropes, and finished his last fight asking his team live on air if he still “had it”? It was a difficult interview to watch; on Saturday in the ring in the Garden’s basement theatre, Lopez rediscovered the form most people thought had vanished. He is still only 25, by the way. It was a close fight that Lopez won clearly and that often happens when two very good boxers meet. One judge, Benoit Roussel, scored it wide in Lopez’s favour. His 9-3 verdict was too wide, to be honest. The other two judges, Steve Gray and Joseph Pasquale, returned identical scores of 115-113, which means 7-5 in rounds in Lopez’s favour. Taylor never complained, but had he won the last round, he would have retained his title with a majority drawn verdict. Instead, Taylor had to surrender his beloved world championship belt; last year, Taylor held all four belts at super-lightweight before slowly losing the struggle to keep the quartet of baubles in a protracted series of skirmishes with the sanctioning bodies. Taylor has not fought since February of last year and had been placed under relentless pressure to carry out his mandatory requirements. He surrendered, under threat of being stripped, three belts and was left with just the WBO; he was still considered the best at his weight. Taylor, incidentally, had won all four belts in a series of fights against six men with a combined record of 133 wins and not one loss. Taylor was, make no mistake, the best in the world at his weight. That changed in the Garden ring. Lopez was too mobile, too slick and Taylor was just off the pace. It is not a tricky fight to understand; Lopez just worked that bit harder. Taylor had talked before about moving away from the 140-pound limit of super-lightweight and going to welterweight. In New York late on Saturday, there was also talk of a rematch. Taylor will let the loss settle and then make a decision, but hopefully he will not take another sixteen-month break. On the same night, it was the Sunny Edwards show at Wembley Arena and he retained his IBF flyweight title for the fourth time. On his undercard, Nina Hughes retained her WBA bantamweight title over 10 rounds against Katie Healy and in the bloody fight of the night, Ellie Scotney won the IBF super-bantamweight title. Scotney, having just her seventh fight, was too smart, tough and determined for New Zealand’s Cherneka Sugar Johnson. There was a dark and deep cut by Johnson’s right eye for most of the blood-splattered fight. Scotney was quite brilliant, Johnson’s five Māori-haka men stole the show with their routine before she walked to the ring. It was her highlight, they were exceptional. Edwards was a clear winner of nine of the 12 rounds, but the Chilean, Andres Campos, kept it competitive. “I need tests,” Edwards admitted. And he does and the tests might start later this year. And I hope so - Edwards has the style, craft and personality to be a big attraction. Edwards has a deal with his new promoter, Eddie Hearn, for the big fights; there are three other world champions at flyweight, but Edwards wants Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez – the WBO flyweight champion and a genuine threat. Rodriguez is unbeaten in 18, just 23, the former world champion at super-flyweight and, according to heavy rumour, he wants our Sunny. As a twist - and it is a good one - Sunny has signed and agreed to the fight, which includes the money terms, with Rodriguez as part of his deal with Hearn. Rodriguez can be enticed over for a December showdown. That, by the way, is a super fight. Edwards won clearly, Hughes did the same, Scotney’s win was hard but clear and in New York, in the basement theatre at the Garden once evocatively known as the Felt Forum, Taylor was left wondering what went wrong. There were no excuses, but there will be some questions. Read More Teofimo Lopez hands Josh Taylor his first defeat with decision win in New York Josh Taylor says move up to welterweight is ‘imminent’ after first career defeat Miami Heat mascot hospitalised after Conor McGregor punch Josh Taylor says move up to welterweight is ‘imminent’ after first career defeat Teofimo Lopez hands Josh Taylor his first defeat with decision win in New York Who is fighting on Josh Taylor vs Teofimo Lopez undercard tonight?

John Gotti III attacked Floyd Mayweather after their fight was called setting off a brawl.

Josh Taylor and Teofimo Lopez hope to settle their beef in the ring tonight and you can guarantee yourself a win no matter which fighter you back!DraftKings Sportsbook is rewarding boxing fans with $200 in bonus bets just for signing up and betting $5 or more on either Taylor or Lopez tonight!...

Josh Taylor squares off with Teofimo Lopez in the ring tonight and FanDuel Sportsbook has the industry's BIGGEST boxing promo to celebrate the fight. Following an initial deposit, your first wager of up to $2,500 will be covered by FanDuel and refunded in bonus bets if you lose!That means y...

Bullish Josh Taylor has warned title challenger Teofimo Lopez he will be at the peak of his powers on Saturday night as he bids to reign at Madison Square Garden. The 32-year-old Scot will take to the ring for the first time since his contentious victory, via a split decision, over England’s Jack Catterall in February 2022. Taylor knows he was not at his best that night in Glasgow almost 16 months ago, but he is adamant he will be firing on all cylinders as he goes head to head with 25-year-old Brooklyn boxer Lopez in their WBO super-lightweight title showdown in New York. “We could both go on our previous performances and say ‘you’re only as good as your last fight’ but I believe that’s a lot of s***,” said Taylor. “I prepared crap for the last fight so I performed crap. I believe he was the same (when winning by a split decision against Sandor Martin last December). He took his eye off the ball and he performed crap as well. “We’ve both got the bit between our teeth here. He’s up against the king of the division. I know he’s a good fighter. The version that beat (Vasyl) Lomachenko (in October 2020) is a very good fighter and that’s the version I’m preparing for. “It’s all about your preparation. This time I’ve prepared diligently and to the best of my ability, and you’ll see the best of me on Saturday night.” Taylor admits he is living out a childhood dream in topping the bill at the Garden. “I’ve been here 10-12 days now,” he said of his preparations in New York. “I came over nice and early to get used to the heat. “I was expecting the heat but it’s not been so hot. It’s been OK for me being Scottish, used to the cold weather, so I haven’t had to adjust too much. “I’m excited to be here. To be involved in a big fight and the main event like this, doing the Empire State Building and stuff like that, it’s really cool. “This is a dream come true. Starting out as a young kid, you always dream of coming stateside and fighting in venues like this. “This is the ‘Mecca of Boxing’, Madison Square Garden. Fighting in a place like this, topping the bill, bringing the travelling fans – the Tartan Army – over as well, so I can’t wait to get in there to make this dream become a reality. “This clown here (Lopez) is in my way but he’s another piece of cannon fodder, that’s all he is.” The fight is due to begin around 3am BST on Sunday. Read More Josh Taylor vs Teofimo Lopez live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV tonight Josh Taylor vs Teofimo Lopez time: When does fight start in UK and US tonight? Josh Taylor vs Teofimo Lopez card: Who else is fighting tonight?

First, Chris Billam-Smith was raised aloft. As Shane McGuigan hauled his fighter’s hulking frame into the air, for the adoring mass of fans to see, the cruiserweight’s face vanished behind his gloves. Somewhere under the battered leather, his left eye – swollen half-shut – closed completely. So did the right, trying to trap the tears. Inevitably, the dam broke. The stream washed away his sweat, while his bawls were drowned out by the flood of noise around him. Then, the cruiserweight sank to his knees, all 6ft of him reduced to the stature of a boy who once dreamt of this very moment. Or rather, this meshing of moments. To a young Billam-Smith, fighting in front of a sold-out crowd at the home of his beloved AFC Bournemouth would have represented a dream fulfilled; so would winning a world title. Doing both on the same night? If that plays like a scene from a Hollywood blockbuster, then it is the kind of moment that one would deride for stretching our suspension of disbelief a fibre too far. Boxing is not Hollywood. Boxing does not provide fairytale endings. Boxing is unforgiving, and cruel. But if any boxer has earnt a mote of kindness from this sport, it is Billam-Smith. It was granted in the form of his decision win over former teammate Lawrence Okolie last month, but it should not be taken for granted. Nor could it have been when “112-112” was the first scorecard to boom over the PA at Dean Court. “I remember listening and thinking... like frowning,” Billam-Smith, 32, tells The Independent, with stitches still hovering over his left eye. “I wasn’t really listening to the [other] scores, but I just knew it was obviously a majority decision. If I had listened, I think I would have known [I’d won] because obviously one of them was a 107, and that couldn’t have been me because I had no points deducted and wasn’t knocked down or anything. Obviously I was just waiting for them to say ‘and new’. He said it, and a wave of emotion came over me. I was just thinking, ‘I’ve done it.’ I just couldn't believe it. It was such... it’s been such a long journey.” As Billam-Smith knelt in the ring, his face soaked in tears, his mother came to his mind. Dedicating his victory to her, Billam-Smith revealed in the ring that she is battling cancer. “Obviously at the moment, with my mum being unwell and stuff,” he tells The Independent, “for it to be all worth it and worth all the hard graft put in over the years, the years of not earning any money as an amateur and even early on as a pro – not earning a huge amount of money and scraping by at times... To finally to do it and achieve my ultimate dream of winning a world title at the stadium, it was just... You can’t really put it into words to be honest with you. “I had so many reasons to win; I had 15,000 people there that I couldn’t let down, my mum, my wife, my son. I was never going in there without giving it 100 per cent, because of all those reasons. And obviously for myself as well, with the growth through the years. Yeah, my mum obviously was a huge part of that as well.” So was Billam-Smith’s son, Frank, as he says. “Having to miss my son’s first birthday the day before the fight, that’s a completely different emotion. It’s weird; he has no idea what’s going on, doesn’t know that I missed his birthday – thankfully – to stand half-naked in front of loads of people at Bournemouth pier. You know, it’d be amazing for him to grow up and hopefully be proud of his dad.” These various factors, and the emotional weight loaded into each of them, had to be put aside for the sake of performance; so did the sense of occasion around fighting at Dean Court. “On the Friday, I went and sat in my old season-ticket seat and just looked at the set-up,” says Billam-Smith. “I was like, ‘This is crazy.’ The ring-walk rehearsal was very important for me to visualise how everything was going to be, so it wasn’t overwhelming and I wasn’t like, ‘Oh my God, this is actually happening.’ [During the actual ring walk], there’s a point where I sort of look around and just nod to myself. Like, I’m still very much in the zone and focused and staying calm, but I thought: ‘This is awesome.’ “[In the fight], I very much had blinkers on. All the visualisation helped. I was very calm in the ring and the whole time in the build-up, just thinking about those 12 rounds and how I was going to react – making sure I reacted logically to every situation.” Billam-Smith did just that, capping off an eclectic trilogy of fights across the last 11 months. First, there was his war with Isaac Chamberlain, which ended as a points victory in Billam-Smith’s favour, then his knockout-of-the-year candidate against Armend Xhoxhaj in December, before this often-bitty bout with Okolie. The 12 rounds against Okolie will not be what fans remember from this particular night, however. They will remember the aftermath – the stirring scenes of a dream being realised in real time. “Now it’s about creating another dream,” says Billam-Smith, looking ahead to the future. “You know, I’d love to fight in Las Vegas, but most importantly I need to secure my family’s future financially. And I’m not the finished article as a boxer. “In any sport I’ve ever played, I’ve always just wanted to give it 100 per cent and improve. That’s still the same me now.” Lorton Entertainment’s“STABLE”, a four-part documentary series covering Shane McGuigan’s work with his fighters, will be released this Autumn. Read More Leigh Wood and Chris Billam-Smith win world titles with victories over familiar foes How a unique night of action could lay groundwork for future super-fight ‘I could kill a guy and get away with it’: Teofimo Lopez is treading a disturbing path through boxing How unique night of action could lay groundwork for future super-fight Leigh Wood and Chris Billam-Smith win world titles with victories over familiar foes Boxxer’s Ben Shalom: ‘I sacrificed my twenties, I sacrificed absolutely everything’