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Daniel Dubois’ Interim title was upgraded to full championship but he seeks legitimacy and a knockout victory against Anthony Joshua

Daniel Dubois is the reigning IBF heavyweight world champion. But he is yet to win a fight for a full world title.

However, he intends to rectify that when he fights Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium on September 20, live on Sky Sports Box Office.

Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois

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Dubois lost his attempt to win the unified world title when Oleksandr Usyk stopped him in nine rounds last year.

The Londoner regrouped after that to defeat Jarrell Miller and then won the IBF Interim belt with his victory over Filip Hrgovic.

After beating Tyson Fury to become the undisputed champion, Usyk agreed a rematch and vacated the IBF title. That saw Dubois upgraded to full world champion.

He believes a victory over Joshua, a world-class heavyweight who has been a unified champion himself twice before, will legitimise his championship status.

“I’m the underdog because I have to prove myself and beating him and winning this next fight will set me as a legit champion. I’m raring to go. This is everything. The big opportunity,” Dubois told Sky Sports News.

Scottie Scheffler had a moment of frustration all golf fans could relate to during the opening round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship Thursday. 

The World No. 1, playing his first tournament back on the PGA Tour since winning Olympic gold in Paris, lost his temper, despite shooting a four-under 66 at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.

Four-under thru 12, the Masters champion’s tee shot at the 13th found a bunker 185 yards from the pin. His second shot failed to find the green, suffering a similar sandy fate.

Scottie Scheffler: PGA Championship showing that the conquest of strife and struggle are the essence of sport - The Economic Times

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Faced with getting up and down from the trap to the right of the green, Scheffler splashed out over the pin with his ball coming to a stop 13 feet away from the hole.

Despite his shot safely finding the dancefloor and setting up a good look at a par save, the two-time major winner was less than impressed.

Scheffler immediately slammed his club into the bunker before his ball could even land, before furiously kicking the sand to cover his tracks and shaking his head in disgust.

As he exited the sand trap, he took one last aim at the ground with his club before striding away.

Scheffler ultimately missed the par putt and was forced to tap in for bogey – his lone dropped shot of the round.

However, he picked up another birdie at the par-five 16th to card his 66 and head into the second round Friday with a seven-way share of fifth.

Scheffler’s rare outburst came one day after the Olympian ripped into the PGA Tour’s ‘silly’ playoff format.

Arriving with a freshly-won gold medal around his neck, Scheffler was pressed on the one trophy that had eluded him throughout his glittering career so far: The FedEx Cup.

‘I talked about it the last few years, I think it’s silly,’ said Scheffler, who has started the past two Tour Championships at East Lake Golf Club at 10-under – at least two shots better than the rest of the field.

‘You can’t call it a season-long race and have it come down to one tournament.

‘Hypothetically, we get to East Lake and my neck flares up and it doesn’t heal the way it did at the Players. I finish 30th in the FedEx Cup because I had to withdraw from the last tournament? Is that really the season-long race? No, it is what it is.’

Scheffler, whose 2024 earnings total $36,148,691 so far, will tee off alongside PGA Championship and The Open Championship winner Xander Schauffele at 10:35am ET in the second round Friday with the BMW Championship following next week before the PGA Tour’s season finale on August 29.

Coco Gauff’s US Open preparations suffered a massive setback as she made an early exit from the Cincinnati Open and the American admits she needs to up her game ahead of her title defence in New York.

The reigning US Open champion has not had a good run of late as she lost in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, the third round of the Olympics, the third round at the Canadian Open and now the second round in Cincinnati.

Gauff was the defending champion in Ohio and her defeat to 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 defeat to Yulia Putintseva means she will head into the US Open with only three matches (two in Toronto and one in Cincinnati) under her belt on hard courts.

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That is a far cry from her 2023 form where she won the Washington DC title (Gauff skipped the Citi DC event this year due as it clashed with the Paris Olympics), reached the quarter-final in Canada and won the Cincinnati Open. Those results effectively set her up for her title run in New York.

The 20-year-old’s latest loss will also result in a drop to No 3 in the WTA Rankings and it means she will be seeded third in New York behind world No 1 Iga Swiatek and second seed Aryna Sabalenka.

Gauff admitted there is one thing she currently lacks.

“I feel like I have to work on consistency, overall,” she told the WTA Tour. “[I will] probably go home and try to reset.

“Obviously, I have a lot coming up soon with the US Open, so I think just trying to reset and be ready for that.”

Gauff served nine double faults with four of those coming in the deciding set with her first serve percentage at 56% while she won only 54% of her service points.

Despite her struggles, she broke to love in game six of the deciding set to 4-2 up, but Putintseva hit back immediately as the “tricky” Kazakh player won the final four games of the match.

“I made a lot of errors, especially when I was up 4-2 [in the third set]. I think most of the points she won were off my errors,” Gauff said.

“She’s always a tricky opponent to play. She mixes up the ball, has drop shots, slices. She’s someone that makes you earn the match.”

Carlos Alcaraz is already a “really, really complete player” despite his age with Gael Monfils insisting the Spaniard is “like Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer”.

Aged just 21, Alcaraz is already a four-time Grand Slam winner as he is a two-time Wimbledon champion after defeating Novak Djokovic in back-to-back finals in 2023 and 2024.

Before winning his second title at the All England Club in July, Alcaraz also captured a maiden title at Roland Garros to become the youngest man to win to complete the Surface Slam [winning a title on the three different surfaces in tennis] with his hard-court major coming at the 2022 US Open.

Carlos Alcaraz reveals ambitious Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer  goal

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Although he still has some way to go to beat some of the records set by the Big Three of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, veteran Monfils sees Alcaraz in the same light as “those legends”.

“At that moment, of course, I see him as Novak, as Rafa, as Roger,” the Frenchman told the official ATP Tour website. “So for me, he’s just a little bit younger, but he is already [like] those legends.”

What makes Alcaraz – who also became the youngest world No 1 when he climbed to the top of the rankings after his title run at Flushing Meadows in 2022 – such a unique player is the fact that he is not just brilliant when it comes to results, but he is also a great entertainer and always plays with a smile on his face.

Alcaraz has often been described as a hybrid of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal, and Monfils highlighted some of the youngster’s attributes.

“Big, obviously, big. He is a complete athlete, a tonne of speed, endurance, power, and then his tennis, of course, is quite complete too,” the former world No 6 said.

“Backhand, forehand, it’s quite hard to see where you can sit [and wait]. He improved a lot in the return, serving big. He’s just a really, really complete player.”

The 37-year-old Monfils is in the final few years of his career, but he enjoys taking on youngsters like Alcaraz and current world No 1 Jannik Sinner as it brings out the best out of him.

“For me, it’s always cool to play such a big star like Carlos or Jannik,” he said. “Of course, my age it was Novak or whoever, but to play those youngsters, it’s always a pleasure.”

Floyd Mayweather is set to face John Gotti III in a highly anticipated rematch on August 24 in Mexico. However, recent footage surfaced showing Mayweather promoting his whiskey brand, ‘Good Money Whiskey’, at a local supermarket.

The clip, which quickly received traction on YouTube, sparked a backlash among fans who were less than thrilled with his alcohol venture.

Floyd Mayweather launched his spirits brand on October 18th, 2023, at Southern Glazer’s Las Vegas office and warehouse facility, which serves as their official distributor. The launch included both his whiskey brand, ‘Good Money Whiskey’, and his Champagne label, ‘Le Bon Argent’. Fast forward to today, Mayweather was spotted signing bottles and interacting with fans at a local store, which prompted an angry response from fans.

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Earlier today, Fight Hype uploaded a nine-minute clip to YouTube showing Floyd Mayweather signing bottles of whiskey for fans at a supermarket. The retired five-division champion took the time to interact with the crowd and pose for pictures, promoting his brand in the process. According to the Fight Hype reporter, around 400 people gathered at the store to meet Floyd in person.

Floyd Mayweather’s whiskey brand has made its mark across 11 states, as reported by The Spirits Business. The lineup features two distinctive options, a five-year-old blended whiskey, which has flavors of caramelized apple, tropical fruits, and a dash of spice, and a 10-year-old rye that offers a rich, complex profile with notes of butterscotch, spice, vanilla, and a refreshing citrus finish.

Nonetheless, fans expressed their frustration when they saw the disciplined athlete, known for his strict lifestyle and aversion to drinking and smoking, promoting alcohol. The reaction was swift and vocal, with many voicing their displeasure in the comments section of the video.

While Floyd Mayweather has several other business ventures, this one managed to attract some negativity from the fans. One user didn’t shy away from highlighting what they saw as hypocrisy in Mayweather’s business venture. It’s crazy to see Floyd doing liquor promotion because he was one of the most disciplined fighters known to not drink etc,” the user wrote. Notably, the spirit venture is more of a way to make money for the five-division champion than a way to set an example.

Meanwhile, this user seems to have come up with an exciting alternative for Floyd Mayweather to sell instead of alcohol. The user wrote, “Floyd doesn’t drink alcohol, but endorses it for “Money.” Why not create a healthy sports drink for athletes to compete with PRIME? Call it “50-0” 50 vitamins and Zero sugar. You’re welcome, this took 50 seconds to come up with.” However, Floyd’s fan base primarily consists of adults, while energy drinks are more popular among younger people.

The next user humorously dubbed one of Floyd’s employees ‘Value Deal, Steve Harvey’. This employee, seen in the clip at 00:46 helping Floyd with the bottle signings, bore an uncanny resemblance to the TV personality Steve Harvey. “Floyd out here selling Alcohol with value deal Steve Harvey,” the user remarked.

While most of the comments were criticizing Mayweather, there were some who still voiced their support for Mayweather. “Good to see Floyd expanding his brand,” the user wrote. In fact, Floyd Mayweather’s businesses are everywhere. From owning a NASCAR team to boxing promotion to bars and restaurants.

Another user showed their support for Mayweather amid all the criticism. The user wrote, “I’m sorry haters but Floyd is the GOAT.” Despite what the prevailing sentiment is, Mayweather always finds himself loyal fans who support him no matter what.

That said, Floyd Mayweather’s promotion of his whiskey brand hasn’t been well-received by many. However, it’s hard to fault him for capitalizing on opportunities to earn money.

Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury is still one of the most hotly anticipated fights in boxing.

Fans have been clambering to see the contest for several years and it appears both men are now on the cusp of finally sharing the ring together.

If Joshua can beat Daniel Dubois on September 21 and Fury can exact his revenge over Oleksandr Usyk on December 21, then Saudi boxing chief HE Turki Alalshikh has always insisted they will fight each other next.

Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury

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“Joshua if he wins, he will wait for the result of Tyson and Usyk, this is the big fight and everyone will wait for it,” HE Alalshikh told Charlie Parsons via an X Space.

“If Tyson wins then that means we must see Joshua vs Tyson. One of the biggest fights in boxing,all the people want to see it.”

What wasn’t as clear was what would happen if one of them fell to defeat.

Clarifying Saudi Arabia’s stance on the fight if that scenario were to play out, HE Alalshikh added: “I will tell you the clear answers.

“Even if they lost before it doesn’t mean everyone doesn’t want to see it.

“First of all if Usyk wins then he deserves to choose a big fight and this will be his right, right?

“If he chooses Joshua and Joshua accepts then we want to do this fight but still at the same time we want to see Tyson vs Joshua.

“Let’s see what Tyson will do on this night and whether he will give us on December 21 a great fight then for sure we want to see him against Joshua.

“This would be huge for the fans and for boxing.”

Clearly, it is dependent on the manner in which they lose.

A devastating defeat that doesn’t offer much in terms of redeeming qualities may spell the end of the much-anticipated all-British showdown altogether.

But a tight and competitive loss wouldn’t dim interest too much.

Providing both men win their next fights then their showdown will likely be for all four major sanctioning body belts.

Usyk defeated Fury via split decision in May to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.

However, he vacated the IBF strap to pursue his rematch with Fury.

As a result, Dubois was elevated from ‘interim’ to full IBF champion and will defend his title against Joshua, while Fury and Usyk duke it out for the WBC, WBA, and WBO belts.

Shakur Stevenson is running short of suitors.

The American fighter wants to stay active and prove his credentials and show the world he has what it takes because of his highly regarded technical skills. He had an explosive boxer in William Zepeda as an option to bolster his resume and boost his PPV star image. However, that’s not the case anymore. After screening out one more legend of the boxing world, the WBC lightweight has finally had his pick.

‘Sugar’ went on a rant when he admitted that his fight with Zepeda, 28, wasn’t in the works anymore. He also admitted that he had approached Vasyl Lomachenko, but the IBF champion declined the shot at unification. Stevenson, at 22-0, revealed in one of the posts, “Loma just recently said no Again.”

Stevenson: "I'm Going To Be The Person To Expose Tank Davis"

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He then stressed the fighters’ agency to take the fights, cutting across the promotions, and continued, “whatever gone get me paid the most and make the most sense I’m down!” This came after Stevenson, 27, had turned to his social media handle and disclosed that Zepeda had pushed back the date. It was already clear thatOscar De La Hoya and Zepeda, at 31-0, had other options too, and it could be a stylistically tough fight for the latter. So, Golden Boy Promotions and Zepeda pushed the fight. But the fight was still on and since he wanted to stay active in between, Stevenson picked up Joe Cordina.

The lightweight champion wrote in one post, “Zepeda pushed it back The fight will happen in February.” In another separate post, he pointed out the past weight cut issues of Cordina, 32, but praised him as a fighter and again highlighted Zepeda’s reluctance to take up the fight. Stevenson added, “Zepeda don’t want to fight just yet so whoever it is gone be they gone get this work.”

This development might come as a blow to Stevenson’s fans, who wanted him to exchange punches with an aggressive fighter. The 2016 Olympics medalist first chased a fight with Gervonta Davis and then made peace with Zepeda as an alternative. But with the Mexican fighter out of frame, he is again back to square one. But all is not lost.

Eddie Hearn recently laid down the path for Stevenson to bag the ‘Tank’ fight. And it goes through Zepeda. It would adjust him to an aggressive and volume punching style and help set up the fight with Davis. He told Cigar Talks, “If I’m Shakur, I chase the [William Zepeda] fight. I keep building my brand into the ‘Tank’ fight next year.”

It remains to be seen whether it happens or not, as Stevenson is still avoided at 135. While he is coming off a win against Artem Harutyunyan, it wasn’t a comprehensive win. He has the uphill task of stacking up the resume and ironing out his orthodox and technical style with some flair.

Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney have been involved in the most dramatic rivalry of the year with the manner at which Garcia overcame the previously undefeated champion shocking the world – but not as much as the positive drugs test that followed.

Four months on from that controversial encounter, Garcia has now made a one-of-a-kind offer to rematch Haney and put an end to his unbeaten record once again.

Garcia shockingly missed weight for their super-lightweight title clash, meaning that he could no longer win Haney’s belt, but Haney refused to cancel the fight – a decision which he most likely reflects upon with regret. Instead, the American duo battled it out but it was ‘King Ry’ who was able to upset the odds and knock Haney down for the first, second and third time of his career on the way to a majority-decision win.

Ryan Garcia knocks down Devin Haney three times to claim shock majority  decision victory in Brooklyn - Eurosport

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Since that spellbinding display, the performance has been infamously tainted for well-documented reasons and the result has been overturned to a no-contest. Although, the effects of the beating will still remain with Haney, both physically and mentally and ‘The Dream’ made the decision to vacate his world title last month, admitting that he needs a break from boxing.

Yet, just two months later, Devin Haney has revealed that he is looking to return to the sport outside of the United States, declaring that ‘the game ain’t been the same’ without him in it.

In a clip captured by Fight Hub, Garcia made Haney a unique offer for a rematch, where he detailed how his rival and his team could watch every second of his training camp in preparation for the bout in order to ensure that Haney has no excuses this time around.

“I would gladly beat his a** twice. Like I have said, I can tell the truth twice. I beat him easy; they could watch me every day, watch me train, watch what supplements I take, they can blood test me every week, every day after training, they can have a camera in my training camp, they can see what my plan is and how I’m going to throw a left-hook. They can know everything, and this man will not beat me. I have ruined this man, bad.

“I would do it every day just to prove that I am the better fighter. He didn’t beat me, that is the bottom line, he didn’t even get close to beating me. It is just funny how Bill [Haney] is continuing the same story, making it seem like I cheated and that there is no way that his son would have lost if I didn’t take Ostarine – when I know that I didn’t.”

After Garcia missed weight and revealed that he will be moving up to at least welterweight for his next outing and Haney vacated his super-lightweight belt, it is expected that both will debut at 147lbs when they make their respective returns – whether they will do so against one another remains to be seen.

Deontay Wilder was offered a shot at the WBC bridgerweight title, after which manager Shelly Finkel spoke exclusively to World Boxing News.

Wilder gained a call-out from British fighter Lawrence Okolie, who recently took the green and gold belt from Lukasz Rozanski in Poland. Okolie confirmed his interest in facing Wilder weeks before reiterating that fact in another interview.

WBN gave those quotes to Finkel, who informed us of his position regarding Deontay Wilder moving from heavyweight south to 224 pounds.

Deontay Wilder WBC Rankings

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“Please thank Lawrence Okolie for the offer, but we have no interest in the WBC bridgerweight title,” Finkel told World Boxing  News exclusively.

Previously, Finkel had stated that it’s “too early to discuss whether Deontay Wilder will retire” following a knockout defeat to Zhilei Zhang in June before adding that he “had no comment on the news” of Wilder retiring a month later. He added to WBN, “At this point, Deontay Wilder has not retired.”

It’s not the first time Wilder had to fend off speculation that his future lay at bridgerweight. PBC presenter Brian Custer asked “The Bronze Bomber” when working with Showtime.

“My career is to be a heavyweight. That’s what I got in it for, and that’s what I’m going to end with,” Wilder told Custer. “Guys always outweigh me. So putting on weight is not a difficult part for me. My power makes up for all that,” he added.

After Zhang handed Wilder his third loss, WBN specifically called on WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman to confirm if he’d consider allowing his former heavyweight champion to have an immediate shot at the 224-pound belt despite two straight losses. Sulaiman told WBN, “Lawrence Okolie is our champion and has the mandatory fight versus interim champion Kevin Lerena. However, if Lawrence Okolie and Deontay Wilder reach an agreement, it could be a possibility.”

Okolie has since agreed to fight Lerena in a mandatory to be arranged, meaning Wilder is out of the running unless there’s a significant turnaround on all sides.

Due to his name and accomplishments in the sport, Wilder will continually be linked to big fights unless he confirms his retirement. The defeats to Joseph Parker and Zhang have seemingly irrefutable damage to his reputation, and any future offers may come against one of the up-and-coming heavyweights rather than on the path to a title shot.

A rematch with Zhang is already considered unwinnable for Wilder, while Parker is at a loose end and would consider a second fight if the money was right. Given Wilder’s performance in December, though, it’s unfathomable to see any serious money being put down for a Parker return.

It’s more likely that Wilder’s career has run its course as the world-renowned knockout puncher approaches his 39th birthday.

Newly crowned IBF heavyweight world champion Daniel Dubois has been tasked with an extremely difficult first defence of the belt, as he prepares for a domestic dust-up with two-time champion Anthony Joshua.

Ahead of what can only be described as a world champion acid test for Dubois, one of his former sparring partners has offered his opinion on how the all-British affair will go.

Dubois challenged Oleksandr Usyk for the unified heavyweight titles around 12 months ago but came up short despite having success of his own, taking a knee and accepting a knockout defeat for the second time during his career – resulting in a heap of backlash.

Anthony Joshua Daniel Dubois

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However, those who doubted the heart of ‘Triple D’ were soon silenced, as the Greenwich-born knockout-artist bounced back with two career-best stoppage wins of his own against Jarrell Miller and then Filip Hrgovic.

That upset victory over Hrgovic saw Dubois claim the IBF interim title, which was later upgraded to the full world championship. Now, the 26-year-old faces a tantalising clash against a resurgent Joshua in what will be a third world title fight between two Britons in as many years, although many are favouring the form of the experienced challenger – who has secured three consecutive wins inside the distance for the first time since 2017.

In an interview with Boxing Social, Guido Vianello explained why he believes Joshua may simply have too much for his former sparring partner.

“I sparred with Daniel in the training camp before my Efe [Ajagba] fight, he is a very strong and dangerous boxer, but we were very close in every session. This made me feel stronger in my mind because if I can box with Dubois, one of the strongest guys in the heavyweight division, I can do everything. So, I was very happy to spar with him, he is very dangerous.

“Joshua is back and he is back in the best shape [of his career] I think. I know Francis Ngannou too and we are good friends, Ngannou is very dangerous in the ring.

“We could see this when he fought Tyson Fury, we saw a tough Francis Ngannou. Then, with Joshua, everything was better for him [Joshua]. He was fought 12 rounds many times, Joshua knows what to do in the ring and versus Francis, Joshua was perfect.

“I saw Joshua [against Francis Ngannou] and I said that he looks very different, he looks much better than in the past. With Dubois it is a very close fight and I think that Joshua, with his experience, maybe he can win.”

Dubois-Joshua will take place at Wembley Stadium on September 21st, topping a bill that features a plethora of British talent in what will be Saudi kingpin Turki Al-Alshikh’s first foray into the United Kingdom. As for Vianello, he meets the notoriously hard-hitting Arslanbek Makhmudov on away soil this Saturday in Canada, in the highlight of the Mbilli-Derevyanchenko undercard.

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