Jake Paul ‘disgrace' enrages boxing world
Paul on Sunday entered the ring after watching Usyk destroy Daniel Dubois during their battle for the undisputed heavyweight world title at Wembley Stadium.
Tszyu vs Fundora 2 & Pacquiao vs Barrios | SUN 20 JULY 10AM AEST | In the biggest fight of the year, Tim Tszyu faces Sebastian Fundora in a blockbuster rematch, plus Manny Pacquiao makes his highly anticipated return to the ring to face Mario Barrios. | Order now with Main Event on Kayo Sports
Usyk knocked out Dubois in the fifth round after dropping the British fighter twice in the space of one minute as a crowd of 90,000 spectators went berserk.
Paul was one of those spectators, watching from the front row and was on his feet applauding Usyk the moment the fight was stopped by the referee.
As Usyk was celebrating his unified titles in the ring, Paul stepped in and stared him down in a pre-arranged promotional gimmick.
The sight of Paul standing in front of the legendary fighter left many boxing commentators shaking their head.
The concept of Paul fighting for a heavyweight title had plenty venting their frustration on social media — and they no doubt would have been further incensed by Paul's social media posts that were shared shortly after.
The American posted on Instagram he will fight former heavyweight world champ Anthony Joshua before turning his attention to fight Usyk in an MMA match.
Paul posted on Instagram: 'First AJ. Then OU. Book it.'
The YouTuber-turned-boxer had his first professional fight in June when he defeated veteran Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
It shocked many to see Paul positioning himself for a potential fight against the undefeated Ukrainian.
After a barrage of scorn from boxing fans on social media, Paul made it clear his call out was not to fight Usyk in the boxing ring.
'Congrats to one of the greatest heavyweights of all time @usykaa on a huge win,' he wrote on X.
'I respect you a lot. Now we do an MMA match for the world.'
The pair looked each other down for a brief moment before they shook hands and Paul went on his way.
Boxing fans were scathing of the cheap promotional stunt.
One English commentator posted on X: 'Letting Jake Paul anywhere near Usyk is an absolute disgrace to the sport'.
One person responded to Paul by posting: 'Delusional mate, absolutely delusional'.
One fan wrote: 'Letting him in the same ring as Usyk is an insult'.
Paul earlier confirmed he will step into the ring to fight Joshua.
He told DAZN: 'Yeh 100 per cent it's going to happen. We're going to do the unthinkable and create one of the biggest fights in the history of boxing.
'It's not even about it being realistic or not, it's gonna happen so fasten your seatbelts.
'And when I knock him out I'll go down in the history books forever.'
Paul and Joshua's upcoming clash had already been revealed by boxing guru Turki Alalshikh.
He said: 'I'm not against what Jake Paul's doing in boxing, it's good for boxing to have a young generation.
'I'm against some kinds of fights he does. I'm now thinking him against Joshua. Joshua, if he destroys (Paul), it will be good for me.
'The headache of Jake Paul goes from my mind. If Jake Paul wins, I will know that Joshua is finished and Jake Paul deserves to be ring king and deserves to have a future in boxing.
'I don't want 50-50. In this situation I want 99-1. Jake Paul's accepted. Now next week I will talk with Joshua about it.'
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News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Thinks he's the shit': Long-time Tszyu rival Keith Thurman takes aim as No Limit hits back at trolls
Former two-time welterweight world champion Keith Thurman has taken an extraordinary swipe at Tim Tszyu, saying the Aussie 'thinks he's the shit' and blaming his shattering defeat to Sebastian Fundora on poor tactics. Thurman didn't pull his punches, hitting Tszyu at his lowest moment, just minutes after the loss. Tszyu's corner stopped the fight after the seventh round of the world title rematch, before Thurman promised to end his career if they ever fought. The pair were supposed to fight in March last year, before Thurman pulled out with injury. Thurman knocked out Brock Jarvis in Sydney in March, and there were plans for the loud-mouthed American to fight Tszyu on the Gold Coast this month until the Fundora rematch popped up. Earlier in the week, Thurman said he'd be interested in fighting the winner of Tszyu-Fundora 2, but promised it wouldn't end well for the Aussie. 'How bad do you want Tim Tszyu to get beat up? Do y'all hate Tim Tszyu?' he told The Punch Podcast in Las Vegas when asked if he'd still be interested in that fight. 'Do ya'll want to see him get murdered? 'You take me over to the Gold Coast and I will end Tim Tszyu's career. 'If that's what y'all want to see, pay me.' After his third defeat in four fights, Thurman said Tszyu was too insulated training in Australia. 'He thinks he's the shit,' he said. 'Boxing, in the real world, outside Australia, boxing is a plethora of talent and skills and opposition. 'He thought he was going to fly over here and handle it last year. 'He lost the world title, he fought Bakhram for the world title, he had one comeback fight and tried to win the world title again. 'They just rushed to put him back at the top. 'The kid's not done, but they need to pick the right fights. They need to pick somebody who's better than Spencer, but who's not a world champion.' Thurman was ringside for the bout, and was scathing in his assessment of Tszyu's approach. 'He landed a few shots, right on the chin. They just weren't hard enough, they just weren't flush enough,' he said. 'It's just tactics. I don't think Tim Tszyu's tactical enough. 'There's no evidence Tim Tszyu can beat Fundora. Period. It's a tough fight, an awkward fight. 'After the second fight, clearly, he wasn't able to conquer that mountain top.' TSZYU CAMP HITS BACK AT TROLLS No Limit CEO George Rose has launched a fiery defence of Tim Tszyu, hitting back at online trolls who are slamming the Aussie after his world title defeat to Sebastian Fundora. After a brief conversation, Tszyu's corner stopped the bout at the end of the seventh round. Ironically, the seventh was probably the best round of the fight for Tszyu. It's unclear who exactly made the call to stop the bout, but online critics were quick to label the Aussie a 'quitter'. Speaking just minutes after the stunning defeat, Rose angrily clapped back at the pile-on. 'My thing is, I always ignore them,' Rose said of online trolls. 'People who feel that way aren't people whose opinions and values are similar to those I hold myself. 'You give me any man online or across the country, or absolutely anywhere, who can step in the ring with Sebastian Fundora and do any better than what Tim did…there's no person out there who could've got in and done any better. 'Sebastian Fundora is an absolute weapon. It's impossible to do any better than what Tim put out there tonight. 'I thought he was an absolute warrior. (Fundora) is just really bloody good.' Tszyu's camp said the fighter was 'gassed' and didn't have anything left in his legs from all the jabs Fundora sent his way. Compubox stats revealed the American threw an incredible 306 jabs in seven rounds and landed 152 of the 596 total punches he threw. Meanwhile Tszyu connected with just 72 of the 204 total punches he threw. A No Limit spokesperson said the corner made a decision as a collective to stop the fight. 'He was gassed more than he was hurt,' Rose said. 'The punch output from Fundora, not only was he hard to get into, the punch output, he must have been doing 200 punches a round. 'It was ridiculous. 'Tim's constant movement to get in there, the amount of punches you have to take to get in there, it wears you down.' Rose called on Aussies to stick behind Tszyu after his third defeat in four fights. 'If you looked at what Tim Tszyu put out there tonight and think he's any less than a warrior who fought his arse off and threw absolutely everything he had at Fundora – and after being knocked down in the first round, getting up, coming back at him when his legs aren't under him and still throwing everything he can at Fundora – that's a warrior effort,' he said. 'That's someone you have to admire. 'As Australians, that's what we've always admired. We have been underdogs all our lives. 'We've fought for everything. 'We're that small country Down Under that's trying to compete on the world stage. 'We're always the underdog and we need to respect ourselves as that and support our Australians. 'I'm a supporter of someone no matter what. 'Win, lose or draw. 'You bust your arse, you get more respect than winning without effort. 'And the effort Tim Tszyu showed tonight, he's someone who deserves respect. 'Deserves support right now. 'When you take a loss, that's when you need the support most.'
ABC News
4 hours ago
- ABC News
Tim Tszyu's defeat to Sebastian Fundora shows he is no longer at a boxing crossroads
This isn't how it was meant to end for Tim Tszyu. His return to Las Vegas for the rematch against Sebastian Fundora, the site of his lowest ebb as a professional boxer, where he lost his long-sought world title, was supposed to be a return to triumph. Vengeance, redemption, and glory were the words being used in the lead-up. Instead, he heads home in defeat, heartbreak, and pain. Some fans may find the bloodied image of Tszyu refusing to back down almost a year-and-a-half ago hard to reconcile with the footage of the referee waving the fight away as Tszyu sat, immobile, on his stool at the end of the seventh round against the same opponent. Fans who watched the fight may find it even more baffling, given Tszyu had just fought his best round of the bout, clearly hurting Fundora with a monster overhand right. Every boxing fan in the world knows the immortal utterance of Panamanian legend Roberto Durán when he sat himself down in the eighth round of his rematch against Sugar Ray Leonard. "No más," Durán was reported to say — no more — before plonking himself in his corner. The accusation of quitting is the most heinous that can be levelled at a boxer — in Panama, there was disgust over how Durán quit. The Tszyu camp was at great pains to say that staying down was not Tim's decision. He never uttered the words himself, although his post-fight admission that he "just couldn't do it" tells its own story. Sometimes a look means more than two short words ever will. The vacancy behind the eyes, the blankness and heaviness weighing down on a set of shoulders that already carry such a burden imposed by a family history that is nigh-on impossible to match. If a corner's job sometimes is to save a boxer from themselves, then those closest to Tszyu are the only ones who know the truth. In Tszyu's case, that corner is his family. Saving him from potentially irreversible harm has to come first. Tszyu went to the hospital after the bout, raising questions about the long-term impacts the sport has on its practitioners. Never forget, a spectacle that battles humanity's primal instincts of self-preservation has real impacts on real people. And now, the question must be reasonably asked: does his corner prioritise his long-term health by asking him about retirement? Pre-fight, Tszyu had said how the bloody defeat to Fundora in March 2024 had changed him. "A big fear of mine was how I was gonna react to my first loss," Tszyu said in his dressing room at the MGM Grand. "Now I've had that, it's made me a different person, and now I've got this new level of hunger." The fact that Tszyu is different is now, sadly, without doubt. The seeds of this change came from the bloodbath of the T-Mobile Arena last year. But far more damaging was the savage beating at the hands of Bakhram Murtazaliev the following October. Back-to-back world title fights. Back-to-back defeats. And yet, the seeds of this fall were planted even earlier. Arguably, Tszyu's first foray into the United States delivered a warning that he simply refused to heed. Terrell Gausha provided a stern test of Tszyu's abilities offensively, while exposing his glaring deficiencies defensively. Tszyu was knocked down, for the first time in his career, in the very first round, as Gausha gratefully accepted the large, static target of Tszyu's head as a punch magnet. "In the first three rounds, everything's flash, everything's quick," Tszyu explained ringside after that fight in 2022. "You sorta blink and you're down and you think, f***, how did that happen?" Perhaps Tszyu wasn't given enough time to learn from that experience. Winning covers a multitude of sins. Tszyu's next opponents, Tony Harrison, Carlos Ocampo, and Brian Mendoza — all fighting in Australia — were bossed around the ring by a dominant fighter. The first time they met, even Fundora was awed by Tszyu's domineering presence in the ring, the stoic, terminator-style marching down of his rivals — a horrific vista in Fundora's case, amplified by Tszyu's wide eyes staring through a grotesque veil of streaming blood. But the four knockdowns against Murtazaliev were the straws that broke Tszyu's spirit. Cowed by the horror of that previous, bloody mess, one of the most fearless fighters around realised he was no longer the indestructible force of nature he believed himself to be. Murtazaliev simply confirmed it. No lateral movement. No stalking intensity. Playing the bogeyman doesn't scare the true dangers of this world. In the rematch, Fundora played his cards perfectly. The giant American used his extreme reach advantage to beat Tszyu to the punch. Working behind a jab that Tszyu was powerless to evade, that static head absorbed telling blows. Tszyu also failed to adapt to Fundora's southpaw stance, his only lateral movement going to the right, straight into that jab and leaving him vulnerable to the left hook. It was a glaring tactical error that has been exposed in three of his last four fights. So, where next can he go? "He's not finished at the top level," former world champion Shawn Porter was at pains to say on Main Event. "He can still get it done against elite guys; it's gonna happen back in Australia for a little while. "I don't believe Tim Tszyu is done on the world stage, primarily because he still fought very hard, very courageously, and we're now at the stage in the sport where it's about what you can bring to the stands, not what your status is." Never has a backhanded compliment stung more. A man who has taken pains to distance himself from his world champion father's achievements and stand on his own two feet, reduced to using his name to draw a crowd. Nevertheless, Tszyu is now most definitely at a crossroads. For many, there is only one sensible direction the newly-married 30-year-old should travel. No más. No more. Save yourself from the savagery of this brutal profession. Because while the other roads are still available — just look at how 46-year-old Manny Pacquiao performed in his 73rd career fight — there is too much doubt down those paths.
News.com.au
6 hours ago
- News.com.au
Tim Tszyu's crushing dressing room scene as boxing career thrown ‘has to be in doubt'
How can Tim Tszyu possibly bounce back to boxing superstardom following another brutal loss to Sebastian Fundora? The Australian's dream of exacting revenge in their rematch was dashed when his corner asked the referee to stop the fight after the seventh round of a brutal war at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Fundora knocked Tszyu down in the first round and the challenger was playing catch up from there — but he got hammered with Fundora's fists every time he got close enough to land a punch on the 197cm lanky American. Tszyu bravely fought his way back into the fight but needed a knockdown or knockout if he was to win. Ultimately his corner decided he had copped too much punishment to go any further. The result means Tszyu's record now reads 25-3, less than 18 months after it was a perfect 24-0 as he geared up for a fight against Keith Thurman. When Thurman pulled out due to injury, Tszyu took on the challenge of fighting Fundora, losing a 12-round bloody war after a rogue elbow opened up a massive wound on his head. He then got stopped by Bakhram Murtazaliev in Orlando, in a fight where he came out swinging way too hard, and looked spooked from the previous fight. Now Tszyu will have to take time away from the ring to regroup, swallow his pride and fight lesser names on home soil before he is even mentioned in world title fight discussions again. Former world champion Shawn Porter was stunned on Main Event's coverage, and sounded genuinely fearful that Tszyu would never make it back to a Vegas blockbuster, despite praising his courage against Fundora. 'It's really hard not to feel this train ride come to a halt,' a gutted Porter said on Main Event. 'Doesn't mean it's going to end, it's just slowed down. I don't believe Tim Tszyu has fought his way out of title contention. It just doesn't go through Sebastian Fundora. 'He's not finished at the top level. He'll more than likely never see Sebastian Fundora again. He can still get it done, it's going to have to be in Australia for a little while. 'When he comes back, there's no telling who that name is going to be. I don't believe Tim is done on the world stage, primarily because he fought hard and courageously. 'And we're now in the sport where it's who you bring to the stands, not what your wins and losses are. 'I don't know, I really don't (if Tszyu can get back to world title fights). I think he performed at a level that dictates he can come back to this level. We just don't know what the timeline is.' Boxing guru Dan Rafael posted on X: 'Tszyu's career has to be in doubt after that.' There were heartbreaking scenes as Tszyu made his way back to the dressing room, with broadcast cameras capturing the 30-year-old getting emotional as he looked at himself in the mirror in a raw moment that painted a bleak picture about where his career is at right now. There will be all manner of questions running through Tszyu's head: Why oh why did Thurman have to get injured last year? Am I still a world title calibre fighter who just ran into a boxing anomaly in Fundora? Am I still good enough to be world champion? Will I ever be on a Las Vegas card again? Does my future lie in domestic fights in Sydney, Newcastle and the Gold Coast? Is my legacy cooked, am I destined to just be Kostya's son? The likes of Michael Zerafa will come calling, and that will be a blow to Tszyu's ego, but he will likely fight international opponents of a lower standard, like American Joey Spencer, who he beat in Newcastle in April. The Courier Mail's Peter Badel said the entire landscape had changed for Tszyu, who had been due to finally fight Thurman later this year. 'I think the worst thing now would be to jump in with Keith Thurman,' Badel said. 'That was supposed to be the next opponent if he won today. There was talk about this year, I think that would be a disaster if he fought Keith Thurman. 'It would end his career. I think Keith Thurman would put him away. Now it's got to be delicate, slow. 'Put him in cotton wool, give him some time out. Bring him back against some lower ranked international opponents. I think he's better than domestic fighters, but maybe get his ranking up against international fighters and slowly rebuild.' Two years ago, the world was at Tszyu's feet after he rocked Tony Harrison's chin in Sydney in what remains the high point of his career. But such is the fickle world of boxing, an undisputed world title fight against Jermell Charlo slipped away and Thurman's withdrawal made him face Fundora, an opponent who proved an impossible puzzle to solve for Tim. Porter questioned the preparation from Tszyu's camp and the tactics used against a giant super welterweight fighter. 'You find a no-name 6foot1 guy, you do it in Australia, you get him acclimated to fighting a taller opponent, then you try to find a 6 foot 3, 6 foot 4 guy, you inch your way up to a guy like that,' Porter said. 'Sparring is not enough, especially if you don't have a fighter that can emulate Sebastian Fundora. 'On top of that, they played the outside game too much. His natural reaction was to pull back, and when you do that boxing you put yourself in danger. That was the thing to me that really needs to be cleaned up.' Badel added: 'If Tim wants to rebuild his career, and it could be a one or two year rebuild, he needs to fix his defence. This is the fourth time he's gone down in the first or second round. 'Wade Ryan dropped him early in his career, Terrell Gausha dropped him, (Bakhram) Murtazaliev dropped him and now this. He's got to fix his defensive technicalities if he wants to survive in this sport.'
