Latest news with #Oleksandr Usyk
The Independent
16 hours ago
- Sport
- The Independent
CARVILL'S NOTES: First Memories of Usyk
There will be, if you are lucky, a few moments in your life when you know as they are happening that you are seeing something special. It is unfortunate that such knowledge usually only comes after the fact. To quote Andy Bernard, 'I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them." Catch all the latest boxing action on DAZN I have seen a handful of remarkable performances in my life that I was lucky enough to know when they were happening that I was a witness to the extraordinary. The first one I remember clearly was being at the MEN Arena in Manchester on 4 March 2006, which was the night that Joe Calzaghe went into the ring for twelve rounds and left in it the tattered remnants of Jeff Lacy's career. The next came on 10 November 2012 in Hamburg, Germany, when I watched Wladimir Klitschko get called to the ring by Sylvester Stallone. As Klitchko came out, his belts being raised behind him, the only thing I could mutter to myself beneath my breath was, ' That is the heavyweight champion of the world.' It was as if my understanding of what title really meant had only bloomed and blossomed in those few nanoseconds. And then there was 9 September 2017, just before I was to turn 36, when I went to the Max Schmeling Halle, here in my home of Berlin, to watch a little-known Ukrainian fighter named Oleksandr Usyk defend his WBO cruiserweight championship of the world against Marco Huck. If I am to digress here, it is merely to provide context. Huck and Usyk were meeting that evening as part of the inaugural World Boxing Super Series, which sought to crown the best cruiserweight in the sport. Apart from bragging rights, the prize on offer was the Muhammad Ali Trophy, which symbolises how the Ali family will let you put his name on anything for the right price. Huck had held the WBO title between 2009 and 2015, from winning it against Victor Emilio Ramirez to losing it against Krzysztof Głowacki. Despite his plaudits and his thirteen title defences, Huck was overrated as a boxer. The miracle was not that he had beaten eleven men across those defences, but that there had been eleven men on the planet who were not capable of beating him. There was a rumour long substantiated in Germany that Huck had been part of a raft of fighters that had turned up to the Sauerland Gym in Berlin one day, looking for work as sparring partners. The promoters, without any big stars, apparently hit on the idea of finding a half-decent boxer and then packaging them for the public. That sounds cruel, but the truth usually does. Huck never placed on a pound-for-pound list because technically, he was all sixes and sevens: he looked uncoordinated on his feet, he clubbed rather than punched, he left his chin in the air. But he also trained hard and pushed himself, when he could. It just never ended well for him. After leaving the Sauerlands, he went to Newark, New Jersey, to try and become a star in the US, but found himself stopped in eleven by Glowacki. It was after returning to Germany that Huck's career seemed to putter. He fought Ola Afolabi and Dmytro Kucher in fights that few noticed, then lost to Mairis Briedis. He seemed lucky, at that point, to even be included in the World Boxing Super Series. Usyk was on a different trajectory. After winning a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics at 200lbs, he had largely fought in Ukraine before travelling to Gdansk, Poland, in 2016 to beat Glowacki over twelve rounds for the WBO title. He then went to the US, where he beat Thabiso Mchunu and Michael Hunter to defend the belt. It was Usyk, rated the number-one seed in the tournament, who chose to fight Huck. The two men were similar: nearly the same age at 30 and 32, just an inch difference in their heights, one a former WBO cruiserweight champion and one the current. The difference was in their records: Usyk was 12-0 (10), Huck was 40-4-1 (27). It was between a fighter who may have peaked against one who was coming into the full measure of their powers. While Usyk will fight in front of more than 80,000 at Wembley soon on DAZN, there were fewer than 5,000 in the arena in Berlin that night. The Max Schmeling Halle is built on two levels, but only the first was being used that evening, the rest curtained off because ticket sales had been so low. Usyk ran away with the victory that night, etching his mark onto the fight from the first bell. Huck followed Usyk as much as he could, but the Ukrainian swiped everything away from him, one round after the next, until the referee stopped the fight in the tenth. It was a warm night and, walking out afterwards, into the cooling air of the Mauerpark, it seemed that the birds had lowered their singing. Something special had occurred, and the world had shifted, changed, almost imperceptibly. Everything was different to how it had been just moments before. And on that note: When the news broke last week that Ricky Hatton was to fight again, this time in Dubai, I began to think of his fight against Juan Lazcano at the City of Manchester Stadium in 2008. Hatton beat Lazcano on points, and it was tough. It may have also been the best night for him to have retired: a win, 55,000 people at the stadium of his beloved football team, his last fight with Billy Graham before they split and the enmity built. I have a theory about boxing that every fighter has 'One Last Good Fight' in them before the wane begins. Most never know it, but life for them never gets any better. So it was that night in Manchester. Speaking of that night in Manchester, it was the only time I've ever seen a fighter get a haircut between rounds. Paul Malignaggi wore extensions that night and, eventually unable to keep them tied back and with an exasperated referee, Buddy McGirt took scissors and began to chop them from Malignaggi's head, kicking the strands out of the ring. If life is strange r than fiction, then boxing can indeed be stranger than life. Speaking of Juan Lazcano, there was an old-timer in boxing I knew called Joe Rein. He died about twelve years ago and my life is much poorer for it. He knew Juan Lazcano from the gyms around Los Angeles. 'Crazy as a loon,' he once told me. 'He talks to God, but I know secretly that it's only me that she talks to.' Here is a story I heard out of Vienna: around four or five years ago during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Austrian government decreed that all training facilities had to close unless the people involved were professional athletes. So it was that a group of friends in Vienna, all enthusiastic, weekend-warrior bag-hitters all turned professional en masse. And they enjoyed it so much that they still put on – and take part in - professional shows all these years later. Watch the very best boxing with a DAZN subscription DAZN is the home of combat sports, broadcasting over 185 fights a year from the world's best promoters, including Matchroom, Queensberry, Golden Boy, Misfits, PFL, BKFC, GLORY and more. An Annual Saver subscription is a one-off cost of £119.99 / $224.99 (for 12 months access), that's just 64p / $1.21 per fight. There is also a Monthly Flex Pass option (cancel any time) at £24.99 / $29.99 per month. A subscription includes weekly magazine shows, comprehensive fight library, exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes documentaries, and podcasts and vodcasts.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mexico, EU Tariff Threats Follow Double-Digit Trend: How Shoe Firms Are Responding
Where will the tariff sweep settle? No one knows yet what the way forward will be, but a likely double-digit percent tariff for all countries seems to be where rates are headed. More from WWD Summer's Anklet Trend Has Reached New Heights, Here are the Best Styles to Shop Now These Celeb-Loved Shoes Are Currently 50% Off at Vivaia's End-of-Season Sale Oleksandr Usyk Readies for Daniel Dubois Fight With Aid From Ukrainian Designer Based on the reciprocal tariff rates disclosed on April 2 by American President Donald Trump and the current trend in tariff rates, including announced 'trade deals,' double-digit percent rates not far from the reciprocal rates from April 2 are where rates could end up if trade deals aren't reached by Aug. 1. Based on an outline of agreed terms, the U.S. has said it has two 'trade deals,' one with the U.K. for a 10 percent tariff and the other with Vietnam at 30 percent. Negotiations move to the next stage where the U.S. and the U.K. and Vietnam continue with talks to finalized the trade terms. The U.S. also said it continues its talks with China for a trade agreement. The 90-tariff pause that has rates temporarily lowered to 30 percent is slated to end on Aug. 12. The reciprocal rate for the U.K. was 10 percent, 46 percent for Vietnam, and 34 percent for China, although that later escalated to as high as 145 percent for certain imported items. That had footwear firms pondering their cost structure going forward, as they worried about their ability to stay in business while maintaining some profitability against a tariff backdrop. While there was a global 90-day reprieve on tariffs to allow for trade talks, Aug. 1 seems to be the cut-off date after Trump declared on his social media platform Truth Social that there would be no more extensions. And nearly four months later, the only certainty shoe companies have is that costs are going up. American President Donald Trump on Saturday levied a 30 percent tariff on imported goods from two of the nation's largest trading partners, the European Union (EU) and Mexico, starting Aug. 1. Letters were sent to EU Commission President Ursula von de Leyen and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Also included in both letters was a reference to a higher tariff for transshipped goods and that the new levy excludes existing sectoral tariffs. The EU so far has postponed retaliatory tariffs, hoping to hash out a deal with the Trump administration before Aug. 1. But EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also said in a statement Saturday that the EU would take necessary steps to safeguard its interests, including retaliatory tariffs if talks fail. Trump's letter to the EU Chief says the EU has 'one of our largest Trade Deficits,' noting that 30 percent is 'far less than what is needed to eliminate' the deficit. The initial reciprocal rate was 20 percent, but that later was raised to 30 percent and then to 50 percent. Trump said in his letter to Sheinbaum that while the country has helped to secure the border, 'what Mexico has done, is not enough.' Trump in February assessed a 25 percent tariff on Mexico after claiming that America's southern border neighbor hadn't done enough to bar the 'pouring' in of drugs like fentanyl into the U.S., nor had it been able to control the activities of criminal cartels. Following a month-long delay to allow for negotiations, the levy was imposed in March, only to be delayed again a few days later. Trump's claims resurfaced in him letter to Sheinbaum as reasons for the new tariff. And while the letter didn't address covered goods under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, those imports are expected to remain duty-free through at least July 2026, when the trade agreement will be subject to a review. Trade talks are expected to continue over the next few weeks. A Goldman Sachs economics report on the EU noted that Trump's latest threat 'might well be a negotiating tactic,' noting that a 'framework agreement' would likely include a 10 percent tariff rate on all goods and 25 percent for certain other categories, such as steel and aluminum and on critical goods such as pharmaceuticals. A flurry of tariff letters were sent out last week that included Cambodia, Indonesia and India, countries where their economies rely on footwear production. Cambodia was assessed as 36 percent duty rate, with Indonesia at 32 percent. India faces a 26 percent reciprocal tariff rate, but hasn't yet received the dreaded tariff letter, likely because Trump said the two countries are close to a trade deal. China is the largest shoe producer for imports to the U.S., followed by India. Vietnam is also a large shoe producer in the athletic footwear sector. While shoe prices in general have been slightly lower versus year-ago levels, the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America's chief economist Gary Raines said recently there is 'mounting evidence upstream in the supply chain of surging average duties per pair on footwear imports.' He said that's an indication that higher duties could soon push the average landed costs of footwear imports higher, which in turn may result in retail footwear prices climbing higher later this year. Some brands have implemented price increases, although they seem to be working hard to cap the higher prices to an amount that's manageable for consumers. Steven Madden Ltd. is one example where the company has 'selectively' raised prices to consumers and wholesale customers for its fall items. The increases weren't across the board, and there were differing amounts for select items based on brand, product category and style. While some items will see a 20 percent increase, the average uptick will be in the 10 percent range. Nike Inc. raised some prices in June, averaging between $2 and $10, but only for select items. Footwear prices between $100 and $150 will see increases up to $5, and shoes starting at $150 and higher will see increases up to $10. A large portion of its assortment mix will remain at their current price range. And in a nod to 'families and the upcoming back-to-school season,' there are no increases on any kids' products, whether for footwear or apparel. Items under $100 will stay the same, and Nike's popular Air Force 1 sneaker will stay at $115. Moreover, there are no planned price increases for any Jordan product. Shoe brands showing at the June market week — the FFANY and FSNYE shows — appeared to be taking Trumps's tariff threats in stride. Some brands, such as Guess, were able to keep wholesale prices steady. And even when a wholesale price increase was warranted, such as at Söfft Shoe Co.'s new men's shoe brand Align, the increase of $3 translated to just a $5 uptick at retail. That kind of increase — Align shoes average between $150 to $180 at retail — is in line with Nike's sneakers that are priced at $150 and higher. Those price adjustments suggests that shoe firms are working with their upstream vendors to keep price changes within a certain range at the consumer level, even if it means brands and suppliers might need to each absorb some of higher costs resulting from tariff increases. Meanwhile, credit ratings firms Fitch Ratings said Monday that discretionary retailers are expected to 'experience near-term operating challenges resulting from the softening consumer sentiment and the evolving tariff policy.' What isn't clear is whether brands and retailers will provide third quarter guidance when they begin posting second quarter earnings results in a few weeks. A report indicated that June foot traffic has decelerated, although that could be due to rainy weather during the tail end of the month and the pulling forward of purchases earlier in the year as consumers bought goods early to get ahead of anticipated tariff-related price increases. Best of WWD All the Retailers That Nike Left and Then Went Back Mikey Madison's Elegant Red Carpet Shoe Style [PHOTOS] Julia Fox's Sleekest and Boldest Shoe Looks Over the Years [Photos]
