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Boxer Tyson Fury (right) and Oleksandr Usyk (left) face off during a press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, December 19, 2024 ahead of the WBA, WBO, and WBC heavyweight title bout between Britain's Tyson Fury and Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk
The Europe v US rivalry has never been just about putts and points. This year, it’s about whether sport can still unite a divided nation, writes EDDIE PELLS
A MAN with a point to prove is a dangerous animal, and especially so when it comes to professional boxing. Tyson Fury arrived in Riyadh at the start of this week as precisely that, having spent the last twelve weeks in a closed training camp in Malta preparing for his rematch against Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk.
Saudi Arabia is where he experienced the first loss of a ring career which began in 2008, and Saudi Arabia is where he has arrived determined to avenge it. Saudi Arabia is also where people still get their heads chopped off one after the other in the name of criminal justice.
So now we have a hugely hyped boxing rematch on our hands. The usual boxing circus has rolled into town in the name not of sporting integrity, but money and mammon. The torture tables are full in Riyadh and so is the bullshit. Talk of repeat or revenge has been all the rage, as grown men — grown men, grant you — demean themselves in public and on camera with “His excellency” this and “His excellency” that. A small “e” will suffice for such a small man of such wealth.
From Manchester pubs to global arenas, Ricky Hatton embodied working-class pride in and out of the ring, but his last round was fought in solitude, writes JOHN WIGHT
Vilified by the public after defeating Henry Cooper, Joe Bugner’s remarkable career and tragic decline reflected the era’s attitudes as much as the man himself, says JOHN WIGHT
Amid riots, strikes and Thatcher’s Britain, Frank Bruno fought not just for boxing glory, but for a nation desperate for heroes, writes JOHN WIGHT
In recently published book Baddest Man, Mark Kriegel revisits the Faustian pact at the heart of Mike Tyson’s rise and the emotional fallout that followed, writes JOHN WIGHT
