Lauren, Author at Trending Sport

Edgar Berlanga produced an impressive performance this past weekend.

Edgar Berlanga has his sights set on the biggest names at super middleweight following his first win of 2024 on Saturday.

Berlanga made easy work of Padraig McCrory with a knockout in the sixth round of their contest in Orlando, which led to calls from his promoter Eddie Hearn for undisputed 168lb champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to face Berlanga next.

RELATED NEWS ;Teofimo Lopez Sr. Warns Terence Crawford Will Get Destroyed, Career Will Be Over In Potential Fight

The fighter Crawford was referring to was one of his stablemates Steven Nelson.

Nelson is currently 19-0 with 15 knockouts, and last fought in July when he beat Rowdy Legend Montgomery by unanimous decision.

BOXING

Gervonta Davis offers a sneak peek at his upcoming opponent in the boxing ring

WBA lightweight champion Gervonta Davis allowed fans a glimpse of his potential opponent for his next fight.

Davis took to his Instagram story and uploaded an edit of himself boxing Frank Martin. Combat sports reporter Michael Benson shared a screenshot of Davis’ story on X.

However, according to fans, Davis deleted the story soon after, and there has been no official confirmation since. A fan pointed it out, saying:

Shia LaBeouf names Gervonta Davis as his favorite fighter, blasts Ryan Garcia

Hollywood star Shia LaBeouf is an avid boxing fan and named Gervonta Davis as his favorite fighter.

In a recent interview with former British boxer Carl Froch, LaBeouf described Davis as ‘electrifying’. He also praised the division and mentioned undefeated boxer Shakur Stevenson.

UPDATE ;Gervonta Davis studying Frank Martin’s skull in unorthodox approach ahead of blockbuster clash

However, LaBeouf had harsh words for Ryan Garcia and criticized his behavior with his wife.

Yeah [big boxing fan]. Right now, probably Gervonta Davis. He’s electrifying. Him, Shakir, like that whole weight class, that whole division. Other than Ryan, all of those guys that they promote are fire. I don’t like that Ryan guy at all… One he quit, but also, I heard a story about his girl got pregnant, gave birth, and then he divorced her the next day and I thought oh you’re garbage.”

Garcia shocked fans earlier this year when he followed up the announcement of his son Henry Leo Garcia’s birth with a statement that he was divorcing his wife Andrea Celina. The couple had been married since 2021 and have another child together, a daughter, Bela, aged three.

BOXING

“I’m the new Floyd Mayweather in the sport” – Jake Paul claims Carl Froch is considering coming out of retirement to fight him

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul recently drew parallels between himself and boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather.

Over time, Paul and Carl Froch have gone back and forth on social media, speaking about potentially fighting each other. ‘The Problem Child’ recently had a chat with Louis Hart for ‘Boxing Social’ where he was asked to weigh in on the possibility of Froch coming out of retirement to fight him.

RELATED ;10 Mythical Floyd Mayweather Jr. Fights That Would Rewrite Boxing History

Floyd Mayweather is hailed by many as one of the greatest athletes to ever grace the sport of boxing. ‘Money’ had a professional career spanning over two decades during which, he stacked up an impeccable record of 50-0.

During that run, the 47-year-old defeated the likes of Canelo Alvarez, Manny Pacquaio, Victor Ortiz, Shane Mosley, Oscar De La Hoya, Zab Judah, Arturo Gatti, Ricky Hatton and Juan Manuel Marquez.

Jake Paul, on the other hand, started his professional boxing career just four years ago. In that time, ‘The Problem Child’ has been a part of nine professional fights and gotten his hand raised in eight of them.

Although there are no notable names on Paul’s resume, the 27-year-old has defeated several prominent MMA athletes in boxing like Nate Idaz, Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley, and Ben Askren.

BOXING

‘Most avoided heavyweight on the planet’ will be a nightmare for Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk

Martin Bakole is the most avoided man in the glamour division and can beat every heavyweight on the planet on his day.

Bakole showed just how good he is against Carlos Takam in September.

He came in extremely overweight, having picked up an injury that had made it difficult for him to train, yet he still managed to blast the Frenchman out in four rounds.

Seven months earlier, we had witnessed Takam roll back the years by destroying Tony Yoka in Paris.

This was supposed to be a tough night on paper, but Bakole made it look easy.

JUST IN ;Mike Tyson hasn coached Francis Ngannou for Anthony Joshua showdown

He’s not someone who is going to be easily outclassed by Usyk, he’s not someone that Fury can lean on and dictate with his size and he’s not someone that Joshua can blow away.

THIS IS HIS YEAR

He matches anyone for boxing ability. I’m not going to sit here and tell you how he beats every one of them individually, that’s for his team to work out.

But what I will say is that none of them will want to fight Bakole.

He is probably at the top of their lists for nights they don’t want to have which is the biggest compliment you can pay to a fighter.

Beyond that Manuel Charr is fighting Kubrat Pulev for the ‘Regular’ belt so there are opportunities in the WBA.

I know Bakole is eyeing up the 50th anniversary of the Rumble in the Jungle in Congo this year.

UPDATE ;Tyson Fury stance on withdrawing from Oleksandr Usyk fight revealed after Anthony Joshua offer

He is undoubtedly the biggest Congolese fighter on the planet so there are some personal goals for him to achieve as well.

BOXING

‘Sparring a teenage Devin Haney made Floyd Mayweather retire’

By Lauren February 28, 2024

Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather retired from boxing after a sparring session with a teenage Devin Haney in 2017. That’s the controversial view of Haney’s father, Bill.

Speaking with Fight Hub TV, Haney made the astounding statement during the New York press run for his son’s bout with Ryan Garcia.

Haney brought up Mayweather into the conversation because clips of Haney sparring stories in the gym were dug up.

Floyd Mayweather ‘retired after sparring with Devin Haney’

Bill said: “Floyd, he could have stopped [before fighting Conor McGregor in 2017], so we should have shown the sparring video of him and Devin. Now, why do all videos show the sparring [with Gervonta Davis] wasn’t close?

“It was like Floyd looked in the mirror when I told him. He finally decided he could no longer be in the boxing with no real fighters.

“Devin is the one [who showed Mayweather he was passed it]. He [Mayweather] knew that the torch had to be passed. I mean, he passed it to Devin because it was either that or we would be challenging him.

JUST IN ;Floyd Mayweather coy on rumoured rematch with Manny Pacquiao: ‘He shouldn’t have spoken about it’

“We challenge everybody. There’s nobody in boxing in or around the division that he’s not looking to fight.”

Mayweather era

If Floyd feels salty about the situation, Haney responded: “I don’t know. I don’t. I won’t say the word salty because when you have that much money. It’s hard to be salty about anything.

“But I think it’s just the way that it is. It’s the new era, and that’s what it is. He’s hanging onto the Floyd Mayweather era. He’s still talking about Terence Crawford. Terence Crawford would beat everybody on Floyd’s resume. It’s an era where Terence was in the shadows of Floyd it’s, and when Devin came along, no shadow was big enough.”

Haney is currently ranked pound for pound in the top five by World Boxing News. Mayweather prophesized this fact when the pair worked together at his Las Vegas gym. The same happened with Gervonta Davis, whom Haney has since overtaken.

Times have undoubtedly moved on, though. Mayweather is no longer linked to either of his former proteges. At 47, Mayweather is being pushed out more due to the waning of his Mayweather Promotions brand under the stagnation of Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions.

UPDATE ;10 Mythical Floyd Mayweather Jr. Fights That Would Rewrite Boxing History

Bill has taken the opportunity to kick Floyd Mayweather while he’s down. He can surely expect a response from Team Mayweather for his trouble.

BOXING

Andy Ruiz was surprised by DMs from Anthony Joshua which inspired him to get back in the ring after rematch defeat

By Lauren February 28, 2024

Anthony Joshua is known by many to be a class act, both inside and outside the boxing ring.

The former two-time heavyweight world champion has fired back at times when provoked by the likes of Jarrell Miller during fight build-ups, but usually keeps things respectful.

A prime example of this has been the preamble to his fight with Francis Ngannou on March 8, which has seen the two titans show a mutual appreciation for one another with no spiteful words exchanged.

RELATED NEWS ;Tyson Fury stance on withdrawing from Oleksandr Usyk fight revealed after Anthony Joshua offer

As a result, he was comfortably outboxed and Joshua triumphantly regained the belts.

Ruiz later said that he struggled with depression in the aftermath and ballooned up to 320lbs.

One shining light for him during this period though were the messages of support he received from his rival.

Having only recently experienced defeat for himself, AJ decided to console his opponent.

Ruiz Jr revealed to the Mail: “There were a few messages.

“We were just saying that I’d bounce back, that I’m a great fighter.

“I have nothing but love for him. I don’t have no grudges.”

The coronavirus pandemic delayed Ruiz Jr’s ring return, but he eventually came back and beat Chris Arreola in May 2021.

UPDATE ;Francis Ngannou announces next fight weeks before Anthony Joshua showdown

He then picked up a solid win against Luis Ortiz in August 2022 and is hoping to get in on the Saudi Arabia heavyweight party with a return to action again in 2024.

BOXING

Shields Continues Rift With ‘Cyborg’: “She Can’t Beat Me In Boxing”

Claressa Shields might have a new battle on her hands.

Shields picked up a split-decision against Kelsey DeSantis as a part of the PFL MMA fight card last Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

Two things came from the bout; firstly, Shields didn’t tap from a painful armbar submission hold that went viral, and two, her feud with Cris “Cyborg” Justino continued.

UPDATED NEWS ;Claressa Shields Threatens Cris Cyborg With Potential Lawsuit for Her Recent Remarks: “You Better Stop Lying”

“I don’t give a [expletive] about Cris Cyborg, and she knows that,” Shields told the media backstage after her fight. “Cris Cyborg can’t beat me in a fight and she knows that.”

The two were sparring partners at one point, often complimenting each other. Yet Shields’s foray into MMA and Cyborg’s entry into the boxing world appears to have strained their relationship.

Cyborg was critical of Shields fighting at catchweight before the DeSantis bout. She also took aim at Shields’s MMA abilities on the social media platform, X.

“Even at 165lbs I might be able to win that fight without throwing a single punch,” she wrote.

Shields then replied, referring to Cyborg’s boxing ability.

“She can’t beat me in boxing. Why is she worried about my weight class and what I fought at? I am not the only catchweight bout that is on the card.

“Cris Cyborg is mad, because she turned down a fight with Larissa Pacheco, the PFL champion…”

RELATED NEWS ;MMA star Claressa Shields’ next big fight is a first for women in Saudi Arabia

History-maker Shields will be a trivia question as the first woman to win an MMA match in Saudi Arabia. Shields adds that to being a two-time Olympic gold medalist, three-division world champion and two-division undisputed champion.

This comes 18 months after Ramla Ali became the first woman to win a fight in Saudi Arabia.

BOXING

Terence Crawford a free agent after C rematch clause expires

Errol Spence reportedly elected to undergo cataract surgery as the contracted time limit on his rematch with Terence Crawford has lapsed.

Not exactly a great day for PBC. Following the recent official news that star Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez has split with outfit, it’s now being reported by ESPN’s Mike Coppinger that Terence Crawford is also out of the fold and a promotional free agent.

UPDATE NEWS ;Teofimo Lopez Sr. Warns Terence Crawford Will Get Destroyed, Career Will Be Over In Potential Fight

We’ll now have to wait and see where Crawford looks to go next, but there’s been a lot of speculation about a move up to 154 lbs.

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Berlanga vs McCrory

BOXING

Terence Crawford has parted ways with his promotional companies

Terence Crawford has become a free agent as he did not sign a contract with any promotional company, as reported by ESPN.

The former undisputed world champion in two weight divisions had signed a deal with PBC to fight Errol Spence in July 2023. Crawford secured an early victory in that bout. However, the contract was only for one fight with an option for a rematch. However, the window for the second Crawford-Spence fight closed, as Errol was unable to return to the ring earlier due to undergoing surgery on his eye.

Gervonta Davis Eyes Victory Through Unconventional Preparation for Bout Against Frank Martin

Gervonta Davis and Frank Martin gear up for a strategic boxing match, with Davis’ team analyzing Martin’s skull structure for vulnerabilities. Learn about Davis’ journey back to the ring and Martin’s chance to define his career.

In the fiercely competitive world of professional boxing, where every advantage counts, Gervonta Davis and his coaching team are taking an innovative approach to prepare for the upcoming high-stakes fight against Frank Martin. Scheduled for late spring or early summer, this match is not just a showdown between two undefeated lightweights; it’s a testament to the lengths athletes and coaches will go to ensure victory. As Davis defends his WBA 147lb title on a PBC card available via Prime Video pay-per-view, the focus on analyzing Martin’s skull structure for potential vulnerabilities underscores the meticulous nature of fight preparation.

A Defining Moment for Martin

On the other side of the ring, Frank Martin enters this bout with an unblemished record of 18 professional wins, making him a formidable opponent. Known for his agility and technical prowess, Martin’s performance against Davis could very well define his career. This fight not only offers him a chance to claim the WBA 147lb title but also to make a statement against one of the division’s most powerful punchers. The meticulous preparation by Davis’ camp, focusing on exploiting potential vulnerabilities, sets the stage for a clash that will test both fighters’ skills, strategy, and resilience.

The upcoming bout between Gervonta Davis and Frank Martin is shaping up to be more than just a contest of physical strength and endurance. It represents the pinnacle of strategic planning, the importance of overcoming personal and professional challenges, and the relentless pursuit of excellence in the competitive world of boxing. As both fighters prepare to face off in the ring, the world watches, anticipating a match that will be remembered for its innovation, determination, and unparalleled display of skill.