Boxing Active

🎙️ Rico Verhoeven’s kickboxing pedigree means he may survive longer than people expect against Oleksandr Usyk. But that might make the fight even more uncomfortable to watch. 🎧 Listen to the full preview here: buff.ly/y0VBb8o #UsykRico | #TheOpeningBell | @MattCBoxingNews | @alexsteedman

🎙️ Nobody expects Oleksandr Usyk to lose. But at 39, after a lifetime at the elite level, what happens if this is the night he suddenly looks… human? 🎧 Listen to the full pod here: buff.ly/y0VBb8o #UsykRico | #TheOpeningBell | @MattCBoxingNews | @alexsteedman

Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn on Sept. 12 in Las Vegas looks all but set – a huge and hugely controversial fight given both men’s drug-testing histories. The same night, Canelo faces Christian Mbilli in Saudi Arabia. Another Turki Alalshikh mega-weekend incoming? 🥊 youtube.com/watch?v=zysaKI…

🎙️ Two hard fights. Two very different stoppages. Why are boxing’s standards so inconsistent when fighter safety is on the line? 🎧 Listen to the full pod here: buff.ly/lmtu1T2 #TheOpeningBell | @MattCBoxingNews | @alexsteedman

“My strength and conditioning coach said that I can make 140 comfortably,” Ryan Garcia tells ESPN’s First Take. “I trust the people in my team around me. If that opportunity presents itself, I would love to fight Shakur or we can bring Gervonta back from wherever he’s at.”

🎙️ Boxing is ultimately a balance between money and hardship. The question is: at what point does that balance become dangerous? 🎧 Listen to the full pod here: buff.ly/lmtu1T2 #TheOpeningBell | @MattCBoxingNews | @alexsteedman

“He was a great warrior for us and really optimises the best in boxing.”

Bob Arum on Vasiliy Lomachenko’s proposed comeback via @FightHubTV: “I don’t know what his financial situation is… maybe he needs money, or maybe he’s just anxious to get out of the house. But ‘Loma’ represents the best of what boxing has to offer.”

“Every fighter has his peak and then you start to see the exit coming.," Oscar De La Hoya tells Fight Hub TV.

Filip Hrgovic is a huge favourite against Dave Allen this weekend – and rightly so. But does the affable Brit have any real upset potential? 👀 We break down why Hrgovic might come unstuck, plus Steedo reveals his bet of the weekend after landing last week’s call 🎯 #AllenHrgovic Watch here 👇 youtube.com/watch?v=O2o0RN…

🎙️ A perfect little story that sums up Dave Allen’s personality. Only in boxing. 🎧 Listen to the full pod here: buff.ly/wT8RLQH #AllenHrgovic | #TheOpeningBell | @MattCBoxingNews | @alexsteedman

🎙️ Dave Allen always brings heart – but at what point does an underdog story become something harder to justify? A look at the uncomfortable reality behind boxing matchmaking. 🎧 Listen to the full pod here: buff.ly/wT8RLQH #AllenHrgovic | #TheOpeningBell | @MattCBoxingNews | @alexsteedman

Daniel Dubois vs Fabio Wardley was a generational thriller – but did the warfare go too far? Questions linger over the late stoppage as Wardley fought through a mask of blood. Dubois silenced critics again, rising twice from the canvas to reclaim heavyweight glory. 🥊 👀 🎥watch here: youtube.com/watch?v=5rJzQv…

🎙️ What began as a thrilling heavyweight war slowly became something much more uncomfortable. 🎧 Listen to the full pod here: buff.ly/ccc9EPV #WardleyDubois | #TheOpeningBell | @MattCBoxingNews | @alexsteedman

In a bonus pod, @MattCBoxingNews sits down with boxing journalism legend Jack Hirsch 🥊 From sparring with future world champions to witnessing Ali and Duran in New York, Jack shares incredible stories from decades covering the fight game – plus insights on writing his Michael Spinks book. 👀 Watch here: youtube.com/watch?v=Cv09TB…

“How many more fights does he need to have? It’s about time he retire already,” Shingo told Yahoo! Japan. “He can walk away cleanly while he’s still a legend and at his best. I haven’t talked to him directly about it, but honestly, how many more fights does he need?”

Naoya Inoue’s father, Shingo, believes there comes a point when a fighter has nothing left to prove. After guiding his son to the biggest win of his career on May 2 against Junto Nakatani in Tokyo, Shingo feels the time may be right for his son, 33, to step away from the sport.

🎙️ When a fight becomes brutally one-sided, whose responsibility is it to stop it? The referee, the corner, the doctor – or all of them together? 🎧 Listen to the full pod here: buff.ly/ccc9EPV #WardleyDubois | #TheOpeningBell | @MattCBoxingNews | @alexsteedman

🎙️ The final stoppage may have been correct – but should the fight have continued that long in the first place? A difficult conversation after one of the most brutal heavyweight fights in recent memory. 🎧 Listen to the full pod here: buff.ly/ccc9EPV #WardleyDubois | #TheOpeningBell | @MattCBoxingNews | @alexsteedman

🎙️ Daniel Dubois stopped Jarrell Miller, Filip Hrgovic and Anthony Joshua in one incredible run. So why are so many people suddenly writing him off against Fabio Wardley? 🎧 Listen to the full pod here: buff.ly/oVrI5RY #WardleyDubois | #TheOpeningBell | @MattCBoxingNews | @alexsteedman