Beyond Boxing

It’s notoriously difficult to get removed from a no-entry or travel prohibition list. In Tyson Fury’s case, how he’s managed to do so remains unclear. Whether additional concessions were required is anyone’s guess. What does seem possible is that he may have had to cooperate with certain interests along the way, and perhaps that’s simply how the world works.

If there’s one sport that prepares you for the murky realities of politics, it’s boxing. The sport has always been filled with backroom deals, conflicting agendas, and missed opportunities.

The reality is that an Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fight now seems increasingly unlikely. Not only has the chance to create a truly global event slipped away, but public interest has faded as well. Anthony Joshua doesn’t appear as invested in boxing as he once was, and Fury hardly seems fully committed either. Both men often seem more focused on building their brands than delivering the fight fans have wanted for years.

As boxing fans, we’re left with a familiar feeling: watching the biggest fights fail to materialize until they’re well past their prime, only to be asked to pay premium prices for what remains. A contest that could have defined an era now risks becoming just another example of boxing’s talent for squandering its biggest opportunities.

They really had John Fury out there running about like Uncle Albert?

You can’t help it feel that watching the Zuffa card was like watching a Boxxer card from 2023.

So, if you’re Ben Shalom you must be sat at home raging that the fighters you help build have just been taken from you, and put in exactly the same place you left them, and you received no compensation.

No thank you no reward no nothing.

That must really hurt.

Last night’s main event had all the ingredients of a defining moment—but instead, it left us debating the referee. As Rico Verhoeven pushed himself against the elite pedigree of Oleksandr Usyk, the fight was hanging in the balance. He was under pressure, no doubt, but still on his feet and within touching distance of the bell. And that’s where the controversy begins.

Should the referee have stepped in when he did?

Or should Verhoeven have been given the chance to make it back to his stool and reset? In combat sports, referees walk a tightrope between protecting fighters and allowing contests to reach a natural conclusion.

Get it wrong, and the story shifts, from the athletes in the ring to the official in charge.

What are we just seen?

Seriously?

What have we just seen?

We have seen the most dramatic world title fight we’ve seen in the UK for a long time.

We saw two men put their bodies and literally their lives on the line, and you wonder if either Man will be the same again. In a perverse way, that is exactly why we love the sport of boxing.

Time to remove more frauds from the game.

Doping is a serious problem in boxing. Whether the sport is dirty, or people are sailing too close to the wind, something has to change.

We also need to look at why VADA is catching everyone and UKAD is catching nobody.

What of VADA did other sports, what would they find?

When we hit the milestone episodes, you know I have to go back to the essence - where it all started.

So today, i am joined by martin and Andi, the legends that built the New Age Boxing podcast, father to much of what came after.

Not sure what we did today, but we had fun writing a few wrongs and poking a few bears.

Enjoy.

The fun and games of a boxing weigh-in.

Without doubt, Moses Itauma is a special talent and you sense his moment will arrive soon.

The hope is that his career lasts a long time and that means he has the pressure of remaining hungry, dedicated and in love with the sport.

What a good feeling it is to see big shows, in big arenas, in the UK. You cannot beat that atmoshere.