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.

Dalton Smith has brought hope to Sheffield and this could be a new dawn for Yorkshire boxing. But... the big story is the fall-out from the movie Giant. Whichever side you go for just know that these relationships are more complex than we can ever learn from video interviews. What we can say is that both men will look at that period and know they could have handled the whole situation better.

When you carry on like Andrew Tate and you say the things that he says, the only way you should ever lose a fight is on your shield. You can never go out soft, the world will not allow you to go out soft after everything you have said. On Saturday night, we saw Andrew Tate go out soft he looked very hollow looked very weak, looked very human, very average and all he did in fighting Chase Demoor that way was give all of his opponents the ammunition they needed. Probably wasn’t the smartest decision.

That Monaco show was disastrous for a few prospects who will clearly never be world champions now. It also gave Eddie Hearn a chance to clear some. Deadwood out the stable.

When you hear that theme music, you know it's serious. Boxxer blew threw an estimated £32m of our money to give us a worse stable than they started with. This BBC deal feels like the last days of Boxxer. Can anyone see them turning it around? You cant have a circus bear dancing around before a fight against a nail technician. It degrades the sport.

This fight is crazy, but I’m here for it…if it happens.