The Opening Bell; A boxing podcast

Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Errol Spence will all this weekend exhibit what is left of themselves. Even if it turns out to be very little, that should still be enough for Joshua and Fury to triumph against Kristian Prenga and Mariusz Wach respectively. If the point of those exercises is questionable then the task that awaits Spence is, by comparison, somewhat formidable.

He takes on Tim Tszyu in Australia in a bout set at 160lbs. Will Spence show he still has what it takes at 36 or will he become the latest athlete to realise that time is the cruellest opponent of them all?

Elsewhere, Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn reminded everyone how much noise they can make and how hard they can appear.

Thanks for listening and for your support, amigos.



Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joe Joyce
was again on the wrong end of a painful loss, one that might, this time, mean
the end. But that’s easy for those who merely watch and pass judgement to say.

A case in
point, when examining how difficult retirement is for a fighter to accept is
Derek Chisora who teased another return by going nose-to-nose with Murat
Gassiev on the same Russia event where Joyce was defeated.

We examine
the latest comings and goings at Zuffa and Matchroom as Johnny Fisher makes the
switch. Shakur Stevenson has joined up with Dana White’s men, too plus in This Week,
we go back to 1999 when Baby Jake Matlala shocks Michael Carbajal.

You can
support The Opening Bell by following us on all the usual social media
platforms while Ad free content is available for less than a fiver a month via Apple
+ and Patreon.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oleksandr Usyk looks set to
fight Deontay Wilder, potentially under the Zuffa umbrella, in a bout that
could signal the end of the current heavyweight era.

But not before we get Tyson Fury
vs Mariusz Wach. Whether marking time or just wasting it, Fury's decision to
fight a shot 46-year-old is curious.

The good times seem to be just
beginning for Abdullah Mason who rebounded from a slow start to stop Albert
Bell in the 12th and final round.

In This Week, we set the dial to
1991 and head back for some vintage Tony Lopez action as he takes on Lupe
Gutierrez atop a bill that featured a young Lennox Lewis getting the better of
Mike Weaver.

Keep listening to The Opening
Bell, folks; the sweetest sound in boxing.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Oleksandr Usyk last week vacated three heavyweight titles to focus on a “last dance”. Who will be Usyk’s final dance partner? Where does his departure leave the rest of the division? And what does this decision mean for his legacy?   

Jaron ‘Boots” Ennis, meanwhile, at last found a befitting dance partner in Xander Zayas last weekend as the pair unleashed some sumptuous moves in Brooklyn. Ennis wasn’t perfect but reminded the boxing world exactly why he’s been held in high regard for such a long time. But then, with the fight being stuck behind a paywall, it’s easy to wonder if this was a missed opportunity to draw new fans to the sport.

Ben Whittaker dazzled again on the undercard only days after one of British boxing’s most reliable showmen, Chris Eubank Jr, revealed his plans to keep fighting “until the wheels fall off” at the age of 36.

We review Lewis Crocker’s tight loss to Liam Paro before heading back to the 1990s and not one but two “Sugar” Shane Mosley fights. Thanks to some classic Christie chaos we look at his victory over Wilfrido Ruiz in 1998 AND his beatdown of Wilfredo Rivera the following year.

Thanks for listening to The Opening Bell, one and all. Your support is treasured.

 
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a week when Ryan Garner scored a glorious victory in a stadium,
Moses Itauma signed for his biggest test, and Boots Ennis is preparing for
Xander Zayas, the biggest story is the one we know the least about: Anthony
Joshua v Tyson Fury.

After much squabbling between
various promoters about who is in control, when it will take place, and where
it will be staged, Turki Alalshikh announced to the world that he is the one
calling the shots. But what does the sport look like without Alalshikh in it; a
very real possibility considering the recent reports about his health.

Meanwhile, everyone’s ‘next
heavyweight champion’ Itauma faced off with Filip Hrgovic to find someone
completely unwilling to read the script. Will Hrgovic toe the line when they
meet on August 29?

Alex and Matt reflect on
Garner’s thrilling triumph inside Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium, we look
ahead to Ennis-Zayas, but arguably save the best for last…

This Week is anchored in 1999
and a time when Johnny Tapia was taken by the biggest of surprises by Paulie
Ayala. As ever with Tapia fights, this one has a heck of a backstory.

The Opening Bell: Unbiased,
unflinching, unmissable.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices