Boxing fans were hit with three pieces of news that were bizarre, frustrating and downright devastating in a wild spate of updates early on Saturday morning.
Tyson Fury’s megafight against Oleksandr Usyk was postponed after the Gypsy King suffered a cut in training, Manny Pacquiao’s officially ended his retirement – and most tragically 23-year-old Japanese fighter Kazuki Anaguchi died all within a few hours.
Inoue undercard fighter dies
Kazuki Anaguchi has tragically died aged 23 after suffering complications from a brain injury.
The bantamweight prospect underwent emergency surgery to remove a subdural haematoma after his clash with Seiya Tsutsumi last December.
Anaguchi – who was beaten badly and left with a horrific cut – lost consciousness after being transported to the hospital and remained in a coma.
But he’s tragically succumbed to the injuries he sustained in the fight, in which he was dropped four times and suffered convulsions before being transported to the hospital.
Anaguchi boasted a perfect 6-0 record before his ill-fated showdown with Tsutsumi, which was on the undercard of Naoya Inoue’s undisputed junior featherweight clash with Marlon Tapales.
He turned pro in July 2021 after racking up an amateur record of 68 wins and six losses.
Pacquiao is back – and wants Conor McGregor
Manny Pacquiao is officially out of retirement – and he’s targeting a big-name opponent for his ring return.
The former eight-weight world champion hung up his gloves in September 2021, a month after losing his WBA welterweight title fight with Yordenis Ugas.
Pacquiao took part in an exhibition bout against South Korean DK Yoo in December 2022 and is set to face Muay Thai legend Buakaw in a second in April.
The 45-year-old recently teased a rematch with long-time rival Floyd Mayweather and now his manager Sean Gibbons has added fuel to the fire by claiming the pride of the Philippines is no longer a retired fighter.
He told Boxing Scene: “Technically, he’s out of retirement.”
Pacquiao, according to Gibbons, plans to stick around for one more year and is targeting some of the biggest names in the sport.
He continued: “He would love to fight Gervonta Davis, Ryan Garcia. He’s got about a year left.
“He just wants to fight. Manny feels that he’s in tremendous shape.
“He’s training for this exhibition but hopefully that will lead to something bigger and better.”
A lucrative showdown with former UFC champion Conor McGregor has been on the cards for the best part of three years but has yet to materialise.
Pacman was on the receiving end of a call-out from the MMA mogul last December, with The Notorious challenging him to a lucrative showdown in Saudi Arabia.
And a crossover clash with the UFC’s poster boy is something Gibbons insists Pacquiao is more than up for.
“I do [see a pro return for Pacquiao],” he said. “One of the fights that people talked about for a long time was Manny Pacquiao versus Conor McGregor.
“That’s something that will be sensational in Saudi Arabia, let’s go. It will be a good place to do it. It’s really simple.
“His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, [the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia], loves big events. And he’s putting on the best events.
“It’s a very intriguing and fun fight bringing two of the biggest names together in combat sports.”
McGregor, 35, hasn’t fought since breaking his leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier in July 2021 but will be welcomed back to the octagon by Michael Chandler later this year.
Fury-Usyk postponed after training cut
Tyson Fury’s heavyweight championship fight against Oleksandr Usyk is being rescheduled after the Brit suffered a nasty cut in training.
A photo shows Fury with a large gash above his right eye and it was decided there’s not enough time for it to heal before the February 17 bout.
“I am absolutely devastated after preparing for this fight for so long and being in superb condition,” Fury said in a statement.
The cut required stitches but the expected recovery time is yet to be decided.
Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix they have been told it will be “months” and are now scrambling to lock in Filip Hrgovic as a replacement on February 17.
– with The Sun
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