BOXING was rocked by a shameful doping scandal and saw one of the most bizarre conclusions to a world title fight in an action-packed week.
Anthony Joshua saw his June 1 Madison Square Garden showdown with Jarrell Miller fall to pieces last week after the American failed THREE Voluntary Anti Doping Agency test.
While Brit Amir Khan saw his own New York world title shot against Terence Crawford end in unpredictable fashion after he was pulled from the fight due to a low blow.
Here’s SunSport’s boxing round up.
BIG RESULT
CRAWFORD, like many predicted, retained his WBO welterweight world title against Bolton’s Khan at MSG on Saturday – though no one could have foreseen the confusing conclusion.
Khan had recovered from a first round knockdown to stay competitive in the fight, though the switch-hitting “Bud” was beginning to show his class until in the sixth round he accidentally hit the Brit challenger with a low blow.
Trainer Virgil Hunter pulled Khan out of the fight believing his fighter had indicated he was unable to continue – and the boxing world was left in a state of confusion and disbelief.
Khan has made a career out of showing too much heart, so it’s hard not to believe him when he says he did not “quit” – but the 2004 Olympian has vowed to carry on and bounce back from the defeat.
DOPING SCANDAL
NEWS broke last week that Miller had tested positive for a banned substance called GW1516 – which automatically put the world title fight with AJ in doubt.
It soon became clear “Big Baby” would see his life-changing opportunity at MSG taken away from him after he then tested positive for Human Growth Hormone and EPO.
The disgusting reveal caused Miller to be rightfully refused a boxing license in New York as the sport was made aware of one of its worst cases of doping.
Team Joshua now look for a replacement for June 1 with an announcement set for this week.
Michael Hunter and Luis Ortiz have emerged as the front runners for the slot.
YARDE STEP-UP
IT IS all but confirmed unbeaten Londoner Anthony Yarde will travel to Russia and challenge for Sergey Kovalev’s WBO light-heavyweight world title.
The purse bids were cancelled as the two camps agreed a deal for the fight which is expected to be announced very soon.
Yarde has 17 KO’s in his 18 victories while ex-unified world champion Kovalev has 15 world title fights mixed in his 37 fight career.
The biggest criticism Yarde has received is the level of opponents he has beaten, however, praise can only be given for travelling to Kovalev’s back garden and attempting to dethrone the WBO king.
BRITISH CHAMPION
ON SATURDAY night at the O2 Arena, Wales’ Joe Cordina successfully won the British title while retained his Commonwealth lightweight strap.
But his performance against Andy Townsend was a thing of beauty, showcasing a range of skill, speed, timing, composure and punch variety on the way to a sixth-round stoppage.
The ability of the 2016 Olympian has never been questioned, but his display on Saturday night was a real statement as he left those watching on in awe of his talent.
With his composure and spitefulness displayed against Townsend, Cordina could have a big 2019 ahead of him – with the real question coming in the form of how quickly does he get pushed or tested.
SUNSPORT EXCLUSIVE
SHANNON COURTENAY hasn’t put a foot wrong in boxing yet, so kinky fans are offering £10,000 for her sweaty socks.
After showing SunSport the latest offer on her phone, the Adam Booth-managed star said: “The support has been incredible but some of the messages have got weirder.
“I have been offered £10,000 for my socks for after the fight. I always get people asking to buy my gym socks, it has almost become normal to me, I get it every day. But I have too much pride to ever do it.
“The beating-people-up bit is the most normal bit about it for me, the rest is where it gets a bit weird. I have also had a few blokes message me to ask me to beat them up but I am not interested.”
