- A recent Triller-branded clown show displayed the very worst of
boxing earlier this month. - Fast forward a few weeks and we have the best, as
Anthony Joshua is days away from fighting. - The hulking heavyweight fights
Oleksandr Usyk in front of 70,000 people on Saturday.
LONDON - Anthony Joshua entered the ring at London's O2 Arena unlike any athlete who had warmed up before him Tuesday.
Normal people rarely get accustomed to seeing a heavyweight like Joshua. At 6-foot-6, he's a big man.
The modern era in prizefighting is used to producing tall heavyweights, but few have muscles bulging out of muscles, are handsome, and walking advertisement boards for huge brands.
Joshua remains a star attraction.
He confirmed a career-long promotional agreement with British boxing juggernaut Matchroom earlier in the day.
It is a significant coup for Matchroom, with earlier speculation over whether he'd re-sign with the organization, or seek one-fight agreements - potentially elsewhere.
Floyd Mayweather flew all the way from Las Vegas to London in the middle of the pandemic to watch Joshua knockout Kubrat Pulev in December last year, such is his draw.
After Joshua had finished his mandatory challenger to retain his WBA, WBO, and IBF championships, he walked over to Mayweather who was sitting ringside for a chat.
It is unclear if Mayweather was advising Joshua to bet on himself like he did when he left Top Rank in 2007 to set up Mayweather Promotions and become a billion-dollar fighter.
Joshua has spoken before about his desire to earn those sums.
A lot of talk behind the scenes between media professionals, boxing executives, and managers at the O2 focused on the deal Matchroom had struck with AJ Boxing, and Joshua.
Boss Eddie Hearn, dressed in a tailored black suit, smiled throughout much of the event, and with good reason.
His marquee fighter is one of boxing's few genuine pay-per-view attractions. He regularly sells upwards of one million PPVs per fight. A bona fide attraction at the gate, he will fight in front of 70,000 people Saturday.
Against the former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua takes on another dangerous opponent.
A legitimate decision win over Usyk - a fellow 2012 Olympic gold medalist - would be one of Joshua's greatest victories. A stoppage would be the combat performance of the year.
The winner will likely campaign to fight Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder, who conclude their trilogy in October. Should Joshua triumph, he may even be ringside at the T-Mobile Arena next month.
Joshua against Fury or Wilder will guarantee a nine-figure payday win or lose. Mayweather-esque money, territory very few fighters have entered.
The stakes are high, and the fight is as close to the best against the best as boxing can offer.
It is exactly what the sport needs after giving itself a black eye earlier this month.
Heavyweight rehabilitation after Triller-branded abomination
Yes, boxing desperately needs an event like the one coming Saturday.
It follows an abject clown show that Triller Fight Club put together.
Vitor Belfort, a former
It lured Evander Holyfield to the ring. However, the California state commission then refused to sanction an event with a 58-year-old fighter on safety grounds.
Rather than cancel, Triller moved the entire event, on less than two weeks' notice, to Florida.
Holyfield was beaten with ease. Belfort pushed him to the ground in the first round and scored an early knockout.
It wasn't the only farce at the event. Former two-weight boxing champion David Haye was supposed to box Joe Fournier, but what those two did just couldn't be called boxing.
Haye and Fournier were seen smiling together while on vacation in Greece just months before the event. They're friends. It was never going to be a legit fight.
Some might call it a glorified spar, though this does a disservice to actual sparring - which can be mesmerizing.
This looked more like Haye and Fournier were putting together a choreographed routine.
Triller claimed all the fights were pro bouts, but it transpired after the show that they were exhibitions. Triller mis-sold the card.
Esteemed boxing journalist Dan Rafael called it "a sad spectacle shrouded in deception" in his Fight Freaks Unite newsletter.
This was the worst of boxing in action.
Fast forward a matter of weeks, though, and the best of boxing returns.
London becomes the epicenter of the combat sports universe
All hell broke loose at a boxing press conference in Beverly Hills, California, hours after Joshua and Usyk completed their media workouts across the pond in England.
Caleb Plant called Saul "Canelo" Alvarez a "motherfucker," got cut when his sunglasses were slapped off his face, and later said boxing's No.1 fighter had taken "illegal substances."
It was a weird, wild, but wonderful moment that adds further hype and intrigue to a super middleweight world championship contest that will be aired on Showtime PPV in November.
The Premier Boxing Champions event generated more attention than the Joshua and Usyk training sessions.
But the difference between the two shows is that the London one takes place in a matter of days. It won't be long before Joshua and Usyk take center stage once again.
It is not the only event that England's capital city hosts in the next couple weeks, as London temporarily becomes the epicenter of the combat sports universe, commanding attention from the boxing, mixed martial arts, and Muay Thai industries.
Here's the calendar of events Insider will have coverage from:
- Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk - heavyweight boxing - September 25
Cage Warriors trilogy - mixed martial arts - September 30 to October 1Bellator MMA - mixed martial arts - October 1- Muay Thai grand prix - Muay Thai - October 9
It is a much-needed shot in the arm for combat sports after too many embarrassing episodes of late.
But momentum in this game is crucial, and Las Vegas will reclaim the crown as the combat capital of the world with a series of upcoming events including Fury vs. Wilder, Canelo vs. Plant, and Terence Crawford vs. Shawn Porter.
The contrast between this, and the shows Triller has produced, is laughable. Because when boxing produces the biggest events it possibly can, there is nothing like it.
Unfortunately, when it produces the worst events it possible can, there's nothing like that, too.
Joshua v Uysk will be shown on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK, and DAZN in the US.