<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="10278402" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="khaos-williams">Khaos Williams</keyword>, one of MMA's top prospects, returns to the <keyword id="992778" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="UFC">UFC</keyword> Octagon on Saturday.</li><li>The American made his UFC debut at the start of the year, won a $50,000 performance bonus because he knocked his opponent out so stunningly, and then won another check last month for another quick-fire KO.</li><li>His rise has attracted the attention of two of MMA's most influential people — the UFC commentator Joe Rogan and the UFC President Dana White.</li><li>Williams told Insider about the year he's had, another welterweight super prospect called Khamzat Chimaev, and his goal of winning the UFC championship.</li></ul>America's "most vicious" knockout artist, Khaos Williams, said he'd be honored to be named MMA's prospect of the year but is only focused on the UFC championship.Williams talked to Insider this week before returning to the Octagon against Michel Pereira at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday.It will be the fighter's third match of the year, having annihilated Alex Morono 27 seconds into his UFC debut, ahead of a 30-second win against Abdul Razak Alhassan last month.In those two bouts, Williams has been hit just three times."It's been the best for me, career-wise," Williams said of his breakout year in combat <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword>. "That's for real, man, and this is only the beginning because I never admire my work, and it's only going to get better and better."Williams' rise in the UFC means victory this weekend, against an experienced opponent like Pereira, could see the 26-year-old become MMA's prospect of the year - beating unbeaten phenom Khamzat Chimaev to that status.It's been quite a journey for Williams, who got his first taste of knockouts in 2008 when he floored another teenager in a street-fight and shook hands afterward."I think I was 14 the first time I knocked somebody out. It was out on the street. I knew the dude, somebody I was having little problems with, but there was no trouble after that - it was just mutual respect."<h2>Respect is something Williams has a lot of now</h2><div type="image" title="joe rogan debate" height="1363" width="1817" msid="79785808" hostid="261"></div>Though Williams had fought nine times before signing a deal with the UFC, it was not until this year when he attracted praise from some of the most influential people in the business.After bulldozing through Morono at the UFC 247 event in Texas, February, <a href="https://www.insider.com/video-khaos-williams-kod-opponent-27-seconds-into-ufc-debut-2020-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the UFC commentator Joe Rogan said</a>: "That's how you make a UFC debut, ladies and gentlemen," saying the win was "outstanding."Then, after sleeping Alhassan with one punch, <a href="https://www.insider.com/watch-khaos-williams-score-30-second-knockout-in-ufc-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the UFC President Dana White said the knockout</a> was "one of the most vicious KOs" he'd ever seen in his life."Man, between both of those GOATs in the game, you know, being around 20+ years … it's just amazing to hear that praise," Williams told Insider."I've been telling people what kind of fighter I am, and now I'm finally making a name for myself in the business."I got the attention and the right people watching me now, I got the world watching me now, and I've got to continue to be great from Saturday."After his most recent win, <a href="https://www.insider.com/khaos-williams-warns-his-division-nobody-is-bulletproof-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Williams warned the welterweight division that nobody is "bulletproof"</a> and that he'll knock everybody out in his weight class."My power is God-given talent," he told us. "When I say nobody's bullet-proof, I mean in general, in human beings."If you hit somebody hard enough on the chin, they're going to sleep. And what I mean by bullet-proof is we all bleed the same."<h2>Williams could become MMA's prospect of the year</h2><div type="image" title="Khaos Williams UFC striker" height="1403" width="2000" msid="79785809" hostid="261"></div>"I've seen that possibility," Williams said when Insider asked if he was aware a third win this weekend could see him surpass Chimaev as the favorite to be MMA's prospect of the year."I look it like this, we're in the major leagues [in the UFC]," he said."It's definitely a great accomplishment and a blessing. That's like the defensive player of the year or an MVP - that's great. I don't want to downplay that."But it's like going for the NBA championship. We want the UFC championship one day - that's what's most important."We're looking at the small things, but also looking at that big thing. And hey, if they want to give me some extra money, a $50,000 bonus, I'm all for that, too."Williams and Chimaev both compete in the same 170-pound weight class. So could we see a battle of super welterweight prospects in 2021?"This is the thing," Williams said. "I'm not really looking at nobody, I'm not looking past anybody, but I'm looking through everybody."I'm focused on me being the best me I can be, and whatever happens, happens. If that's what's supposed to happen, that's what happens."I'm not taking the time to focus on anybody but perfecting my craft. They've got to focus on me."On what aspects of his fighting style he wants to perfect the most in upcoming training camps, Williams said: "Just to continue chiseling at my craft, continuing to progress every day."Every day's a potential day for progress, and I just want to keep getting better as far as my striking, strength, speed, IQ, my jiu-jitsu, wrestling, and everything goes."I'm a well-rounded fighter and want to keep honing all those things so I can not only get to that championship level but win a championship and keep that championship."<h2>Williams is confident he beats everybody at 170-pounds</h2><div type="image" title="Khaos Williams UFC debut" height="1334" width="2000" msid="79785810" hostid="261"></div>"I feel confident against anybody," Williams told us. "If you get in there with me, you feel you can beat me, and I'm going to show you otherwise."I'm just so excited to keep chiseling away at my destiny and making history because I'm just getting started, for real. Michel Pereira is just another man in the way," he said of his UFC Fight Night 183 bout in Vegas.Williams has earned additional $50,000 performance-related bonus checks in both UFC outings to date, and a third check for a knockout win this weekend "would be a great Christmas" in his household."But I just want to go in there and get the W [win]. If I do it in extraordinary fashion and knock him out, that's what happens."But I've got to go in there, be technical, and take my time - that's the way it's going to be. I adapt to anybody, adapt to the fight, and feed off his energy."Williams mentioned his ultimate ambition in ultimate fighting is the UFC title but was reluctant to give a precise timeframe of when he hopes to secure a title fight."It all depends on how I beat this guy Saturday," he said. "I just take it one win at a time. I never want to downplay nothing."It might be a year, two years, three - I ain't rushing. I'm just getting better, so when the time comes, I take advantage of the opportunity which is presented."My hunger is different [to everyone else]," he added."I'm extraordinary, gifted, and different to these other dudes mentally."I feel like nobody is going to be stronger than me because my work-rate is outrageous, and we're just going to keep testing those chins [with knockout punches]."They're all in the way of me and my ambition."<ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/conor-mcgregor-probably-skeptical-about-fighting-in-covid-white-said-2020-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Conor McGregor was 'probably' skeptical about competing when the UFC said it would hold events through COVID, Dana White said</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/watch-jake-paul-drop-sweary-50-million-conor-mcgregor-offer-2020-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jake Paul offers Conor McGregor $50 million to fight him in an insult-filled, expletive-laden video posted on social media</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/weve-entered-a-golden-era-of-boxing-exhibitions-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">We've officially entered a golden era of showbiz boxing, and it's all down to Mike Tyson, Jake Paul, and Floyd Mayweather</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/how-claressa-shields-could-master-mma-in-pfl-2020-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Claressa Shields could master MMA at a 'rapid rate' as she's already got the mind of a warrior, PFL stablemate Clay Collard says</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/anthony-joshua-dropped-kubrat-pulev-4-times-en-route-to-a-9th-round-ko-2020-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anthony Joshua dropped Kubrat Pulev 4 times en route to a 9th round knockout but there's 2 reasons the Tyson Fury mega-match might not happen for at least another year</a></li></ul>

America's 'most vicious' KO artist said he'd be honored to be named MMA's prospect of the year, but is focused on the UFC title

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e50653cfee23d12f815ce27-2000/deontay%20wilder%20and%20tyson%20fury%20value%20money.jpg" alt="Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury value money" /><a href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/boxers-deontay-wilder-and-tyson-fury-face-off-during-a-news-photo/1196268070?adppopup=true">Photo by Ringo Chiu / AFP via Getty Images</a>Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.<ul class="summary-list"><li>The next 12 months could produce an undisputed champion in the heavyweight division.</li><li>That champion would be in hot demand on the lat-enight talk show circuit, would attract greater sponsorship deals, and would generate a lot of cash outside of fighting.</li><li>The winner of the anticipated three-fight Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury rivalry could receive $138 million in total prize money should he then also challenge Anthony Joshua in a potential unification fight.</li><li>"Heavyweight champions historically have been at the top of the food chain in boxing," Fury's promoter Bob Arum told us. And history could be about to repeat itself.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>LAS VEGAS - The winner of the Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury fight on Saturday could earn $138 million in 12 months on prize money alone.The WBC heavyweight champion Wilder defends his world title at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in a rematch of his 2018 draw with the challenger, Fury.The Los Angeles Times boxing reporter <a href="https://twitter.com/ManoukAkopyan/status/1230943325617704960" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Manouk Akopyan tweeted</a> this week that both fighters could expect to receive more than $40 million each after pay-per-view buys are tabulated.Fury's promoter in the US, the Top Rank founder Bob Arum, told Business Insider this week that he expects this fight to "set records for heavyweight boxing." He said: "We really anticipate [selling to] two million pay-per-view homes in the United States and 800,000 to a million in the UK."Saturday's fight might not end Wilder and Fury's two-fight rivalry, though.Having already gone 12 rounds in their first fight 14 months ago, the two heavyweights could fight for a third time later this year as a trilogy has been contractually agreed. "A third fight has been signed," Arum told us."The winner of this [second] fight Saturday would get 60% in the third fight and the loser gets 40%. And that will happen this year unless the loser pulls the plug [on the deal]," he said. "That's how the contract is written."If a trilogy bout generates a similar total prize fund as the $80 million Akopyan mentioned, then Saturday's winner could bank a further $48 million based on that 60% share."Assuming that is the case it will be a big payday for Tyson," Arum said.But the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, Leonard Ellerbe, who has frequently called Wilder the "top dog" in the division, expects the American to be the one who hits the jackpot in Las Vegas.Speaking to Business Insider in the VIP Lounge at the MGM Grand on Thursday, Ellerbe said: "The sky is the limit for Deontay."He has the ability to impact the sport in a major way. I think they'll do a tremendous number [of pay-per-view buys] on Saturday with two powerhouse networks [ESPN and Fox Sports] behind them. With those two coming together, you will see great results," Ellerbe said.<h2>But the biggest payday could be one fight after Wilder and Fury end their rivalry</h2>An even bigger event could be a fight which is yet to be made. Another of Arum's fighters, Kubrat Pulev, is expected to challenge Anthony Joshua for the popular British heavyweight's three world titles this summer.The winner of that fight, and the winner of the Wilder and Fury rivalry, would be a bout with all of the division's championships on the line. It would be the most significant heavyweight fight in years, maybe even decades.Arum said it would be "a really massive fight."<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5ab372c3e2a73efa4d8b4570-2000/anthony%20joshua.jpg" alt="Anthony Joshua" />Getty ImagesAnthony Joshua.Ellerbe told us it takes time to become a truly global superstar, and referenced the nine years it took to turn Floyd Mayweather into a pay-per-view sensation."In this world today, everybody wants instant gratification," Ellerbe said. "You can't climb Everest overnight. Our first pay-per-view fight was in 2005. Floyd [Mayweather] turned pro in 1996. Our first pay-per-view [with Mayweather] took nine years. Nothing happens overnight."A number of things have to come into play to have success. But any fight which Deontay is involved in will be a big event. I fully expect him to knock Fury out on Saturday night. And then all roads, in my opinion, lead to Deontay."Arum seemingly agrees with Ellerbe about the timescale needed to nurture superstar talent. Earlier in the week, he told us: "In boxing, there's no instant reward for winning, but there is a big reward down the road."It is unclear how great that big reward down the road could be, but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/andy-ruiz-and-anthony-joshua-fight-another-case-of-sportswashing-2019-12/amp/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joshua reportedly made $85 million</a> when he won back the world titles he lost to Andy Ruiz Jr. in an anticipated rematch in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, in 2019. The total pot was apparently $100 million, with Ruiz Jr. receiving $15 million.A fight for the unified heavyweight championship, to decide an undisputed champion in the division, could feasibly attract a similar payday.The reported $40 million check for Saturday's fight, combined with the anticipated $48 million in the trilogy and a 50% share of a $100 million megafight equals $138 million in prize money alone.An undisputed champion, whoever that might be, would be in hot-demand on the late night talk show circuit, would attract greater sponsorship deals, and could generate additional revenue outside of fighting.As Arum told us: "Heavyweight champions historically have been at the top of the food chain in boxing."And history may be about to repeat itself.Read more:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/deontay-wilder-trainer-says-meeting-boxer-changed-his-life-forever-2020-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deontay Wilder's trainer says meeting the boxer 'has been the greatest thing that ever happened' to him</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tyson-fury-says-deontay-wilder-fight-is-not-race-war-2020-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tyson Fury says his fight with Deontay Wilder 'is not a racial war'</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-it-would-feel-like-if-deontay-wilder-punched-you-2020-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Here is what would happen if America's hardest-hitting heavyweight Deontay Wilder punched you in the face</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tyson-fury-is-preparing-risky-strategy-to-beat-deontay-wilder-2020-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tyson Fury is preparing one of the boldest and riskiest fight strategies of his career to beat Deontay Wilder</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cuts-tactics-tyson-fury-can-use-in-deontay-wilder-fight-2020-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">3 tactics the Tyson Fury team can use if they're worried his horrific cut will reopen and lose him the Deontay Wilder fight</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bob-arum-would-sell-top-rank-for-the-right-price-2020-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One of boxing's most powerful executives says he is open to selling Top Rank, and 3 heavyweight companies have talked to him about buying</a><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">THIS JUST IN: Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury have each signed a contract to walk home with a guaranteed $5 million purse tonight, Top Rank's Bob Arum and Carl Moretti tell me. Each fighter can make upward of $40 million after PPV buys are tabulated. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WilderFury2?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WilderFury2</a>- Manouk Akopyan (@ManoukAkopyan) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1230943325617704960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 21, 2020</a></blockquote> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oscars-academy-awards-rigged-best-picture-nominations-win-2019-2">There's a formula to winning the Oscars, and it's all in the statistics</a></h3> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/VZ354Tmb-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;"></iframe>

The winner of the Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury fight could earn $138 million in 12 months on prize money alone

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d30d518bae5630e1d01f558-2000/dillian whyte boxing.jpg" border="0" alt="Dillian Whyte, boxing" data-mce-source="Photo by Ben Hoskins/Getty Images" data-link="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/dillian-whyte-punches-joseph-parker-during-the-heavyweight-news-photo/1006858258?adppopup=true" /></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Dillian Whyte has been hitting his trainer's hands so hard in training it started taking its toll.</li><li>Whyte fights Oscar Rivas at the 02 Arena in London and, should he win, will fight once more before finally challenging WBC heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder.</li><li>Whyte's promoter Eddie Hearn even told Business Insider that he will likely get the Wilder shot before his Matchroom Sport stablemate Anthony Joshua will.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's home page for more stories</a>.</li></ul>Dillian Whyte hits so hard it has taken its toll on his renowned coach Mark Tibbs.Whyte returns to the ring on Saturday when he fights Oscar Rivas, an unheralded heavyweight who has respectable wins over Andy Ruiz Jr. and Kubrat Pulev as an amateur, and Bryant Jennings as a professional.To get Whyte ready for the 02 Arena show in London, Tibbs has been working with his fighter to ensure they do not underestimate Rivas. They want to avoid an upset akin to Ruiz Jr.'s seventh round victory over Anthony Joshua earlier in the year.Whyte's been working on his cardio, going through fight strategies with Tibbs, and working on his punch routines on the pads. And it is that padwork in particular that has left Tibbs needing treatment."It takes it's toll," Tibbs told Business Insider at a pre-fight media event in Canary Wharf this week.Tibbs has three athletes at the Matchroom Boxing event. There's Whyte, the light heavyweight puncher Charlie Duffield, and the cruiserweight Richard Riakporhe. And all three of them have been going hard at him in training.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/okolie-canceled-anthony-joshua-vacation-so-he-could-fight-saturday-2019-7?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lawrence Okolie canceled his vacation with Anthony Joshua just so he could fight this weekend</a>"For this show I've got Richard Riakporhe, massive puncher with both hands, Charlie Duffield, big puncher, and Dillian, a heavyweight, another big puncher, so it takes its toll. I won't tell you exactly how I'm feeling … in a couple days I can have a bit of a rest, but nah, we got good physios on board who treat me, give me advice."Tibbs is relishing the competition against Rivas. Victory for Whyte sees his athlete win the interim WBC heavyweight title, pushing him further toward a mandatory shot at the WBC's outright ruler Deontay Wilder.Wilder, alongside Tyson Fury, Ruiz Jr., and Joshua, are seen as a big four in heavyweight boxing, but Whyte, considering his run of form and his recent resume, is punching with the best of them according to Tibbs."Dillian Whyte … he's up there. He's up there in the top three. It's form, resume, I know where he's from, I know the percentages. I know what's come out, what's to come. I know what the others are all about. I know what I'm lookin' at, you know what I mean? He's a real man. He's the real deal."<h2>Whyte might fight Wilder before Joshua does</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d321e5a0c1c3919512063df-2000/mark tibbs dillian whyte eddie hearn.jpg" border="0" alt="Mark Tibbs, Dillian Whyte, Eddie Hearn" data-mce-source="Photo by Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images" data-link="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/dillian-whyte-speaks-alongside-trainer-mark-tibbs-and-news-photo/906373032?adppopup=true" /></div></div></div>Whyte's promoter, Eddie Hearn, the group managing director at Matchroom Sport, agrees, telling us: "He's top five in the heavyweight division."You've got Ruiz Jr., Joshua, Fury, Wilder, and Whyte. I think Oleksandr Usyk is going to be in that mix but he hasn't had a heavyweight fight yet."As for Whyte? "He continually keeps winning. Saturday will be very difficult but he will come through. Rivas was a very good amateur and that's difficult for a guy like Dillian who had only seven amateur fights, quite inexperienced, amateur and pro, whereas these guys been boxing all their life."Rivas is a very accomplished amateur and a very accomplished pro so he's very well schooled, will know his way around the ring, which is why it's a tough fight for Dillian."Tibbs also talked-up the Colombian. "Oscar Rivas don't get the big chances like he's got now and this is his moment. It's a dangerous fight. He's a good all-rounder. He looks the part, he can box, he can fight. He's fast, mobile, he's got pedigree. I'm a trainer, I'm a believer in pedigree, but I've got Dillian and pedigree means nothing to him."Let me tell you something … I've never met a guy like Dillian Whyte, he's a one off. When you talk about pedigree, amateur experience, fought this one and that one, pedigree means nothing to him. He's just hungry … he's a hungry fighter. He's skilled-up, he's a pay-per-view fighter, and up there in the top three in the world."But Whyte and Tibbs don't want to settle at top three. They want the number one status that belongs to a champion. They want the shot at WBC champion Deontay Wilder, a fight Whyte could quite feasibly get long before his Matchroom stablemate Joshua.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-daniel-dubois-knocks-out-nathan-gorman-in-style-2019-7?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daniel Dubois has his Anthony Joshua moment at London's 02 Arena, knocking out Nathan Gorman in style</a>Hearn told Business Insider that should Whyte beat Rivas, they'll look to book one more fight then go for the winner in the eventual Wilder and Fury rematch, even if it meant jumping ahead of Joshua's plans to win his world titles back, then unify the division in a massive money fight against Wilder."With Joshua losing to Ruiz Jr. there's a very good chance that Whyte gets that fight before Joshua, but right now the only thing on Joshua's mind is to beat Andy Ruiz in the rematch and for Dillian Whyte, beat Oscar Rivas."Whyte and Rivas are the main event fight in Matchroom's heavyweight show in London, Saturday.

Dillian Whyte was punching his coach's hands so hard in training it left him needing treatment ahead of the fight this Saturday

<ul class="summary-list"><li>If you don't like <keyword id="6130340" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Jake-Paul">Jake Paul</keyword> existing in <keyword id="6362171" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Boxing">boxing</keyword> then tough s---. The YouTube star is very much here to stay in the sport.</li><li>He's on the eve of his second fight of the year, against former NBA dunk champion <keyword id="111552" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nate-Robinson">Nate Robinson</keyword>.</li><li>Paul and Robinson are on the same card as Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr.'s much-hyped exhibition Saturday, facing off for six rounds of cruiserweight action in a legitimate fight.</li><li>Robinson will be going down in the first round, Paul told Insider this week. After that, he has big plans.</li><li>Once he has dispatched Robinson, Paul said, he'll focus his efforts on taking on a star of the UFC, maybe even <keyword id="2944528" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Conor-McGregor">Conor McGregor</keyword>, in a boxing rules contest.</li></ul>If you don't like Jake Paul existing in boxing then tough s---.He's here to stay, it's the eve of his second fight of the year, and he's already challenging the UFC's biggest names to crossover from the Octagon into the ring. He's impossibly hard to ignore.The YouTube creator has long been a staple of Insider's digital culture pages, <a href="https://www.insider.com/jake-paul-interview-party-coronavirus-calabasas-mayor-2020-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">even speaking to this publication earlier in the year</a>.But this week he spoke to Insider's combat <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword> correspondent for the first time and, judging by the way he's talking, it won't be the last.The first question I asked Paul was an easy one. At 23, Paul has millions of subscribers, and brought in $21.5 million in 2018 alone, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/top-10-highest-paid-youtube-stars-of-2018-forbes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to CBS News</a>.So having made more in one year than many boxers earn in an entire career, why fight?As Hall of Famer Marvin Hagler once reportedly said: "It's tough to get out of bed to do roadwork at 5 a.m. when you've been sleeping in silk pajamas."Essentially what Hagler meant is that once you've made your money, why keep putting yourself through the grim reality of early runs, grueling sparring sessions, and getting punched repeatedly in the face? Especially when you could be kicking back at home with a cigar and a glass of fine cognac.For Paul, the answer to that question is simple."I'm not fighting to make money," he told Insider. "I'm fighting because I want to and I love it."That resonated with this author. And it might do with other fight fans too, even if they can't stand the idea of a YouTuber continuing to enter the boxing ring.I haven't made $21.5 million my entire life, let alone a single year, but if I had, I'd probably think: 'To hell with it,' recruit the top trainers in my area, work out for fun, and cosplay as an in-your-face fighter just to annoy people.I can see where Paul is coming from.He's one fight into his pro career with one knockout victory on his record, albeit against a fellow content creator called AnEsonGib.His fight Saturday against the former NBA player Nate Robinson is against an actual athlete this time, though still not a fighter.The pair's cruiserweight match serves as the co-main event for the highly-anticipated Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. exhibition, and is scheduled for six rounds.If Paul has his way, it will last one.<h2>Saturday's show is just the right amount of weird for me</h2><div type="image" title="Jake Paul and Nate Robinson" height="582" width="1250" msid="79453509" hostid="261"></div>"I wake up every day with fire in my belly," Paul said. "That's just where the passion, hard work, and dedication comes from."All this entertainment in LA is great — YouTube, acting, music — and I love it, but boxing just sits differently with me."I really have to push myself outside of my comfort zone to do those sprints, to wake up on a Saturday morning when all my friends are in Los Angeles, out at the clubs, making music, having fun, and I'm up early, isolated, running sprints, and nearly puking."And then going sparring? I just love it. I see a huge future for me in this sport."One aspect of combat sports which Paul appears to excel at is trash talking his opponents With <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/JakePaulProductions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">20 million subscribers on YouTube</a>, Paul isn't one to shy away from the limelight, and is all too happy to talk down to Robinson, a three-time slam dunk champion."He's just a capper, he makes s--- up, and his s--- talking is weak," said Paul. "He initiated this fight on Instagram talking s---. So I was like, alright, let's fight then, Nate."He basically said he was from the mud and I had a silver spoon all my life. I just said, 'Nate, your dad was in the NFL and your mom owned a beauty salon. My dad was a roofer and my mom was a nurse.'"Like, you're saying you're from the mud, but you're not. I never had a silver spoon growing up. I'm a self-made millionaire.Paul said that he thinks mentioning Robinson's upbringing got under the skin of the former NBA dunk champion."His whole entire thing is, like: 'Jake's not working as hard as me. We're doing the nitty gritty, in a small gym, in Seattle, getting out the mud.'"That doesn't mean anything in boxing," he said."I've seen footage. I know he's dedicated and working hard. He seems light on his feet. But there's nothing he can do, or his coaches can do to train him, for me."I'm going to take him down in the first round," Paul predicted. "I've said this from the day this contract was signed, and I'm still saying it now.Robinson's training has left Paul un-frightened and unimpressed. "I'm not impressed with anything he's doing," he said."He's arm-punching, not using his hips, and I have a significant reach advantage, height advantage, weight advantage, and experience advantage."I also have a youth advantage. I'm a lot better looking than he is, which is important in boxing," he said, failing to conceal a laugh."If you look good, that's what takes it to the next level."<h2>Jake Paul wants to challenge UFC fighters like Conor McGregor in the ring</h2><div type="image" title="Jake Paul boxing" height="1333" width="2000" msid="79453511" hostid="261"></div>The novice boxer told Insider he wants to "take care of business by producing a spectacular performance" this weekend.But, after that, he'll likely be engaging MMA athletes in verbal warfare on social media, looking to lure one of them into the ring for a boxing rules contest.As for who that first MMA challenger could be, Paul mentioned the former Bellator welterweight champion and former One champion, Ben Askren, whose career stalled when he moved to the UFC."Ben Askren has been saying he wants to fight me," Paul said. "He's on Twitter talking s---."Even though he got knocked out in five seconds [<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-jorge-masvidal-knocked-ben-askren-out-in-5-seconds-2019-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">by Jorge Masvidal</a>]. So he has no place to speak from."If you're a human and you can be knocked out in five seconds then you shouldn't be fighting. Retire, delete your Twitter, and then go into a hole and hide — that's just embarrassing."If Paul fights and beats Askren, he says, then there's an obvious next target: Conor McGregor."Once I take out a legitimate MMA fighter in the boxing ring, people are gonna be like, 'Damn, Jake Paul vs. Conor McGregor would be pretty entertaining."I'm bigger than Conor, I weigh more than Conor, and he's out of his prime, sort of washed-up."He wants to fight Manny Pacquiao in the ring? He would get worked by Manny Pacquiao. He'd be an 0-2 boxer."He then started making elaborate facial gestures, rolled his eyes, and said he knows people think he's crazy."But me and Conor would be a more even fight. And when the fight happens, everyone will read this back and say, 'Damn, that kid's out of his mind, but he called this. Predicted this.'"The Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. is breaking pre-sale records," Paul said. <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iron-mike-tyson-versus-roy-jones-jr-fight-breaks-ppv-pre-sale-fight-records-301180114.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to a press release from the event's organizers, the show has broken a record for digital buys.</a>"This is a business. If I'm bringing millions in pay-per-view, and so is Conor, then that's going to be a giant fight — a big money-maker," Paul added."That's why, realistically, if I keep winning, take out some MMA guys in the boxing ring … the [McGregor] fight's going to happen."<h2>Paul vows to knock Robinson out in a single round Saturday</h2><div type="image" title="Nate Robinson NBA boxing" height="1000" width="2000" msid="79453515" hostid="261"></div>"Nate, you dug this hole. You dug this hole and you continue to dig this hole."I know your coaches are lying to you, saying, 'You got this, you did everything right, and you trained hard.'"I know you're trying to lie to yourself. I also know those lies you're telling yourself and your coaches are telling you aren't working."I know when you go to sleep at night, you see clips of me knocking people out. And you replay clips of me knocking sparring partners out over and over in your head."And on Saturday, I'm going to embarrass you in front of your family, with tens of millions of people watching, by knocking you down and out to the canvas."The main card of the Tyson vs. Jones exhibition begins at 9 p.m. ET airing on cable provider pay-per-view, and online platforms Triller and Fite TV, and costs $49.99 to watch.Read more:<a href="https://www.insider.com/jake-paul-caused-chaos-at-press-event-nate-robinson-says-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jake Paul was hellbent on causing chaos at media events for the Mike Tyson and Roy Jones exhibition, his opponent Nate Robinson said</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/british-boxing-promoters-are-furious-with-the-uk-government-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">British boxing's most powerful people are apoplectic about the UK government's failure to support the sport during a COVID winter</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/kayla-harrison-was-surprised-her-bloody-mma-bout-wasnt-stopped-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kayla Harrison said she was surprised her bloody MMA bout wasn't stopped and did think: 'This is barbaric'</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/conor-mcgregor-and-manny-pacquiao-will-definitely-fight-in-future-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Conor McGregor and Manny Pacquiao will 'definitely' fight in the near future, according to their shared manager</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/kubrat-pulev-says-anthony-joshua-lacks-mental-toughness-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kubrat Pulev says Anthony Joshua lacks mental toughness and he'll expose him December 12</a>

Jake Paul, a YouTube star who has fought once, is confident he can defeat 'washed-up' Conor McGregor, a former two-weight UFC champion

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Heavyweight boxer <keyword id="494373" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Dereck-Chisora">Dereck Chisora</keyword> is temporarily leaving his sport so he can fight in <keyword id="6150626" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="bellator-mma">Bellator MMA</keyword>.</li><li>Chisora had a high-stakes match-up against <keyword id="1183200" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Oleksandr-Usyk">Oleksandr Usyk</keyword> scheduled before the coronavirus pandemic canceled the bout.</li><li>Rather than take the Usyk showdown to an empty venue, Chisora told Insider he is happy to postpone the bout for a few months, or even a year, so he can wait to fill London's 02 Arena again.</li><li>While he waits, he'll put his new-found wrestling skills to good use in a Bellator cage, he said, potentially making his MMA debut in the coming months.</li></ul>One of <keyword id="6362171" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Boxing">boxing</keyword>'s biggest characters says he won't box without fans during the pandemic, and will fight in Bellator MMA instead.Dereck <a href="https://www.insider.com/watch-usyk-spray-disinfectant-and-take-selfie-with-dereck-chisora-2020-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chisora had a high-stakes heavyweight match against Oleksandr Usyk scheduled</a> in Britain before the spread of the novel coronavirus cancelled major <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword> events from mid-March.Live combat sports returned with <a href="https://www.insider.com/photos-behind-the-scenes-at-ufc-in-a-covid19-era-2020-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the UFC's shows in Florida</a> last month, and boxing is set to resume <a href="https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/29245545/top-rank-host-most-june-cards-las-vegas-fans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at a Las Vegas conference center</a> in June before promoter Eddie <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-matchroom-and-eddie-hearn-will-restart-boxing-during-coronavirus-2020-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hearn hosts British fights in his mansion</a> from July.These events are behind-closed-doors as mass gatherings remain banned in multiple cities in the US and the UK, thus restricting the amount of money generated as there will be no revenue from ticket sales.Chisora told Insider that he's happy to keep his Usyk clash postponed until fans can return to the gate and organizers can host the fight at the 20,000 capacity 02 Arena in London.Until then, he'll test himself in Bellator MMA. "If the fight with Usyk is not going to be this year, then I'll just go do a fight in Bellator," Chisora told us."This is what we're looking at now; another option so we can get another fight going using Bellator MMA rules."<div type="image" title="Dereck Chisora, Oleksandr Usyk, boxing, Bellator MMA" height="1043" width="1390" msid="76135969" hostid="261"></div>Chisora's entire 13-year career in professional combat sports has been spent as a boxer, accumulating a 41-fight record featuring 32 wins (23 knockouts) against nine losses, including bouts against Vitali Klitschko, Tyson Fury, and <keyword id="67496" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="David-Haye">David Haye</keyword>.He is also riding a three-fight win streak and is poised to challenge Usyk, the former undisputed cruiserweight champion who is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-boxers-in-the-world-right-now-pound-for-pound-2019-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">one of Insider's top-five talents in world boxing</a> right now.<h2>Competing in MMA aged 36 is an unconventional move</h2>Abandoning that, even if temporarily, to compete in an entirely different fighting discipline — mixed martial arts — would be wildly unconventional for most fighters, let alone a 36-year-old boxer.Chisora is a guy who sold his high-powered Bentley for a two-seater Smart car, who almost caused a riot when he tried to kiss his opponent Carl Baker at a weigh-in, and who slapped Vitali Klitschko in the face before <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/boxing/9092756/Klitschko-David-Haye-and-Dereck-Chisora-must-be-banned-for-brawl.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spitting water all over his brother</a>, Wladimir.Unconventional is one of the things Chisora may well do best. When Chisora was a teenager he ran a company called Dereck's Association of Finchley Traders (DAFT, an acronym that spells a British word for fool).With the help of friends, he bought Bentleys, Rolls Royces, and Daimlers at auction and sell them for profit.Recalling the business to Insider, Chisora said: "This is time ago! When I was 18, 19 … just a young kid and I'd buy cars from the auction and sell them in the newspapers."<div type="image" title="Dereck Chisora slapped Klitschko" height="1311" width="2000" msid="76135973" hostid="261"></div>Over the years, Chisora became synonymous with controversial antics in boxing. He told us he didn't even know what he was doing when he kissed Baker at a head-to-head in 2010, an act that incited an aggressive response from his opponent. "I was young, naive," he said.Only two years later, he was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2012/feb/17/dereck-chisora-slaps-vitali-klitschko" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fined $50,000 by the World Boxing Council</a> when he slapped Vitali Klitschko in the face just a day before their heavyweight title fight in Munich.Moments before the fight began, he took a mouthful of water and spat it all over Klitschko's brother, Wladimir, who looked bemused before trying to lick the water off his face."He was fuming!" Chisora said, looking back. "He didn't know what to do … he was embarrassed."Shortly after going 12 rounds with Vitali Klitschko, losing a decision in a spirited fight, Chisora and David Haye caused carnage at the post-fight press conference. Punches were landed, a chair was thrown in the melee, and <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/boxing/david-haye/9108126/David-Haye-admits-holding-glass-bottle-when-he-landed-first-punch-on-Dereck-Chisora-during-brawl.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Haye was seen hitting Chisora with a glass bottle</a> in his hand.The only way to settle the ruckus was with a fight at an open-air stadium in London, something <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/david-haye-wants-to-turn-dereck-chisora-into-champion-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Haye told Insider buried whatever bad blood they had</a>, opening the door for Haye to become Chisora's manager when he called time on his own fighting days in 2018."David is a good man," Chisora said. "I was hanging out with David when I was coming up in the game. When the fight happened in West Ham, he won by knockout and that was the end of it."There was nothing else I could do here but respect the man. We moved on. Now, we've been getting to the highest point we can get to in my career."<h2>Haye has guided Chisora to an MMA debut and an Usyk fight</h2><div type="image" title="When will Dereck Chisora fight in Bellator MMA" height="1411" width="2000" msid="76135977" hostid="261"></div>Chisora is on a three-fight winning streak, has fought six successive times at London's marquee venue the 02 Arena, and is on the cusp of a significant heavyweight fight against Usyk.A world title shot against Anthony Joshua could be mandated by the World Boxing Organization should he beat the Ukrainian."The fight with Usyk is an amazing one for me and the fans," Chisora said. "When they said, 'Usyk wants to fight you,' I said, 'You know what … I'll fight him.'"By the time I retire, I want to say I'll fight everybody. I fought Tyson Fury, Dillian Whyte, Haye, Kubrat Pulev, it's good memories and good history for me and my family. And now I'm excited to have Usyk, too, at the 02 Arena."Boxing in Britain returns mid-July with <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-matchroom-and-eddie-hearn-will-restart-boxing-during-coronavirus-2020-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hearn's elaborate plans to host four successive Saturday fight nights on the grounds of his 15-acre Matchroom headquarters</a>, which has an indoor swimming pool, a helipad, and views of London's financial district in the distance.Chisora praised the probable match-ups at these shows, with Whyte's fight against Alexander Povetkin likely headlining the final card in August. However, he told us he won't be boxing until fans can return to events."I can't fight Usyk without fans … it has to be a fight for fans to enjoy," he said."We can't be doing that in Eddie Hearn's mansion. We need a crowd there, 20,000 people there. Maybe we'll be back in an arena in the next couple of months."Whether that's a couple of months or next year, Chisora said he'll transition into mixed martial arts to fight for Bellator MMA, adding it won't be uncharted territory as he's been wrestling at the prominent gym London Shootfighters."I know how to wrestle, things like that," he said. "I'm chuffed about doing that. Shootfighters … they've got James Haskell, they've got Michael 'Venom' Page, I'm just excited."For the last three years, I've been training at Shootfighters, wrestling, doing what they do."We'll get a fight done. It will definitely happen, mate."Read more:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/david-haye-wants-to-turn-dereck-chisora-into-champion-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How David Haye plans to make a world champion out of Dereck Chisora, the once wild and unpredictable heavyweight who draws comparisons to tennis star Nick Kyrgios</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/how-matchroom-and-eddie-hearn-will-restart-boxing-during-coronavirus-2020-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Britain's biggest fight promoter has launched an ambitious plan to bring elite boxing to his huge, multi-million dollar mansion — and Anthony Joshua wants to get involved</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/world-lethwei-championship-still-planning-2020-debut-in-the-us-2020-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The world's most brutal fight firm is bringing its unique brand of violence to the US, and it involves head-butt knockouts</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/floyd-mayweather-wants-to-make-1-billion-through-property-2020-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Floyd Mayweather's new goal in life is to make $1 billion through property, doubling the money he made as a boxer, his right-hand man says</a>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.insider.com/dereck-chisora-wont-box-oleksandr-usyk-without-fans-bellator-mma-2020-6">Insider</a>

One of boxing's biggest characters says he won't box without fans during the pandemic, will fight in Bellator MMA instead

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="1530097" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Gabriel-Rosado">Gabriel Rosado</keyword> fights <keyword id="1736075" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Daniel-Jacobs">Daniel Jacobs</keyword> in Hollywood, Florida, on Friday.</li><li>He is a huge underdog and victory would likely be one of the biggest <keyword id="6362171" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Boxing">boxing</keyword> upsets of 2020.</li><li>Rosado's life story is one of two fighting communities colliding. He grew up in the fight-crazy city of Philadelphia, and has Puerto Rican heritage.</li><li>Rather than get side-tracked with the money fights in the division, he is focused only on Jacobs as a win would write his own Rocky story.</li></ul>Philadelphian underdog Gabriel Rosado was a street-fighting 6-year-old but got inspired to box when he saw Mike Tyson and Felix Trinidad for the first time.A 34-year-old veteran of 39 pro fights, Rosado returns to the ring Friday for the first time in the pandemic, and takes on Daniel Jacobs at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, in a super middleweight match which tops the five-bout Matchroom USA-promoted card on <keyword id="6970799" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="DAZN">DAZN</keyword>.Rosado is not expected to beat Jacobs, who is a former champion looking to use the Philly fighter as a stepping stone toward another title fight so he can reclaim that lost championship status.Regardless, Rosado told Insider this week that he sees specific weaknesses in his opponent, and will look to expose those so he can snatch the momentum Jacobs has, and make that title shot his own.The fight is one Rosado had been hoping would materialize since before the coronavirus jeopardized live events early this year. He's now excited it's finally here, ready to compete once again, and try to prove critics who give him little to no chance of winning wrong."He has speed and he can punch, but I wouldn't say he has the best defense — that's one of his weaknesses," Rosado said of Jacobs."He does get touched, gets hit. I just feel like that at this point in our career, we both have 13-14 years as professionals. It'll come down to skill, but mainly the will … who really wants it?"Jacobs turned pro in 2007, has strong wins over Caleb Truax, Peter Quillin, and Sergiy Derevyanchenko. He also has three defeats on his ledger, losing to Dmitry Pirog, Gennadiy Golovkin, and Saul Alvarez — <a href="https://www.insider.com/who-are-the-best-pound-for-pound-boxers-in-the-world" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insider's No.1 boxer in the world</a>.On what he could learn from his opponent's losses and look to replicate on fight night, Rosado said: "Every fight is different. In the Canelo and Golovkin fights, they applied really smart pressure on him and made him a little bit uncomfortable."But my style is different. And I think it's just about being smart, keeping the head offline. A lot of head movement."Canelo made him miss a lot. Danny's a quick guy when it comes to throwing one shot, but with combinations he's not a fast guy."<h2>Rosado has been fighting since he was six-years-old</h2><div type="image" title="Daniel Jacobs and Gabriel Rosado" height="1335" width="2000" msid="79447000" hostid="261"></div>Rosado was born in the city that spawned boxing legends 'Smokin' Joe Frazier, Bernard 'The Executioner' Hopkins, Jersey Joe Walcott, and the "Rocky" movie franchise.He carries that distinctive boxing culture with him today, despite relocating to Los Angeles six years ago. There he opened his own gym called Badlands, a name riffing on the "Badlands" area of North Philadelphia, which is renowned for its <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/kensington-drug-market-gun-violence-homicide-racial-segregation-opioid-crack-20191207.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">open-air drug markets and drug-related violence</a>.Puerto Rico —another region that has acted as a conveyor belt for top tier boxers like Wilfredo Benitez, Miguel Cotto, and Felix Trinidad — is also in Rosado's blood."It's the best of both worlds," Rosado said of a teak-tough fusion of two rich fighting communities."Philadelphia is a fighting city," he told us. "We call it boxing headquarters."<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BSCcSYyB7YW" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by KGR (@kinggabrosado)<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime=""></time></div></blockquote>And fighting is something Rosado has been doing for decades, even going back to when he was a kid.In the late 1980s, Rosado's brawls weren't started over a girl they liked in class or a stolen basketball, but because it was fun and there was pride on the line."I've always been a fighter growing up," said Rosado. "Philly is a tough neighborhood. I started fighting in the first grade all the way to high school — it was just normal to have a fight every day."Sometimes the fights weren't even about not liking each other and were just about being competitive. There's another kid to fight, I think I'm better than him and he thinks he's better than me, so after school we meet up around the corner and handle it. You'd pull up and shake hands after. It was all pretty normal."Rosado's life choices as a youngster would likely have saddened his parents who were pastors at a Philly church before they separated when he was 13, <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/philly/sports/boxing/20131020_Philly_s_Gabriel_Rosado_keeping_the_faith_ahead_of_title_shot.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as reported by The Philadelphia Enquirer</a>, because through those years they were also getting phone calls from disappointed teachers.It appeared to be at odds with a key part of his life — his faith.Though Rosado dropped out of school aged 18, he found his calling in Philadelphia's boxing clubs where he seemed to thrive representing his gym, going to another boxing club to knock out their best guys in hard sparring sessions."You have to have that reputation for being tough in the gym," he said, regarding what epitomizes Philadelphia's boxing culture."There's no such thing as sparring days. It's more like a war, knocking people out in sparring. You go to someone's gym and you better represent. And the man in that gym better make sure they represent for their gym — it's a pride thing."You don't really have too much but respect in the city, and getting off on a top guy from another gym is a big deal."That's why with Philly fighters you see they're tough, don't quit, and they're mean. It's just the way we grew up in the gyms."<h2>Felix Trinidad sparked Rosado's love of boxing, and Mike Tyson cemented it</h2><div type="image" title="Mike Tyson and Felix Trinidad" height="750" width="1000" msid="79447005" hostid="261"></div>Shortly after Rosado began street-fighting as a young kid, Felix 'Tito' Trinidad won his first world championship — the IBF welterweight world title. The Puerto Rican beat Maurico Blocker in the second round of a June 1993 bout.Over the years he added further notable victories to his resume, defeating countryman Hector Camacho, the all-time defensive wizard Pernell Whitaker, and even Oscar de la Hoya.It is no surprise he was a hero to the young Rosado. Trinidad was a pin-up for many Puerto Ricans as a young, fit, and massively-successful man."I was a big Tito Trinidad fan," Rosado said. "I wanted to be like Tito. So, with the street-fighting I was thinking, 'Man, I can fight … I can be like Tito.' So I joined a gym and turned street-fighting into something positive."Insider asked him if he's ever told Trinidad to his face that he was the main reason he got into boxing, perhaps avoiding walking down an alternative path that could have gotten him into trouble."I haven't, but, man … that would be on my bucket list."Trinidad's era as a mind-blowing operator from the 147-pound weight class through to 160 followed Mike Tyson's time, who wrecking-balled his way through the heavyweight scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s.Tyson, too, shaped Rosado's life."He's just a savage but a student of the game," Rosado said. "He knows his boxing like a crazy encyclopedia, and I can relate to a lot of things about Mike Tyson."Tyson is an example of how strong the mind is. When Mike had [his former trainer] Cus D'Amato … he was unstoppable."But when he lost that, he lost that focus, confidence, and things went downhill for him."Mike is a good example of keeping your mental [game] locked in. Because you're unstoppable when you have that and you are on point."I learned a lot from Mike and would put him right there with Tito as far as inspiration."Tyson returns to the ring Saturday with Roy Jones Jr. for an exhibition as highly-anticipated as it is weird, <a href="https://www.insider.com/mike-tyson-roy-jones-behind-the-scenes-fight-causes-tension-2020-11">as the organizers have been at odds with the commission over what the ruleset of the show actually is.</a>The California State Athletic Commission has forbidden both athletes from pursuing a knockout, which the organizers — Triller and League of Legends — is attempting to override by saying the fight can finish early.Rosado laughed at the thought of Tyson and Jones holding back. "Those guys are fighters. Once a fighter, always a fighter."When the moment comes when someone actually gets touched and they start to feel embarrassed, they're going to come out swinging. Mike doesn't even know how to fight soft, he'll rip your head off."He has that switch and when that switch is gone, it's on. There's no telling what's going to happen. Who knows what we're going to see, but I doubt it's going to be soft."<h2>Rosado knows he's the underdog in his fight, but is motivated by what victory would mean</h2><div type="image" title="Daniel Jacobs and Gabriel Rosado boxing" height="1333" width="2000" msid="79447008" hostid="261"></div>Rosado is a +1500 (15/1) underdog heading into Friday night's fight with Jacobs. He is not tipped to have much chance of victory, but knows a win — however unlikely — catapults him into title contention. It would be his own Rocky story."The 168-pound division is loaded with big names, superstars, and a few world champions. I'm excited about it," he said."I'm looking forward to the fight, and I'm not looking past it by getting sidetracked with Canelo, David Benavidez, Caleb Plant, or any of the other champions in the division."Jacobs is a former champion so a win over him is as good as anything else. The fans will be ready to see me in a big fight after as [it would be a win] that puts me right back into title contention."I've been focusing on him for the entire year, and only concentrating on that."A victory would be huge."Read more:<a href="https://www.insider.com/british-boxing-promoters-are-furious-with-the-uk-government-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">British boxing's most powerful people are apoplectic about the UK government's failure to support the sport during a COVID winter</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/dana-white-to-meet-khabib-nurmagomedov-to-discuss-ufc-plans-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UFC boss Dana White says he'll meet with Khabib Nurmagomedov soon to discuss future plans</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/kayla-harrison-was-surprised-her-bloody-mma-bout-wasnt-stopped-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kayla Harrison said she was surprised her bloody MMA bout wasn't stopped and did think: 'This is barbaric'</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/conor-mcgregor-and-manny-pacquiao-will-definitely-fight-in-future-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Conor McGregor and Manny Pacquiao will 'definitely' fight in the near future, according to their shared manager</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/kubrat-pulev-says-anthony-joshua-lacks-mental-toughness-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kubrat Pulev says Anthony Joshua lacks mental toughness and he'll expose him December 12</a>

Philly underdog Gabriel Rosado was a street-fighting 6-year-old, but got inspired to box when he saw Mike Tyson and Felix Trinidad for the first time

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5dc53b103afd372f96576bd4-2000/david haye dereck chisora nick kyrgios.jpg" border="0" alt="David Haye, Dereck Chisora, Nick Kyrgios" data-mce-source="Photo by Getty Images / Alex Burstow / TPN" />Photo by Getty Images / Alex Burstow / TPNDavid Haye, Dereck Chisora, and Nick Kyrgios.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>David Haye retired from professional boxing injured and beaten in 2018 but now has a new challenge - taming one of boxing's wildest men.</li><li>Haye is managing Dereck Chisora, the sport's version of the Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios.</li><li>Chisora once tried to smooch an opponent at a weigh-in, spat water all over Wladimir Klitschko's face, and was arrested by German police for a brawl with Haye in Munich.</li><li>Somehow, the two of them have buried the hatchet and are achieving impressive wins together.</li><li>These wins, Haye told Business Insider, could push Chisora into world championship title contention.</li><li>Considering Chisora has lost almost 25% of his fights, he would become one of the most unlikely champions in boxing.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>At a 2012 post-fight press conference after Dereck Chisora <a href="https://www.boxingscene.com/forums/view.php?pg=klitschko-chisora-compubox" target="_blank" rel="noopener">had just absorbed 211 punches</a> from a bigger and taller Vitali Klitschko in a gruelling world heavyweight title fight, the Londoner stepped toward David Haye, who was in the crowd at the time, and brawled with his rival <a href="https://youtu.be/MWQs8nMsZNg?t=111" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in front of the world's media</a>.Having already been defeated by Klitschko, the wild and chaotic post-event drama was Chisora's second loss that night.Footage showed Haye elbow Chisora then punch him to the floor with a glass bottle in his hand. Chairs were thrown. Haye's trainer Adam Booth had blood streaking down his head.It was a dark day for the sport. British boxing had given itself a black eye.It would seem unlikely that Chisora would later team up with Haye, seeking his counsel regarding management and promotion, leaning on him for advice as he attempts to navigate a route back to a world title shot seven years on, aged 36.But this is a relationship that benefits both men. Chisora gets tips from an athlete who looked the part during his own world championship days, a heavyweight who would not have been out of place on the front cover of men's fitness magazines because of a ripped body seemingly chiseled from clay.Haye, too, has been given purpose in a post-fight career - a reason to get out of bed with a smile on his face. Having left professional boxing in 2018, injured, with back-to-back losses to Tony Bellew - a fighter he would arguably have beaten in his prime - he now has a project that takes up his time.Haye told Business Insider how the relationship began when we met in London earlier this week."He came to me and said, 'David, could you help me, I've seen what you've done in your career,'" he said. "'Can you assist and teach me what you've done to get the success you've had?'"I'd never in a million years think that Dereck would ask me. Us fighters have egos, but he came to me. He must have put his ego to the side."Haye's surprise was likely because of their history, one which involved that bottling in Munich. Chisora was arrested at the airport. Haye managed to leave the country. There was <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/boxing/9233118/Munich-police-step-up-their-investigation-into-brawl-between-British-boxers-David-Haye-and-Dereck-Chisora.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a months-long police investigation by authorities in Germany</a>.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5dc573507eece548b105d885-2000/david haye and dereck chisora.jpg" border="0" alt="David Haye and Dereck Chisora" data-mce-source="Photo by AP Photo/Matt Dunham" data-link="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Britain-Boxing-Chisora-Haye/a86b10e396df4c21956e7cca116b6ee9/26/0" /><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Britain-Boxing-Chisora-Haye/a86b10e396df4c21956e7cca116b6ee9/26/0">Photo by AP Photo/Matt Dunham</a>Haye and Chisora trash-talk through a metal fence in 2012.</div></div></div>Later that year, Chisora and Haye came face-to-face as they announced a stadium fight in London to the British press, and perhaps would have warred once again had it not been for a metal fence that separated them. At the fight itself, Haye knocked Chisora out in style, posting a thumping fifth round victory at West Ham United's Boleyn Ground at Upton Park, London.It was this fight that put an end to any leftover hostility from 2012, according to Haye."We resolved that bottling incident in a boxing match at Upton Park," he said."We had the scuffle, a face-to-face, all in front of the press but we had a fight after and whatever beef there was, the fight just killed it. I was victorious that night. And there was a respect afterwards."I knew how tough he was. I know how tough he is. And I know what a tough character he is. I knew he was going to do something special in the game. He hasn't quite done that, yet. He's won the British title, Commonwealth title, and the European. These are big titles and impressive accolades, but they're not world titles."Haye's job is to guide Chisora - someone he said was once "an arch rival and a nemesis" - back up the rankings so he can fight for his first world title since that dark day in 2012."Dereck Chisora can capture a version of the heavyweight championship," Haye said. "It was always my goal to try to assist another fighter in fulfilling his potential, in winning the heavyweight championship. To use the knowledge that I've accumulated over the years to assist another fighter, the negotiation and politics, eating, how many hours you're sleeping, where you're training and what training you're doing."Still, even Haye admits it may seem unrealistic, as Chisora has nine losses in a 41-fight professional career. "But it's a fun challenge, gets me up in the morning, and it still feels like I'm living my dream," he said. "When some fighters retire, they slump into depression or go off the rails, but it feels like I'm as far away from that as possible, which is nice and hopefully long may it continue."<h2>Chisora is the Nick Kyrgios of world boxing</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5dc5797e7eece54e8f3d3e72-2000/nick kyrgios tennis.jpg" border="0" alt="Nick Kyrgios, tennis" data-mce-source="Photo by GLYN KIRK / AFP" data-link="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/australias-nick-kyrgios-poses-after-arriving-for-a-training-news-photo/1153412042?adppopup=true" /><a href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/australias-nick-kyrgios-poses-after-arriving-for-a-training-news-photo/1153412042?adppopup=true">Photo by GLYN KIRK / AFP</a>Nick Kyrgios.</div></div></div>There are parallels to be made between the Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios, 24, and Chisora, 35.This year alone, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/novak-djokovic-rafael-nadal-trolled-by-nick-kyrgios-in-interview-2019-5?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kyrgios trolled "cringeworthy" Novak Djokovic and "salty" Rafael Nadal</a> in a no-holds-barred podcast. At the Italian Open in the summer <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nick-kyrgios-out-of-italian-open-after-throwing-chair-onto-court-2019-5?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he threw a chair onto the court, packed his bag, and walked off</a> in the middle of the match. Then, in July, he lost to Nadal after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nick-kyrgios-awkward-moment-with-reporter-from-pub-2019-7?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spending the night at the pub, then had an "awkward" moment</a> with a female reporter who had been there, too.There is a case to be made for Kyrgios wasting his talent, as he is by far the most gifted out of the new generation of male players aged 25 and under. He has won five matches against the top 10 ranked tennis players this year, losing thrice. He holds his own against the best in the world.<blockquote class="pullquote">Nick has got everything he could possibly want but sometimes emotionally he lets it slip away from him, and that's exactly the same thing as Dereck.</blockquote>Chisora's career up to the point Haye managed him appeared to be similar. He <a href="https://www.eurosport.com/boxing/chisora-gets-fresh-with-baker-at-big-fight-weigh_sto2219591/story.shtml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">instigated a pre-fight riot when he tried to smooch his opponent</a> at a weigh-in in 2010, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/boxing/9092756/Klitschko-David-Haye-and-Dereck-Chisora-must-be-banned-for-brawl.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he spat water over Wladimir Klitschko's face</a> before his fight against Wladimir's brother Vitali in 2012, and, of course, he brawled with Haye after that event in Munich.Earlier this month, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dereck-chisora-plows-through-david-price-to-score-a-highlight-reel-ko-2019-10?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he said he'd "murder" his opponent David Price</a> in the ring just days after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/patrick-day-27-has-died-from-boxing-injuries-2019-10?r=US&amp;IR=T">the death of the 27-year-old American boxer Patrick Day,</a> who died because of injuries sustained in through boxing."They're both a bit frantic at times … it's a good comparison," Haye said. "Nick has got everything he could possibly want but sometimes emotionally he lets it slip away from him, and that's exactly the same thing as Dereck."Even though Kygrios does what he needs to do behind closed doors, it's only in the tournaments that he seems to lose it a little bit. He's beat everyone there is to beat, consistently doing it, and Dereck is similar … physically he can do it, he hasn't put the work in behind the scenes in the past, but recently he has."Part of Haye's job with Chisora is to ensure the heavyweight's twilight years in the sport are as successful as they can be, and that he doesn't waste his talent. "I'm trying to gradually open his eyes to what I've done," he said.For Haye, this has meant giving Chisora a routine. This includes the amount of sleep he gets, a chef who cooks him meals which meet nutritional requirements for fighting, and World Anti-Doping Agency-approved pre-workout shakes.Haye even tweaked Chisora's routine so that he stays in the Park Plaza around the corner from the Hayemaker gym, rather than waste time on a morning commute. "All he needs to worry about is putting the energy into training," he said.<h2>Chisora could challenge Oleksandr Usyk for the WBO title, Haye says</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d6a5e1d2e22af59107a2f33-1381/oleksandr usyk.jpg" border="0" alt="Oleksandr Usyk" data-mce-source="Photo by Ronny Hartmann/Bongarts/Getty Images" data-link="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/aleksandr-usyk-of-ukraine-celebrates-after-winning-the-wbo-news-photo/845019056" /><a href="https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/aleksandr-usyk-of-ukraine-celebrates-after-winning-the-wbo-news-photo/845019056">Photo by Ronny Hartmann/Bongarts/Getty Images</a>Oleksandr Usyk.</div></div></div>Haye envisages a fragmentation of the world heavyweight championship in the coming months.Multi-belt champion Andy Ruiz Jr. defends the WBA, IBF, and WBO titles on December 7 against Anthony Joshua in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia. Haye believes Joshua will triumph, but that boxing politics will dictate that he will have to choose to honor a mandatory challenge from WBO contender Oleksandr Usyk or IBF contender Kubrat Pulev.A fight against Pulev, Haye said, would be more marketable for Joshua, so the Briton could get stripped of the WBO belt, which could then be on the line for ranked fighters like Usyk and Chisora. Haye said he is going to the WBO convention in Tokyo so he can lobby for this to happen."It's a fight Usyk's people have spoken to [Matchroom Boxing promoter] Eddie [Hearn] about," Haye said. "Dereck Chisora is willing to fight anybody and has the natural physical ability, the strength, and experience in the deep water at heavyweight which Usyk hasn't."Haye is hopeful his man will get that shot, and win. "Dereck's on-form, living the life he currently is," he said.Haye admitted he's happy he never had to fight the current version of his fighter. If he did, he said he would have been asked harder questions back at the Boleyn Ground seven years ago. "It would have been a tougher battle," he said.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5dc584027eece55e0f0b5934-2000/david haye and dereck chisora.jpg" border="0" alt="David Haye and Dereck Chisora" data-mce-source="Photo by Reuters / ADAM HOLT" data-link="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?id=tag%3Areuters.com%2C2018%3Anewsml_RC1DED836A30&amp;share=true" /><a href="https://www.reutersconnect.com/all?id=tag%3Areuters.com%2C2018%3Anewsml_RC1DED836A30&amp;share=true">Photo by Reuters / ADAM HOLT</a>Haye and Chisora.</div></div></div>"Dereck takes a lot of my energy at the moment," Haye adds. "I'm happy just working with Dereck. Some managers have 100 fighters and I have no idea how they do it."Part of the reason Chisora consumes so much of Haye's time is because after our meeting, Haye had to attend a disciplinary hearing with the British Boxing Board of Control."Straight after this, I've got to go to the British boxing board to try and explain some of Dereck's comments about Vaseline or something, which he'll probably get fined for," he said, referring to <a href="https://twitter.com/derekwarchisora/status/1171080664382365699?lang=en">a lewd photo Chisora tweeted in September which showd him in a suggestive pose holding a jar of Vaseline.</a>Though there's been an uptick in Chisora's form and winning run, some things, it seems, do not change."Working with Dereck, there's not much time to do much else," Haye said. But that time will all be worth it should it yield in that coveted title shot.Read more:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/naoya-inoue-destined-for-superstardom-after-defeating-nonito-donaire-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Japanese 26-year-old is set for superstardom after winning millions of dollars in a career-defining battle against Nonito Donaire</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ufc-doctor-fears-for-his-life-after-threats-from-fans-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The doctor who ended Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz's fight after 3 rounds is fearing for his life after receiving threats from furious fans</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wladimir-klitschko-plotting-boxing-comeback-2019-10?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wladimir Klitschko is plotting a spectacular boxing comeback, and he wants to break an old heavyweight record</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-its-like-training-with-conor-mcgregor-2019-10?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Conor McGregor recently surprised beginner boxers by taking over their lesson, shouting at them, and showing them how to punch</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/watch-bellator-fighter-mistakenly-attack-referee-after-he-gets-submitted-2019-10?r=US&amp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Bellator athlete was choked out in a fight, then mistakenly tried to attack the referee when he was regaining consciousness</a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/world-famous-sports-logos-hidden-messages-2019-10">10 world-famous sports logos with hidden meanings</a></h3> <div> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/sMSU7CxL-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script> </div> </div>

How David Haye plans to make a world champion out of Dereck Chisora, the once wild and unpredictable heavyweight who draws comparisons to tennis star Nick Kyrgios

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Two of <keyword id="6362171" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Boxing">boxing</keyword>'s most powerful figures have announced a wild plan to bring the sport back in Britain.</li><li><keyword id="2268473" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Eddie-Hearn">Eddie Hearn</keyword> and <keyword id="1311196" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Frank-Smith">Frank Smith</keyword>, both of Matchroom Sport, will host four live events in consecutive Saturdays in the grounds of Matchroom HQ.</li><li>Fights will take place outside, in the gardens of a 15-acre plot on which stands a heli-pad, an indoor swimming pool, and a mansion fit for a king.</li><li>Boxing royalty <keyword id="576793" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Anthony-Joshua">Anthony Joshua</keyword>, the unified heavyweight boxing world champion, wants to take part.</li><li>"World championship boxing in my garden? Oh, go on then," Hearn said.</li></ul>LONDON — Film footage cuts from one drone to another as they circle above Matchroom's head office in Essex, a grassy-county east of London.The HQ is not your normal office block. It's a 15-acre mansion which Eddie Hearn, one of boxing's most powerful figures, grew up in with his dad, Barry, Matchroom's founder.It boasts an indoor swimming pool, a heli-pad, and has cityscape views of London's financial district bursting through the horizon dozens of miles away."Sweet Caroline," the 1969 Neil Diamond classic now synonymous with boxing in Britain, has just finished playing.A light display, pyrotechnics, and more elaborate fireworks accompany a big-name heavyweight who makes his entrance from the hills and toward a Sky <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">Sports</keyword> ring Hearn, 40, had built next to Matchroom HQ in his backyard.It's almost time for the main event — let's get ready to rumble.Nobody is smiling more than Hearn, who sits beneath the night sky at ringside, socially-distant from those around him.Event staff and the fight's referee wear N95 masks to mitigate any threat from the novel coronavirus. Staff disinfect spit buckets after cleaning the canvas to a medical level.Boxing is back.<h2>A grand vision for the return of elite boxing</h2>What you've just read is Hearn's vision to safely restart his sport behind-closed-doors in July, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-8323317/Boxing-return-July-Eddie-Hearns-garden-1m-plan-delivering-four-weeks-fights.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the Mail Online</a>."World championship boxing in my garden? Oh, go on then," Hearn said.It is as inventive as it is ambitious, and it typifies Hearn's charismatic and over-the-top style as <a href="https://www.insider.com/eddie-hearn-plans-to-conquer-world-boxing-2020-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he has frequently told Insider that he isn't just content to have taken control of boxing in Britain</a>.No. He's always had world boxing in his sights, and even that might not be enough as <a href="https://www.insider.com/eddie-hearn-considering-plan-to-promote-mma-events-rival-ufc-2020-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he seemingly becomes increasingly tempted to challenge the near monopoly the UFC enjoys</a> in mixed martial arts.Hearn's vision for boxing in the COVID-19 era is akin to one Dana White has, as the UFC president appears determined to follow his three, indoor Jacksonville events in May, with <a href="https://www.insider.com/conor-mcgregor-texts-dana-white-wanting-to-fight-on-fight-island-2020-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a mysterious "Fight Island" project</a> he insists is real, and has a UFC hotel, gym, and a purpose-built Octagon which can apparently host events from June.Both concepts are beyond the boundaries of what you and I consider normal, but, well … this is what wildly-effective promotional showmanship is all about. This is the fight game after all.<h2>How the hell did boxing get here, in Matchroom Sports Garden?</h2><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1261410364241203204?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 15, 2020</a></blockquote>The plan was likely devised at Matchroom HQ, otherwise known as Mascalls, which is a stately property 30 miles from the O2 Arena, where Matchroom's pay-per-view shows in London are often held.There are many rooms all dedicated to Matchroom operations whether it's media-facing staff or operations. One of the key minds is Hearn's right-hand man Frank Smith, 27, who can be seen at events not in-front of the camera, but to the side, often working behind-the-scenes where he elevates the brand globally.It is a far-cry from how Smith started, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boxing-news-frank-smith-anthony-joshua-matchroom-boxing-2017-3?r=UK" target="_blank" rel="noopener">telling Insider in 2017</a> he began life at Matchroom as a 14-year-old errand-boy delivering pizza or bringing tea to poker players.From there, he worked in various Matchroom sports properties like darts, snooker, and golf, before finally moving into the boxing department, where he handles multi-million dollar contracts for marquee clients like Anthony Joshua, Gennady Golovkin, and Devin Haney.Smith, now the CEO of Matchroom Boxing, recently told us about the challenges his company was enduring.<div type="image" title="Who is Matchroom Boxing CEO Frank Smith" height="618" width="825" msid="75872018" hostid="261"></div>Much of the world, England included, was in strict lockdown. Boxing, like the world's biggest sports leagues, had shut operations. The coronavirus pandemic had changed life for the foreseeable future.Smith said he was finding it tough to motivate a team of 100 scattered through multiple territories as the business was reliant on live events, and live events were banned. Matchroom shows in Britain, Italy, and the US had all been postponed.For Smith, the coronavirus was bigger than anything — boxing had to shut down. "So many people are suffering and are affected by it, so it's very hard … we're in a generation where we've never experienced anything like it," he told Insider.In early April, Smith ruled-out working abroad in a country with a lower rate of the virus, because the situation had a habit of changing so rapidly that the "substantial" financial investment it would take, to stage an event in Saudi Arabia or Singapore, for example, would be far too risky when borders could close at a moment's notice."It's quite a risk to do anything in other markets," Smith said. "We do shows in nine territories and didn't look outside the territories we normally work in. Restrictions constantly change, it would be a big risk to set something up, only for it to change again with airports closing."With international markets ruled out, Matchroom could only look within Britain, and so initially the team scoured studio options."We were looking at a few studios … no crowd, minimal staffing, minimal teams with the fighters," Smith told us. "But the decision was taken out of our hands when the government [banned] medical-supporting events."Options were running out.A possible new normal was dawning on the Matchroom team — they had become a live events business with no live events planned, or to plan.Because of social-distancing rules, Smith conducted group Zoom calls every morning with his teams, with staff now working from their own homes. They caught up on admin, doing things that may have been missed, or left, and just tried to stay busy.Every now and then Smith would return to Matchroom HQ to collect a file.Between those trips, and maybe Hearn himself taking a call at Mascalls with the gardens in the background, an elaborate scheme was hatched.<h2>The first rule of Fight Camp is … Tell everybody about Fight Camp</h2><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">—Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1262302287130701825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2020</a></blockquote><h2>The second rule of Fight Camp is … No seriously, tell everybody about Fight Camp</h2>That scheme was Fight Camp — four consecutive midsummer Saturday night events which will take place in the gardens of Matchroom HQ, without fans, and with reduced fight teams and event crew.There can be no more than 90 people at each Saturday night event.There'll be a studio center for Sky Sports which is Matchroom's broadcast partner in the UK, in addition to a media zone, changing room marquees, a weigh-in area — likely in the halls of the building — and an outdoor ring beneath a canopy to protect against Britain's notoriously fickle weather.<div type="image" title="What is Matchroom Boxing Fight Camp, where is it, when is it" height="479" width="825" msid="75872021" hostid="261"></div>Matchroom plans to hire local hotels where athletes and trainers stay from each Tuesday, the start of fight week, through to Sunday, the morning after the Saturday fight.Everyone involved in the events will be forced to quarantine for 24 hours after they've been tested on the Tuesday before the event, until they receive the results the next day. If they test positive for the coronavirus, they will leave the hotel and be isolated. Those who test negative continue on for Fight Camp.Media activities will likely be done remotely, as the venue — with social-distancing measures — can only have 90 people on-site.Matchroom is paying for $35,000 worth of COVID-19 tests for everybody involved in each of the fight weeks, for the camp's four week duration.There is then a great financial outlay which come with rigging a mansion with fight and broadcast equipment in a way that dazzles on television. "It's a huge mission," Hearn told the Mail Online.Robert Smith, the general secretary for the British Boxing Board of Control — which oversees the rules and regulations of the sport within the UK — said on a recent BBC 5 Live appearance that promoters who go behind-closed-doors will "take a big financial hit."<a href="https://www.boxingnewsonline.net/boxings-comeback-begins/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to Boxing News</a>, Smith said: "But they have contracts with TV companies and we want to get boxing back on TV."<div type="image" title="Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn in Diriyah" height="1395" width="2000" msid="75872024" hostid="261"></div>Matchroom has held memorable events inside massive soccer stadiums in Britain, at the historic Madison Square Garden in New York City, and a purpose-built 15,000 capacity venue in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.Now, it's time for Matchroom Sports Garden to take center stage.It's a a costly but potentially legacy-building series of Saturday fight nights over a four-week spell, which Hearn, Smith, and the wider Matchroom team hope recaptures the momentum it had earlier in the year, a time Hearn was telling Insider — not for the first time — that <a href="https://www.insider.com/eddie-hearn-plans-to-conquer-world-boxing-2020-3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his business will be the world's No.1 fight firm</a>."Financially this will be painful for us," Hearn told the Mail Online, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/52689470" target="_blank" rel="noopener">adding to the BBC</a> more recently that he is confident the backyard brawls this summer will "go down in history" as one of the great periods in British boxing."The most iconic venue in the world is Madison Square Garden, we will be the new garden. Of all the challenges I have had from Wembley Stadium to Saudi Arabia and Madison Square Garden, this is the biggest. That excites me," he said.One of the greatest obstacles Matchroom has to overcome, is for gyms to reopen. This is so fighters with no other access to training can get fighting fit. Providing this ban is lifted, Hearn hopes to stage the events from mid-JulyProspective fights include:<ul><li>Natasha Jones vs. Terri Harper, super featherweight championship match</li><li>Katie Taylor vs. Amanda Serrano, lightweight championship match</li><li>Cecilia Braekhus vs. Jessica McCaskill, welterweight championship match</li><li>Dillian Whyte vs. Alexander Povetkin, heavyweight match</li></ul>As there will be no fan-led atmosphere at any of these shows, Hearn hopes the raw sound of 10-ounce gloves smacking into a fighter's face will make for a compelling enough audio-visual experience at home."There's nothing like 90,000 [people] singing 'Sweet Caroline' but if you can create intensity through the sound of punches landed, the sound of fighters' heavy breathing, the sound of corner teams giving instructions and conversing with their fighters, this is what we need in the mix of the new TV show," <a href="https://theathletic.com/1824855/2020/05/20/eddie-hearn-details-plan-to-bring-boxing-back-from-his-backyard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hearn told The Athletic</a>."This isn't a game of soccer or tennis. This is brutal. If we can showcase that brutality in a more intense way, it's going to be quite compelling in the short-term."He told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3R5ZjHaVv8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the YouTube channel iFL TV</a> that many of his athletes can compete on short notice. "90% of fighters are ready to go," he said. "They want to carry on their career."<h2>Anthony Joshua wants to join Fight Camp</h2><div type="image" title="Anthony Joshua" height="1000" width="2000" msid="75872025" hostid="261"></div>Joshua, heavyweight boxing's hottest property, has not fought since he reclaimed three major world heavyweight championship titles in Saudi Arabia last year, when he out-pointed Andy Ruiz Jr. with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/3-statistics-show-why-anthony-joshua-was-able-to-beat-andy-ruiz-jr-2019-12?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a disciplined performance in Saudi Arabia</a>, six months after he was <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/anthony-joshua-setback-should-have-listened-to-floyd-mayweather-2019-6?src=rss&amp;r=US&amp;IR=Tamp;IR=T" target="_blank" rel="noopener">humiliatingly defeated by the same man</a> in New York.Joshua was due to defend his belts against mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev on June 20 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, and while the coronavirus nixed that event, the date is being rearranged for when the COVID-19 situation becomes clearer.<a href="https://www.espn.co.uk/boxing/story/_/id/29169457/croatia-interested-hosting-anthony-joshua-kubrat-pulev-bout" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN reported</a> earlier this month that Croatia presented a "very solid offer" to host the fight, but Joshua apparently wants to keep the bout in the UK, and even asked Hearn for an invitation to Fight Camp."I was talking AJ, AJ wants to fight here at Fight Camp," Hearn told iFL TV. "I don't think that's necessarily an option. But he wants to fight. This is what he does, I want to go back to the office, I want to go back to work. That's what I do."I'm sure fighters would prefer to fight in front of live crowds, of course you would. That's not going to be an option in the interim and may not even be an option until next year. So, be a pro, get prepared and get a fight in the bank. Get your money in the bank, progress your career, and let's go."This echoes what Smith told Insider last month. The fighters, he said, are ready. "They're all keeping training, going out for their one run a day, working-out indoors, and staying very active."A lot of people knew the severity of the situation and are understanding of what's going on. They're all keeping ready, and that's the main thing."Regardless of who fights and who doesn't, Matchroom appears set to follow in the UFC's footsteps and have a short-term residency of multiple nights in the same venue.While the UFC did that in an empty 15,000 capacity VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Florida, the chosen venue, for Hearn, just happens to be the grounds of Matchroom HQ.He told the Mail Online last week that he hopes it will be great for boxing, even if he knows it "won't be great for the grass."Read more:<a href="https://www.insider.com/conor-mcgregor-fighting-manny-pacquiao-in-boxing-is-still-possible-2020-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Conor McGregor fighting Manny Pacquiao in boxing is still possible, says the man who represents both athletes</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/video-evander-holyfield-debunked-meme-he-cant-wear-covid-masks-2020-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Evander Holyfield hilariously debunked a meme that he can't wear COVID masks because Mike Tyson bit one of his ears off</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/floyd-mayweather-wants-to-make-1-billion-through-property-2020-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Floyd Mayweather's new goal in life is to make $1 billion through property, doubling the money he made as a boxer, his right-hand man says</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/devin-haney-says-hes-not-racist-regrets-white-boy-remark-2020-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">21-year-old American boxer Devin Haney says he's not racist, has 'learned a lot,' and regrets saying he'd never lose to a 'white boy'</a><a href="https://www.insider.com/mike-tyson-punched-garbage-man-for-throwing-away-his-pigeon-2020-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Tyson said he once knocked out a garbage man for throwing away one of his pet pigeons that had died</a>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-matchroom-and-eddie-hearn-will-restart-boxing-during-coronavirus-2020-5">Insider</a>

Britain's biggest fight promoter has launched an ambitious plan to bring elite boxing to his huge, multi-million dollar mansion — and Anthony Joshua wants to get involved

You Searched For "Kubrat Pulev" and got 8 results

America's 'most vicious' KO artist said he'd be honored to be named MMA's prospect of the year, but is focused on the UFC title

Alan Dawson

The winner of the Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury fight could earn $138 million in 12 months on prize money alone

Alan Dawson

Dillian Whyte was punching his coach's hands so hard in training it left him needing treatment ahead of the fight this Saturday

Alan Dawson

Jake Paul, a YouTube star who has fought once, is confident he can defeat 'washed-up' Conor McGregor, a former two-weight UFC champion

Alan Dawson

One of boxing's biggest characters says he won't box without fans during the pandemic, will fight in Bellator MMA instead

Alan Dawson

Philly underdog Gabriel Rosado was a street-fighting 6-year-old, but got inspired to box when he saw Mike Tyson and Felix Trinidad for the first time

Alan Dawson

How David Haye plans to make a world champion out of Dereck Chisora, the once wild and unpredictable heavyweight who draws comparisons to tennis star Nick Kyrgios

Alan Dawson

Britain's biggest fight promoter has launched an ambitious plan to bring elite boxing to his huge, multi-million dollar mansion — and Anthony Joshua wants to get involved

Alan Dawson