Roberto Carlos needed a heads up on which dressing room he was in…
Good evening and welcome to SunSport’s live blog of the Legends Charity Game!
This year’s edition marks the start of the series, with the match scheduled to be held at Sporting‘s home annually until 2030, when Portugal co-hosts the World Cup.
Portugal and the World legends will go head-to-head in the star-studded charity match.
Luis Figo, Pepe, Nani, Deco and Ricard Carvalho are among the Portuguese legends taking part.
While the likes of John Terry, Kaka, Michael Owen, Alessandro Del Piero and Edwin van der Sar will represent the World Legends in the Portuguese capital.
Undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk swaps the ring for the pitch as he ties up his boots to feature in the event.
SunSport will bring you minute-by-minute coverage of tonight’s huge clash!
LONDON — Oleksandr Usyk disagreed with the idea that he’s become one of boxing’s all-time greats, but the evidence is mounting after his fifth-round knockout of Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
The victory, sealed with a crunching left hook to Dubois’ jaw, made Usyk the undisputed world heavyweight champion for a second time.
The undefeated southpaw retained his WBA, WBC and WBO belts and regained the IBF belt he relinquished just over a year ago.
The bad news for opponents — especially the British ones that he keeps beating — is that the 38-year-old Ukrainian has no plans to stop anytime soon. He said he’s still a “young guy” and named Tyson Fury, Derek Chisora, Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker as possible next foes. Jake Paul threw his own hat in the ring.
“I will continue boxing and I will continue training, but now I cannot say who my next opponent will be,” Usyk said at his press conference.
“I prepared 3 1/2 months, I’ve not seen my family, my wife. Every day I live with my team — 14 guys in one house. Now I want to go back home.”
Usyk dropped Dubois twice in the fifth — the second time with a lunging left hook midway through the round after Dubois missed with a right. The London native looked stunned on the canvas and couldn’t beat the count before about 90,000 spectators at Wembley.
Usyk, best known as a slick tactician rather than a power puncher, certainly answered questions about his age and whether he’d slow down.
He said that hook is called an “Ivan.”
“Ivan is like a big guy who lives in [the] village and work in (a) farm… it’s a hard, hard punch,” Usyk said.
Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk and Britain’s Daniel Dubois trade punches during an undisputed world heavyweight boxing title fight in London on Saturday.
(Frank Augstein / Associated Press)
No controversy
Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs) beat Dubois for the second time in under two years and this time there was no low-blow drama. It was a ninth-round stoppage in Poland with, of all things, a straight jab. But the finishing shot Saturday was a no-doubter.
Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) joined British countrymen Fury and Joshua in having lost twice to Usyk, who was an undisputed world champion as a cruiserweight before he moved up in weight six years ago.
The 27-year-old Dubois’ last fight — also at Wembley — had been a stunning knockout of Joshua last September.
He couldn’t muster the same magic, telling DAZN: “I gave everything I had. Take no credit away from that man, I’ll be back.”
The Briton gave a better showing than two years ago, when Usyk peppered him with jabs and won almost every round. Between the fourth and fifth rounds Saturday, Dubois’ corner was urging him to use a double jab but there was not time to carry out the orders as Usyk ended it shortly thereafter.
Dubois was hoping to become the first British heavyweight to hold every major belt since Lennox Lewis just over 25 years ago.
Dubois had inherited the IBF title that Usyk vacated last year when the Ukrainian chose to focus on his rematch with Fury.
Usyk said flatly “No” in response to whether he thinks he’s one of the sport’s all-time greats.
He said he’s just disciplined.
“I don’t have motivation, I have discipline. Motivation is temporary,” he said.
U.K. has been good to Usyk
Usyk said Britain has been like a “second home” to him. He won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. He dethroned Joshua at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2021.
“I’m very grateful for this country. Thank you so much, you’re the best,” he said.
In 2008 in Liverpool, Usyk was crowned European amateur champion in the light heavyweight category.
In his last fight at the cruiserweight level, Usyk knocked out Liverpool’s Tony Bellew in Manchester. He remains undefeated as a professional and hasn’t lost any bout in 16 years.
Jake Paul eyes Joshua and Usyk
Unsurprisingly, Paul had his share of the spotlight Saturday. He was loudly booed during his entrance to the stadium — shown on the big screens.
The YouTuber-turned-boxer told DAZN that a fight against Joshua is “going to happen,” possibly at Wembley.
After the ring cleared out, Paul and Usyk engaged in a brief “stare down.”
Paul posted a message on his social media accounts: “Congrats to one of the greatest heavyweights of all time… I respect you a lot. Now we do an MMA match for the world.”
He added: “First AJ then OU. Book it.”
Frank Bruno was among the VIPs. The London native won the WBC heavyweight belt 30 years ago at the old Wembley Stadium when he beat Oliver McCall. He was knocked out by Mike Tyson six months later.
Usyk entered the stadium with an Eeyore stuffed donkey from the “Winnie the Pooh” books tucked into his jumpsuit. He brought it to past fights as well, apparently given to him by his daughter.
He said: “It’s hard to let it go because it is something I enjoy. When I am around boxing it makes me miss it more. I try to only train three times a week now but it’s hard . . . very hard.
“And when people see me at the shows they assume I am coming back anyway, so it’s hard to walk away.
“I have had ground-breaking offers and everyone knows that I do not work for cheap pay.
“My eldest lad just did his first six-mile run with me and I am very proud of him because, before that, he couldn’t manage only two miles. So he is coming on well.”
Usyk and the 27-year-old Londoner Dubois managed to sell out the home of football, but even their two-bout rivalry would be dwarfed by the fantasy fight between Fury and 35-year-old AJ.
Fury’s larger-than-life persona — be it hosting daily workouts on Instagram during lockdown or starring in the WWE — has made him the sort of crossover star that boxing needs.
And he reckons there is still a desperate lack of superheroes left in the sport who can offer fight fans a 12-round escape from reality.
Tyson Fury spotted running after Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois as he posts X-rated message to rival
Fury explained: “It’s not just a problem in heavyweight boxing, it’s a problem for all of boxing.
“I don’t want to insult anyone but boxing is entertainment and it is also showbusiness. People come home from working hard at their 9-5 job — which they don’t even like — and they want to put their feet up on a Saturday.
“They want to have a couple of beers, invite a few of their friends around and be entertained.
“But when you turn the TV on and see two boring characters who just stand there and don’t say s**t, they will think, ‘What am I watching?’
“If I went to an event and it was total s**t, I would never go back again or switch it on again.
“But if something is good, I’ll book and go again. And it is the same in boxing.
Dream match imminent?
“There’s always a lack of charisma and characters. Every era has a couple of great characters and there are always a few great fighters who nobody remembers because they weren’t colourful enough characters.”
When the Fury and Joshua fight finally happens, Britain will stand still and everyone will pick a side.
The media events and face-to- face interviews will be worth the pay- per-view fee alone, even before a punch is thrown.
With the Saudis backing both men, it would generate hundreds of millions of pounds and would probably be a double header at Wembley and Riyadh.
And — following years of failed negotiations and rows over pulling power and value — Fury says they will be able to thrash out a fair deal.
He joked: “I would accept 90 per cent of the purse considering he’s coming back off a devastating knockout loss and I am coming off of two s**t losses!
Support from Paris
“But, honestly, the business side is irrelevant. If we do the fight it will be a level playing field of 50-50. I wouldn’t want to take advantage of him.”
And what about Fury’s long-suffering wife Paris, who tragically lost a baby boy six months into her pregnancy in the week building up to the first Usyk loss last year?
The Gypsy King revealed: “I have spoken to Paris in depth about it and she has said that she will support me with whatever I want to do.
“But that might just be because she is sick of me and wants me out of the way!
“Or it’s because we have been the real Bonnie and Clyde since 2005 and she will support me with whatever I want to do. She’s my ride or die.
“If we die, we die. And if we live, we live — that’s our sort of behaviour.”
But, Fury has started to tease a comeback with glimpses of his return to training while the success of his series could factor into his decision to fight again.
Netflix bosses will be keen to centre a series around Fury’s preparation for what would be the nation’s biggest-ever fight.
And with the streaming service now in the boxing business – they could even make a play to broadcast the mega-bout.
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul had 100 MILLION watch his fight in November with Mike Tyson – who controversially made a return aged 58.
The stream crashed amid the demand and Netflix also home to Katie Taylor’s July 11 trilogy against Amanda Serrano.
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Joshua, 35, and Fury, 36, are both exclusive to DAZN per the deals their promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren signed.
But DAZN gave permission for Irish star Taylor, 38, to rematch and beat Serrano, 36, on Paul’s undercard.
It would take quite some convincing for DAZN to allow a similar pass for AJ and Fury but the streaming giants are making an aggressive push in live sports.
They have exclusive UK rights to the WWE and Monday Night Raw in America while also pushing to take over UFC coverage from ESPN.
