June 28 this year commemorated the 26th anniversary of a remarkable and unconventional event in both boxing and sports history: Mike Tyson‘s infamous ear-biting incident on Evander Holyfield during their rematch fight. In the initial bout, Holyfield clearly outclassed a diminished ‘Iron’ Mike, who didn’t last long in the ring.
It was in his formative years that Jalil Major Hackett made his name in the Mayweather Gym in Las Vegas. Initially, he was sent along with Gervonta Davis as his primary spar partner ahead of the latter’s Ricardo Nunez fight (2019). In that period, the then 15-year-old Hackett impressed not just Tank. But with his growing caliber he also managed to get his name whispered in the ears of Floyd Mayweather. From then began his association with the former champion. Years later, the fighter sees a breakthrough in his career. So, he finds Mayweather in his corner, pushing him toward his highest potential.
In the wake of Hackett’s seamless glide through victory, ‘Money’ took to his Instagram stories to congratulate the young fighter and further encouraged him to keep getting better. He wrote, “Keep up the good work!” His words of advice branch off on the long association he’s had with the young Hackett.
In the wake of Tank’s victory against Nunez in 2019, the fighter was immensely impressed with Hackett. So much so, that he considered putting in a good word with Mayweather, who had seemingly taken Tank under his wings in those days. Hackett once noted, “After the camp, Tank vouched for me to [Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe] and to Floyd, telling them ‘This kid’s nice. He’s tough, y’all need to sign him.’ I definitely appreciate him for that.”
Tank’s recommendation for the novice fighter got him the exposure he needed in the circles of Mayweather. He was not rushed into lucrative deals and daunting fights. He rather was given the time to gel well with the team. The marquee fighters that train at the gym, including Gervonta Davis, and Mayweather himself sort of took him on as their prodigy of sorts and empowered him with advice that would push him through the sport. Eventually, he would go on to sign with Mayweather Promotions.
Hackett Signs with Mayweather Promotions
There is one thing that every fighter who’s signed with Mayweather Promotions can attest to; when they sign with the company, Mayweather holds their hand through it all. Speaking about how instrumental ‘Pretty Boy’ has been in his trajectory, Hackett said, “He’s a great role model. He’s always there to give great advice. He’s the perfect promoter because he definitely understands what it’s like to be a young black athlete so we can definitely relate on different levels. I really like being under the tutelage of Floyd.”
Mayweather imparted one important facet he learned in his formative days. Invest! Hackett stresses this learning. He mentions, “He told me I’m young now, there’s all the glitz and glamor, looks good but you’re not gonna be able to do that when you’re my age.”
His association with Mayweather and the promotions company will give him those lucrative and big fights that he deserves. However, at the core, the association is deeper. It is Mayweather’s hope for Hackett to make it big in the sport.
It was a delight for many fans as they came across Terence Crawford. However, he wasn’t alone. To everyone’s sheer joy, the boxing great was joined by NBA star Russell Westbrook. The point guard with the Los Angeles Clippers could be seen chatting with Crawford. Then he spoke a few words to the latter’s kids before they all shook hands and went their separate ways. The Welterweight champion recently made news as the IBF decided to strip him off their belt.
From the comments, it was clear that most fans and followers were pleasantly surprised by the gathering of two very famous star athletes. Of course, the usual fun-poking, skeptical crowd milled around.
Russell Westbrook has finally met someone whom he can’t even imagine intimidating; the following user shared: “Finally, someone Russ can’t bully.” For this user, from the footage, it never seemed as though Crawford was shorter than Westbrook: “Bud, don’t look that much shorter than Russ right here.” One user said that they are a die-hard fan of Errol Spence Jr.: “Ima Spence fan, okay bud.”
The next few appeared to be unwavering fans of the Welterweight champion. For instance, this fan said that in the footage, the only athlete who stood out as an A-lister was Terence Crawford: “@tbudcrawford is the real A1 athlete here.” The next one called the Nebraska native, pound-for-pound, the best boxer in the world: “Bud P4P, best boxer in the world.” According to this fan, genuine elite athletes are able to recognize and acknowledge others of their kind: “Real Recognize Real.”
Finally, out of the blue, there was a comment from this user who probably thought about what would happen if Westbrook and Crawford squared up against each other. They envisioned that after 3 months of rigorous boxing training, the NBA point guard would have the upper hand in the ring! “I got Russ with 3 months of boxing training.”
Soon after the Spence Jr. fight, Crawford made it clear that he would be happy to take on either Jermell Charlo or Canelo Alvarez.
But as it happened to everyone’s shock, Jermell Charlo and Alvarez—got into the ring. The ‘Iron Man’ received appreciation for the brave move, climbing two divisions up to face one of the ‘faces of boxing.’ But it was a step fraught with risk. Finally, when they fought, the Mexican champion steamrolled over the Texas native. Thereafter, ‘Bud,’ in a scathing criticism, shared that he wouldn’t fight the light middleweight champion.
Thus, the super middleweight champion remains a viable option. However, many experts voiced their concern that going over three weight classes is an altogether different ballgame. Otherwise, within the division, Crawford could always go against upcoming star Jaron Ennis, the new IBF welterweight champion. Finally, he might also have to consider a rematch with Spence Jr. The New York-born southpaw decided to activate the rematch clause, which means that Crawford would have to give Spence Jr. his rematch very soon.
The wisdom and knowledge of a champion like Mike Tyson, who has seen it all, is priceless. ‘Iron’ Mike remains a powerful figure in the sport, even though he retired 18 years ago. Going in and supporting new, upcoming boxers is a great opportunity to capitalize on these skills. That’s what he did when he flew down to Houston, Texas, to meet Ryan Garcia. The 25-year-old boxing sensation meets Oscar Duarte for a non-title bout at the Toyota Center.
Soon after his first career loss, Ryan Garcia moved to 140 pounds. However, per the latest reports, the bout with Duarte would take place at a catchweight of 143 catchweight. The startling move follows his recent utterances against promoters Oscar De La Hoya and Bernard Hopkins. Anyhow, relations between him and the Gold Boy Promotions team were already strained after the ‘Tank’ fight. It got pushed far enough to end up in court when De la Hoya filed a lawsuit against Garcia.
In his latest outburst, ‘KingRy’ reportedly wondered whether Oscar De La Hoya and his team supported him or Duarte. But his prime target, as it appeared, remained Bernard Hopkins. He bawled out at the former undisputed middleweight champion for his remarks on his career path. The sudden outcry occurred during a press conference. It has now sparked a flood of responses and comments on social media, besides grabbing headline space in sports.
Ryan Garcia recently revealed a startling fact about his rib injury two weeks before his Gervonta Davis fight. The 25-year-old fought but got defeated by ‘Tank,’ in their highly anticipated match back in April of this year. In their contest, ‘Kingry,’ got hit by a body shot in the seventh round and failed to get up before the count. Now, he has hinted at a potential rib injury as the reason that caused him to buckle.
Garcia also revealed being hospitalized two weeks before his last fight. This revelation comes just days before his comeback fight with Oscar Duarte. So let’s wait no further and find out what he had to advance.
In a recent interview on the Last Stand Podcast, ‘Kingry,’ revealed that he suffered a devastating rib injury, to the extent, that he was forced to not train. The injury was sustained during a sparring session. However, despite sustaining this injury, the young boxer decided not to pull out from the contest. Reflecting on the same, he stated, “I did go in with a rib injury, a separated rib from sparring. I had to go to the hospital. I couldn’t even run. This was about two weeks ago. I decided I wasn’t gonna pull out.”
This may seem like an excuse to many. However, Garcia claims that he did not want to make any excuses, which is the reason why, despite being not his usual one hundred percent, he still went into the fight. He also added the role of weight cutting, which ended up adversely affecting his performance.
According to Garcia, his last loss against Davis was a turning arc in his career and ignited a resurgence in him. He claims that his opponents should be afraid of this new version of him. In an interview with FightHubTV, he stated, “This is going to be what you guys are looking for. That loss woke something else up. The worst thing that happened to the other opponents was that I lost. I am coming back. You are going to make a movie out of this. I promise, a movie.”
In the midst of the ongoing JetBlue controversy, former boxing champion Mike Tyson has thrown another punch—this time in the world of fashion with his latest collection, ‘Been Bold.’ However, as the hype around Tyson’s new venture grows, so does the shadow cast by a recent altercation on a JetBlue flight.
Last night was as crucial as it could get for Jalil Major Hackett. The up-and-coming fighter, known to be training in the shadows of Gervonta Davis established his footing in the sport of boxing with much panache. The groundbreaking victory came in the wake of ‘Tank’ publicly advising him to rise in the ranks at the young age that he is in. Tank wrote, “You know what to do..young but definitely on it!”
What is Errol Spence Jr.’s next strategy to redeem himself from the scathing loss he registered against Terence Crawford? A more rigorous training camp? New tactics? Or is it an entire overhaul of his training team? While the boxing world awaits the confirmed dates of the Spence Jr.- Crawford rematch, Spence’s coach Derrick James has weighed in on the rumors of the fighter seeking a new coach.
Gervonta Davis is known for his remarkable strength and quickness in the ring. He advanced through the ranks quickly to win several titles as a world champion in several weight classes. In 2017, Davis won the IBF (International Boxing Federation) super featherweight title, making him a world champion at 22. This and several of his other achievements have made him someone to look up to.
In the journey of a young apprentice, the guidance of seasoned veterans is a priceless asset. Jalil Major Hackett finds himself being commended by none other than Davis. Therefore, Davis recently took to Instagram to advise a fellow 20-year-old fighter for his upcoming fight against Adrian Gutierrez. Major is a young and promising boxer from Washington with a record of 7-0-0.
Davis reposted a reel by Overtimeboxing which featured Hackett in his training camp, on his story. Davis wrote, “@jalil_hackett You know what to do..young but definitely on it!” Davis has been sparring with Hackett for his matches and it shows how big of a difference the spars have made. Jalil is headlining the RedOwl boxing fest event in Houston for the WBC Youth Welterweight title. Adrian Gutierrez will be his most experienced fight yet.
A young apprentice can greatly benefit from the guidance of a seasoned professional. Hackett will look to continue his 7-win streak against Gutierrez.
Following Devin ‘The Dream’ Haney’s decision to vacate his WBA title, it seems that Gervonta Davis will once again be crowned the undisputed champion. However, ‘Tank’ isn’t particularly interested in the WBA title. He recently responded on social media to the news about his promotion to the WBA (Super) lightweight championship, which he won by defeating Mario Barrios in an impressive knockout match last year. “I don’t want that s***,” said Davis.
Tank is undeniably a modern legend in the making. While he is against becoming the WBA lightweight champion, fans feel he is deserving of the title. His win against Ryan Garcia just goes on to prove why he is capable of reaching and staying at the top.
Floyd Mayweather Jr., a boxing legend, overcame challenging circumstances in his youth, dedicating himself to boxing after dropping out of school. Born into a renowned boxing family, Mayweather Jr. surpassed expectations by winning titles in five different weight classes, earning him the title of the pound-for-pound greatest boxer of the last twenty-five years by ESPN. His success in the ring translated into immense wealth, with Forbes naming him the world’s highest-paid athlete in 2018, amassing over a billion dollars in fight earnings.
In the video he showed off his clothes, shoes, pants and his expensive watch as he proudly displayed the luxury brand. In the caption he flexed, “Either I’m from Louisville or I got a Louie Deal!”. What’s intriguing is that, just a couple of days ago, he had received severe criticism from fans over this exact get-up. However, it seems that when you are Mayweather, criticism doesn’t prevent you from wearing what you want.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s lavish lifestyle sparks diverse fan reactions
Fans erupted with a range of responses. One fan questioned, “Will you check the time on your phone first?”. Another fan pointed out how the money spent could be used for something good.
He wrote, “the ammount of good you could do with your money is unfathomable. But you choose to buy more things and then flex on people on instagram. When is it enough Floyd? When does this cr*p not mean anything anymore to you? Do something good with the gift the universe has given you. We don’t care about your stupid shiny watch Floyd. Eat a D Floyd.”
Meanwhile, one fan claimed that this kind of post hurt Mayweather’s legacy. He stated, “This is why you always broke and gotta taint your legacy with exhibition fights.” Moreover, a fan mocked Mayweather’s TBE and wrote, “The Worst Ever (dresser)”.
However, one fan came out in support of the boxing legend. The fan attacked the people criticizing Mayweather, writing, “One thing for sure haters always got time to be under the comments”. Lastly, a fan complimented the new watch as they wrote, “No lie thats DOPE”.