Donald McRae
20 articles · The Guardian
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Anthony Joshua knocked down twice but stops Kristian Prenga in round two
By Donald McRae
Anthony Joshua cleared his final hurdle in the ring, before he fights Tyson Fury in November, but he was knocked down twice, shockingly, in the first round of his wild and chaotic…
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Wardley v Dubois is bout of uncertainty far more interesting than Fury v Joshua
By Donald McRae
Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley are very different characters but, in the ring, they share a knockout ratio of 95% in the combined 42 fights they have won. The unbeaten Wardley has…
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Silence before the charade: Tyson lets money talk before fight with Paul
By Donald McRae
Mike Tyson sat in almost magnificent silence, refusing to engage in the bombast and bluster of the final press conference before he fights Jake Paul in a charade of a contest on…
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Fury v Usyk clash a reminder of the epic days in heavyweight boxing
By Donald McRae
It was once so clear and powerful. The heavyweight championship of the world used to be the most significant prize in sport and the winner was often as revered or feared as…
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Eddie Hearn, Conor Benn and the poison at the heart of British boxing
By Donald McRae
Eddie Hearn and Conor Benn have been tested over the past eight months in ways the promoter describes as “unbelievable” and his boxer compares to a “witch-hunt”. Yet they will soon intensify…
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Oleksandr Usyk: ‘There had been laughter in that gym. When I got there, only darkness and death’
By Donald McRae
“The walls were shaking and the dogs were hiding,” Oleksandr Usyk says quietly, a few hours after another wave of Russian bombs hits Kyiv on a mid-winter morning. The world heavyweight champion…
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Canelo Álvarez vows to ‘leave it all in the ring’ against Gennady Golovkin
By Donald McRae
On Thursday afternoon Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez sighed and rose to his feet as he prepared for his latest face-off with Gennady Golovkin at their final press conference in Las Vegas. Two more…
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‘Who is he to finish anybody’s career?’: Golovkin takes aim at Álvarez
By Donald McRae
“Idon’t pay attention to any nonsense that he is saying. I stopped paying attention a long time ago,” Gennady Golovkin says coolly as, just days before they step into the ring to…
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‘I’m just an average Joe’: he may deny it but there is no one like Tyson Fury
By Donald McRae
After his win against Dillian Whyte it felt as though the heavyweight was giving a eulogy for his career Tyson Fury sauntered into a plush conference room at Wembley Stadium, ripped off…
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Boxing refusing to confront unpalatable truth about Kinahan’s key role
By Donald McRae
Boxing’s embarrassing determination to avoid confronting the unpalatable truth about its often tawdry business was laid bare on Thursday evening during a media conference call to publicise the world heavyweight title fight…
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Teófimo López: ‘I don’t get nervous. I’ve learned to flow like water’
By Donald McRae
Just hours after he became a father, Teófimo López, the most charismatic fighter on the planet and one of the best pound-for-pound boxers at work today, leans back in his car in…
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Brutal, brilliant Canelo Álvarez is a champion of fascinating contrasts
By Donald McRae
Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez was so certain he would beat Caleb Plant and become the first undisputed world super-middleweight champion on Saturday night that he began the week wearing blue silk pyjamas as…
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Logic points to a Fury win over Wilder but heavyweight boxing can confound
By Donald McRae
Tyson Fury was so dominant when he dismantled and then knocked out Deontay Wilder the last time they stepped into the ring, in February 2020, that all logical thinking points to another…
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‘I’m a quick learner’: Joshua out to regain titles from Usyk in 2022 rematch
By Donald McRae
In the early hours of Sunday morning, Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua confirmed they are ready to meet again in February or March next year. Joshua, who lost all four of his…
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Anthony Joshua shows his mettle with dramatic knockout of Kubrat Pulev
By Donald McRae
Anthony Joshua retained his world heavyweight titles after he knocked out Kubrat Pulev in the ninth round on Saturday night. Heavyweight boxing can be one of the most unpredictable and unforgiving arenas…
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Calm before the storm: behind the scenes at Tyson Fury’s training camp
By Donald McRae
At the Top Rank gym in Las Vegas, down a little side street called Business Lane, the door is sealed shut by a dustbin that stops it blowing open to the world…
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Amir Khan: ?Fighting Mayweather like chess but Pacquiao would be harder?
By Donald McRae
My nose is a little bruised and bent but only I can tell how bad it is,? Amir Khan says as he smiles ruefully when reminded that nine years ago this summer…
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Nonito Donaire: Changing Man
By Donald McRae
NONITO DONAIRE is meant to be training tonight in Las Vegas but, two hours into an interview which has turned into a three-course meal at a swanky restaurant deep inside Caesar?s Palace,…
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Cash the cushion for Floyd Mayweather Jr’s bruised life
By Donald McRae
The man they now call 'Money' will pick up another multimillion-dollar purse against Victor Ortiz in Las Vegas The man they once called Pretty Boy sinks his bruised hands into an iron…
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Cash the cushion for Floyd Mayweather Jr’s bruised life
By Donald McRae
The man they once called Pretty Boy sinks his bruised hands into an iron bucket filled with ice. In a stifling gym behind a grimy side-street in downtown Las Vegas, Floyd Mayweather…