The Friday Five- October 20th

By Fight Sports Oct 20, 2017 Last updated Nov 6, 2018

1. Heather Hardy Returns To Bellator:
  Hardy told FIGHT SPORTS that wasn’t making enough as a fighter that she believed she should have been making. Even though the dazzling fighter with unbeatable charisma was one of the more popular female fighters, she was under compensated in comparison to male fighters. So she decided to go where the money was, Mixed Martial Arts.
  
  “It was 100% initially about the money. I was not making money in boxing, working around the clock to make ends meet.”
  
  All of that changed for Hardy when she made her Bellator debut earlier in 2017 inside the home of boxing, Madison Square Garden… On that night, not only did Hardy get the win, but she also fell in love with Mixed Martial Arts.
  
  “That memory is up there with winning nationals, winning my WBC title, and giving birth to my daughter.”
2. Deontay Wilder Wants Joshua Fight In The United States.Wilder is pinning his hopes on a showdown with Joshua in the New Year. Speaking to ThaBoxingVoice, he said:
  
  “Everyone knows who I want. 2018 is going to be a huge year. A lot of questions are going to be asked and a lot of prayers are going to be answered. I know one day things will happen and I think it will be next year. The public are going to force it and the people want it, the people want it now,” Wilder explained.
  
  “It’s big right now, we don’t need any more hype for this. We’re heavyweights, everyone around the world is talking about this.”
  
  Wilder is adamant the fight should take place in the United States and not the U.K. Wilder thinks it is in Joshua’s best interest to cross the Atlantic.
  
  “They don’t know Joshua here, but that is why they should have the fight here. If they have the fight here it is going to be crazy. They don’t really know him but that is how you get introduced. It’s not going to happen, but just imagine if he beat me, that’s it! People want this fight, they’re hungry for it. I don’t think this fight needs talking about any longer,” Wilder said.
3. Coach Duke Roufus says CM Punk is good for MMAIn the above clip, the coach discusses how CM Punk’s X-factor of being a well known star from the world of pro wrestling, and how he is able to utilize that star-power to get eyes on MMA, and more importantly Pay-Per-View. Roufus compares it to the issues surrounding more people purchasing the Mayweather and McGregor fight than any of the other “purer” fights in 2017.
4. Abel Sanchez: If deal is made GGG is sitting till Canelo Fight
  Abel Sanchez, the trainer of Gennady Golovkin is hoping that the promoters of his fighter and Canelo Alvarez can ink a deal to make a rematch occur in the spring of 2018.If that deal happens, Sanchez doesn’t expect Golovkin to fight prior to the rematch. According to Sanchez, there is too much money on the table to risk anything between now and the second fight with Canelo.“If they fight in May, I think we’d be foolish to take a chance,” Sanchez told BoxingScene.com on Wednesday. “They shouldn’t take that chance.”
5. Dana White calls Jon Jones the biggest waste of talent in sports history.
  In a recent interview with The TSN MMA Show, Dana White asserted his claim that if Jon Jones latest issue with USADA result in another long-term suspension, the former two-time UFC light heavyweight champion will be the biggest waste of talent not just in MMA, but in the history of sports.
  
  “[It would be the biggest waste of talent] ever. Ever, in all of sports. The guy is so talented and gifted, God knows what he’d be doing right now if he had never got in trouble. He could possibly be the heavyweight champion and have the defense record that couldn’t be broken. The list goes on and on of what could’ve been with Jon Jones.”