Fight Talk: Coronavirus, Usyk, Chisora & Hearn

Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk wore a face mask at a news conference promoting his heavyweight fight against Dereck Chisroa on 23 May

In this week's Fight Talk we look at how the coronavirus outbreak has impacted world boxing, what happened when heavyweights Oleksandr Usyk and Dereck Chisora came face-to-face in London, and discuss Eddie Hearn's comments that he could one day promote mixed martial arts.

Coronavirus' impact on boxing

Fight cancellations, postponements, rumoured bouts which hadn't even been announced now in doubt - boxing, like all other sports, has been floored by the impact of coronavirus.

The first major shows to suffer were those involving American WBO featherweight champion Shakur Stevenson and Belfast's Michael Conlan.

At first, it was announced that both cards, at New York's Madison Square Garden, would take place behind closed doors, before they were cancelled a few days later.

There was a lot of sympathy towards the fighters from the boxing community…

Several other fights around the world have since been pulled or postponed. The British Boxing Board of Control have said all public boxing events under their jurisdiction have been cancelled and they will review it again in April.

Following on from that, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed on Instagram that all their events in March and April have now been postponed.

This means Sunderland welterweight Josh Kelly's European title fight against David Avanesyan on 28 March is now off. Hearn has said all bouts on that card will be merged into future events.

Newcastle's Lewis Ritson was due to fight Miguel Vazquez on 4 April but this has been rescheduled to 27 June.

And Doncaster's Terri Harper was set to defend her WBC super-featherweight against Natasha Jonas from Liverpool on 24 April but this has also been put back to June.

Last week, Hearn told IFL TV that, although "it's business as usual" for the time being, his upcoming cards are all "at risk".

Well Hearn's other scheduled events in the coming months include Dillian Whyte's clash with Alexander Povetkin on 2 May and Dereck Chisora taking on Oleksandr Usyk on 23 May.

And not forgetting the blockbuster Anthony Joshua's world title defence against Kubrat Pulev at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 20 June.

Another much anticipated fight which has been put back is the April 11 all-British heavyweight scrap between Joe Joyce and Daniel Dubois at the O2 Arena in London, with Queensbury Promotions rescheduling it for 11 July.

British WBO super-middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders was set to sign for a career-defining fight against Mexican star Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez on 2 May in Las Vegas, a date which is now in doubt with reports that it will be pushed back until at least June.

Usyk and Chisora go head-to-head

Amid the uncertainty, Matchroom did announce the Usyk v Chisora heavyweight fight this week.

Ukrainian Usyk, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion, landed in London on Thursday…

And at the news conference the following day, both boxers turned up in some eye-catching clobber.

Usyk was reminiscent of WWE wrestler The Undertaker with dark clothing and a black fedora hat as he intensely stared down his opponent.

Chisora rocked up wearing his trademark Union Jack bandana covering the mouth, as well as sunglasses and some designer slippers.

Usyk may not be able to speak much English but not many words were needed to make this one of the more entertaining recent face-offs, which ended with him asking Chisora for a selfie…

And here's how the snap turned out…

Despite being the away fighter, there's still a lot of love for Usyk…

...although his training methods are far from conventional...

Hearn to promote MMA?

Could we see Eddie Hearn venturing into the world of mixed martial arts?

"I'm a casual fan of MMA who tunes in for the big ones," Hearn told Bein Sports.

Asked if he would like to get involved with the sport, he said: "I think so. A lot of people are asking me to do it, whether it's broadcasters or other organisations who would like to grow or rival the UFC.

"If I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it all guns blazing. Let me crack boxing first and then we'll see about MMA."

Some fight fans have a word of warning for Hearn…