Boxing: Anthony Joshua agrees Hearn pro deal

Anthony Joshua, who won super-heavyweight gold for Britain at the Olympics, is expected to finally announce he has turned professional this week, and has signed a four-year deal with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom promotions.

It is believed the exposure from Sky Sports showing his fights played a key role in the negotiations, with America’s Gold Boy promotions also interested.

David Price will have another think with his mentor Lennox Lewis after suffering another devastating stoppage defeat to Tony Thompson.

The Liverpool heavyweight was desperate to beat Thompson after his shock loss to the American in February. But the American proved it was no fluke by getting off the canvas to stop Price in the fifth round of their rematch at the Echo Arena on Saturday night.

“It’s back to the drawing board,” said Lewis. “We know what we need to fix so we’ll go back and fix it.”

Price said: “Maybe my fighting heart got the better of me. The instructions from my corner were for me to take my time and stick to the gameplan but that was something I didn’t manage to do.”

Nicola Adams, Lisa Whiteside and Savannah Marshall all claimed gold medals for Britain at the European Union Championships in Hungary, while Ireland’s Katie Taylor also took the top prize.

Flyweight Adams defended her title in her first tournament since winning Olympic gold in London last year, beating Stoyka Petrova of Bulgaria by unanimous decision. Preston’s bantamweight Whiteside and Hartlepool middleweight Marshall also both sealed their gold medals with unanimous-decision wins.

Lightweight Taylor, Ireland’s Olympic champion, beat France’s Estelle Mossley to take her fifth consecutive EU gold medal.