Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/979340
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 9 MAY 2018 21 Sport OLYMPICS BOXING Maltese Olympic Committee to host seminar on Mental Health in Sport seminar on Mental Health in Sport THE Maltese Olympic Com- mittee, in collaboration with Olympic Solidarity have an- nounced that their annual medical conference will take place on Monday 4th and Tues- day 5th June 2018. This year's event will be ex- ploring the contemporary is- sue of mental health in sport, whilst seeking to raise aware- ness of mental health issues in sport, explore contemporary research in the field and strate- gies to support athletes. Kirill Micallef Stafrace, Head of Medical Commission at the Maltese Olympic Commit- tee confirmed that the speak- ers that will be taking part and will be a mix of local and international speakers who will include David Fletcher - Loughborough University, UK, Graziella Thake - The Opti- misation Hub, Australia, Nigel Camilleri, University of Malta, Danica Bonello Spiteri, Univer- sity of Malta and Adele Mus- cat, National Sports School, Malta. "Mental illness in sport is often overlooked and many assume that mental health is- sues in athletes are rare, since athletes are often perceived to be extremely physically healthy individuals and immune to such issues. The conference aims to dis- cuss such issues as well as re- moving the stigma that goes around mental illness" re- marked Micallef Stafrace. "We strongly encourage all stake- holders within the field of sport to attend this conference". The conference will take place at the Grand Hotel Ex- celsior. Conference will start at 9:00am and should finish by 4:30pm. Registration is mandatory. There will not be a conference fee applied for those applying before May 31st. Following this date, a one day fee will be charged at €25, whilst a block ticket for the two days will be charged at €35. Fees include re- freshments and lunches. For further information please contact Dawn Aquilina via email on dawnaquilina@ nocmalta.org or by calling on +356 21 332 801 Barry Hearn: Anthony Joshua should delay Deontay Wilder fight ANTHONY Joshua should con- sider waiting 12 months before fighting Deontay Wilder in a world heavyweight title unifica- tion fight, according to Barry Hearn. However, veteran promoter Hearn will stay out of the deci- sion-making process, he prom- ised, when he meets WBO, IBF and WBA champion Joshua on Tuesday for talks about the next steps in his career. Matchroom chairman Hearn has put his son Eddie in charge of guiding Joshua's career, but he still takes a view of what would be the smartest next step. Wilder, who holds the WBC version of the title, last month made the unusual move of emailing Joshua directly to in- sist his backers had the money - worth £35.9million - for a bout which could take place later this year. Hearn junior explained that he still required plenty of assur- ances before committing to any deal. However, his father mentioned the possibility of Manchester United's Old Trafford ground hosting a future Joshua fight, saying: "It's possible. I have a meeting with Anthony Joshua on Tuesday with Eddie, before Eddie goes off to New York. "The decision is numbers - it's a numbers game and it's noth- ing to do with boxing. It's purely to do with 'that's what you get if you fight Alexander Povetkin, that's what you get if you fight Jarrell Miller, that's what you get if you fight Deontay Wilder in England, that's what you get if you fight Deontay Wilder in America. And I don't fight, so it's your call because you're the guv'nor, you're running heavy- weight boxing.' "The Deontay Wilder fight, if I was Anthony Joshua, I'd be leav- ing that for a little while. "Not because I'm worried about Deontay Wilder but at this moment in time maybe I'm look- ing at 500,000 to 600,000 pay- per-view buyers. In a year, done properly I might be looking at two million, two and a half mil- lion pay-per-view buyers." Joshua has said he is "95 per cent" certain to fight American Wilder this year, but a deal has yet to be agreed. Barry Hearn said: "I said to Anthony: 'If you had six months to live I would say go and fight Deontay Wilder, take the most money, but if you're saying to me that you've got a legacy plan then I'm saying let's capitalise on it properly.' "That's his decision and his team's, because I don't do the boxing. But it's a credible way of doing business. If you start letting the fans be the match- maker you'll end up being skint. "When you talk about Antho- ny Joshua, I believe he's plan- ning another eight years at the top. "So if he is, and he takes that view, the only thing that can derail him is getting beaten. That fear of getting beaten is what pushes him in the gym every day. "The reason our meeting is starting at two o'clock tomor- row is so that he can fit a gym session in in the morning. While he's got that attitude I don't have a worry about any- one beating Anthony Joshua. "I just have the worry over whether I'm getting the maxi- mum amount of money for my client, because that's my job. His job is knocking people out." Anthony Joshua