Author: sportsnewsuk

(Matchroom Boxing) Skye Nicolson, the popular women’s WBC junior featherweight champion from Australia, has sustained an undisclosed injury that will force her off her Most Valuable Promotions’ debut card August 29 in England, the promotion announced Wednesday. A “devastated” Nicolson, 16-1 (3 KOs), said in a prepared statement that her title defense versus Miyo Yoshida, 19-5 (1 KO), will be rescheduled in the near future. She’s linked to Jake Paul’s MVP as part of the new strategic alliance with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. “I’d like to sincerely apologize to Miyo Yoshida and her team for this delay. I have nothing…

Former world heavyweight champion Joseph Parker has been cleared to fight again after his provisional suspension for testing positive for cocaine was lifted.The 34-year-old New Zealander was tested by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada) on 25 October.On the same day, he was beaten by Britain’s Fabio Wardley at London’s O2 Arena.”I’m pleased to confirm my provisional suspension is lifted and I’ll be back in the ring soon,” Parker said on Wednesday.”I’ve been advised to say no more for now while details are finalised. Thank you to all my supporters.”Parker has denied knowingly taking any banned substances. He had faced the…

Japanese winger Daisuke Yokota hopes to make “special memories” after joining Rangers from Hannover.Yokota, 26, has joined on a three-year deal with the option of an additional year and becomes the Ibrox side’s ninth summer signing.He moved to Germany as a teenager and spent time with FSV Frankfurt and Carl Zeiss Jena before stints in Latvia with Valmiera and in Poland with Gornik Zabrze.A move to Belgian side Gent followed in 2024, but Yokota was unable to establish himself in the first team and was loaned to Kaiserslautern and Hannover.Hannover signed him permanently earlier this summer off the back of…

Watching Chelsea these past few seasons has taught me something about expectation versus reality. And this summer’s giving me that familiar nervous energy again. Henderson walked in on a free transfer. Pretty straightforward there. But then you’ve got Barco arriving for €40m and Lacroix commanding a £52m fee, and suddenly the strategy feels kinda scattered. Or maybe that’s the point? I honestly can’t tell yet.   What We’re Actually Seeing Here   Alonso keeps saying he wants “a few more” before September hits. Won’t talk about the young striker’s loan directly though (which tells you everything without saying anything). The…

Contains some strong language.Available for over a yearAde Oladipo, Emily Eubank, and Liam Gough are back to put the boxing world to rights in another hard-hitting episode of The Punch Perfect Podcast on BBC Sounds! After a brief warning to expect a few passionate slip-ups of explicit language, the team dives straight into ‘The Clinch’ to confront one of the most critical safety debates in the sport today. Guided by producer Jay’s envelope, the hosts start a strict three-minute timer to dissect the statement: “Trainers need to throw in the towel more often.” Do corner teams protect their fighters enough,…

Chelsea are closing in on an agreement with Rayo Vallecano for defender Pep Chavarria.The Blues, who have already agreed personal terms with the 28-year-old, are finalising a move worth about £16.3m plus further add-ons, with all parties increasingly confident about striking a deal.Left-back Chavarria is a key target for new manager Xabi Alonso having faced him while he was in charge of Real Madrid last season. It has been almost a month since Chelsea had an initial £15m bid rejected by the La Liga club when talks began at the end of June.Negotiations became protracted amid a belief at Chelsea…

“I’m pleased to confirm my provisional suspension is lifted and I’ll be back in the ring soon,” Parker said to The Post. “I’ve been advised to say no more for now while details are finalized. Thank you to all my supporters.” The suspension stemmed from a VADA test taken on the day of Parker’s October 25, 2025, bout with Fabio Wardley at London’s O2 Arena. The sample contained benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine. Under anti-doping rules, cocaine is classified as a recreational substance rather than a performance-enhancing drug. Parker consistently denied knowingly taking cocaine or any banned substance. He maintained…

Brown, 30, is one of the marquee players for Ultimate Sevens, a new short-form sevens start-up circuit launching in September.It will consist of four events, staged in Madrid, Cardiff, Biarritz and London, featuring 10-minute knockout matches, with optional timeouts rather than the usual half-time break, contested by six newly minted teams.Tom Mitchell, who captained Great Britain Sevens at two Olympics, is the event’s sport and innovations director.While R360, a breakaway 15s event, floundered in the face of opposition from existing unions and a lack of World Rugby ratification, Mitchell aims to complement the existing calendar, rather than disrupt it.”Underneath it…

If David Benavidez decides to stick around in the cruiserweight ranks, there is a bitter rivalry brewing. Benavidez moved up to cruiserweight in May, stopping Gilberto Ramirez in six rounds to claim the WBA and WBO world titles. Although many expected Benavidez to return to light-heavyweight in pursuit of Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, his team instead petitioned the WBC to install him as mandatory challenger to cruiserweight champion Noel Mikalian. The fight was ordered, but Mikalien has instead booked a fight with former IBF champion and new Zuffa Boxing champion Jai Opetaia, and is expected to be stripped of…

That reality has created a new one.Rashford is contracted to Manchester United until 2028. His salary of £325,000 a week makes him the club’s top earner at a time when minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is trying to stay on top of wage costs, which is, by some distance, the club’s highest expenditure.United’s transfer activity has slowed since Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans joined them for £35m on 14 July.While uncertainty over Rashford’s future is not the entire reason for this, it is a basic truth that Manchester United’s search for a left-sided attacking player, or another striker, will be impacted…