Author: sportsnewsuk

“I think Jai’s been lied to,” Hearn said to Jai McAllister Boxing. “I think Jai’s dream was to become unified and undisputed and that’s been taken away from him. Not by the IBF, that’s been taken away from him by signing with Zuffa.” Hearn’s criticism gets sharper when discussing the trade Opetaia made. He credits Mick Francis with keeping the 31-year-old active in Australia, but argues there wasn’t enough money available there for the type of fights Opetaia was taking. “He substituted the legacy for the money, which, you know, you got to make money,” Hearn said. “But I think…

India had a productive three-day outing in the warm-up match against Sri Lanka Cricket XI, batting coach Sitanshu Kotak said on Sunday.India defeated SLC XI by six wickets, chasing down a 207-run target in the final session of the day three.According to Kotak, playing a practice game was more productive than training in nets.“It was very good and productive,” Kotak told BCCI.TV. “Practicing in nets for four more days won’t be as productive as the practice match. Bowlers bowled with good intensity. We actually tried everyone, even bowlers, get to bat. All the bowlers got enough loading that is required.…

Entering just his third pre-season training camp with New Orleans, Charlie Smyth can hardly be dubbed a veteran at this stage of his fledgling NFL career but the Saints’ incumbent kicker certainly no longer feels a novice either.Smyth’s big chance with the Saints came last November when he stepped up to replace a struggling Blake Grupe in Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins. Signed to a three-year contract the following month, Smyth played in the final six games of the Saints’ campaign, completing 12 of 16 field goal attempts and going a perfect on 13 extra-point attempts.”I’ve got the experience…

Morning everyone. The Emirates Cup game against Borussia Dortmund ended in defeat, with the Bundesliga side running out 3-2 winners. I’ve been around this block too many times to get worked up about pre-season games, and we have way too many very good players missing to use a day like yesterday as representative of who we’re going to be for the season ahead, but I do have one or two small takeaways that I think are worthy of discussion. – We saw 30 minutes of Martin Odegaard, like others before him eased back into post-World Cup action with half an…

Eddie Hearn knows how to build hype, but he is getting way out in front of himself with Teremoana Teremoana. Calling the Australian a potential long-reigning heavyweight world champion before he has faced a serious contender is pure promoter talk. DeAndre Savage’s trainer, former WBC junior middleweight champion Tony Harrison, had some fun with Hearn’s salesmanship at Monday’s press conference, joking that he should be selling cars. “I don’t think you guys have seen anything like this before in Australia,” Hearn said. “I think legitimately a chance for you to have a long-reigning heavyweight world champion. Got the size, got…

World number one Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from this week’s Cincinnati Open because of a knee injury, but still expects to be fit for the US Open later this month.The 24-year-old Italian won his fifth Grand Slam singles title by beating Alexander Zverev in the Wimbledon final last month, but has not played since.”After consulting with my doctors and my team, I have to announce that I need to withdraw from the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati,” Sinner said.”My right knee has been bothering me and even though we have been working hard with my medical team, I have to…

Many of Iraola’s attacking principles resemble those of one of his long-time managerial inspirations, the former Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa.The Argentine coached Iraola at Athletic Club between 2011 and 2013 and, speaking to Sky Sports in 2023, the Liverpool boss acknowledged this influence.”I use a lot of exercises from Marcelo that I learned from him, especially with the ball,” Iraola said.”Offensively, his teams are very dynamic, willing to make all the runs to the space, he is ready to accept this kind of disorder offensively.”Like Bielsa’s sides, Iraola already has the Reds playing in a busy manner. When attacking,…

Mikel Arteta believes the signing of Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes is the kind of player Arsenal need to help elevate them to the next level.  Guimaraes completed his reported £75m move to North London earlier this week, and was officially unveiled in front of the Arsenal supporters at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.  The 28-year-old watched his new team lose, with Borussia Dortmund coming out on top with a 3-2 win to lift the Emirates Cup.  But that did nothing to dampen the spirits of the Arsenal fans after seeing a glimpse of their new Brazilian midfielder, who could make…

Demi Vollering showed her prowess on the final stage of the Tour de France Femmes to become the race’s first two-time winner.The Dutch FDJ-Suez rider won the penultimate stage to snatch the leader’s yellow jersey from Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney and carry an eight-second lead into Sunday’s finale.The fifth edition of the race culminated with a 99.2km mountain stage, beginning and ending in Nice, which featured four ascents of the Col d’Eze and totalled 2,100m of climbing.Niewiadoma-Phinney’s British team-mate Zoe Backstedt pushed the pace in the early stages before former race leader Marlen Reusser crashed on the second descent of the Col…

Cutting that last bit of weight presents a test Benn hasn’t dealt with in years. “Conor has not boxed at 147 for four years,” Duke McKenzie said to talkSPORT Boxing. “When you’re trying to make weight, and you have to drag to make weight, it takes away your A-game.” McKenzie believes the problem won’t disappear simply because Benn can rehydrate after stepping on the scale. “I don’t think Conor Benn’s going to be physically strong enough because I think he’d be weight drained,” McKenzie said. “Even if you’re eating all night long, there’s still only so much weight you can…