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Consecutive Defensive Player of the Year winners suiting up together on the same team hasn’t been seen during the NBA’s 77-year existence, but that’s about to change before 2023 ends after Memphis made a bold trade to bolster their backcourt. Jaren Jackson Jr spoke about how he’s motivated by their postseason play, and what better presence to join the fold than Marcus Smart? Continue reading “Jaren Jackson Jr excited before Marcus Smart link-up in Memphis, as he should be”
Errol Spence Jr had never been dropped in his 11-year professional career, but within five minutes of this heavily-anticipated undisputed matchup, he was floored by a laser-focused Terence Crawford. Bud later declared it a flash knockdown, a sign of things to come during a vicious one-sided beating en route to making more history for the Omaha native on another legacy-building night. Continue reading “Crawford crushes Spence with R9 TKO win, is now undisputed welterweight champion”
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After more than 15 months out of the ring – largely due to factors out of his control – you can excuse WBA (Regular) World welterweight champion Eimantas Stanionis for being a little impatient as far as assembling big bouts are concerned. Vergil Ortiz Jr is out indefinitely, though IBF interim titlist Jaron Ennis publicly put his name in the hat after dismantling Roiman Villa on July 8. Continue reading “As inactivity intensifies, Stanionis longs for a good dance partner – Ennis included”
![Ons Jabeur [6] during her match against Marketa Vondrousova in their Ladies' Singles Final during day thirteen of The Championships Wimbledon 2023 at...](https://media.gettyimages.com/id/1559846406/photo/ons-jabeur-6-during-her-match-against-marketa-vondrousova-in-their-ladies-singles-final.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=zFF5EuPNGxLccJlWJQyR45Csp1ZQD0DENsCQUmM_69M=)
Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur is the latest to miss an upcoming event through injury, while Denis Shapovalov – who made the tournament’s semifinals in 2021 – finds himself enduring similarly bad injury luck at a crucial juncture of the calendar as far as their season goals are concerned… Continue reading “Tennis news round-up: Jabeur, Shapovalov sidelined with knee injuries, FAA’s Alcaraz warning and Halep update”
Squeezing his body down to 147lbs, is the phrase that doesn’t exactly exude confidence as far as unified welterweight world champion Errol Spence Jr should be concerned. One more fight, two more sleeps away, and he’ll get what he has longed for: a shot at WBO champion Terence Crawford. But what happens if he loses, and wants to activate that rematch clause? Leverage lost. Continue reading “Spence’s impending light-middleweight move hangs over Crawford megafight”
Five years and three months after a Fight of the Year battle against Dustin Poirier, one he ultimately lost via fourth-round TKO, one-time interim UFC lightweight champion Justin Gaethje has an opportunity to right the wrong this weekend. Considering the pot of gold which hangs in the balance for Saturday night’s main event winner, the stakes couldn’t be any higher for The Highlight.
Continue reading “UFC 291: Revenge and another title push motivating Gaethje before Poirier rematch”
In a battle of two unbeaten world champions, you could see a shift from round one and the outcome wasn’t close. Naoya Inoue was dominant en route to a vicious eighth-round stoppage against now-former unified super-bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton, before shaking hands for a November undisputed matchup with newly-crowned WBA, IBF champion Marlon Tapales.
Continue reading “Naoya Inoue outboxes and stops Stephen Fulton, now a four-weight world champion”
Eight days ago, Carlos Alcaraz completed the one feat many didn’t expect: beat four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic, on Centre Court, at Wimbledon. The size of this achievement is yet to be realised, but how did the charismatic young Spaniard manage to recover from behind, during a five-set epic with momentum swings plenty – where both could’ve played even better? Continue reading “Wimbledon 2023: Alcaraz ascends past Djokovic in five-set epic – how did he do it?”
Empty stats on a struggling side, or genuine numbers to help build his standing as a young All-Star with leaps and bounds still to make? That’s the question Charlotte and critics are piling on LaMelo Ball, after the 21-year-old guard inked a five-year, $260m extension this offseason. What’s next, only he can decide. Continue reading “Perhaps they don’t know yet – LaMelo Ball’s extension kicks off clock in Charlotte”
Four goals, a fair but frustrating outcome. Burton boss Dino Maamria was satisfied but not entirely pleased with his side’s 2-2 home draw vs. Championship side West Brom, as they continue intensifying their pre-season exertions before the new League One campaign proper begins next month. Continue reading “Burton 2-2 West Brom: Kamwa’s late equaliser sees spoils shared in friendly”
Since being outpointed by Liam Walsh in November 2019, British lightweight Maxi Hughes has won seven straight – including clinching IBO world gold last time out at former featherweight titlist Kid Galahad’s expense. One-time unified lightweight champion George Kambosos Jr makes his Stateside return this weekend, though the 33-year-old is confident he’ll spoil it Saturday. Continue reading “Maxi Hughes saying the right things as Kambosos Jr awaits tomorrow night”
She was broken twice in a first set that twisted one way and suddenly the next. Then she spluttered a quartet of double-faults in set two, against a player who has seized upon smaller errors over the preceeding fortnight’s play. Yet Marketa Vondrousova played the bigger points smarter and stayed composed vs. Ons Jabeur, who has now lost consecutive Wimbledon finals. How did this happen? Continue reading “Wimbledon 2023: Vondrousova topples Jabeur in straight-sets – where was Ladies’ Final won and lost?”
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