Analysis, features, news plus more – on European football and sports galore!
IBF/WBC welterweight champion Natasha Jonas embarks on a big fight week knowing there aren’t many left for her, though Olympic champion and unified titleholder Lauren Price could serve as a willing adversary further enhancing the 40-year-old’s legacy come Friday night.
Continue reading “Natasha Jonas on her relationship with ‘gentle giant’ Joe Gallagher”
Continue reading “Joseph Parker stays cool in the chaos as Last Crescendo show must go on”
BOXXER chief Ben Shalom was optimistic when previewing the 2025 calendar, providing updates across various weight divisions with activity and momentum in mind during the Azim-Lipinets media day before their first show this year in Sheffield, headlined by Callum Simpson on Saturday night. Continue reading “Ben Shalom: Riakporhe, Clarke and Whittaker all set to return in April”
Lawrence Okolie made fast work of overmatched former sparring partner Hussein Mohamed earlier this month with a first-round knockout win to produce a memorable Queensberry debut, though his trainer Joe Gallagher has told me they’re already eyeing a March or April return for a former two-weight world champion seeking greatness as the 32-year-old’s heavyweight foray ramps up. Continue reading “Okolie’s trainer Joe Gallagher: One more, then ready for the big heavyweight fights”
Denzel Bentley will get a second crack at world championship gold in 2025 after outboxing Brad Pauls to defend his #1 WBO world ranking, snatching the British middleweight strap – as well as two other titles – after a tense 12-round affair, headlining a busy night’s action as Queensberry took their fruitful Magnificent Seven concept down to the nation’s capital three weeks before Christmas. Continue reading “Three-time! Bentley drops Pauls in UD12 win, reclaims British middleweight gold”
Kieran Farrell, a former Central Area lightweight champion, was forced to cut short his career at 22 in 2013. A decade on, he’s part of Daniel Dubois’ training team and the Mancunian was honest about the IBF world titleholder’s preparations for an evening catapulting him into a new light, toppling Anthony Joshua as the former unified heavyweight king eyes an immediate rematch.
Continue reading “Dubois’ coach Kieran Farrell: Easier than we thought, rematch unwise for Joshua”
Jack Massey boxed well to produce a UD12 upset over former British cruiserweight champion Isaac Chamberlain on the CBS-Riakporhe 2 undercard last Saturday, becoming the new European and Commonwealth titlist at 200lbs. Yet if you read what the 31-year-old said after getting this short-notice opportunity, you wouldn’t have been surprised with the eventual outcome. Continue reading “Jack Massey’s upset prediction aged perfectly vs. Isaac Chamberlain, but why?”
Composure was key for Chris Billam-Smith as he boxed smartly to blunt Richard Riakporhe on enemy soil at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park stadium, retaining his WBO cruiserweight world title against an old foe. Elsewhere, Jack Massey stifled Isaac Chamberlain to win European honours at 200lbs while Ben Whittaker’s critics will persist after a puzzling 10-round shutout in the co-main.
Continue reading “Billam-Smith avenges Riakporhe defeat with UD12 win to retain WBO world cruiserweight title”
Last year, WBO cruiserweight world champion Chris Billam-Smith achieved his dream by winning a world title at the home of his beloved Bournemouth football club. Before he can think about unification plans though, he enters into the lion’s den as defending titleholder itching to avenge his one pro defeat against Richard Riakporhe, a month shy of five years since their first meeting. Continue reading “Chris Billam-Smith interview: Defending champ excited to silence decline doubters”
Richard Riakporhe hopes to realise his dream in becoming a cruiserweight world champion at his beloved Crystal Palace’s football stadium this weekend, much like defending champion and former foe Chris Billam-Smith realised 13 months earlier on the south Coast. Five years after their first fight plenty has changed for both – is now the perfect time for history to repeat itself or not?
Continue reading “Richard Riakporhe interview: Relishing experiences before dream world title shot”
A man with more than a vested interest in this weekend’s Selhurst Park main event is Lawrence Okolie. He praised former gymmate Chris Billam-Smith a year on from their Bournemouth bout, but also questioned whether the WBO cruiserweight world champion can manage to go to the well again in deep waters against mandatory challenger Richard Riakporhe this weekend. Continue reading “CBS-Riakporhe 2: Okolie unsure about Billam-Smith’s durability vs. his local rival”
Almost a year to the day since he was dethroned as WBO cruiserweight world champion, Lawrence Okolie ended Lukasz Rozanski’s unbeaten 15-0 record with a destructive first-round knockout win on enemy soil in Rzeszow, Poland. Now, he’s keeping his options open as a heavyweight move has again been teased – but has he done enough to settle at world-level against tougher opposition? Continue reading “After icing Rozanski in a round, Okolie’s second chapter begins at bridgerweight”
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