Analysis, features, news plus more – on European football and sports galore!
It was an unforgettable night for the travelling Stoke faithful, as their hometown hero Nathan Heaney did the unthinkable at Manchester’s AO Arena: outboxing, outsmarting and absorbing world title challenger Denzel Bentley’s best punches en route to a majority decision win to crown a new British middleweight champion after big wins for Nick Ball and Liam Davies prior. Continue reading “Heaney outboxes, dethrones Bentley to cap a night of frantic upsets in Manchester”
Riding a five-fight win streak, #10 ranked middleweight Brendan Allen faces Paul Craig in Saturday’s main event and the 27-year-old believes his second headline slot in nine months shows the promotion’s faith in him as someone with championship potential. Paul Craig is no slouch and testing himself at a lower weight than his 205lb days, so this represents a fitting matchup. Continue reading “UFC Vegas 82: Brendan Allen feels main event slot shows belief in his title potential, but Paul Craig has little to lose”
After praise for accepting an unenviable task on short-notice last week, it’s fair to say fight week hasn’t been particularly kind to former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman. He makes his middleweight debut this weekend at UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi against the man many tipped to dethrone him at 170lbs – unbeaten contender Khamzat Chimaev. After Wednesday’s open workout, the noise has instead centred around the state of his long-standing knee issues. Continue reading “UFC 294: Bad knees – pop or otherwise – Usman’s back is against the wall as Chimaev challenge awaits at 185lbs”
Janibek Alimkhanuly was patient, hurt Vincenzo Gualtieri repeatedly en route to a sixth-round stoppage win over the now-former IBF middleweight champion as the hard-hitting Kazakh scored a second KO in five months and successfully unified two titles at 160lbs overnight. Naturally, it’s only intensified his thirst to become undisputed but the division’s future at the top remains uncertain. Continue reading “Janibek Alimkhanuly unifies WBO, IBF middleweight world titles after logging R6 KO vs. gun-shy Vincenzo Gualtieri”
Well then, who saw that coming? Sean Strickland is now king of the UFC middleweights after a fantastic display of pressure and stern defence over 25 minutes bamboozled Israel Adesanya into submission at the weekend, on enemy soil no less, as fresh matchups galore have been cracked open after the American’s shock title victory in Australia. Click to read more, for the debrief. Continue reading “UFC 293 – The debrief: Strickland stuns, outboxes Adesanya to earn 185lb gold”
Israel Adesanya makes the first defence of his second UFC middleweight title reign against an unpredictable underdog in Sean Strickland – whose path to this opportunity was borne from activity at a time where fresh contenders were sparse. While a Dricus du Plessis showdown seems inevitable in future, Strickland’s best method of winning this championship clash is gruelling and difficult to achieve after all that has come before it. Can he execute it though? Continue reading “UFC 293: Adesanya insists Strickland is selling wolf tickets, so should you watch?”
Chris Eubank Jr started well, didn’t get overzealous as many have come to expect, and was sharp with punch output en route to a tenth-round finish of a sluggish Liam Smith avenging his first career stoppage loss. Seven months later in the same venue, he silenced critics – at least for now – before calling out Conor Benn and two-time middleweight world champion Gennadiy Golovkin. Continue reading “Eubank Jr drops, stops Smith to score R10 finish with career-best display in rematch”
At the first London press conference announcing this world heavyweight title fight in mid-July, both men said they were ready to be finished with media and couldn’t wait to get into the ring come fight night. We’re now hours away, and WBA ‘Regular’ titlist Daniel Dubois is aware of the task that lies in-front of him: beat a champion who hasn’t been, during a decade-long pro career. Can he? Continue reading “Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois: The time for talking is over, tonight will tell all”
WBA ‘Regular’ heavyweight titlist Daniel Dubois has an almost impossible ask abroad next weekend, looking to dethrone unbeaten, unified champion Oleksandr Usyk. Elsewhere, rising middleweight contender Hamzah Sheeraz (#6 WBO, #9 WBC) similarly returns from injury against an unbeaten Ukrainian, hoping to pick up where he left off at London’s 02 Arena last November. Click for more, to watch their individual videos at the Bermondsey Boxing Club.
Continue reading “WATCH: Daniel Dubois, Hamzah Sheeraz gear up for Poland trip with open workout”
British and European light-heavyweight champion Dan Azeez has the momentum, having boxed three times in three different countries over the past nine months. Joshua Buatsi may have won the domestic strap four years ago, but the Olympic bronze medallist still hasn’t yet reached the world championship heights many tipped for him given such amateur pedigree. Now, one Londoner’s unbeaten streak will end on October 21. Who has the nerve? Continue reading “Joshua Buatsi vs. Dan Azeez presser: Both pledge to bring war on October 21 in WBA light-heavyweight world title eliminator”
12 months after his Curtis Blaydes matchup was cruelly cut short by a serious knee injury, Tom Aspinall again announced himself as a serious player in the heavyweight division after making short work of perennial contender Marcin Tybura in the UFC London card on July 22. Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic is set for November, and the 30-year-old has his sights set on securing a title shot soon. Continue reading “UFC London: Rewind back to Aspinall’s rapid return, a R1 TKO win vs. Tybura”
Featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski returned to his natural weight class and decimated the interim titlist in style, after Dricus du Plessis’ division-altering display at middleweight and Alexandre Pantoja overcame adversity against a familiar face as a new world champion was crowned in the co-main.
Continue reading “UFC 290: Volkanovski bullies Rodriguez, after big wins for Pantoja and du Plessis”
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