LONDON: Carl Froch believes Oleksandr Usyk and Murat Gassiev can use the final of the World Boxing Super Series in Jeddah as a launchpad to stardom.
The retired super-middleweight entered a similar knockout competition in 2009 — one also overseen by Sauerland Promotions — as a fighter struggling for recognition and finished it having established himself as one of Britain’s greats.
And Froch is certain the same springboard effect could be felt by Usyk and Gassiev.
The pair fight for the IBF, WBA, WBO and WBC cruiserweight titles at King Abdullah Sports City on May 11 in what is being billed as one of the fights of the year. The winner will be $10 million richer, will unify the division and land the Ali Trophy. They could also take a step toward greatness.
“The Super Six was a real way to establish myself as one of the best super-middleweights ever,” Froch told Arab News. “Without that tournament, would I have fought Andre Ward and would I have fought Kessler and Abraham, under those circumstances? Probably not. It’s good for your legacy. After coming out of the Super Six, I was made a household name. I beat (Lucien) Bute, and then got the Kessler rematch, and then I got Groves I and Groves II. That was massive.
“In the Super Series the boys are getting paid really well, which is good. I don’t think the loser (of the final) is done any harm at all. They’ll check their bank balance after the final and think ‘That was worth doing.’ It’s a good format, a good structure, and it works.”
The World Boxer Super Series started at the quarterfinal stage and Usyk and Gassiev have both come through two tough fights to make it to the final in Saudi Arabia, particularly the semifinals when they faced unbeaten opponents. Usyk outpointed Mairis Briedis in a slugfest and then Gassiev produced one of the punches of his career to stop Yunier Dorticos. “You’ve got guaranteed fights against top-level fighters,” said Froch. “All the promotion, publicity and profile, the marketing that goes with it, the production, for the television. We did a Fight Camp 360, building up, a little series. To get the exposure on camera, and then on fight night going in there, it’s all really, really good experience for you. You’re fighting the best as well, the best in the division. It is good, mentality-wise. If you keep winning, you know the opportunity is there to get fights, to fight the best.”
The super-middleweight edition of the World Boxing Super Series caught the imagination of the British public because it involved two of their high-profile fighters in George Groves and Chris Eubank Jr. The cruiserweight version, on the other hand, has broader appeal and will serve up the year’s most significant fight.
“It’s one of those divisions that’s stuck in the middle, between light-heavyweight and heavyweight,” Froch said. “They’re not quite big enough to be heavyweight. When David Haye was at cruiserweight, the world champion, he soon realized ‘I’m not going to make any money here’. He tried to become a heavyweight, just to make money and get some kind of legacy. Evander Holyfield did the same.
“If you’re stuck in that weight division: [the WBSS] is good for their earnings and for them to have something to look back on. It’s good for those that are involved. There’s some good fighters in the cruiserweight division, and the ones that are in this tournament.”
Carl Froch says Saudi Arabia showdown between Oleksandr Usyk and Murat Gassiev could define careers
Carl Froch says Saudi Arabia showdown between Oleksandr Usyk and Murat Gassiev could define careers
- Usyk and Gassiev to meet in Jeddah on May 11
- Froch likens competition to the one that gave him chance to shine
‘Luke the Nuke’ still living his teenage darts dream
- This time last year he had surged through the field as a 66/1 outsider, becoming the undisputed fans’ favorite at Alexandra Palace in north London
- Littler came above British prime minister Keir Starmer and King Charles in Google’s most searched for people of 2024 in the UK
LONDON: Luke Littler has become world champion of darts, a sport that has its origins as a British pub game, before the English 17-year-old can legally buy an alcoholic drink in his homeland.
Yet, despite his tender age, Littler has had a long apprenticeship in the sport given, as shown by family videos, he first started playing darts when still a nappy-clad toddler.
This time last year he had surged through the field as a 66/1 outsider, becoming the undisputed fans’ favorite at Alexandra Palace in north London, before world No. 1 Luke Humphries defeated him in the final.
But such was Littler’s impact as a breakout performer that even those not normally interested in darts were aware of his achievement in becoming darts’ youngest world finalist.
Suddenly, Littler found himself being invited onto television chat shows with Hollywood movie stars. It all led to the modest Humphries joking about how people who engaged in conversation with him discovering they were talking to the “wrong Luke.”
Littler came above British prime minister Keir Starmer and King Charles in Google’s most searched for people of 2024 in the UK, behind only Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Donald Trump.
But the boy from Warrington, an industrial town between Liverpool and Manchester, is no longer a surprise package in an unforgiving test of accuracy where the distance between success and failure is measured in fractions of an inch.
To its supporters, darts is a game of fine motor-skills allied to mathematical knowledge, made all the harder at professional level by the players being cheered on by raucous and often alcohol-fueled crowds.
Players try to hit specific small targets while standing over seven feet (2.37 meters) from the board where the most valuable ‘treble’ sections are also the smallest.
The aim is to go from 501 to exactly zero in the fewest number of darts while finishing either on a double on the outer edge of the board or the central bullseye.
Each player takes turns to throw three darts, with the highest total possible 180 — three treble 20s.
Littler, nicknamed ‘Luke the Nuke’, admitted the occasion had got to him after he won his opening match of the 2024/25 World Championship against Ryan Meikle.
“It is probably the biggest time it’s hit me,” he said. “It has been a lot to deal with.”
Yet he still posted a tournament record three-dart average of 140.91 in the fourth set.
And come the semifinals, Littler thrashed world No. 5 Stephen Bunting 6-1 in sets.
A final against Michael van Gerwen was billed as a much tougher contest, with the Dutchman going into the game as the youngest world champion to date after winning the title as a 24-year-old in 2014.
Yet the three-time winner was blown away as Littler surged into a 4-0 lead and showed no nerves to close it out 7-3.
“I sometimes say every 17 years a star gets born and he’s one of them,” said Van Gerwen.
Littler’s fame isn’t simply built upon his undoubted skill.
In an age where many sportsmen become detached from the communities they have grown up, he remains a relatable figure, although nutritionists may be aghast at the pre-match routine he outlined a year ago.
“I don’t wake up until 12, in the morning go for my ham and cheese omelette, come here and have my pizza, and then go on the practice board,” said Littler, also known for celebrating his victories with a post-match kebab.
Bellingham’s late goal gives 10-man Real Madrid comeback win at Valencia
- Luka Modric’s 85th minute equalizer and Bellingham’s stoppage time winner ensured that Madrid avoided back-to-back defeats for the first time since 2019
- Fourth-tier club Pontevedra dispatched high-flying La Liga side Mallorca 3-0 to move into the last 16 of the Copa del Rey
MADRID: Jude Bellingham missed a penalty but scored a late winner and Vinicius Jr. was sent off as 10-man Real Madrid fought back in the most dramatic of fashions to beat Valencia 2-1 and return to the top of La Liga on Friday.
Luka Modric’s 85th minute equalizer and Bellingham’s stoppage time winner ensured that Madrid avoided back-to-back defeats in La Liga for the first time since 2019.
The win took it to 43 points, two above city rivals Atletico, albeit having played a game more.
The match at the Mestalla pitted second from bottom against second from top and it was the struggling home side which took the lead after 27 minutes. Hugo Duro stabbed the ball into the empty net after it came back off the post.
Madrid came into the game more in the second half but it looked like it would be a frustrating night for the capital club.
Kylian Mbappe won a penalty after 55 minutes but Bellingham’s shot hit the post and moments later the Frenchman himself saw a goal disallowed after a video review.
Things got worse for Real with 11 minutes remaining when Vinicius pushed goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski and the referee, after a long video review, showed the Brazilian a red card.
However, Real are never out of it and Carlo Ancelotti’s late changes turned the game around.
Modric came on in the 80th and it took the 39-year-old Croatian just five minutes to make his mark, dancing through a sea of defenders and poking home the equalizer.
Even with a man less there was a sense of inevitability as Real pushed for a winner, and five minutes into added time Bellingham made up for his earlier miss.
Valencia defender Hugo Guillamon seemed to slip and lay the ball into the path of the advancing Englishman, who made no mistake with only the keeper to beat.
Even then the drama was not over. Valencia deserved to take something from the match and Luis Roja almost got an equalizer with the last kick of the game. He watched in agony as his long-range shot came back off the post.
Valencia stayed second from bottom.
Pontevedra slay another giant in Copa
Earlier, fourth-tier club Pontevedra dispatched high-flying La Liga side Mallorca 3-0 to move into the last 16 of the Copa del Rey.
Dalisson de Almeida scored from almost 40 yards to make it 1-0 after 21 minutes, Yelko Pino doubled the lead with a cracking volley four minutes into the second half, and then Rufo rounded off the perfect night with 18 minutes left after a shocking defensive lapse.
The Galician side knocked out Villarreal in the last round.
In the night’s other games, top-tier clubs Rayo Vallecano and Getafe progressed.
Getafe needed extra time to beat second-division Granada in southern Spain. After a goalless match, Borja Mayoral got the only goal in the 93rd minute to put the visitor through.
Rayo Vallecano made swift work of second-tier Racing Ferrol. Alfonso Espino and Jorge de Frutos put the visitors 2-0 up before halftime and Frutos grabbed a third on the hour mark.
Alvaro Gimenez scored a late consolation for the home side.
AC Milan rally past Juventus to meet Inter in Italian SuperCup final
- AC Milan were transformed after the break in the second semi-final of the four-team tournament in Saudi Arabia
RIYADH: AC Milan came from behind to beat Juventus 2-1 on Friday and set up a showdown with city rivals Inter Milan in the Italian Super Cup final in Riyadh.
Sergio Conceicao took charge of his first game as AC Milan coach after he was appointed to replace Paulo Fonseca earlier this week.
But Kenan Yildiz fired Juventus ahead after 21 minutes after poor defending from Theo Hernandez allowed the Turkish midfielder beat Mike Maignan in the Milan goal.
AC Milan were transformed after the break in the second semi-final of the four-team tournament in Saudi Arabia, which is staging the SuperCup for the third year in a row.
Christian Pulisic pulled Milan level from the penalty spot after 71 minutes before under pressure Juventus defender Federico Gatti inadvertently turned into his own goal four minutes later.
AC Milan will try to win the Italian SuperCup for the eighth time and first since 2016 on Monday, against three-time defending champions Inter who dominated Atalanta 2-0 on Thursday thanks to a double from Dutch international Denzel Dumfries.
South African Lategan wins Dakar Rally prologue in Saudi Arabia
- Lategan, driving a Toyota Hilux, finished a second clear of Sweden’s Mattias Ekstrom over the 29km run in Bisha
- The sixth edition of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia will stretch nearly 8,000 kilometers across 12 stages
BISHA: South Africa’s Henk Lategan won the Dakar Rally prologue in the cars category Friday, kicking off the sixth edition in Saudi Arabia that will stretch nearly 8,000 kilometers across 12 stages.
Lategan, driving a Toyota Hilux, finished a second clear of Sweden’s Mattias Ekstrom over the 29km run in Bisha, with five-time Dakar champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar third.
The prologue times do not count toward the overall standings but those in the top 10 get to choose their starting position for the first stage on Saturday, a 499km route featuring 413km of timed sectors.
Sebastien Loeb came seventh but Carlos Sainz, who became the oldest winner of the race last year at the age of 61, was down in 25th place.
Loeb, a nine-time world rally champion, is chasing a first Dakar crown in his ninth attempt.
Australian Daniel Sanders was the quickest of the motorbikes on his KTM, ahead of Botswana’s Ross Branch and Spanish teenager Edgar Canet.
Reigning champion Ricky Brabec of Honda came home fourth fastest.
A 434-strong colorful caravan made up of cars, bikes, quads and trucks set out from Bisha for the opening prologue.
Twelve stages now await the 778 competitors from 72 countries, with a January 17 finish in Shubaytah, on the border of the United Arab Emirates.
This year’s route includes a second 48-hour stage in the Empty Quarter, a vast sea of sand with dunes as far as the eye can see.
The 47th running of the event may be called the Dakar, but the last time the Senegalese capital actually hosted the finish was way back in 2007 — the security situation in Mauritania forced the 2008 cancelation.
It moved then to South America until finding a new home in Saudi Arabia since 2020.
UFC lineup announced for February as part of Riyadh Season
- GEA chair Turki Alalshikh reveals fights will take place at anb Arena on Feb. 1
RIYADH: Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, announced the lineup of fights for the global event organized as part of Riyadh Season in collaboration with UFC, the world’s premier MMA organization.
The event, with tickets now available on the webook platform, will be held at the anb Arena in Riyadh on Feb. 1, 2025, and is expected to feature exciting matchups between some of the world’s top fighters.
In the bouts, Dagestani Said Nurmagomedov (18-3-0) will face Brazilian Vinicius “Lok Dog” Oliveira (21-3-0), while Tajikistani Muhammad Naimov (11-3-0) will take on Australian Kain Ofli (12-3-1).
In another bout, American Terrance McKinney (15-7-0) will meet Danish Damir Hadzovic (14-7-0), and Austrian Bogdan Grad (14-2-0) will clash with Brazilian Lucas Alexander (8-4-0).
The French fighter Fares Ziam (16-4-0) faces the American Mike Davis (11-2-0) in a lightweight bout.
In a standout bout, Egyptian Hamdy Abdelwahab (5-0-0) will face American Jamal Pogues (11-4-0), while Bahraini Shamil Gaziev (13-1-0) will go up against American Thomas Petersen (9-2-0) in a tough fight.
The excitement continues as Americans Jordan Leavitt (11-3-0) and Abdul Kareem Al-Silwadi (15-4-0) face off, and Russian Sergei Pavlovich (18-3-0) takes on Surinamese Jairzinho “Bigi Boy” Rozenstruik (15-5-0).
Dagestani Ikram Aliskerov (15-2-0) will also meet Brazilian Andre Muniz (24-6-0) in a decisive battle.
Previously, Alalshikh announced the main event, featuring former middleweight world champion Israel Adesanya (24-4-0), known as “The Last Stylebender,” against rising star Nassourdine Imavov (15-4-0), ranked fourth globally.
Israel Adesanya, the Nigerian-born New Zealander, is one of the biggest names in UFC history, returning to the ring after his loss to current middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis earlier this year. He aims to regain his form with a decisive victory over Imavov.
Meanwhile, Imavov, the French fighter of Dagestani origin, seeks to maintain his momentum following a significant win over Brendan Allen. Known for his well-rounded skills and powerful knockouts, Imavov hopes to topple a legend like Adesanya in a spectacular night.
The co-main event will feature another thrilling middleweight clash between undefeated Shara Magomedov (15-0-0), a Dagestani fighter ranked 14th globally, and Michael “Venom” Page (22-3-0), the English fighter known for his kickboxing prowess. Magomedov seeks to strengthen his ranking, while Page aims to return to his winning ways.
