LONDON: Tyson Fury looked as stunned as everyone else inside Wembley Stadium after witnessing Daniel Dubois dismantle Anthony Joshua in the latest shake-up of boxing’s heavyweight division.
Except Fury had other things on his mind.
“Listen, that’s cost me 150 million,” Fury, scratching his head, shouted to a friend at ringside on Saturday night.
Maybe Fury vs. Joshua — the long-awaited heavyweight fight that boxing officials had reportedly been planning — might never happen.
Instead, it’s Dubois, another British fighter, who has muscled his way onto the sport’s top table.
Given his age, he could be there to stay.
The 27-year-old Dubois might have the boxing world at his feet after a brutal fifth-round knockout of Joshua that not only legitimized his status as the IBF titleholder but made plenty sit up and take notice.
That included Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, currently the two major powers among the heavyweights who are preparing for a rematch in the Kingdom in December and were seen joking around at ringside on Saturday. Usyk won their first fight in May to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 2000, but vacated his IBF belt in June.
The wider plan was for Joshua to take on Fury — reportedly there was an agreement on a double-header for the sum Fury was talking about — or to fight Usyk for a third time, having already lost twice to the Ukrainian.
Now Joshua, outclassed by Dubois, looks to be out of the picture. Dubois is the main in waiting.
As for a potential Fury-Dubois fight, Frank Warren — the British promoter who represents both boxers — said that would put him in a “very, very awkward position.”
“It’s not something I would push for,” Warren said. “If there’s an offer made that makes a lot of sense, then that’s up to them.”
More likely, then, is a rematch between Dubois and Usyk, especially if Usyk beats Fury. That would put all belts on the table for another fight for the title of undisputed.
Usyk stopped Dubois in the ninth round when they fought in Poland in August last year, but only after controversially getting time to recover from what was adjudged a low blow by Dubois in the fifth round.
It sent Usyk to the canvas, where he sat against the ropes. Replays showed the punch hitting around Usyk’s belt and Dubois still maintains he was robbed.
“I want to get my rematch,” Dubois said of Usyk, “and put the wrong right.”
There’s video of Usyk and Dubois talking in the ring after their fight in Wroclaw, with Usyk telling his beaten challenger: “Daniel, you young. You can. You can dream.”
Still, Usyk said after the Dubois-Joshua fight that he thought Joshua would win on Saturday.
“For me, it’s a surprise,” said the Ukrainian.
Uysk said he was only thinking about “Tyson Fury and the fight and of my family and preparation” when asked if he wanted to take on Dubois again.
Fury, it seems, has money on his mind, too.
If he loses to Usyk, Fury could still fight Joshua in what would be billed as a grudge match, but it wouldn’t be so appealing and there would be no belts on the line for two fighters now in their mid-to-late 30s.
Joshua’s reputation has been seriously damaged by the way he was beaten up by Dubois, though the guy who has been a walking marketing phenomenon for the past 10 years wants to fight on.
“It’s far from over yet,” Joshua said in a video released on social media platform X. “We’ve done it once, done it twice. Doing it a third time hasn’t been easy but I believe it’s something I can achieve.”
Emulating the likes of Muhammad Ali and Lennox Lewis and becoming a three-time heavyweight champion might be beyond Joshua, though.
Instead, the baton undoubtedly has been passed to Dubois.
Dubois changes perceptions and muscles onto the top table of heavyweights, wants Usyk next
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Dubois changes perceptions and muscles onto the top table of heavyweights, wants Usyk next
- Fury vs. Joshua — the long-awaited heavyweight fight that boxing officials had reportedly been planning — might never happen
Postecoglou ‘hopeful’ Son will return for Spurs against Palace
“Half hopeful that we get Sonny some minutes tomorrow so he’ll be the only one that sort of can come back in,” Postecoglou said
LONDON: Ange Postecoglou says he is “half hopeful” that captain Son Heung-min will return on Sunday as he makes plans for Tottenham’s showdown with Manchester United in the Europa League final.
South Korea international Son, 32, has missed the club’s past seven fixtures with a foot injury, including both legs of Tottenham’s 5-1 aggregate win against Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League semifinals.
“Everyone got through OK the other night. Half hopeful that we get Sonny some minutes tomorrow so he’ll be the only one that sort of can come back in,” Spurs boss Postecoglou said on Saturday.
“I think what we do know about Thursday night, playing on an artificial pitch (in Norway) takes a lot out of the players, it’s fair to say they were sore.”
Defenders Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie are expected to be rested against Palace.
Tottenham are a lowly 16th in the Premier League ahead of their match against Palace — a point and a place below United.
But they reached the semifinals of the League Cup and have a chance to win their first silverware for 17 years in the Europa League.
The Australian will bring up a century of fixtures as Tottenham boss in the Europa League final against United in Bilbao on May 21.
“It’d be a nice little bow there for that 100 and it’s been a really full 100,” he said. “It’s fair to say I’ve experienced just about every emotion in it and hopefully the one main emotion we’re all after will be the joy at the end of it.
“We have had a ridiculous injury-riddled season coupled by the fact we’ve done really well in two competitions and that is 60 games.
“So, it has felt — and certainly for me personally it has felt — like a really, really long season.
“But you just get energy and realize what happened the other night and you’re so close to achieving something special that it all dissipates into the background, so you get the energy you need.”
Chopra postpones javelin meet amid India-Pakistan conflict
- Chopra’s move came after cricket-mad India and Pakistan suspended their elite Twenty20 leagues on Friday
- Neeraj Chopra Classic on May 24, World Athletics Gold category meet, was set to feature host of international names
BENGALURU: India’s Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra has postponed an eponymous javelin event in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru this month after his country and neighbor Pakistan extended their worst fighting in nearly three decades.
The Neeraj Chopra Classic on May 24, a World Athletics Gold category meet, was set to feature a host of international names including Anderson Peters, Julius Yego, Thomas Roehler and Curtis Thompson.
Chopra’s move came after cricket-mad India and Pakistan suspended their elite Twenty20 leagues on Friday in the wake of the ongoing conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
“This decision has been made after careful thought and consultation, with the wellbeing of athletes, stakeholders, and the broader community as the top priority,” Chopra’s team announced on social media on Friday.
“We believe in the unifying power of sport. But, in this critical moment, standing firm with the nation matters most. All our gratitude and thoughts at this point are only with our Armed Forces, who are at the forefront for our nation.”
Chopra said late last month it was “completely out of the question” that rival and Paris Olympics gold medalist Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan would attend the meet following a deadly Islamist militant attack in Indian Kashmir.
The two countries have clashed since India struck multiple locations in Pakistan on Wednesday that it said were “terrorist camps” in retaliation for the attack in Kashmir, in which it said Islamabad was involved.
Pakistan denied the accusation but both countries have exchanged cross-border firing and shelling and sent drones and missiles into each other’s airspace since then, with dozens of people dying in the violence.
Chopra, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, said a revised schedule for his event would be provided in due course.
Yuri Cesar the hero as Shabab Al-Ahli beat Sharjah to take President’s Cup
- A 2-1 win at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium secures UAE league, cup double for Paulo Sousa’s men
DUBAI: Brazilian winger Yuri Cesar emerged as the hero for all-conquering Shabab Al-Ahli as his brace of goals secured a come-from-behind 2-1 President’s Cup final victory against Sharjah and the fourth trophy of an unforgettable campaign.
Paulo Sousa’s troops walked out at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Friday fresh from securing ADNOC Pro League glory with three matches remaining, adding to their UAE-Qatar Challenge Shield and Emaar Super Cup triumphs.
But their latest pursuit of glory got off to a tricky start when UAE utility player Marcus Meloni slotted in an early cross for The Kings, led by Cosmin Olaroiu.
Ex-Flamengo youngster Cesar levelled in stunning fashion deep into first-half injury time with a superb free-kick, before a dizzying solo run and precise low strike from the edge of the penalty box proved decisive just past the hour mark.
Sousa told Abu Dhabi Sports: “Myself and my staff decided to come here (last summer) because we felt we had the ambition from the club, then we built it up. We deserve all these treasures; it was amazing.
“It’s a very difficult team to play (Sharjah). They are really mature; without too many things they create lots of difficulties because they are really compact and determined in individual challenges.”
Under the guidance of Sousa — and including the likes of Iran’s superstar Sardar Azmoun and emerging UAE goalkeeper Hamad Al-Meqbaali in their ranks — Shabab Al-Ahli have been this term’s dominant force. They were only denied a clean domestic sweep after suffering a 2-1 defeat against Al-Jazira in last month’s ADIB Cup showpiece.
Shabab Al-Ahli are now the President’s Cup’s most successful team with 11 titles, one more than Sharjah.
Friday’s clash represented another near miss for their opponents, who are on course to finish a distant second in the top flight.
Gauff holds nerve to join Sabalenka in Italian Open third round
- Reigning Rome champion Alexander Zverev also strolled into the next round, beating Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-2, 6-1 in the last match of the day on center court
- Sinner will make his comeback from a three-month doping ban on Saturday when he takes on Mariano Navone in front of what will be a partisan crowd
ROME: Coco Gauff survived a scare at this year’s Italian Open, coming back from a set down to beat qualifier Victoria Mboko 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 as Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz both cruised through their opening matches.
World No.3 Gauff will play Magda Linette in the third round in Rome after prevailing despite being far from her best in a match which signalled more progress from her up-and-coming opponent.
Canadian Mboko played with a maturity which defied the 153 places separating her from Gauff in the world rankings in a prime-time clash on center court.
The 18-year-old has risen from 333 to 156 since the start of the year and the Foro Italico crowd quickly took to her confident, and powerful play.
Mboko had Gauff on the ropes in the first set, breaking the former US Open winner four times, but eventually gave way to her more experienced opponent who is one of the favorites for overall victory after losing to Sabalenka in the recent Madrid final.
“It was a tough match, Victoria came out playing some tough tennis, I knew she was going to do from watching some of her previous matches,” said Gauff.
“But overall I’m just happy that I was able to step up my game.”
Current world No. 1 Sabalenka swept past Russia’s Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 6-2 in just over an hour.
Sabalenka will play Sofia Kenin in the next round after the American beat another Russian in Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.
The 27-year-old Sabalenka has reached the final of her last four tournaments, winning both in Madrid and in another 1000 series in Miami.
“I know that if I bring my best game and my fight spirit on court, I know that I can win this tournament,” Sabalenka told reporters.
Emma Raducanu got off to a flying start with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Jil Teichmann, a lucky loser who replaced Ekaterina Alexandrova following the Russian’s withdrawal with a shoulder injury.
Alcaraz got past Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 23 minutes in his first match since suffering a thigh injury in his Barcelona Open final defeat to Holger Rune last month.
The Spaniard showed some signs of ring rustiness with 22 unforced errors but saw off Serbian qualifier Lajovic and was positive about his comeback display.
“It was a great performance, a great level, which was surprising for me a little bit but I’m just really happy,” said Alcaraz.
Alcaraz will now face Laslo Djere, a 6-0, 6-3 winner over Alex Michelsen, in the third round as he eyes a potential final with world number one Jannik Sinner in the Italian capital.
Sinner will make his comeback from a three-month doping ban on Saturday when he takes on Mariano Navone in front of what will be a partisan crowd.
Alcaraz later told reporters that he would take it easy on his day off, keep an eye on Sinner’s match and go to watch his friend Patric play for Serie A football club Lazio against Juventus at the nearby Stadio Olimpico.
Reigning Rome champion Alexander Zverev also strolled into the next round, beating Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-2, 6-1 in the last match of the day on center court.
Home hope Lorenzo Musetti opened his week, his first in the top 10 of the men’s world rankings, with a 6-3, 6-2 win over qualifier Otto Virtanen.
Musetti, losing finalist in Monte Carlo last month, has the USA’s Brandon Nakashima next and could face Daniil Medvedev in the last 16 after the 2023 Rome champion easily saw off Britain’s Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-2 to set up a third-round clash with Alexei Popyrin.
Ninth-seed Rune will play Corentin Moutet, who went through after fellow Frenchman Ugo Humbert withdrew injured, in the third round after winning a thrilling match with Francisco Comesana 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
World No. 1 Nelly Korda grabs share of lead at Mizuho Americas Open
- Similar to Scottie Scheffler on the men’s side, Korda had a white-hot 2024 but is still searching for her best play this year
- Canada’s Brooke M. Henderson, a two-time major champion and a former top-10 player in the world rankings, missed the cut by one shot after a tough closing nine
REUTERS JERSEY CITY, N.J.: Nelly Korda used a late birdie spurt to claw her way into a tie for the lead at the Mizuho Americas Open on Friday in Jersey City, N.J.
The world No. 1 shot her second straight round of 68 at Liberty National Golf Club to move to 8-under-par 136 for the event, tied with South Korean Somi Lee, who shot a 67 Friday, and Andrea Lee, who also carded a 68.
The trio is a stroke ahead of six players tied at 7 under: Stephanie Kyriacou of Australia (69 Friday), Spaniards Julia Lopez Ramirez and Carlota Ciganda (both 70), Jenny Bae (70), France’s Celine Boutier (71) and Thailand’s Jeeno Thitikul (73).
Similar to Scottie Scheffler on the men’s side, Korda had a white-hot 2024 but is still searching for her best play this year. Scheffler did not win on the PGA Tour until last week at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson; Korda is looking for her first title of 2025.
She started her day on the back nine and erased two birdies on par-3 holes with back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 17 and 18. After a birdie at the first, Korda made three more over her last five (Nos. 5, 6 and 8) to make a late move up the leaderboard.
“After making two bogeys in a row you (need) to reset and just know that you have nine more holes to go and there is some opportunities out there even with the tricky conditions,” Korda said. “So just had a little bit of a mental reset and it worked.”
Somi Lee was 7 under through her first 15 holes to get as low as 10 under for the event, but she made consecutive missteps at Nos. 7 and 8 to come back to the pack.
She and Korda are tied with Andrea Lee, who played earlier in the day and posted a simple, bogey-free round with four birdies to set the clubhouse lead at 8 under.
“I was kind of mentally preparing for the worst today,” Andrea Lee said. “The radar didn’t look great for the rain and it was dumping on us pretty hard for probably about 12, 13 holes honestly.
“So I knew that I just had to stay really patient out there, know that fairways and greens and pars were a good score, and stay really positive.”
Thitikul, the No. 2-ranked player in the world, led after the first round and had three birdies in her first four holes Friday to move to 11 under. She came undone the rest of the way with four bogeys and no additional birdies, including a water ball as her day wound down.
Tied for 10th just two back at 6 under are Kristen Gillman (69), Yealimi Noh (71) and Australia’s Hira Naveed (69).
Canada’s Brooke M. Henderson, a two-time major champion and a former top-10 player in the world rankings, missed the cut by one shot after a tough closing nine. She made four birdies through her first nine holes to get to 3 under, then had just one birdie and four bogeys — including on her finishing hole, the ninth — the rest of the way to drop to even par, one below the cut line.
Other notables to miss the cut included Sweden’s Madelene Sagstrom (2 over) and 2023 champion Rose Zhang (4 over).
