List of All Articles with Tag 'sons'

Anthony Joshua is confident a potential fight with Deontay Wilder will happen soon and insists he continues to carry the heavyweight division. Joshua claimed the 26th victory of his professional career on Saturday with a thunderous seventh-round stoppage of last-minute opponent Robert Helenius at London’s O2 Arena. While it was a spectacular finish, Joshua faced boos during the third round before jeers returned by the halfway mark following another pedestrian round. The sold-out crowd were up on their feet after one minute and 27 seconds of round seven, but this contest was always a stepping stone to an eagerly-anticipated clash with ex-WBC belt-holder Wilder. I don't feel pressure any more. Remember I am not a heavyweight champion, I leave that to the other guys. I am just a contender trying to make my way. Anthony Joshua Discussions between the camps of Joshua and Wilder continue to take place with Saudi Arabia’s promotional company Skills Challenge looking to host the bout between former champions in January or February. “Any time is a good time to fight. It could have been Wilder eight years ago or Wilder now. It don’t matter,” Joshua insisted. “It is only a fight and boxing wins so roll on really. There is no worry to me when it is. “I am just happy we can get the fight going and I think people appreciate that I am doing my best to keep heavyweight boxing on the map. “Yeah, we’re carrying heavyweight boxing. I have believed that for years I have played my part in bringing entertainment to heavyweight boxing. “That is why you are asking about the Wilder fight. I am not comparing what it could have been, I’m just happy that we’re getting this fight under way potentially soon because it does great for boxing I think. “We’ll look back in years to come and think, ‘look at that era, that guy fought everyone,’ and that’s what is important. Not protecting you zero. It is about fighting the best and giving your best.” There is no guessing who Joshua’s final sentence was aimed at with fellow Briton Tyson Fury set to take on UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Riyadh on October 28. Joshua would have celebrated a decade in the pro ranks that month and despite not holding any belts for nearly two years, he is confident his team can strike a deal with Wilder’s camp. He said: “I don’t feel pressure any more. Remember I am not a heavyweight champion, I leave that to the other guys. I am just a contender trying to make my way. “It is not easy to get these fights over the line, he (Wilder) didn’t fight Andy Ruiz Jr. It is not easy to get these fights over but I have got full trust in my team. “They’ve taken me a long way to become unified two-time heavyweight champion of the world. We collected belt after belt. Four of the five major belts. IBO, IBF, WBO, WBA. “We collected all them belts, defended them multiply times, done great business, stadium fights, fought in American, Saudi. “My team are amazing so I put all my faith in them to deliver. We’ve just got to hope the other team play ball.” Joshua was quick to credit trainer Derrick James for his first knock-out victory in three years. In only their second fight together and after dealing with Dillian Whyte’s late withdrawal, James reiterated to his tutelage to keep “shooting the right” and it helped to produce the money shot before midnight in England’s capital. While frustration had started to grow over Joshua failing to consistently engage with Helenius, who had suffered a vicious first-round loss to Wilder in New York last October, the Finchley boxer was comfortable with his tactics. He questioned: “Are they booing me or booing Helenius? That is the question. “I think they don’t understand it is competitive boxing. We are trying to shut each others passes down. “It is a game of chest. When you are playing, it is the most interesting and thinking man’s sport but from the outside chest is a boring game. “Why am I going to go in there and trade from round one? “We are building confidence in myself, which is important and I have confidence in my team. “It was a late replacement and Helenius’ reputation was damaged due to the fact he was knocked out in a round, but he’s a very good operator. “He was presenting certain obstacles for me to get over and Derrick guided me to that knock-out. “I am just happy to get the win because I always know after one win it can lead onto something spectacular and I believe we’re onto something big.” Read More Anthony Joshua eyes Deontay Wilder fight after Helenius knock out Conor McGregor calls out KSI for bare-knuckle fight after Anthony Joshua wins by KO Anthony Joshua takes swig of Conor McGregor’s Irish stout after Helenius knockout Anthony Joshua shares ringside footage of brutal Robert Helenius knockout Joshua vs Helenius LIVE: Boxing result and reaction after brutal KO Anthony Joshua is back and reveals defiant edge needed to take down Deontay Wilder

Mauricio Pochettino’s return to the Premier League didn’t start with a win, but there was plenty to like for the Argentine manager in his first game in charge of Chelsea

The new Premier League season kicked off with plenty of talking points. Mohamed Salah got stroppy, Pep Guardiola became angry, Tottenham began life without Harry Kane and Newcastle topped the embryonic table with a five-star show. Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the key issues on the opening weekend. Salah strop After the battle for Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia came the scrap for points between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. Honours were shared in a 1-1 draw that saw Liverpool forward Salah show his frustration after being substituted 13 minutes from time. Salah ripped off his tapes bit by bit and threw them to the ground and did not even acknowledge boss Jurgen Klopp before making his way to his seat in the Liverpool dug out. Mauricio Pochettino – in charge of Chelsea for the first time – and Klopp renewed a rivalry that began in 2015 and includes a Champions League final four years ago and now they will joust in the transfer market again to strengthen their respective midfields. Life after Kane Tottenham fans saw a glimpse of their future without Harry Kane at Brentford – and it promises to be a roller-coaster ride under new boss Ange Postecoglou. Record Spurs scorer Kane was already settling into life at Bayern Munich having made his debut for the German giants on Saturday night as Tottenham began their new era with a 2-2 draw. How Spurs supporters would have relished Kane linking up with James Maddison, the stylish summer signing from Leicester who set up both Tottenham goals. While Richarlison fills Kane’s number nine role, Postecoglou must tighten up a defence that was porous last season and again showed signs of susceptibility in west London. A Pep talk, but same again from Haaland Pep Guardiola showed a decent turn of foot to make his way across the Turf Moor pitch at half-time for an animated chat with star striker Erling Haaland. The Manchester City manager was annoyed that Haaland was keen to run behind the Burnley defence and risk losing possession as the seconds ticked away to the interval with the defending champions leading 2-0. While some observers complained Guardiola – brushing aside a cameraman determined to capture the conversation between player and manager – might have been better served making his point in the dressing room, it did little to concern the scoring sensation. Haaland was back in the old routine with a clinical double inside 36 minutes and who would bet against the Norwegian eclipsing the 52 goals he scored last season as City won a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble? Dream debuts Newcastle fans needed only six minutes to find out what all the fuss over Sandro Tonali was about. The Italy international joined from AC Milan this summer for a reported £50million-plus fee and gave a commanding midfield display in the 5-1 demolition of Aston Villa. Tonali made an instant impression by volleying home Anthony Gordon’s sixth-minute cross and dovetailed superbly with Brazilian pair Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton with his athleticism, passing and vision standing out. Harvey Barnes came off the bench to also score on debut following his summer switch from Leicester and it seems set to be another exciting campaign on Tyneside after last season’s fourth-placed finish. Turnstiles, sanitation and delays There has been loads of chat – and angst from some players and managers – over how long games are going to take this season with a directive for referees to add the exact time lost in goal celebrations, substitutions or injuries to the stoppage time. But delayed kick-offs because of turnstiles and water supply issues? Hardly becoming of the so-called best league in the world. Arsenal’s season kicked off in embarrassing fashion as a technical glitch prevented fans passing through the turnstiles, forcing a 30-minute delay for their home game against Nottingham Forest. Just over 24 hours later, the Brentford-Tottenham game was delayed by six minutes as a problem with the water supply meant toilets could not be used at the stadium. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lilia Vu wins second major as Charley Hull comes up short despite stunning eagle Ange Postecoglou praises Tottenham’s resilience following Harry Kane’s departure Adrian Lam: Sky is the limit for Challenge Cup winning Leigh Leopards

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Manchester City showed why they remain the team to beat on the Premier League's return this weekend as the English champions cruised to...

Mark Zuckerberg has said he is moving on from a rumoured cage fight with Elon Musk, claiming the Tesla founder “isn’t serious”. The rival billionaire tech bosses seemingly agreed to a brawl in June when Mr Musk tweeted that he was “up for a cage fight”. Mr Zuckerberg, who manages Facebook and Instagram, took a screenshot of Mr Musk’s tweet, replying “send me location”. However, on Sunday he said on social media platform Threads:”I think we can all agree Elon isn’t serious and it’s time to move on. “I offered a real date. Dana White (UFC boss) offered to make this a legit competition for charity. “Elon won’t confirm a date, then says he needs surgery, and now asks to do a practice round in my backyard instead. “If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me. Otherwise, time to move on. I’m going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously.” Mr Musk, owner of social media platform X, formerly named Twitter, appeared to suggest the fight would be held in an “epic location” in Italy. He outlined streaming options and an ancient setting for the proposed event, claiming he had spoken to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Tensions have been high between the two tech billionaires’ companies after the launch of Threads, a text-based conversation app, by Mr Zuckerberg’s Meta in July. Twitter sent a cease-and-desist letter to Mr Zuckerberg after the launch, claiming Meta had made “unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property”. Mr Zuckerberg is trained in mixed martial arts, posting about completing his first jiu jitsu tournament earlier this year. Mr Musk said last week he was training for the fight by lifting weights. He wrote on X: “Don’t have time to work out, so I just bring them to work.” Read More Elon Musk reveals more dramatic details of fight against Mark Zuckerberg UFC boss in talks to stage Musk vs Zuckerberg at Roman Colosseum Zuckerberg says he is ‘ready today’ but ‘not holding breath’ for cage fight with Musk Mark Zuckerberg reveals his 4,000 calorie diet and large McDonald’s order Meta’s Twitter rival Threads sees ‘steep drop in daily users by 80 per cent’ Vote to empower autonomous ‘robotaxis’ from Cruise and Waymo divides San Francisco

An entire family including a newborn baby girl and her 12-year-old brother were among seven people killed during intense Russian shelling in a village in southern Kherson on Sunday. Russian shells hit the village of Shiroka Balka, on the banks of the Dnieper River, and killed a family that included a husband, wife, 12-year-old boy and 23-day-old baby girl, Ukraine’s Internal Affairs Ministry said. Another resident was also killed, as well as two men in the neighbouring village of Stanislav. Ukraine’s interior minister Igor Klymenko said the shells hit the family’s home in Shiroka Balka, adding: "Terrorists must be stopped. They must be stopped by force. They don't understand anything else." A photo shared by Mr Klymenko on Telegram showed plumes of smoke rising from the family's home in the aftermath of the attack. Kherson was one of four regions in Ukraine that Russian president Vladimir Putin claimed to have annexed last year. But the Ukrainian forces are said to be making gains against the Russian invaders. Ukrainian military officials this weekend claimed that Kyiv's forces had made progress in the south, with some success near a key village in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and capturing other unspecified territories. Meanwhile, Kyiv’s forces are trying to pierce Russian lines in the western parts of the Donetsk region, where waves of Ukrainian fighters were used to gain a foothold to the east of the town of Staromaiorske, according to a Russian-installed official in parts of Zaporizhzhia controlled by Moscow. The official, Vladimir Rogov, also claimed there had been intense fighting south of Velyka Novosilka as Ukrainian troops try to pierce Russian lines to push down to the coast on the Sea of Azov. Mr Rogov said: "The enemy managed to enter and gain a foothold in the northern part of Urozhaine after two weeks of the heaviest and bloodiest battles for this settlement." He added that Russian soldiers still controlled the southern part of Urozhaine and that Ukrainian forces were clearly aiming to take control of the town of Staromlynivka further south. Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in June, attempting to retake swathes of territory captured by Russia in the south and east of the country. It has so far recaptured several villages in the south and some territory around the ruined city of Bakhmut in the east. Meanwhile, a Russian warship on Sunday fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea as it made its way northwards. This is the first time Russia has fired on merchant shipping beyond Ukraine since exiting a landmark UN-brokered grain deal last month. Russia in July halted participation in the Black Sea grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export agricultural produce via the Black Sea and Moscow cautioned that it deemed all ships heading to Ukrainian waters to be potentially carrying weapons. Russia said in a statement that its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had fired automatic weapons on the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel after the ship's captain failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection. Russia said the vessel was making its way towards the Ukrainian port of Izmail. Refinitiv shipping data showed the ship was currently near the coast of Bulgaria and heading towards the Romanian port of Sulina. "To forcibly stop the vessel, warning fire was opened from automatic weapons," the Russian defence ministry said, adding that its forces boarded the vessel with the help of a Ka-29 helicopter. "After the inspection group completed its work on board, the Sukru Okan continued on its way to the port of Izmail," the defence ministry said. A Turkish defence ministry official said he had heard an incident had taken place involving a ship heading for Romania. A spokesman for Ukraine's defence ministry said officials had no details about the incident yet but that it was "clearly another hostile act" by Russia. Meanwhile, Ukraine's General Staff claimed that panic is growing among the Russian forces amid a growing number of desertions, the Kyiv Post reported. It claimed Moscow military officials conducting house-to-house searches for deserters in Hornostaivka in the Kherson region. Drinking and drug use among newly-conscripted troops has also increased with individuals leaving their positions and hiding in abandoned buildings, it said. Read More Russia fires warning shots at ‘Ukraine-bound’ international cargo ship in Black Sea 7 killed in Ukraine's Kherson region, including a 23-day-old baby girl Yes, inflation is down. No, the Inflation Reduction Act doesn't deserve the credit The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Liverpool's best and worst players in their 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.

American golfer Lilia Vu has won the Women’s British Open to claim her second major title of 2023

Joe Biden continues to face prominent calls to step aside from voices in his own party, as the 80-year-old president vows that he will win reelection in 2024. In a normal election year, any incumbent president would coast to victory in their party’s nominating contests, and next year is likely to be no exception. But Mr Biden is facing more criticism than most as many Democrats openly fret whether the oldest-ever president to be sworn into office will be able to be an effective standard-bearer for his party next year. One of those Democrats sounding the alarm bells is Rep Dean Phillips, a congressman from Minnesota who has been the only elected member of his party in the House or Senate to openly call for Mr Biden to face a serious primary challenge. As of now, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is not planning to host debates for the 2024 primary season, meaning that the president will never face any of his challengers onstage. Mr Phillips pointed out, in a Sunday interview with Chuck Todd on NBC’s Meet the Press, that while Mr Biden is generally leading nationally against opponents like Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, he trails those same candidates or ties them statistically in some polling of key swing states, such as Arizona and Michigan. The “majority” of Americans, he said, want Mr Biden to “pass the torch” and let other Democrats have a real competition for the 2024 primary — even as he attempted to back away from the idea that he himself would mount a bid. The congressman suggested that the candidate to take on Republicans next year should be a governor from the midwest or the Rust Belt, nodding as Mr Todd named Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer and his own home state’s Tim Walz. He also named JB Pritzker, governor of Illinois. “Some people have asked me that I not use their names, because of this institutional fear that it might impact you down the road,” he noted. “[But] this is the time to meet the moment.” The mention of Mr Pritzker as a potential candidate by Mr Phillips is significant, given that the governor has been spotted in early primary states and is viewed by many Democrats and political analysts alike as a politician with both national aspirations and the credibility to mount a real bid. The billionaire governor has won many fans in the party with his record in the state and has the financial means to bankroll a national bid, which would put him at an immediate advantage over possible rivals. One figure that Mr Phillips is notably not putting his support behind is Senator Joe Manchin, the conservative West Virginia Democrat who is rumoured to be considering exiting the Democratic Party entirely, following the footsteps (or coattails) of Sen Kyrsten Sinema. Mr Manchin is also known to be considering launching an independent bid for the presidency should he make the jump to leave the party, and would likely do so with the backing of No Labels, a group of rabblerousing centrists that have been threatening to support a third-party challenger for months. Mr Biden’s polling woes in key swing states have worried some Democrats who see a repeat of 2016 on the horizon; for months, Hillary Clinton led Donald Trump in national polling only to be undone in key swing states where her campaign had spent little to no effort to be competitive. Numerous surveys of the 2024 field have indicated that a slight majority of Democrats want Mr Biden to step aside and open up the field for younger competitors. But those same polls also indicate that he holds a massive lead over the only Democrats who have announced bids so far, author Marianne Williamson and Robert F Kennedy, known for his activism against medical authorities. Read More Ted Cruz rails against Hunter Biden special counsel appointment that he requested Biden and House Democrats hope to make curbing 'junk fees' a winning issue in 2024 ‘You know the answer’: Trump mocked for sarcastic response to 2020 election interference question

American Lilia Vu sealed her second major title of the year with a dominant six-shot victory over Charley Hull at the...

College football rankings of all 10 FBS conferences for the 2023 season.We are just under two weeks away from the start of college football.The 2023 college football season figures to be one of the most exciting in recent memory. Hanging over all of it, though, is the specter of conference r...