/ @lockedoncollegefootball  

The WBC recently approved Oleksandr Usyk’s title defence against Rico Verhoeven but ordered the Ukrainian to face interim champion Agit Kabayel next.

Usyk will face kickboxing star Verhoeven in Egypt this May, with the contest originally thought to be for a commemorative WBC belt but later sanctioned as a legitimate world title bout. The WBC has received backlash for the decision, given the Dutch kickboxing champion has just had one professional boxing match and does not feature in the world rankings.

President Mauricio Sulaiman has guaranteed that Kabayel’s well-earned shot will be next up, but Usyk’s most recent interview, in which he revealed his planned final three fights before retirement, made no mention of the German heavyweight.

With the two-time undisputed champion looking to face Verhoeven, the winner of Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois and Tyson Fury, it appears he plans on ignoring the WBC order and risks being stripped of the green and gold belt.

Should Usyk manage to keep hold of his IBF and WBA belts – far from guaranteed as neither sanctioning body has commented on the Verhoeven bout – and negotiate with the winner of WBO champion Wardley vs Dubois, he may lobby for the WBC to allow the undisputed contest to trump his mandatory challenge and be allowed to keep the belt.

That would be a hammer blow to Kabayel, who has held the interim belt since February 2025 with a win over Zhilei Zhang. He has since defended against Damian Knyba in Germany, drawing a packed arena to move to 27-0 with 19 knockouts.

While Walsh is a serial winner, lining up alongside her on Sunday will be another of Chelsea’s statement signings from 2025, Alyssa Thompson.

Like her experienced team-mate, 21-year-old Thompson also told BBC Sport of her trepidation when first arriving at Kingsmeadow.

“I had low expectations for myself because I was scared about being in England, away from everyone I knew,” said the USA forward. “I didn’t know if people would like me.

“It was daunting because of the calibre of players at Chelsea.”

She has impressed for Bompastor’s side this season, scoring six times in the WSL and providing a threat with her searing place and clever movement.

However, despite the Blues’ outlay in the past 14 months – they also briefly broke the women’s transfer world record to acquire centre-back Naomi Girma in January 2025 – results have taken a downturn.

Not that Thompson is accepting this.

“Winning at Chelsea is written in the DNA,” Thompson said. “That’s why people come here and one of the reasons I did. It’s a huge part of our culture.

“When you put on the Chelsea jersey, you know what you have to bring. No-one has told me that but I feel it from the team.

“It’s unspoken in the locker room.”

Thompson has enjoyed her time on international break, named player of the tournament in the SheBelieves Cup where USA won their three games against Argentina, Canada and Colombia.

Before going away, Chelsea knocked Sunday’s opponents Manchester United out of the FA Cup in extra time and this game will be a rematch of last season’s FA Cup final, also won by Bompastor’s side.

“I’m so excited,” Thompson added. “I’ve never won a senior trophy!”

Whether or not the SheBelieves Cup now counts as silverware in her eyes, Thompson will hope to be celebrating again on Sunday.

Chelsea’s intimidating record of 15 wins and just one defeat in 18 games against Manchester United puts history, at least, on her side.

The trainer Ciaron Maher is appealing for jockey Jamie Spencer from the UK to take over the ride on Light Infantry Man at the Caulfield track.

Set for the Group 2 Peter Young Stakes (1800m) on Saturday, Light Infantry Man has prompted Maher to connect with Spencer on whether he can ride the gelding.

Back in the UK, Spencer was Light Infantry Man’s go-to jockey and journeyed to Australia in 2022 for the gelding’s Golden Eagle effort at Rosehill.

Post-Golden Eagle, the gelding returned to Britain, where Spencer sustained their collaboration until Light Infantry Man’s Australian return for the 2023 King Charles III Stakes at Randwick.

That time Zac Purton rode, joined by Australian pilots like Jason Collett, Craig Williams, Mark Zahra, John Allen, Blake Shinn, James McDonald, Chad Schofield, and Ethan Brown who have since piloted the gelding here.

Only McDonald and Brown, local to Australia, have notched wins aboard Light Infantry Man, with Brown’s two Group 1 successes including the previous year’s Australian Cup (2000m) conducted at Flemington.

Brown and Zahra face suspensions, McDonald heads to Sydney for weekend mounts, leading Maher to contact Spencer about availability.

“Ethan Brown’s suspended, Mark Zahra’s suspended, so I was talking to Jamie Spencer,” Maher said.

“I’ve still got to confirm that, but he knows the horse quite well.

“He rode the horse out here in the Golden Eagle and in a lot of Group 1 races in Europe, so it would be good if he came out, but we just need to firm that up.

“He is a quirky horse, and Ethan obviously gets on very well with him.

“He came through his first-up run in great order. He’s feeling great and doing everything right.

“It looks a nice race for him at weight-for-age over the 1800 metres.”

Check betting sites for competitive racing odds on the Peter Young Stakes.

Gautam Gambhir‘s tenure as head coach has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride for Team India. Under his leadership, India endured the lows of losing home series against New Zealand and South Africa, but also reached the highs of clinching two ICC titles. This achievement sets Gambhir apart from previous coaches, as none before him managed to guide Team India to such heights in such a short span of time. Gambhir, who took over the reins from Rahul Dravid after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2024, recently opened up about how he was appointed as India’s head coach.

Before joining the national setup, Gambhir served as the mentor of IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders during the 2024 season.

Speaking to ANI, Gambhir recalled how, before KKR’s IPL clash against the Mumbai Indians in Mumbai that year, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah called him early in the morning with an offer he “could not say no to.” The former India opener revealed that he initially felt he wasn’t ready to take on the role of head coach, despite having prior mentoring experience with both the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and KKR.

“We were playing an IPL game in Mumbai. KKR vs MI and it was Jay Shah who called me. He actually called me early in the morning. He said that I have to give you an offer and you cannot say no to me. I said, what? He said, you have to be the head coach (of Team India). And at that time, honestly, I was not even ready. It was a massive surprise for me. I think being the head coach of the Indian team is an honour. It is a privilege because not many people get that opportunity to go back in the dressing room and wear that India jersey again and do something special for the country,” said Gambhir on ANI Podcast.

The former batter revealed that when Team India lost the Test series to NZ and ended their 12-year-long unbeaten run at home, it was Jay Shah who encouraged him to “stay strong.”

“I think I have gone through a lot of low moments in my tenure as well, which was always expected because, whether it was getting beaten by New Zealand at home or getting beaten by South Africa at home, which I normally do not forget, not many people actually called me after that. I remember the only time someone called me was Jay Shah. Because I remember when we lost a game against New Zealand in Mumbai, i was going back to the airport and I got a call from him. And obviously, he told me to stay strong. He told me that he’s there with me during that hour,” he said.

(With ANI Inputs)

After last year’s 11-2 campaign, Utah football has played 119 FBS seasons, dating back to 1905.

Overall, according to Sports-Reference.com, the Utes have compiled a 704–468–30 ^{(.591) record as an FBS program through the 2025 season.}

Since the program’s initial season, Utah has appeared in 27 bowl games, winning 18, while securing 26 conference championships.

Utah is credited by some with an unclaimed National Championship after its undefeated 2008 season, and has produced 13 consensus First Team All-America players.

The Utes begin their 120th FBS season in the Big 12 with momentum under new head coach Morgan Scalley, looking to continue its winning ways.

Former Team India head coach Gary Kirsten recalled working with star all-rounder Hardik Pandya during his stint with the Gujarat Titans (GT). The pair enjoyed a lot of success together after winning the title in their very first season in 2022, followed by a run into the finals, the very next year.

Gary Kirsten was named GT’s mentor right after their inception, while Hardik Pandya was named captain. The team enjoyed a dominant run in the league phase, finishing at the top of the table after losing only four matches.

The IPL 2022 season was crucial for Hardik Pandya as he made a massive statement with his exploits as both captain and player. The all-rounder had been dropped from the side after the disastrous T20 World Cup 2021 campaign, with Venkatesh Iyer taking over the slot of pace all-rounder.

Hardik Pandya responded by overcoming his injuries, scoring 487 runs with the bat and picking up eight wickets with an economy rate of 7.27.

Gary Kirsten recalled Hardik Pandya’s match-winning impact as a player alongwith his candid demeanor off the field.

“He does have a unique sense of self-belief. When he came to us in 2022, Ashish appointed him captain, and he was kind of in a bit of a strange place in his career at that point. He was in and out of the Indian team, and he needed to prove a point. He is very quirky off the field, and he is quite a funny guy. He actually makes you laugh a lot. He’s got this kind of very flamboyant way about him. almost get the sense that he does not care too much, but he does,” Gary Kirsten told Wisden Cricket.

Hardik Pandya played a vital role for Team India in their recent victorious T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. He scored 217 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 160.74, and picked up nine wickets at an average of 32.33.

“What stood out for me was his ability to do special things with the ball” – Gary Kirsten on Hardik Pandya’s impact as a bowler

After being forced to play as a pure batter for a brief period due to his chronic back injury, Hardik Pandya eventually ramped up his bowling load to function as a proper all-rounder. After not bowling in the 2020 and 2021 seasons at all, he put in 30.3 overs with the ball in the 2022 season and has not turned back since.

“We shifted him up the order, he actually batted at No.4 in that IPL, and he actually played some proper kind of longer innings as compared to what he is doing now. What stood out for me was his ability to do special things with the ball as well. I’ll never forget that final in front of 120,000 people where he bowled his four overs, 3-17. I think that is Hardik,” Gary Kirsten concluded.

Hardik Pandya was crowned player of the match in the IPL 2022 Final, which GT had won by seven wickets. He had derailed the Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) innings after dismissing the dangerous trio of Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, and Shimron Hetmyer.