Tony Bellew has offered his early thoughts on a potential showdown between David Benavidez and Jai Opetaia, who have verbally agreed to collide in 2027.

The ‘Mexican Monster’ was in attendance as Opetaia stopped Noel Mikaelian in nine rounds, featuring in the chief support to Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn over the weekend.

Initially, the Australian had expected this to be a world title opportunity, only for WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman to not sanction their cruiserweight contest.

This decision can be explained by a number of factors, including Mikaelian’s failure to defend his belt against mandatory challenger Benavidez.

As a result, the 35-year-old has been stripped of his title with Michal Cieslak being upgraded to full champion. Cieslak is expected to make his first defence against Benavidez on December 12.

If Benavidez emerges victorious, the 29-year-old could then defend all three titles against Opetaia, who previously held the IBF strap and is now the Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight champion.

Regardless of the belts, though, their matchup is considered one of the best that can be made in boxing and both combatants, it seems, are eager to collide next year.

Speaking on the DAZN broadcast following Opetaia’s stoppage of Mikaelian, former cruiserweight champion Bellew expressed his excitement but admitted favouring Benavidez.

“There are ways both could win the fight, but I edge towards Benavidez. I just think he does not stop. He’s the only [cruiserweight] that can match Jai Opetaia’s relentlessness. He can take it to another level … Iron sharpens iron, I can’t wait to see this fight.”

Having previously held major titles at super-middle and light-heavyweight, Benavidez became a three-division world champion by dethroning Gilberto Ramirez with a sixth-round finish in May.

Inside Wembley Stadium at All In: London, the New Level (Austin Creed and Kofi) debuted and won the Trios titles with Swerve Strickland.

The two declined to take a hefty pay cut in WWE and landed in AEW.

Here are some examples of a superstar(s) heading to another promotion.

The New World Order, Brother

Hulk Hogan made the biggest jump in pro wrestling history, moving from WWE to WCW. He switched from red and yellow to black and white. Hogan joined forces with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash to form the New World Order at Bash at the Beach in 1996. It was one of the greatest heel turns in pro wrestling.

Olympic Gold Medalist Meets Total Nonstop Action

When Vince McMahon bought WCW, Jeff Jarrett launched TNA (Total Nonstop Action) a year later. In 2005, Kurt Angle’s WWE contract was up. He debuted in October and confronted Samoa Joe, one of the biggest stars in TNA. Angle arguably had his best matches there and rejuvenated his career.

The American Nightmare Returns to Finish His Story

Cody Rhodes launched All Elite Wrestling in 2019 with other pro wrestlers, a wrestling revolution not seen in decades. He couldn’t win the top prize because of a stipulation, and fans turned on him. At WrestleMania 38, Rhodes returned to WWE and took down Seth Rollins. It took Cody Rhodes two years to win the WWE title from Roman Reigns at WM 40, winning the belt his father never held.

WrestleMania 33 becomes BROKEN

The day before their return at WM 33, the Hardys competed in a tag title match at Ring of Honor, so fans didn’t see it coming. When New Day announced another competitor, the fans erupted once the Hardys appeared. Even better, they won the tag titles in the ladder match.

GOLDBERG, GOLDBERG, GOLDBERG

The acquisition of WCW by Vince McMahon didn’t live up to anyone’s expectations as the Invasion angle failed. The biggest stars had creative control and were collecting a paycheck at home. However, one WCW icon speared WWE’s top star out of his misery in his debut. Goldberg interrupted the Rock and said, ‘You’re Next’ before Dwayne sold his spear like a million bucks.

Dean Ambrose is ALL ELITE

Ambrose made it VERY clear how miserable he was at the end of his WWE run. When AEW aired its first PPV, Double or Nothing, the former SHIELD member made an impact immediately. Jon Moxley, his indy name, hit Chris Jericho with his finisher to disrupt the main event and became a pillar in All Elite Wrestling.

Put Some Respect on that Bank and Mone

Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of Monday Night Raw after putting the women’s tag belts on John Laurinaitis’ desk. Banks was scripted to take the pin in a six-woman tag match and felt disrespected. Naomi returned to WWE after wrestling in TNA, but Banks made her mark as Mercedes Moné. Debuting as the ‘CEO’ in her hometown of Boston, Moné became the most decorated superstar in modern pro wrestling, having held over ten titles at the same time.

Sheamus and Illa Dragonuv are on the free agent market. The former has ties to AEW, while Dragonuv could go to NJPW (New Japan). One thing’s for sure: Bayley is staying put in WWE after costing Lyra Valkyria her MITB qualifying match. Her contract status is unknown, but she could reunite with Mercedes Moné in AEW in early 2027.

Important news to report. Congratulations to Stephanie Vaquer, who defeated Liv Morgan to become the Raw Women’s Champion in Chile, her home country. Vaquer is the first female superstar to win the top prize at a Live Event since 2017 (Mickie James)

Hockey India (Agency Images)

NEW DELHI: The Sports Ministry is positive of resolving the ongoing mess among warring factions in Hockey India. A source said they will, however, wait for an amicable resolution internally before seeing the need to step in.“Let them resolve it amicably, mutually. It is not an issue that can’t be resolved. It is our responsibility to fix it. Like football, hockey needs to also work in similar manner with its league. Whether ministry intervention is needed would be decided once it is clear that the situation is not getting resolved,” a Sports Ministry source said.Hockey India (HI) chief Dilip Tirkey, who is a former player, and the body’s secretary general Bhola Nath Singh have been locked in a public tug of war ever since the decision to change the teams’ jersey colour from blue to saffron ahead of the World Cup. The move was criticised outside the hockey circles.In the aftermath, Tirkey has said on the record that he was not consulted before the decision was made. He further issued a show cause notice last week to HI Director General, Cdr R K Srivastava, who is perceived to be close to Singh.Bhola Nath Singh, meanwhile, has called an Emergent Board Meeting (EGM) on September 18 to discuss the current situation.Tirkey, meanwhile, insisted that he has not approved any such meeting and would not do so until he receives a response from Srivastava on the jersey fiasco, among other issues.The Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had met the Hockey India top brass, including Tirkey, on Monday where the Hockey India League’s (HIL) roadmap and sustainability was discussed. Bhola Nath Singh and acting Director General Ranjit Gill joined the meeting virtually.Cdr R K Srivastava did attend an official event in Mohali alongside Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Executive Board member R P Singh, as dates and venues of the 2026 men’s Asian Champions Trophy were announced.India men’s team had finished eighth at the FIH World Cup in Belgium and Netherlands and the women’s had done better to finish fifth.

Australia captain Pat Cummins expects the Test team could encounter some hostility when it returns to South Africa for its first red-ball tour there since the infamous Sandpaper Gate scandal of 2018.

Australia are scheduled to play three ODIs and three Tests in South Africa. Although the Australians have continued to visit the country for white-ball cricket since the ball-tampering controversy, the upcoming Test series will mark their first in South Africa since the incident.

Cummins is currently not with Australia for the three-match ODI series in Zimbabwe but will link up with the squad in South Africa for the one-dayers before the Test campaign begins on October 9.

Cummins expects some hostility in South Africa

Speaking on the Keepin’ it Cricket podcast, Cummins acknowledged that the 2018 episode could still be brought up by sections of the home support.

“There might be a little bit of hostility,” Cummins admitted. “(But) it can’t be louder than an Ashes series … Birmingham, the Hollies Stand at Edgbaston, that gets pretty rowdy.”

The Australian skipper has already experienced South African crowds during previous white-ball tours and was also one of the standout performers during Australia’s 2018 Test series against the Proteas.

He does not expect anything completely unfamiliar when Australia return for the three-Test contest.

“As long as I’ve been to South Africa, there are some parts of the crowd that get stuck in, but I reckon we’ve seen it all before.

“And most importantly, I’m captain, so I’m in the middle; I’m not near the fence!”

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‘Everyone moves on’, says Australian captain

Cummins also suggested that the reaction to Sandpaper Gate may not be as intense as some might expect. He recalled that the issue had been heavily discussed during previous encounters but felt the response from South African fans was ultimately less dramatic than anticipated.

“It (Sandpapergate) was kind of really spoken up (in past series), and it was almost a bit underwhelming,” Cummins said about the reaction from Proteas fans.

For Cummins, the best way to move beyond the controversy will be to focus on the cricket once the series gets underway.

“Everyone moves on. The good thing is, three Tests, you get stuck into the cricket, and everyone just worries about the cricket pretty quickly.

“I’m sure there’ll be some rowdy people in the crowd, and some articles or some media bring up stuff. But our group’s moved on,” he added.

Australia still have six players in their current setup who were part of the squad that lost the 2018 series 1-3 to South Africa. The tour became one of the darkest episodes in Australian cricket after the ball-tampering scandal led to year-long bans for Steve Smith and David Warner, while Cameron Bancroft was suspended for nine months.

Cummins rejects preparation excuse after Bangladesh loss

Cummins also reflected on Australia’s recent defeat to Bangladesh in Darwin, their first home loss to the Bangla Tigers.

The result prompted questions over whether Australia had been adequately prepared for the series, but Cummins dismissed that suggestion.

“Whether that was an Ashes Test or a Bangladesh series, I think we would have prepped exactly the same. Of course you look at it after the series, but I actually thought we were in a really good spot; everyone fit, firing.”

The Australian captain accepted, however, that his side simply failed to perform at the required level in Darwin.

“I just don’t think we played very well. I don’t think it was a lack of prep. I just don’t think we were at our best, and Bangladesh played brilliantly, and didn’t really let us in,” he added.

A white-ball lifeline for Rishabh Pant and a possible inclusion of a fit-again Hardik Pandya will be the focal points of discussion when the national selectors pick the ODI and T20I squads for the home series against West Indies on Wednesday. India will play three ODIs and five T20Is against the West Indies. While the T20I squad is expected to be a mirror image of the Asian Games squad with the matches starting from October 6, the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar does have a job at hand to pick the 50-over squad from the options available.

Incidentally, Agarkar, who will be in Delhi for the team selection meeting, is likely to have a discussion with “decision makers” in the board on whether he will be given extension till the end of the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Return of Hardik Pandya

Pandya’s scheduled return to competitive cricket is September 20 as he has already been picked for India A’s three-match One Day series against Australia A in Puducherry from October 6.

However, the West Indies ODIs start in Thiruvananthapuram from September 27 and it will be up to the selection panel to decide whether Pandya is ready to bowl 10 overs and field for 50 overs straightaway in a full international game.

The lack of seam-bowling all-rounders is an issue for selection committee if Pandya is unavailable. The second option Nitish Kumar Reddy will be in Japan playing the Asian Games during the ODI series.

The third and fourth options — Suryansh Shedge and Venkatesh Iyer are currently injured.

Rishabh Pant’s 50 over comeback

Pant’s indifferent IPL form saw him lose Test vice-captaincy and also a place in the white-ball sides but with Ishan Kishan in Japan, the flamboyant southpaw might just get a look-in in the squad of 15, with KL Rahul being the first-choice ODI keeper. Rahul is also likely to be Shubman Gill’s deputy in absence of Shreyas Iyer.

In case Pant misses the bus, then selectors will go for Dhruv Jurel and send Pant to lead Rest of India in the Irani Cup.

Gaikwad, Patidar in the mix

With Iyer on Asian Games duty, Ruturaj Gaikwad is expected to take the No 4 slot in the line-up after skipper Gill, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Yashasvi Jaiswal will be the reserve opener while reserve middle order batter in all likelihood will be Rajat Patidar.

Both Gaikwad and Patidar are also supposed to play for India A after the West Indies ODIs with the former leading the team.

Jadeja or Suthar?

Ravindra Jadeja, who was not picked for the ODI series in England, could earn a recall as Harsh Dubey picked up an injury during Central Zone’s semi-final against East Zone in the recent Duleep Trophy.

While Dubey along with Axar Patel were being looked at as the two left-arm spinners for ODIs, their absence due to forced reasons might prompt selectors to summon Jadeja unless there is a left-field selection like Manav Suthar. Axar will be playing in the Asian Games.

In case Kuldeep Yadav is called up for Asian Games if injured Varun Chakravarthy can’t make it, then selectors would have a real problem.

They will have to then resort to the likes of Vipraj Nigam or Zeeshan Ansari if they want a wrist spinner.

Siraj to be back in ODIs after rest

Mohammed Siraj was not a part of the ODI squad in England but he is supposed to come back alongside Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna and Prince Yadav, all of whom played the last series. Jasprit Bumrah won’t be available due to his Asian Games commitment.

As of now, it is highly unlikely that out-of-favour veterans like fast bowler Mohammed Shami and Yuzvendra Chahal will get a look in unless there is any massive external pressure.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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The 2026 season opened with one of the highest-scoring season-opening weeks in NFL history.

Following the Monday Night game, league teams have combined for 791 points, tying the record for most combined points in Kickoff weekend since 2012.

An exciting opening weekend for sure, and Week 1 in the NFL saw some phenomenal performances from players who played collegiately in the West.

Here are my picks for the best NFL performances by former players from the region.

writes about various topics for SuperWest sports, including stats and records, college sports, and motorsports. He also founded and runs the Sports and Entertainment Research Center (SERC).

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India’s victorious Asia Cup triumph in Dubai has seen a host of their players make eye-catching improvements up the ICC Women’s T20I Player Rankings. India cruised to a 72-run victory over Sri Lanka in the final of the eight-team tournament to claim an unprecedented eighth Asia Cup title, and it was the likes of white-ball stars Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma and Shree Charani that led the way, as per the ICC website. Charani picked up four wickets in that title decider at Dubai International Cricket Stadium to finish with 12 scalps for the tournament, and the left-armer has broken new ground on the latest rankings update as she moves further clear at the top of the rankings for T20I bowlers and becomes the first Indian bowler to surpass the 800-point barrier.

Only Australia fast bowler Megan Schutt (806) can lay claim to having reached a higher rating than Charani’s 802 points on the rankings for T20I bowlers, with the India spinner now joining an elite group that includes England tweaker Sophie Ecclestone (802) as the only female players to reach the magical 800-point mark.

And it is teammate Deepti Sharma who is now Charani’s closest rival in the rankings, with the star all-rounder rising four places to move to second on the list for T20I bowlers following her 14 wickets at the Asia Cup that included a spell of 3/19 in the final.

There is further joy for India on the rankings for T20I batters, with Shafali rising one spot to move to sixth on this star-studded list following her tournament best 236 runs at an average of 47.20. It also helped the right-hander make gains of five spots on the list for T20I all-rounders as she jumps to 15th.

It is still Australian duo Beth Mooney and Georgia Voll that hold sway at the top of the rankings for T20I batters, with Nigar Sultana (up one place to equal 20th), Imesha Dulani (up two spots to equal 20th), Sharmin Akhter Supta (up three rungs to equal 40th) and Shawaal Zulfiqar (up four slots to 45th) among the other players to make ground following some good performances at the Asia Cup.

And there are gains for a host of Bangladesh players in the latest rankings for T20I bowlers, with Marufa Akter (up three rungs to equal 15th), Rabeya Khan (up three slots to 18th), Sultana Khatun (up five places to 32nd) and Fahima Khatun (up six spots to 49th) all making progress on the back of some good efforts at the Asia Cup.  

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Featured Video Of The Day

CWG 2026 Weightlifting Gold Medallist, Mirabai Chanu Get Hero’s Welcome in Delhi