Eddie Hearn has revealed that Conor Benn shot down the idea of fights with two reigning world champions before their promotional split.

Benn twice fought Chris Eubank Jr at middleweight during 2025, avenging his first career defeat in their November rematch before announcing a planned return to the welterweight division.

‘The Destroyer’ then made the surprising move from career-long promoter Hearn to Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing – albeit for a one-fight deal – and marked this partnership with decision win against Regis Prograis this past weekend.

Underwhelmed by the performance of his former fighter, Hearn told Boxing Now that he believes Benn to be more effective at super-welterweight or even middleweight. The promoter then revealed that he had presented the opportunity to face IBF welterweight champion Lewis Crocker, or compete against the IBF’s 154 champion, Josh Kelly.

“He knows his level. I wanted him to fight Lewis Crocker. We went for lunch and I said, ‘mate, you could fight Lewis Crocker, that is a great fight. That is a very tough fight but, if you win that fight, you are a world champion’.

“[He said], ‘I don’t want to fight Lewis Crocker, I don’t like Billy Nelson [Crocker’s previous trainer]’, I said ‘What the f**k has that got to do with it? Just fight him’. Then, we talked about Josh Kelly, [he said], ‘Nah, f**k Josh Kelly’.”

“I actually think that he is right [to do that] because he is only going to make a few million to fight those guys and Zuffa just sp**ked their load giving him 15 [million] to fight a bloke who couldn’t even stand up!”

Though Benn was uninterested in those champions, he has made it absolutely clear that he wants WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia next, and talks seem to be progressing quickly.

The Athletic’s Dane Brugler publishes the most thorough draft publication in the world every April, and after doing that recently, he has a follow-up mock draft freshly released. For the Minnesota Vikings in Round 1, he rolled with Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy.

Minnesota may need cornerback help, and McCoy’s rising stock is putting him firmly in the first-round conversation.

McCoy’s draft profile has soared in the last couple of weeks, so much so that many wonder if he’ll even be available at Pick No. 18

One Draft Analyst Sees a Clear Fit in Minnesota

The draft is seven days away. Fasten your seatbelts.

Brugler: McCoy to MIN

In Round 1, Brugler tabbed McCoy for Minnesota, who would be the Vikings’ first Round 1 cornerback in six years (Jeff Gladney, 2020, TCU).

He explained the pick, “McCoy is a tough player to project in a mock draft — some teams are comfortable with his 2025 knee injury, while others won’t consider him in the first round. I don’t know how the Vikings feel, but adding his level of talent to a Brian Flores defense would be fun to watch.”

As it stands, the Vikings have Byron Murphy Jr., Isaiah Rodgers, and James Pierre lined up for CB duty in 2026, but no one would be too upset if the club invested in a potential young stud like McCoy.

Why? Well, Minnesota hasn’t successfully drafted a cornerback of any kind since 2015 or 2016 (Trae Waynes & Mackensie Alexander).

The Full Haul per Brugler

Because Brugler is about as thorough as it gets, he completed a full seven-round mock. Here’s the Vikings’ full haul, according to him:

• Jermod McCoy (CB, Tennessee) | R1
• Lee Hunter (DT, Texas Tech) | R2
• A.J. Haulcy (S, LSU) | R3
• Sam Hecht (C, Kansas State) | R3
• Jeff Caldwell (WR, Cincinnati) | R5
• Mason Reiger (EDGE, Wisconsin) | R6
• J.C. Davis (OT, Illinois) | R7
• Seth McGowan (RB, Kentucky) | R7
• Josh Cuevas (TE, Alabama) | R7

Fans would be especially elated by Hunter in Round 2 and Hecht with the Sam Darnold compensatory draft pick.

SI.com‘s Will Ragatz on Hunter: “When it comes to big-bodied run stuffers at defensive tackle, I like the idea of Hunter at 49 a lot more than Kayden McDonald at 18. He had 31.5 tackles for loss over the past three seasons at UCF and Texas Tech.”

“Hunter didn’t test very well athletically and isn’t much of a pass rusher, but he could be just what the Vikings need as a powerful nose tackle in the middle of their defense.”

McCoy’s Scouting Report

McCoy’s draft stock is rapidly rising, potentially putting him out of Minnesota’s reach by the time their selection is made. Widely regarded as the second-best cornerback in this year’s class, he trails only Mansoor Delane from LSU, who is projected as a 1st-Round pick.

Still only 20 years old, McCoy is returning from a torn ACL sustained in 2025 while at Tennessee. When healthy, he typically lines up as an outside cornerback, handling boundary responsibilities.

McCoy is 6’1″ and 190 pounds with 4.37 speed. He’s known for his ball skills, timing, fluidity, and press-man technique. He must improve his tackling and run support. The ACL tear in January 2025 also isn’t ideal.

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein compared him to Tyson Campbell and noted, “McCoy is a toolsy outside corner with CB1 flashes, but an ACL tear robbed him of a much-needed third season. Hips and feet are smooth, allowing for quality lateral transitions and efficient gathers to match hard-breaking curls. He’s athletic in his recoveries but average acceleration leaves him chasing too often on go routes.”

“More focused, physical press disruption should make the rep easier to control. He’s opportunistic with strong ball skills at the catch point. His route squeeze and zone awareness should improve with more reps. We should expect McCoy’s athletic traits and instincts to help him make up for lost time once he gets into camp.”

RB Neglected for the Most Part

In Brugler’s mock, the Vikings didn’t nab a running back until Round 7, hopping into bed with McGowan of Kentucky, who will be a 25-year-old rookie and offers an RB2-RB3 skill set. Most fans expect — and want — a more serious young running back.

Before Round 7, men like Jadarian Price (Notre Dame), Jonah Coleman (Washington), Mike Washington Jr. (Arkansas), Emmett Johnson (Nebraska), and Nick Singleton (Penn State) will be available to Minnesota. First-rounder Jeremiyah Love, also from Notre Dame, will be long gone before Minnesota is summoned to pick.

Here’s to hoping that the Vikings land a tailback before Round 7. It’s time.

Chelsea owner Behdad Eghbali has revealed how the club will drastically shift their transfer strategy after growing dissent among supporters.

The Blues are currently in a battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League, with fifth the target in the Premier League to secure a berth, despite a remote chance of an extra English team in Europe’s top club competition.

But after inconsistent results since Enzo Maresca’s departure and the hiring of Liam Rosenior, fans have underlined “an erosion of trust” with the owners and the project, but Eghbali maintains the club’s approach will evolve in the coming months, instead targeting some “ready-made” players, despite a committed approach to signing younger, unproven talent in recent years.

“The view was to recruit and build elite players that can, frankly, be together and have that stability in the squad. We’re still in the 40th, 50th minute of that process,” Eghbali said at the CAA’s World Congress of Sports conference in Los Angeles on Thursday.

“But the view is to keep, sign and retain and compensate and extend some of the world’s best players, and ultimately the view was you need, eight, 10, 12, 15 elite players to win and win sustainably, year after year.

“I think we’ve done a few things right, a lot of things right. We’ve got to be better on a few things, to add more ready-made players at this part of the project, to take it to the next level, to be consistent over time.”

Eghbali also admitted regret at the mid-season departure of Maresca, adding: “Our policy has been no in-season [head coach] changes.

“You certainly review and hold not only the manager, but the management team, the sporting team, accountable, but typically in the summers, not in season.

“It’s not a change we wanted to make [Enzo Maresca leaving]. It’s a change that had a bit of a negative impact in the season, when you’re changing systems and personnel, and it’s one we’ve got to fight our way out of.

“We still have six matches in the Premier League, and an FA Cup semi-final coming up. So, hopefully the story of this season hasn’t been written yet, and you’ve got a lot to fight for. In my perspective, when you get punched in the face, you’ve got to fight back, you’ve got to stand up and fight. And it’s going to hopefully show a lot about the character of this squad.”

The Blues reported a pre-tax losses of £262.4m for the last financial year, a Premier League record, with around £1.5bn spent on transfer fees since the new ownership group took charge in 2022.

And now the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (CST) has said there is a “lack of confidence” in the owners.

“These concerns are not driven by short-term results, and they will not be resolved by them. They relate to the underlying direction of the club, and they will persist regardless of fluctuations on the pitch,” said the CST.

“At the heart of supporter concern is a simple point: the current model has demanded a huge amount of faith from the fanbase, while giving too little clarity in return. Supporters have watched relentless upheaval. Players, managers, staff, and structures have changed at pace. This has been presented as part of a long-term plan.

“Yet four years on, there is still no sufficiently clear or convincing explanation of how that plan delivers sustained success while preserving a recognisable Chelsea identity. The vision remains unclear, its execution inconsistent, and its leadership insufficiently accountable.”

Ryder Cup star Jon Rahm was calm about the future of LIV Golf amid speculation the series’ Saudi backers could be about to pull funding.

The breakaway competition launched in 2021 and sent shockwaves through the sport, positioning itself as a rival to the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.

However, speculation has mounted this week that the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) is set to end its backing, which is reported to be approaching 5 billion US dollars (£3.7bn) since the series was launched.

Spanish star Rahm, who is reported to have earned £64million since joining the series in 2023, was interviewed after the first round of the ongoing LIV event in Mexico City.

“Until the people in charge told me if the rumours were valid or not, it didn’t make sense for me to think about it or to waste time thinking about it,” he said, in quotes reported by Sky Sports.

“As everything suddenly came out, so quickly, I wasn’t too worried about that, because normally, before the rumours come out, we know something.

“There’s always someone in the league who knows something. It was so fast that I didn’t really worry about it.”

The Telegraph has reported that players and staff have been told that the PIF funding is only guaranteed until the end of the current season, and that outside investment would be needed to keep going beyond then.

LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil was bullish about the league’s future in an interview on Thursday.

“If we keep the trajectory going the way we are and the revenue growth going, this is going to be a really good business for a really long time,” he said.

On Thursday it was announced that the PIF had sold a 70 per cent stake in Al Hilal, one of four Saudi Pro League clubs it owns.

David Payne’s modest stable has a proven flair for developing Group 1 runners, with hopes high that the two-year-old Persian Wonder will follow suit.

The budding star contests Saturday’s Champagne Stakes (1600m) at Randwick, targeting his breakthrough top-tier success after promising runs, notably a solid second to Southend in the Baillieu (1400m) at Rosehill a month ago.

From South African origins, Payne has amassed over 100 Group 1 wins internationally, polishing Australian champions including Criterion, Ace High and Montefilia.

His operation continues to exceed its scale, operating on a tight budget and small team.

While the trainer modestly points to luck, his expertise in picking yearlings is unquestionable.

“I have been in the game a long time and I’ve been lucky with buying horses,” Payne said.

“But you’ve got to find the horse first. We buy maybe ten at the sales, other stables might buy 250. But we always find one, and we’ve got a couple there at the moment.”

Alongside Bangkok Hottie, fresh from a Wednesday win at Warwick Farm and set for a spell before the spring Princess Series, Persian Wonder stands as a future stable standout.

A challenging wide gate at Randwick adds difficulty, but with his affinity for rearward positions, Payne will stick to settling him back.

On his previous run closer to the front under James McDonald, he fell short of winning, yet Payne valued the experience.

“It was a good run. I thought he might have been a bit too handy, but it’s good that James taught him to get out of the gates,” he said.

“It’s a tough race on Saturday so we’ll ride him quiet and see what happens.

“We have been aiming him at this for a while, so we’ll see if he’s good enough.”

McDonald stays with Sires’ Produce Stakes winner Campione D’italia, bringing Chad Schofield back for Persian Wonder after his striking fourth placing in the Pago Pago Stakes (1200m) on March 14.

Visit betting sites to find the top racing odds for the Champagne Stakes.

Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Hardik Pandya has come under scrutiny following the team’s dismal start to the IPL 2026 season. With just one win in five matches, MI languishes second from the bottom of the points table. On Thursday, the five-time champions were brushed aside at home by Shreyas Iyer‘s Punjab Kings (PBKS), marking their fourth defeat of the campaign. MI’s lone victory this season came against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium on March 29.

Speaking on Cricbuzz, former India batter Manoj Tiwary criticised Hardik’s captaincy against PBKS, arguing that the all-rounder’s leadership has been below par since he took charge of the franchise.

“From where will ownership come? One has to look at oneself as well. You need to see how you have been playing. According to me, just because you are not having success this year doesn’t mean the mistakes happened only this year. You need to look at the root cause as well. From 2015-2023, Rohit Sharma helped the Mumbai Indians win several trophies,” said Tiwary.

Tiwary also urged Hardik to relinquish the captaincy and return it to Rohit Sharma, noting that the veteran batter led the franchise to five titles between 2013 and 2023.

“In 2023, there was no trophy. In 2024, there was no trophy, and the chances of the same happening are high this year too. I think the captaincy is weak. I don’t want to be harsh. But Hardik is not leading the team the way it should be. It’s very important to be proactive as a captain. I think that if a solution is needed, Hardik should step back from the captaincy and hand the responsibility back to Rohit. When you removed Rohit, you did an injustice,” he added.

Beyond the leadership change, Tiwary slammed Hardik’s tactical choices during the defeat to PBKS, specifically his decision to promote himself up the order ahead of Sherfane Rutherford. Furthermore, he questioned the move to open the bowling with Deepak Chahar despite the pacer’s recent struggles.

“Hardik shouldn’t have promoted himself against the Punjab Kings. He scored 14 runs off 12 balls. Sherfane Rutherford just got five balls. If Rutherford had played as many balls, he would have hit 3-4 sixes. Hardik Pandya thought he could do it. Yes, he could have done it. You should have pushed Rutherford up. And secondly, there is no point in giving Jasprit Bumrah the second over when you are not giving him the first. Deepak Chahar just isn’t able to swing the ball,” he said.

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Friday hits the newsstands with a wide variety of topics and the return of a familiar face to the front pages: Leo Messi.

The new adventure of the ’10’ makes him the owner of UE Cornellà. A development that is the main story of the day in the newspapers.

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But there are also echoes of Real Madrid’s debacle in Munich. The next steps for Los Blancos are also one of the main talking points this Friday.

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After Saturday last weekend’s call-out, Anthony Joshua is under pressure to accept a mammoth fight against Tyson Fury. Now, super-middleweight icon Carl Froch has had his say on how he thinks the potential bout may play out.

Fury boxed his way to a comfortable decision win against Arslanbek Makhmudov, claiming a first victory since 2023 and doing so after 16 months of inactivity, in what he hopes will be the first outing of a two-fight year.

Post-fight, Fury heaped the pressure onto fellow two-time world champion Joshua, demanding that he and ‘AJ’ fight next, but the Londoner was unwilling to rush into annoucing the contest.

Instead, Joshua remained calm and collected, refusing to publicly agree to the fight but saying that he does believe it will happen this year.

Speaking to his YouTube channel, Froch said that he sees Fury as the favourite, impressed by his Saturday showing against Makhmudov.

“I think that AJ will be the underdog for this one. I think that Fury is the favourite, especially off the back of that performance; he eased in tonight, it was just steady, he took his time, still looks good.

“I envy that actually, 16 months out of the ring and he is able to come and do a performance like that. Okay, he was in with Makhmudov, he is not in with a world beater, but it was a good 12 rounds’ work.”

Joshua’s fight news is expected to be announced in the coming weeks, with a lower level run out in July expected followed by the Fury fight around November.