Anthony Yarde says he wants to fight Joshua Buatsi or Artur Beterbiev in the near future as he prepares to make his return to the ring on Saturday.

The light-heavyweight has spent nine months on the sidelines, due to a “contractual dispute” with his long-time promoters Queensberry.

Yarde, 33, makes his return against Ralfs Vilcans on the undercard of Adam Azim v Ohara Davies, an event promoted by Ben Shalom’s Boxxer.

Speaking at a news conference Yarde dismissed criticism about his opponent, who is unheralded and has fought most of his pro career in his home country of Latvia.

“I want to be in the ring. Everyone is going to have their opinion on the level I should be fighting, or the fight, or how big the fight should be,” Yarde said.

“I want the biggest fights out there. That’s Joshua Buatsi, that’s Beterbiev 2, that’s [Dmitry] Bivol.”

Yarde has a loss on his record to the newly crowned undisputed champion Beterbiev in 2023.

Beterbiev stopped Yarde in a defence of his world title before going on to beat Bivol in their undisputed contest last Saturday.

Yarde failed in his first world title attempt in 2019, but expects another opportunity and said “three’s the charm”.

Queensberry’s Frank Warren has not commented on Yarde’s fight with Boxxer, but Shalom said the Englishman has not signed a long-term promotional deal.

“We don’t have many genuine superstars that can capture the attention as mainstream stars and Anthony Yarde is one of them,” Shalom said.

“There’s Josh Buatsi, there’s Ben Whittaker, there’s Anthony Yarde all in the domestic light-heavyweight scene [in the UK].

“You can expect a showman. There’s not many fighters, if any, in the division that can fight the way Anthony Yarde can fight. He is a super talent.”

Leicester City manager Steve Cooper says he believes in Britain’s culture and coaching pathway following Thomas Tuchel’s appointment as England head coach.

German Tuchel, 51, was confirmed as the next Three Lions boss on Wednesday and will become only the third non-British manager of the England men’s team when he starts in the role on 1 January.

English candidates were among “approximately 10” people interviewed for the job, says the Football Association, but former England defender Gary Neville called the decision “damaging” for homegrown coaches.

“Hopefully over the course of time British coaching will continue to improve and we will be right up there with the world’s best,” said Welshman Cooper, who led England to victory at the Under-17 World Cup in 2017.

“In the meantime any opportunity we are given we have to take them and do a good job. Until we do that on a regular basis maybe we shouldn’t say so much.

“I really believe in British culture, I believe in the coaching education pathway as well.”

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said on Wednesday England are “not in that place” to have several homegrown managers in contention for the national team job but insisted the national coaching system is a success.

“I think any federation in the world that is looking to hire a senior manager, clearly you would love to have five to 10 domestic candidates who are coaching clubs in your domestic league, challenging and winning honours in your domestic league and European football,” said Bullingham.

“We are not quite in that place at the moment.”

JACK CATTERALL and Regis Prograis will finally do battle in a super-lightweight showdown after their first initial date got postponed.

El Gato was forced to pull out of his August 24 encounter against Prograis after suffering an injury during his training camp.

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And it was a huge blow for the English star as he was looking to build on his incredible win over long-term rival Josh Taylor three months before.

However, the huge fight has now been salvaged and it will see Catterall become the first boxer to headline the new Co-Op Arena in Manchester.

There will be no world title on the line as Prograis lost his WBC super-lightweight belt to Devin Haney in a one-sided unanimous decision bout.

But Catterall in particular will be aware that victory over the American star could see him move a step closer to a title shot.

When is Catterall vs Prograis?

• Jack Catterall vs Renan Prograis will take place on Saturday, October 26.
• Ring-walk times are yet to be announced but it is expected to be around 10:30pm/5:30pm.
• The huge fight will be held at the new Co-Op Live in Manchester and it can host approximately 23,500 spectators.

What TV channel is Catterall vs Prograis on and can it be live streamed?

• Jack Catterall vs Regis Prograis will be broadcast LIVE on DAZN.
• DAZN PPV can be streamed in both the UK and US.
• You can subscribe to DAZN in the UK for £9.99-a-month on a 12-month deal
• A flexible pass, worth £19.99-a-month, is also available, and you can cancel anytime.
• Alternatively, fans can live stream the action from the DAZN app which you can download onto your mobile or tablet device.

What is the undercard?

• MAIN EVENT: Jack Catterall vs Regis Prograis
• Reece Bellotti vs Michael Gomez Jr
• Pat McCormack vs William Andreas Herrera
• Campbell Hatton vs James Flint
• Ishmael Davis vs William Crolla
• Stephen Clarke vs Joe McGrail
• Emily Whitworth vs TBA

What has been said?

Jack Catterall has revealed that he is delighted that the fight will still take place and is excited to become the first headliner at the Co-Op Live.

El Gato said: “I’m delighted that a new date for my fight with Regis Prograis has been sorted so quickly.

“Big thanks to Matchroom, my team and Co-op Live for all of their hard work on this.

“To be the first boxer to headline at Co-op Live is going to be special and I’m really happy I’ll still get that opportunity.

“It was gutting having to pull out of a fight for the first time in my 30-fight career but I need to be fit and healthy going into one of the most important contests of my life.

“Thanks for everyone’s continues support and I’ll see you all on October 26!”

Factory Mercedes driver Jules Gounon will make his DTM debut in this weekend’s final round at Hockenheim, replacing Luca Stolz at HRT.

Double Spa 24 Hours winner Gounon has been drafted into the #4 HRT Mercedes AMG GT3 at the last-minute after Stolz had to withdraw from the Hockenheim races due to health reasons.

No further information was provided about 29-year-old Stolz, who was due to see out his third full season with the team in the German GT3-based series.

A statement from HRT read: “Luca Stolz (GER) of Mercedes-AMG Team HRT has been forced to withdraw from this weekend’s DTM finale at Hockenheim for health reasons.

“The 29-year-old’s place in the #4 Mercedes-AMG GT3 will be taken by Jules Gounon (AND).

“The Haupt Racing Team thanks Jules for stepping in at short notice and wishes Luca a speedy recovery.”

Gounon brings with him a wealth of experience of GT racing, having won the Bathurst 12 Hour on three occasions and scored class victories in major IMSA SportsCar Championship enduros including Daytona 24 Hours and Petit Le Mans.

His illustrious CV includes two titles in GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup with Mercedes, as well as the 2017 GT Masters title at the wheel of a Corvette C7.

Luca Stolz, Mercedes-AMG Team HRT Mercedes-AMG GT3

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

This year has seen the second-generation driver expand his horizons into prototype racing, competing in three rounds of the World Endurance Championship with Alpine in the Hypercar class.

After making his first appearance in the DTM in Germany on 18-20 October, he will be back behind the wheel of the Alpine A424 LMDh in the Bahrain 8 Hours WEC finale on 2 November.

The HRT outfit he is joining in the DTM currently sits fifth in the teams’ standings, two spots behind fellow factory-supported Mercedes team Winward.

The squad’s best runner in the standings is Arjun Maini in eighth on 128 points, while Stolz is placed just one spot behind in ninth after scoring a first win of 2024 at the Sachsenring last month.

Both drivers are out of the championship fight, although another Mercedes driver Maro Engel (Winward) remains firmly in the hunt in third place, 20 points behind championship leader Mirko Bortolotti of SSR Lamborghini.

Engel’s team-mate Lucas Auer, the last remaining driver in the four-strong Mercedes roster, sits 12th in the drivers standings.

Ulster: Mike Lowry; Werner Kok, Ben Carson, Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale; Aidan Morgan, John Cooney; Eric O’Sullivan, James McCormick, Tom O’Toole, Alan O’Connor (capt), Harry Sheridan, Cormac Izuchukwu, Marcus Rea, David McCann.

Replacements: Tadgh McElroy, Callum Reid, Scott Wilson, Kieran Treadwell and Matty Rea, Nathan Doak, James Humphreys, Jude Postlethwaite.

Ospreys: Jack Walsh; Dan Kasende, Evardi Boshoff, Owen Williams, Keelan Giles; Dan Edwards, Kieran Hardy; Gareth Thomas, Sam Parry, Ben Warren, Will Greatbanks, Lewis Jones, Lewis Lloyd, Justin Tipuric, Morgan Morris (capt).

Replacements: Ethan Lewis, Garyn Phillips, Math Iowerth-Scott, Rhys Thomas, Dan Gemine, Reuben Morgan-Williams, Tom Florence, Max Nagy.

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)

Assistant referees: Andrew Cole & Andrew Fogarty (IRFU)

TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)

MICHAEL GOMEZ JR returns to the ring this month as he looks to claim TWO titles.

The 29-year-old boxer takes on Reece Bellotti for the British and Commonwealth super featherweight belts.

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Bellotti was ordered to defend his titles against the son of former boxer Michael Gomez by the British Boxing Board of Control.

The Bomber last defended the straps in July, beating Levi Giles by unanimous decision.

But Bellotti faces one of his toughest tests yet in an inform Gomez Jr, who has won his last 12 fights.

The two square off on the undercard of the highly-anticipated Jack Catterall vs Regis Prograis.

And SunSport has all the information you need ahead of fight night.

When is Reece Bellotti vs Michael Gomez Jr?

• Reece Bellotti vs Michael Gomez Jr will take place on Saturday, October 26.
• The fight is expected to get underway at approximately 9pm BST.
• The Co-op Live Arena in Manchester will host.

What TV channel is Reece Bellotti vs Michael Gomez Jr on and can it be live streamed?

• Reece Bellotti vs Michael Gomez Jr will be broadcast live on DAZN.
• The event is available to watch for DAZN subscription holders at no additional cost.
• Live streaming is available via the DAZN app/website.
• You can subscribe to DAZN in the UK for £9.99-a-month, which commits you to an entire year of action.
• A flexible pass, worth £19.99-a-month, is also available, and you can cancel anytime.
• You can also pay £99.99 for the year upfront, and this is the lowest cost option.

Who else is on the card?

Subject to change

• MAIN EVENT: Jack Catterall vs Regis Prograis
• Reece Bellotti vs Michael Gomez Jr
• Pat McCormack vs William Andreas Herrera
• Campbell Hatton vs James Flint
• Joe McGrail vs Lewis Morris
• William Crolla vs Lorenzo Grasso
• Stephen Clarke vs TBA
• Emily Whitworth vs TBA