As a full-time member of the PGA Tour, Paul Waring’s best finish has been a T47 at the 2025 Canadian Open. He has battled injury and his game, but on Thursday at the 2026 Houston Open, it all came together for the 41-year-old Englishman, who opened his tournament at Memorial Park with a bogey-free 7-under 63 to command the first-round lead.
Waring arrived in Houston this week with a medical extension. His rookie season on the PGA Tour was tough sledding with 10 missed cuts and a withdrawal across 12 tournaments as he tried to power through the pain of injury. His first three starts on the PGA Tour in 2026 produced the same — three straight missed cuts — but with missed cuts came a chance to find his game.
“To be fair, I found a little bit of momentum coming forward in the last few weeks,” Waring said. “I know [I] missed cuts at Valspar [Championship] and Cognizant [Classic], but [I] felt like my golf game was in a good spot. … I gave too many shots away in the first few weeks, where this week, a lot tidier, no bogeys and holed a good amount of footage today. I think I’ve just been told I holed over 160 feet of putts today, which is massive and gives you a massive advantage.”
Waring’s 63 was the best around Memorial Park by a stroke as Gary Woodland made birdie on three of his final four holes late in the evening to post his 64. Another man who is going through a fight of his own, Woodland revealed at The Players Championship that he has been battling post-traumatic stress disorder following his 2023 brain surgery.
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Open and honest, Woodland shared that the emotional and mental toll from his operation has been crippling. The PGA Tour has brought in additional security measures for when Woodland plays, as he is engulfed with anxiety and hyper awareness — common traits associated with PTSD — and has felt a massive weight lifted off his shoulders since the interview.
“The response has been … big, and it’s also been big for me because I got a lot of relief,” Woodland said. “I literally feel like I got a thousand pounds off my back that day. It was hard to do. I was crying going into the interview, and I left feeling a thousand pounds lighter.
“I have a battle that I’m fighting, but it’s nice to not do that alone, I can tell you that. We’ll take it one day at a time and continue to get better. But the Tour out here is a family, and they’ve been amazing. The golf world’s been amazing, and I’m very thankful.”
Meanwhile, Rickie Fowler is fighting for more than just a trophy this week. Ranked No. 61 in the Official World Golf Rankings, Fowler needs a high finish to climb inside the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings and earn an invitation to the first major championship of the year.
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“I had a great run last year, kind of second half of the year, and felt like I was in a good spot with my game,” Fowler said. “Was able to get some downtime to work on the body and get my shoulder in a better spot, where I wasn’t having to play through the pain. So, luckily, had played well through the summer. I had confidence knowing we could go out and kind of play some simple golf. Kind of picked up at AmEx and did a good job there of continuing that.
“A lot of it is on the mental side, not trying to do too much or anything special, trying to kind of let the rounds come to me and piece things together and kind of plot my way around.”
Fowler stands at 3 under with world No. 80 Sahith Theegala, who is also in need of a massive performance at the place he once called home. Former Texas Longhorn Pierceson Coody fired a 70 and will battle the cutline on Friday to get the finish he needs to go from outside the Masters bubble at world No. 51 to inside that magic number.
Leader
1. Paul Waring (-7): Waring spent 2008-24 on the DP World Tour and was able to make his way to the PGA Tour thanks to a win at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship during the postseason. He would be a fool not to jump at the opportunity to play stateside, but it has been a difficult go of things ever since. Despite this, Waring believes he is close to his 2024 form. While his putting proved to be the biggest difference maker, he still connected on 14 greens in regulation and hit 9 of 13 fairways in Round 1, showing the tee-to-green play is not far behind.
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“It’s not a million miles away. That week [in Abu Dhabi in 2024], I felt like I was exceptional with the wedges, which was the reason I managed to score so low,” Waring said. “I was aggressive off the tee that week, gave myself all the chances. This golf course is quite nice for me. … I would say it’s wide off the tee, it’s quite forgiving off the tee, so it gives me a chance to move the body at speed and without any fear.
“So I could swing freely, I could and get myself into those wedge positions, especially on the par 5s. Again, all the work has been around what I did that sort of couple years ago to get myself sort of back in this place that I am now. So hopefully I can build on this today. See how the week goes.”
Contenders
2. Gary Woodland (-6) T3. Sam Burns, Michael Brennan, Tom Hoge (-5) T6. Marco Penge, Stephan Jaeger, Kurt Kitayama, Matt Wallace (-4)
It’s as cool as it gets. One week after Woodland opened up, he notched a top 15 finish at the Valspar Championship, and now, one week after that, he is in the mix at the Houston Open. This has been a happy hunting ground for the former U.S. Open champion in recent years with a runner-up performance a season ago to go along with finishes of T21 and T9.
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Statistically, Woodland was awesome in Round 1. He ranked second in greens in regulation and top 10 in both ball striking categories as well as putting. That’s great on paper, but even more importantly, Woodland felt comfortable inside the ropes.
“At the end of the day, it’s confidence,” Woodland said. “I’ve had some good practice over the last couple of months and I hadn’t seen anything on the course, so it’s trying to stay patient. Last week, I started to see some signs on the course. Even when I got behind the 8-ball in a couple of rounds early last week, I fought back hard at the end. I was able to get off and running today, really just played solid. Felt good out there all day, that’s a big plus.”
Theegala at 32-1 is still a great play. The former Houston resident did everything one is supposed to do Thursday as he made three birdies on the three par 5s, picked one up elsewhere and dropped only one shot. He gained strokes throughout the bag and should be able to give it a good go Friday afternoon after some much-needed rest following his TGL championship and an early Round 1 tee time.
Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) have raked in billion-dollar valuations, opening a window into how the cash-rich league has evolved from a cricket tournament into a tightly held sports-media economy.
This raises the question about how IPL teams are valued and whether these valuations are justified.
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What does valuation mean in IPL’s context?
To understand how valuation is done, let’s first understand the difference between sale price, business value and brand value. A sale price is what a buyer agrees to pay at a point in time. A business valuation, by contrast, is an estimate of what the franchise should be worth based on expected future cash flows. Brand value is narrower still – it captures the worth of the name, identity and goodwill, but not the full business.
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Houlihan Lokey’s 2025 ‘IPL Valuation Study’ defines this distinction. It says brand value is embedded within business value, not equal to it. That is why a brand estimate and a sale price can sit far apart without either being “wrong”.
The report valued RCB’s brand at $269 million and Rajasthan Royals’ at $146 million in 2025. RCPL’s revenue was ₹504 crore in FY25.
Santosh N, managing partner at D&P Advisory, says the reported franchise prices are “at a significant premium to intrinsic value”. If annual revenue for an IPL team is roughly ₹700 crore to ₹800 crore, or under $80 million, then valuations of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion imply revenue multiples of around 20x to 22x.
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How are IPL teams valued?
The main financial method is discounted cash flow, or DCF. Houlihan Lokey says its IPL business valuation primarily hinges on the income approach, specifically DCF, which estimates the present value of projected future cash flows and terminal value discounted back to today.
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For brand valuation, it uses the relief-from-royalty method, which estimates what a franchise would have had to pay to license its own brand if it did not own it. The methodology explicitly considers the role of marquee players such as Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, along with the importance of the brand to sponsors, advertisers and fans.
Why media rights matter most
The biggest anchor in any IPL valuation is the central revenue pool, especially broadcasting and league sponsorships. The Houlihan Lokey report says top franchises generate around ₹650 crore to ₹700 crore in annual revenue, with up to 80 per cent visibility secured before the tournament begins, helped by long-term media rights and front-loaded sponsorship deals.
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According to Santosh, around 70 to 75 per cent of franchise revenue comes from the central pool, with only about a quarter coming from team-level sources such as sponsorships, ticket sales and merchandising. Of that central pool, he said, each team gets about ₹500 crore a year from the BCCI and around 70 to 80 per cent of that comes from broadcasting.
This is also why IPL teams are increasingly viewed less as conventional cricket clubs and more as scarce media-linked assets. When media-rights expectations rise, franchise values tend to rise with them.
But Santosh also flags a constraint. The broadcasting market has consolidated, mainly by JioHotstar, making it harder to assume a sharp rise in rights values in the next cycle. “So it is difficult to argue that team revenues will rise 30 or 40 per cent, or even 20 to 30 per cent, in the near term. That is why, from a pure valuation standpoint, these numbers are hard to justify,” he says.
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What makes IPL teams valuable
The central pool sets a floor. Team-level strengths then determine the premium.
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Fan base is one factor. A large, nationwide and digitally active audience improves sponsor pull, merchandise potential and pricing power. Another factor is sponsor quality. Teams that consistently attract blue-chip partners are seen as stronger businesses, not just louder brands.
Houlihan Lokey’s study also argues that IPL franchises benefit from an asset-light structure, salary-cap discipline and low fixed-asset exposure compared with many global sports teams.
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Scarcity matters too. There are only 10 IPL teams, and not all are realistically available for sale. “Out of 10 teams, maybe only one or two are realistically open to investment or sale. When many investors chase very few assets, premiums rise sharply,” says Santosh.
Why RCB’s valuation is not much higher than RR’s
The sale of both RCB and RR begs another question: why is the valuation of a popular franchise like RCB not significantly higher than that of RR?
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On one hand, RCB boasts one of the league’s biggest fan bases, mainly driven by Virat Kohli’s stardom, a premium Bengaluru market and strong sponsor appeal. RR, on the other hand, never had a marquee player like Kohli, or boasts of a die-hard fanbase.
Santosh says that even though there is a gulf between the brand values of both teams, their revenues may still be nearly the same.
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“Each franchise gets around ₹500 crore from the BCCI’s central pool, regardless of whether it is at the top or bottom of the table. Team-owned revenue is typically in the ₹200 crore to ₹300 crore range. A team like RR may generate around ₹220 crore on its own, while RCB may generate ₹270 crore to ₹300 crore. So the overall revenue gap remains modest,” he says.
On star power, Santosh says the Kohli effect on RCB should be viewed with caution. “Virat Kohli adds value, but RCB has not yet been able to monetise that value at a dramatically higher level,” he said.
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What are the risks behind these valuations?
The bull case is not without caveats. Santosh identifies three major risks:
Media consolidation could weaken future bidding intensity for IPL rights.
Regulatory or policy action affecting key advertiser categories could hurt broadcaster economics and reduce future rights aggression.
Some investors may be building in aggressive assumptions about a much longer IPL window, which remains uncertain because it depends on player availability, support from other cricket boards and sustained viewer appetite.
Why buyers may still pay up
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Santosh says that these assets are not being bought like hold-forever dividend plays. “These (teams) are like trophy assets. For many investors, especially ultra-rich individuals and strategic buyers, the appeal may go beyond return on investment. Ownership brings status, access, visibility and proximity to the worlds of sport, entertainment and business,” he says.
The second reason is the exit value. According to Santosh, investors may believe that five or six years from now, demand for these assets will remain strong and someone else will be willing to pay $2.5 billion or $3 billion. In that case, their return comes from capital appreciation, not operating cash flow.
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“So this is not a hold-forever, collect-dividends investment. It is more likely a prestige asset plus a bet on future resale at a higher price,” he says.
During the Hoosiers’ title run, Cignetti became known for his demanding coaching style. Indiana opened spring practice Thursday, and incoming transfer wide receiver Nick Marsh got a crash course in what it means to play for Cignetti.
Marsh, who transferred from Michigan State, arrived at practice in gold cleats. After noting Marsh’s productive two-year stint in East Lansing, Cignetti pivoted to the wideout’s footwear.
Nick Marsh (6) of the Michigan State Spartans runs the ball up the field during the first quarter of a game against the Maryland Terrapins at Ford Field Nov. 29, 2025, in Detroit. (Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
“I didn’t love those gold shoes he came out in today,” Cignetti said. “He learned what getting your a– ripped is all about. I don’t know if that happened to him very often at Michigan State. That was before practice started.”
Marsh totaled 1,311 receiving yards and nine touchdowns at Michigan State. TCU quarterback Josh Hoover also headlines Indiana’s transfer additions.
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An Indiana Hoosiers helmet during a game against the Ball State Cardinals at Lucas Oil Stadium Aug. 31, 2019, in Indianapolis.(Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Cignetti added that the coaching staff has “more work to do with this group than the first two teams,” noting the group is still learning more about players the team will likely rely on next season.
Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti during the second quarter against the Miami Hurricanes in the 2026 College Football Playoff national championship at Hard Rock Stadium Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla.(Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Indiana went 16-0 en route to a thrilling win over Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship in January.
Wardley became world champion after being elevated from interim status in December, and he will be looking to continue the form that saw him claim stoppage victories over Joseph Parker and Justis Huni last year.
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As for Dubois, he is attempting to earn world honours once again after losing his IBF title to Oleksandr Usyk in July 2025, though he famously secured a knockout win against Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium in September 2024.
Usyk is likely to be an interested spectator for the Wardley vs. Dubois showdown, after revealing his intentions to potentially take on the winner in the near future, though for now the British duo will firmly have their sights set on one another.
More fights for the card in May have been revealed, with the most notable seeing American heavyweight Jared Anderson compete for the first time since signing with Queensberry, making his UK debut when he meets former English champion Solomon Dacres.
Elsewhere, unbeaten hopeful Jack Rafferty is set to move up a division and face Ekow Essuman in a welterweight contest, while Liam Cameron and former European champion Brad Rea meet in a light heavyweight bout.
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Rounding up the list of fights announced, unbeaten Khaleel Majid faces ex-British and Commonwealth lightweight champion Gavin Gwynne.
The third-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini take on the second-seeded Houston Cougars in a 2026 NCAA Tournament South Region Sweet 16 matchup on Thursday. Illinois is coming off a 76-55-88 last-second victory over VCU on Saturday in the second round, while Houston defeated Texas A&M 88-57 on Saturday. The Illini (26-8), who finished in second place in a three-way tie in the Big 10 Conference, have won four of the last five games. The Cougars (30-6), who came in second in the Big 12, have also won four of five games.
Tipoff from Toyota Center in Houston is set for 10:05 p.m. ET. The all-time series is split 3-3 as the programs meet for the first time since 2022. The Cougars are 2.5-point favorites in the latest Illinois vs. Houston odds, while the over/under for total points scored is 139.5. The Coogs are at -141 on the money line (risk $141 to win $100). Before making any Houston vs. Illinois picks, check out the Illinois vs Houston predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered the 2026 Sweet 16 on a sizzling 11-1 run on its top-rated over/under college basketball picks dating back to last season, and is on a 28-22 run on top-rated CBB side picks.
After 10,000 simulations of Illinois vs. Houston, SportsLine’s model is going Over on the total (139.5 points). The total has gone Over in three of Illinois last four games. Houston’s last game also came in Over the total. The Illini are 10-2 straight up in their last 12 games played on a Thursday.
The model projects the Illini to have four players score 12 points or more, including Keaton Wagler, who is projected to score 15.7 points. The Cougars are projected to have three players score 12 points or more, led by Emanuel Sharp, who is projected to score 16.2 points. The model is projecting 149 combined points as the Over clears in 74.3% of simulations. You can get the spread pick at SportsLine.
How to make Illinois vs. Houston picks
Now, the model simulated every possession of Illinois vs. Houston 10,000 times and says one side of the spread hits in over 50% of simulations. You can only see that pick at SportsLine.
Originally, Garcia had threatened to return to the 140lb division in order to challenge for Stevenson’s title, but the Californian has now u-turned on those plans and instead demanded that the Newark southpaw comes up to welterweight in order to make the fight happen.
In an interview with FightHype, Benavidez spoke with excitement ahead of the potential clash and encouraged Stevenson to test himself and grow his legacy whilst he is in his prime.
“It is not an easy fight, it is a 50/50 fight. I’m not going to say that Ryan Garcia is going to knock Shakur out and I am not saying that Shakur is going to go and knock Ryan Garcia out – it is a 50/50 fight and that is what we want to see.
“Everybody moves at their own pace. I think that Shakur has done a hell of a job, he is a great fighter, he is definitely going to be a legend and I just think that you should try and make the legend as big as you can, while you can.”
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Stevenson has maintained that he would require a rehydration clause in order to accept a fight above his natural weight division – a proposal that Garcia appears unwilling to agree to.
Craig Bellamy admitted Wales would have to “let it hurt” after their World Cup dream was destroyed by a penalty shoot-out play-off defeat.
Bosnia and Herzegovina prevailed 4-2 on spot-kicks after a 1-1 draw following 120 tension-packed minutes at Cardiff City Stadium.
Wales were four minutes from booking a home play-off final against Italy – 2-0 winners over Northern Ireland – on Tuesday after Daniel James’ stunning strike just after half-time, but 40-year-old veteran Edin Dzeko saved Bosnia by heading home from a corner.
“We’re going to hurt, let it hurt,” said boss Bellamy after history cruelly repeated itself as Wales had lost a Euro 2024 play-off final to Poland in Cardiff on penalties.
“I haven’t really felt this towards a group of players, because I’ve probably never had a group of players for myself as a coach.
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“Getting to back-to-back World Cups was really our target. To know you’ve not got there, and when you see players really disappointed, it hurts you more.
“I hurt tonight as it sinks in now. It will be a sleepless night, difficult to sleep off the back of this one. But it makes me even more determined tomorrow.
“The sun will rise, and I’m going to watch that sun rise. Then straight away, how do I go again? How do I improve? How does this team get better?
“Let’s get over tonight, but there’s a bright future. If I was playing, imagine looking forward to what’s coming up.
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“As a group of players, you have the Nations League coming up. Group A.
“You have a home nation Euros coming. It’s not a bad time to be a Welsh footballer.”
Wales seized the initial advantage in the shoot-out as Karl Darlow saved Ermedin Demirovic’s kick.
But Brennan Johnson blazed over and Neco Williams saw Nikola Vasilj push away his penalty, allowing Kerim Alajbegovic to seal Wales’ fate.
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Bellamy said he had not yet spoken to Johnson, who left the pitch in tears after his crucial penalty miss.
“Of course I’ll speak to Brennan. Let’s get through this moment (first),” said Bellamy.
“It’s a hard one and we practice pens. We’ve done all our research on it, we spent all week doing it.
“So we couldn’t have done any more on penalties. Honestly, I don’t believe in luck on pens.
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“You’ve got to be prepared and rehearse them every day in training. The analysis on penalties we went really through it.
“That leaves me more bewildered. when they missed the first one. I thought ‘yeah, this is exactly what we practice for’, but it wasn’t the case.”
Wales had the best first-half opportunities with Harry Wilson striking the upright midway through.
James hit the woodwork for the second time after lashing home from 25 yards, but Bosnia had threatened increasingly before Dzeko scored his 73rd international goal.
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Bellamy said: “If there’s any learning from it, which is really difficult right now with the disappointment, it is when the heat comes you’ve got to be even calmer.
“What happened is not what we want for this team. Bosnia are drilled for chaos, and we allowed chaos to creep in for 20 minutes.
“We’re not built that way. We don’t play that way. But I do understand it’s a play-off and they’re going out.”
Mar 26, 2026; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals left fielder Nathan Church (27) leaps at the wall and robs a home run from Tampa Bay Rays left fielder Ryan Vilade (not pictured) during the fifth inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Alec Burleson capped an eight-run sixth inning with a two-run homer to help the St. Louis Cardinals rally for a 9-7 victory against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays in the season opener for both teams on Thursday afternoon.
Burleson’s home run came after the Rays had scored six runs in the top half of the sixth to take a 7-1 lead.
Burleson had three hits, scored twice and drove in two runs. Nathan Church had three hits, drove in two and robbed a home run in left field, Victor Scott II also had three hits and JJ Wetherholt homered in his major league debut for St. Louis.
Cardinals left-hander Matthew Liberatore allowed one run and seven hits in five innings.
Jonathan Aranda homered and singled while Yandy Diaz, Ben Williamson and Nick Fortes each had three hits and one run and Jonny DeLuca added two hits and two RBIs for Tampa Bay.
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Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen also allowed one run over five innings, scattering four hits and one walk.
Wetherholt, the seventh overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, led off the third in his second MLB at-bat and blasted a 425-foot homer to center on an 0-2 pitch to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.
Church leaped to rob Ryan Vilade of a home run for the second out in the fifth, but Aranda came up next and cleared the fence in right-center field to tie it 1-1.
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Liberatore departed and the Rays loaded the bases with one out in the sixth. Justin Bruihl surrendered a pinch-hit RBI single to left by Chandler Simpson to give Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead.
After a sacrifice fly by Aranda, Williamson drove in another run with an infield single to extend the lead to 4-1. DeLuca then rolled a full-count grounder up the middle with the bases loaded, scoring two more runs.
Fortes came up for the second time in the inning and beat out another slow roller to score Williamson for a 7-1 lead.
Nolan Gorman cut it to 7-3 in the bottom half of the sixth with a groundball single up the middle that scored two.
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Jordan Walker doubled over the head of center fielder Cedric Mullins, bringing up Church, who lined an opposite-field two-run single to left to cut it to 7-5.
With the bases still loaded and nobody out, Wetherholt lifted a sacrifice fly to deep right to cut it to 7-6.
After Ivan Herrera tacked on another sacrifice fly to tie it 7-7, Burleson stepped up and blasted a two-run homer to deep right to put St. Louis in front.
JoJo Romero, Riley O’Brien and Ryne Stanek combined to blank Tampa Bay over the final three innings.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – MARCH 26: Coco Gauff of the United States celebrates after defeating Karolina Muchova of Czechia during their semi final match on day 10 of the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium on March 26, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)
Coco Gauff ran through Karolina Muchova 6–1, 6–1 at the Miami Open 2026 to reach her first final in Miami.
After a week of long, good matches, Gauff produced her most straightforward performance when it mattered most.
She’s now: 6–0 against Muchova, into her first Miami Open final and into her 6th WTA 1000 final.
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She came into this tournament off an injury and a retirement at Indian Wells. No expectations. Just trying to feel good on court again.
Now she’s in the final.
After the match, she said:
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“I’m super excited to be in the final of this tournament.” “Like I’ve said the whole week, I didn’t expect to be here . I’m really happy.” “I’ve just been trying to find the joy in the sport.” “Through the battles I was having fun.”“It’s nice to get through in 2 sets today.”
She becomes the youngest American woman to reach the Miami final since Serena Williams (2003) and will move up to World No. 3, overtaking Iga Swiatek.
Boxing art collector Ingo Wegerich explores the stories behind iconic fight artwork, drawing on his extensive private collection. This piece centres on Anthony Joshua’s redemption win over Andy Ruiz Jr.
Following the tragic accident on December 29, 2025, on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in Ogun State, Nigeria – in which two close friends and team members of Anthony Joshua, Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele, lost their lives – there has been a period of quiet around the two-time unified heavyweight champion.
As attention turns back to ‘AJ’s next move, we revisit one of the defining moments of his career – and the artwork that captured it.
The Fight
The rematch between Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz Jr. on December 7, 2019, in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, was an event of extremes – sporting, financial and logistical.
Six months earlier, late-replacement Andy Ruiz Jr. had stunned the boxing world at Madison Square Garden, knocking Joshua down four times in seven rounds to claim the WBC, WBA, IBF and IBO titles. Comparisons to Mike Tyson’s defeat by Buster Douglas were inevitable.
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The rematch, titled Clash on the Dunes, was not only the first heavyweight world championship staged in Saudi Arabia, but also an early marker of what has since become a new boxing Mecca.
The event came with an extraordinary financial package. Joshua reportedly earned between $60 million and $85 million, while Ruiz earned between $10 million and $13 million. The Diriyah Arena – an open-air stadium in the desert – was constructed in just six weeks and held 15,000 spectators.
At the weigh-in, the contrast was clear. Ruiz tipped the scales at 283.7lbs, more than 15lbs heavier than in the first fight, prompting suggestions he had celebrated too long. Joshua, by contrast, came in at 237¾lbs – over 10lbs lighter than before.
Inside the ring, the fight was controlled and clinical. Joshua dictated the distance, stayed disciplined, and scored consistently behind his jab and footwork. Ruiz struggled to close the gap or land anything meaningful.
More importantly, Joshua had answered every question with a tactical masterclass.
The Artwork
Boxing News marked Clash on the Dunes with a striking painted cover in vibrant shades of yellow, gold and brown, depicting both fighters in action. The artwork was created by Hall of Fame artist Richard T. Slone.
Image credit: Richard T. Slone
The colour palette carries symbolic weight. Yellow, often associated with tension and inner unrest, reflects the nervous energy before the fight. Gold represents ambition, wealth and grandeur, while also evoking the Saudi setting. The tones collectively mirror desert sand – a deliberate reference to the event’s title. Brown adds a sense of tradition and timelessness.
The painting was completed before the fight, which explains why it does not reflect the eventual physical disparity between the fighters. In Slone’s depiction, Joshua appears compact and powerful, almost gladiatorial, with sharply defined musculature.
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Both fighters are captured mid-exchange. Their expressions convey focus and intensity. Joshua’s eyes are closed, suggesting deep concentration, while his punch appears to drive through Ruiz with force and intent. Ruiz, mouth open, embodies exertion and determination.
The word “Destroyer” is visible on Ruiz’s shorts – a nod to his nickname, earned through his aggressive, high-output style.
The Roman numeral “II” references the rematch, but also symbolises Joshua’s attempt to rebuild after defeat — mentally as much as physically. The loss had shaken his identity as champion. Here, he appears composed, focused and resolute.
Slone’s brushwork is expressive and energetic. Through colour, movement and symbolism, he transforms a sporting moment into visual history with psychological depth.
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The Artist
Richard T. Slone, a British-born artist now based in Las Vegas, is widely regarded as one of boxing’s foremost painters.
A former protégé of Joe Frazier and a member of the famed Kronk Gym, Slone has served as the official artist of the International Boxing Hall of Fame since 1996.
He has been commissioned for some of the sport’s biggest events, including Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather vs Canelo Alvarez, Canelo vs Gennadiy Golovkin, and most recently Canelo vs Terence Crawford.
His work has featured on numerous Ring Magazine and Boxing News covers, capturing the drama and emotion of boxing at the highest level.
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Personal Note
I have a personal connection to this painting. I not only own it, but was also present at the fight in Saudi Arabia.
At the time, the experience felt like an adventure. The outdoor weigh-in was sparsely attended compared to other major events, and much of the atmosphere centred around the fighters’ hotel – intense, but intimate.
Shortly before the fight, light rain began to fall. It reminded me of The Rumble in the Jungle, where a heavy downpour followed shortly after the bout.
It’s a trip I will never forget – and this painting remains a vivid reminder of that experience.
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Artwork Details
Ruiz Jr. vs Joshua II Original, 2019 Richard T. Slone Acrylic on canvas 36″ × 40″
England’s Paul Waring shot a seven-under 63 to lead after the first round of the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
The 41-year-old, who is playing on a medical exemption and was a late entry to the field was five under at the turn and his bogey-free round was his lowest ever on the PGA Tour.
Waring, who has only made six cuts from 26 events on the PGA Tour, is one shot clear of former US Open champion Gary Woodland, while Sam Burns, Tom Hoge, and Michael Brennan are two shots behind at five under.
Englishman Marco Penge is a stroke further back at four under alongside his compatriot Matt Wallace.
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World number Scottie Scheffler is not competing due to the imminent birth of his second child, while Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy is also missing as he prepares to defend his Masters crown in April.
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