Ryan Garcia defended his WBC welterweight title with a two-round stoppage win over Conor Benn last weekend, and now two-division world champion Tim Bradley has named who believes to be the top dog in the 147lb scene.

Garcia needed less than five minutes to crush Benn’s dreams of capturing the coveted green and gold belt that his father once held, brutally flooring the Briton with a right-hand before stopping him upon his return to his feet.

Before the fight, promoter Dana White claimed that Garcia could become the ‘face of boxing’ if victorious and the Californian is hoping that he is within a couple of wins of doing just that, eyeing up title unifications with his fellow welterweight world champions Teofimo Lopez (WBA) and familiar foe Devin Haney (WBO).

Despite Garcia’s short but sweet display at the weekend, Bradley told his YouTube channel that Haney is still the man to beat as far as welterweights are concerned.

“Devin Haney is the best 147lber right now. That is who the best 147lber is, it’s Devin ‘The Dream’ damn Haney, it ain’t no damn Ryan Garcia! Y’all was tripping last night.”

Garcia famously defeated Haney back in 2024, but his majority-decision triumph was overturned to a no-contest soon after, following Garcia’s positive test for the banned substance, Ostarine.

Still, whilst a rematch between the two reigning world champions and fierce rivals remains as one of the most in-demand bouts in the sport, it is expected that Garcia will next pursue Lopez and that Haney will target IBF champion Liam Paro.

If both men are successful in becoming unified welterweight world champions, the pair could collide in a fascinating undisputed title showdown in late 2027.

Queen’s Gamble is set to join some of Sydney’s top fillies in the upcoming Tea Rose Stakes at Randwick. Trainer Matthew Smith, however, possesses a strong historical indicator to support his belief in her competitive potential.

Smith previously trained Hurtle Myrtle, who participated in all four events of the 2009 Princess Series. She achieved placings in three of those races, including a third behind the highly-rated More Joyous in the Group 1 Flight Stakes over 1600 metres.

The following autumn, Hurtle Myrtle narrowly missed securing a significant victory, being beaten only at the line by the standout galloper More Joyous in the Surround Stakes (1400m), held that year at Warwick Farm.

“She was good as a three-year-old. One day at Warwick Farm, Hurtle Myrtle ran against More Joyous. More Joyous was about $1.20 and Hurtle Myrtle headed her with about fifty (metres) to go before More Joyous kicked back and won the race and I thought, oh my God,” Smith recounted.

“This filly is similar. A scopey type of filly who is unassuming.

“I think there are similarities. Queen’s Gamble has had a few runs, but she seems to be handling her racing well.”

After resuming with two second-place finishes in midweek races at Canterbury, Queen’s Gamble broke her maiden status with a dominant performance at Warwick Farm on August 19. She subsequently delivered an even more impressive victory by over three lengths at the same track last start.

Smith has been impressed by the filly’s consistent improvement with each start, admitting that her rapid development has been a surprise to the stable.

“She’s only a lightly-framed filly, so we were never really looking for anything big at home,” Smith stated.

“For that reason, she has probably got under our guard a little bit because we hadn’t been asking her for much.

“Her first two runs were good and the way she pulled up after each run she didn’t really need a lot of work, so I just kept ticking her over and she has gone from strength to strength.”

Tommy Berry, who has ridden Queen’s Gamble in three of her five starts, is scheduled to partner her in the 1400-metre Tea Rose Stakes.

Smith is anticipating a strong showing, but believes the filly’s optimal performance will come when she steps up to the mile distance for the Flight Stakes next month.

“She will definitely be suited in the Flight,” he said.

“If we get a strong-run gallop, the 14 (1400m) will suit her, but the Flight will be better.”

On Thursday, Queen’s Gamble was priced at $8, while Chilly Girl, the winner of the Rosebud, was the $3.30 favourite.

Check out the latest online bookmakers for betting markets for the Tea Rose Stakes.

Ex-Premier League goalkeeper Kevin Miller died this week, Wigan Athletic announced

Gary Caldwell struggled to put into words “a horrific week” for Wigan following the death of goalkeeping coach Kevin Miller, which ended with Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Wycombe.

The football world was shocked in midweek when news broke of former Premier League goalkeeper Miller’s death at the age of 57. Before the game, there was a minute’s applause for Miller, which was repeated at the 57-minute mark.

Wycombe also showed their respects as striker Jayden Wareham, who was a colleague of Miller’s last season at Exeter, placed a wreath behind one of the goals before kick-off.

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A Dan Casey header midway through the second half gave Wycombe all three points from a desperately poor game but, as Caldwell acknowledged, everyone at Wigan has had “bigger things to think about” this week.

“I’m really disappointed to lose again and I thought it was a strange game,” he said.

“It’s obviously been a horrific week for us and I thought even Wycombe were affected by it as well at the start of the game.

“Once the game got going after 15-20 minutes, it was a very tight, even game, a game of few chances and small margins.

“I said to the players at half-time that we have to embrace games like this and make sure we come out on the right side of it.

“Unfortunately we didn’t…we didn’t create enough, we didn’t do enough with the ball when we had it. Then they get their one effort on goal, which they score from, and we end up losing the game.

“I’m disappointed to lose the game but we’ve had bigger things to think about this week. We’ll try to get over that first, but we’ve got a lot to do…we must be better in terms of football.

“It has been a really tough week for everyone but I know we will be stronger for it in the long run.”

Interim Wycombe boss Tom Hounsell was delighted to secure three points which sees them pull away from the foot of the table.

“I think both sides largely cancelled each other out,” he said. “I was pleased with the start of the game. For the first 10-15 minutes we were excellent and we just couldn’t capitalise on that momentum.

“We probably made the game a little bit more difficult than necessary in that first half.

“We made some changes at half-time, we changed our shape in the second half, and it came to fruition pretty quickly.

“So I’m really happy with the result and pretty pleased with the players because I thought they deserved what they got.”

NDTV on Saturday launched the new season of the AM Green IGPL Golf Pro-Am, a unique platform that brings corporates and professional golfers together. The NDTV-AM Green IGPL Golf Pro-Am returns for a bigger and bolder celebration of sport, leadership and meaningful connections. During the launch event, legendary India cricketer Yuvraj Singh joined NDTV CEO and Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal to unveil the trophy for the upcoming season. Season 2 will feature 10 Pro-Am events, expanding significantly from the six-city footprint of the inaugural edition.

“The whole idea is not just to expand the universe of golf but to make golf fun and bring in as many people as possible,” said NDTV CEO and Editor-in-Chief Rahul Kanwal.

“Golf can be hugely intimidating for those who don’t play the sport. Just seeing everyone so focused. There is the authentic part of the sport, but the idea is to broaden the horizon.”

Following a highly successful first season, the NDTV Golf Pro-Am is expanding its footprint with the inclusion of Vizag and Pune as new host cities. The event will return to Bengaluru, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Hyderabad, while a partnership with the Indian Golf Pro League (IGPL) is set to further enhance the tournament’s scale and reach.

IGPL CEO Uttam Singh Mundy, a former professional golfer himself, also spoke about how the sport has evolved over the years, particularly with the emergence of initiatives such as the NDTV-AM Green IGPL Golf Pro-Am, compared to the era when he was actively competing on the circuit.

“All I can say is that it’s a completely different ball game today. When we were playing professionally, things were very different. We often talk among friends and wish we had some of the opportunities that players have now. Back then, the ecosystem was entirely different, but I’m glad to see how far the sport has come. For me, the transition wasn’t that difficult,” Mundy said.

The new season starts October 3 at Qutub Golf Course in Delhi.

Corporate professionals will once again have the opportunity to share the stage with sporting icons, including Yuvraj Singh, Leander Paes, Jeev Milkha Singh, Gaganjeet Bhullar, Jyoti Randhawa, Shiv Kapur, SSP Chawrasia and Gaurav Ghei.

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On Wednesday, the account behind TrenirusGTO posted a five-minute video showcasing its own software. The video had the app running alongside a live microstakes cash game on ACR, giving the player the “right” decision on each street. This is what’s commonly known in poker as real-time assistance, a universal bane of the online poker industry. It’s a form of cheating that has grown alongside the rise of solvers, and policing it is only going to get harder.

It’s the poker equivalent of having the answers to the test as you’re taking it. The account was not exposing anything, it was advertising its software, albeit in very odd fashion. Any PR is good PR I guess.

After the video spread among poker players on X, ACR responded with a statement confirming RTA is strictly prohibited, followed by a second one naming the account involved. Username UGLYRETD, created in August, deposited $14.13, played 111 hands and finished with a net loss of $13.12. The account was permanently banned, and ACR said the seven players who lost money to it would be refunded within 24 hours.

A swift response. But this is a site that has frequently been intermingled with these sorts of allegations and incidents.

In early 2024, posters on the Two Plus Two forum alleged that a bot farm running hundreds of accounts had siphoned around $10 million off ACR’s network in just one year. Those allegations have never been publicly resolved, one way or the other.

In January 2025, well-known poker pro Nacho Barbero, an ACR team pro at the time, posted an image that appeared to show a solver open while he was playing an online session. ACR’s response to this was not as measured as the Trenirus one, calling it “Nacho being a goofball” and noting that he is “not a GTO-style player and likely never will be.” The site later apologized for that response, investigated him, and found no wrongdoing. An independent review by British pro Patrick Leonard reached the same conclusion. Barbero has always denied cheating, saying he was coaching students at the time. That wasn’t the end of this saga, however.

Three months later, during a PokerGO stream, Barbero was talking with Isaac Haxton, who asked him how seriously ACR takes stopping cheating. “You can just have GTO Wizard open on your computer while playing?” Haxton asked. “Are they even trying?” Barbero replied: “I don’t think they’re even trying.”

Days later, Barbero was axed by ACR. Funnily enough, he was picked up by WPT Global four months after that.

Then came the most eye-rolling event throughout this eternal PR struggle ACR faces. Stung by the bot accusations, ACR publicly offered $100,000 and a security job to anyone who could build a bot, run it on ACR for 5,000 hands and have it go undetected. Multiple people claimed success inside 12 hours. One posted openly that he had a working bot running and asked what proof they’d like. Thirty-eight hours after announcing the challenge, ACR withdrew it and apologized for the error. Nobody was paid.

All of the above loops back to one inherent factor that is rife in online poker. ACR is based in Costa Rica and is not licensed by any US gaming regulator, while serving American players. You can argue that regulators choke online poker operators and stop the game flourishing, but they are still there protecting players. ACR being an offshore entity means it answers to nobody. When a cheating allegation arrives, it is the judge, the jury and the defendant.

ACR CEO Phil Nagy posted on X reiterating the site’s commitment against RTA and other forms of cheating, adding that ACR is the only online poker site that shows every player’s hole cards at its final tables, so the audience can spot anything untoward. He’s right that they can. But that’s the crux of what makes this all uncomfortable. It feels like online poker’s main enforcement mechanism right now is players spotting things and sharing them on Twitter, or in this case someone thinking cheating was a good form of promotion.

I can guarantee you that in the world of online poker, not every cheater is that dumb or bad at advertising.

Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season after Brighton produced a strong performance to beat the defending champions 3-0 at the Amex Stadium.

Brighton started the game with confidence after recent wins over Coventry City and Manchester United, and they quickly put Arsenal under pressure.

The hosts took the lead in the 31st minute when Pascal Gross fired a shot from the edge of the box. The ball hit the post before going into the net.

Arsenal struggled to find their usual rhythm and looked uncomfortable whenever they had possession.

The Gunners had a big chance to equalise just before half-time. Bukayo Saka found himself in a good position after Martin Odegaard’s effort was deflected into his path, but he could not convert the chance.

Brighton punished Arsenal almost immediately.

Charalampos Kostoulas was given space outside the box and took advantage, turning before firing past David Raya to make it 2-0.

Mikel Arteta made no changes at the break as he looked for a reaction from his players, but Brighton remained in control.

Just 12 minutes into the second half, Chema Andres headed in Brighton’s third goal from another Gross corner.

The result means Brighton scored 11 goals in just one week, following their five-goal victory over Coventry and their 3-2 comeback win against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup.

Brighton came close to adding a fourth when Pascal Struijk headed wide from another corner.

Arsenal also had opportunities to reduce the deficit, with Kai Havertz denied by goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen after breaking through on goal.

Matt O’Riley also came close for Brighton, but David Raya made a save to prevent a fourth goal.

The defeat ended Arsenal’s strong run and left them second in the table on goal difference, having played one more game than Manchester City.

Brighton’s victory moved them up to third, just two points behind the leaders.

Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman says Nigeria must aim to win both of their opening matches in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.

Nigeria will begin their qualifying campaign against Madagascar on September 25 before facing Guinea-Bissau four days later.

The Super Eagles will enter the qualifiers looking to avoid another disappointment after missing out on the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Nigeria had a strong run at the 2025 AFCON in Morocco, reaching the semi-finals before losing to the host nation on penalties. They later finished third after securing a bronze medal.

The Super Eagles have also enjoyed a good record at recent AFCON tournaments. Nigeria last failed to qualify for the competition in 2017 and have reached the last four in each of the last four editions.

Lookman believes the team must approach the upcoming matches with the right mentality and show respect to both opponents.

“The whole team is looking forward to it. Two very important games are approaching, and the opponents are, of course, difficult to face. But we are looking forward to winning these two games,” Lookman said.

“We know that the games will be difficult, but we will do everything possible to achieve it.”

The 28-year-old has been included in head coach Eric Chelle’s squad for both matches and is expected to play an important role for Nigeria.

Before joining the Super Eagles camp, Lookman is set to feature for Atletico Madrid in their derby against Real Madrid on Sunday.

Nigeria will be hoping to start the AFCON 2027 qualifying campaign with maximum points from the two matches.

Hasim Rahman is willing to compete with the world’s top operators as he bids to break George Foreman’s record and become the oldest heavyweight champion in history.

Should he succeed in doing so, the 53-year-old would also trump the record of Bernard Hopkins, who was 49 when he reigned as boxing’s oldest-ever world champion.

Before attempting to tackle this challenge, though, Rahman must first end over 12 years of inactivity and complete his comeback assignment on September 24.

Standing in the opposite corner will be Phillip Triantafillo, who, with a record of 4-4, is certainly no world-beater and would be the first to admit his limitations.

Nevertheless, he is the man tasked with scuppering Rahman’s title ambitions in Indiana, where both men have agreed to collide in a scheduled six-round contest.

In his last professional outing, Rahman lost a three-round unanimous decision to little-known Australian Anthony Nansen and, prior to that, was stopped in two rounds by Alexander Povetkin.

As he looks to eventually secure a world title shot, however, the American has told Abrams Boxing that he is prepared to face any heavyweight in the sport.

“Any time I can make history I’m interested in doing it. It don’t really matter who’s on the other side [of the ring]. It could be any heavyweight in the world – any of them. I feel like I’m capable of getting in there with anybody in the world.

I’m punching like a 25-year-old and out working young guys in the gym. I’m ready for whatever and whoever, this is just step one.”

Known for his almighty upset victory over Lennox Lewis, who he stopped in five rounds before suffering a fourth-round stoppage defeat in their immediate rematch, Rahman went on to cement his legacy as a two-time world champion.