Mikaela Mayer and Chantelle Cameron butted heads in their final face-off before Saturday’s light-middleweight unification bout in Birmingham.

WBA and WBC champion Mayer and Briton Cameron had been cordial during the build-up but tensions spilled over at Friday’s weigh-in.

As the pair came together to face-off at BP Pulse Arena, Cameron pushed her head into Mayer’s and the American held her ground, pushing back before they ended up side-by-side and exchanging verbal insults.

“She isn’t intimidating me,” Cameron said after security stepped in. “All that yapping and getting in my face – just watch tomorrow.”

Mayer, 36, claimed Cameron, 35, had said she would be “too slow”, something the WBO champion dismissed.

“That’s in your head, you’re deluded. Shut your mouth, you’re so deluded and you’re making things up because you don’t believe in yourself,” Cameron responded.

“You’re going to get humbled.”

After being pulled apart for a second time, Mayer added: “I didn’t know this Cameron existed, she’s going to need it.”

Frances Tiafoe and Brandon Nakashima won quarterfinal matches Friday night to set up one all-American men’s semifinal at the Cincinnati Open. Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula also advanced to make it four U.S. players in the semis.

“It’s insane, I think we’re all doing so well,” Gauff said. “Hopefully, you know, we can have a double title win. Obviously there are more matches to be played for that to happen. We definitely root for each other.” 
Tiafoe beat Italian Lorenzo Musetti, 7-6 (2), 7-5, and Nakashima beat fellow American Taylor Fritz, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, marking the first time two Americans have reached the men’s semifinals in Cincinnati since Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish in 2010.

Nakashima is the first American man to reach the semifinals in Canada and Cincinnati in the same season since Fish in 2011. Nakashima is coached by Tiafoe’s former coach, Wayne Ferreira.

“It’s a guy who knows me pretty well in Wayne,” Tiafoe said. “I expect some good serving and all the best from him. Happy where I’ve been mentally more than anything. This has been a great week.” 
Tiafoe reached the Cincinnati finals in 2024, losing to Jannik Sinner.

The other men’s semifinal Saturday features Italy’s Flavio Cobolli against Frenchman Arthur Fils.

Gauff beat Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, 6-2, 6-2. Gauff will face surprise entrant 20-year-old Czech Sara Bejlek on Saturday.

Bejlek outlasted 2019 champion Madison Keys, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) on Friday. She upset No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in the Round of 16.

“Sara is a great player,” Gauff said. “I watched her a lot in Abu Dhabi (in February) this year when she won that title. So I think it’s going to be a tough match. I’m looking forward to it.” 
Pegula, ranked No. 3 and who beat Amanda Anisimova on Thursday, will face fifth-ranked Iga Swiatek in Saturday’s other semifinal.

The bad news keeps getting worse for Good Good. In the aftermath of a widely criticized ad for a Good Good x Callaway driver that depicted Good Good’s Garrett Clark knocking over his colleague Alexis Miestowski, the company has lost many of its most high-profile partnerships.

On Thursday evening, Good Good lost perhaps the biggest of them all, the company’s sponsorship of the PGA Tour’s 2026 Good Good Championship.

In dueling statements on social media, Good Good announced it was stepping away from sponsorship of the PGA Tour event scheduled for November in Austin, and the PGA Tour confirmed the news.

Here’s what you need to know.

The fallout from Good Good’s controversial driver ad has snowballed quickly.

Good Good apparel was removed from store shelves at Dick’s Sporting Goods, Golf Galaxy and PGA TOUR Superstore. Callaway ended its relationship with Good Good, sending the co-branded driver featured in the questionable ad to the dustbin of history.

Golf Channel decided to postpone the premiere of the brand-new Big Break x Good Good television show, then cancelled the first season altogether. The winner of that show was supposed to earn a sponsor’s exemption into what was arguably Good Good’s boldest foray into the mainstream yet: the 2026 Good Good Championship.

But on Thursday night, Good Good announced its decision to step away from the upcoming PGA Tour event, writing that the company’s focus is now on “ensuring we learn from this situation,” and that it is “committed to earning back trust.”

“After thoughtful discussions with the PGA Tour and careful reflection, we have decided to step away as sponsor of the tour event in Austin this fall. We recognize that we have work to do as an organization, and our focus right now is on our team, our culture and ensuring we learn from this situation,” Good Good’s statement read. “We are grateful for our relationship with the PGA Tour and appreciate their partnership over the years. We remain committed to earning back trust, and we hope to work together again in the future.”

Earlier this week at Tour Championship, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp admitted that Good Good’s sponsorship of the Austin tournament was a “fluid situation.”

Following Good Good’s announcement, the PGA Tour released a statement of their own, writing that they “agree with [Good Good’s] decision” to back out as tournament sponsors.

“The PGA Tour has been informed of Good Good Golf’s decision to step away as sponsor of the event in Austin, Texas, this fall,” the PGA Tour’s statement read. “We agree with their decision to use this time to focus on their organization and the work ahead. The PGA Tour believes in golf’s ability to bring people together and create a welcoming environment for all.”

The Tour also noted that the Austin Tour event, scheduled for November 12-15 at Omni Barton Creek, will go on as planned, and the Tour will “provide an update on sponsorship plans at a later date.”

For now, the tournament has been renamed the “Austin Championship” on the PGA Tour’s website.

The tension cracked at the weigh-in for Moses Itauma’s fight with Filip Hrgovic, with the young Briton pushing his rival off the stage before receiving a slap in return.

Itauma, 21, will puts his unbeaten record on the line when he fights Hrgovic for the vacant IBF heavyweight belt, as the pair headline at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday.

And Itauma had been typically stoic until Friday’s weigh-in, refusing to rise to the Croatian’s taunts that he is “delusional” and just a “kid”.

But the face-off saw each man bark at the other, with Itauma insisting he will “f*** up” Hrgovic on Saturday, before he pushed the 34-year-old off the stage as Hrgovic flexed in front of the fans.

Hrgovic then took to the stage again, slapping Itauma before the heavyweights were held apart.

“I just told him what’s gonna happen; I’ll smash him,” Hrgovic told DAZN moments later. “He pushed me first, so I just give him [something] back, you know? He started [it].”

“I was ready to go,” Itauma admitted. “I don’t know, I just lost it a little bit […] I had a little itch, and I just had to scratch it.”

The Briton’s promoter Frank Warren soon added: “I’m a bit surprised myself at what happened. He’s not normally like this, Moses, but he’s up for this, as you can see.

“I think that’s what he was trying to do there: stamp his authority before he even gets into the ring. He’s showing he’s not fazed by what Filip brings.”

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Itauma will enter the fight on the back of a stoppage of Jermaine Franklin in March, when he became the first boxer to knock out the American. In his previous bout, Itauma stopped compatriot and veteran Dillian Whyte inside two minutes.

Meanwhile, Hrgovic’s last four fights have all come against British opposition. In the first of those contests, in 2024, he suffered his sole professional loss when he was stopped by Daniel Dubois after sustaining a nasty cut.

But the Croatian bounced back with points wins over David Adeleye and Joe Joyce, and a stoppage of Dave Allen in May.

Ollie Robinson and Jofra Archer make light work of Pakistan’s lower order as they combine to take five wickets for just 19 runs in seven overs as England bowl Pakistan out for 110 in their first innings, giving England a 180-run lead on day two of the second Test at Lord’s.

FOLLOW LIVE: England v Pakistan – Second Test, day two

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The bronze medalists from the 2020 and 2024 Olympics began their Hockey World Cup campaign with a lot of promise, outclassing Wales in their opening group game. However, since then, apart from a win over Pakistan, India have lost every single match.

In fact, India have not beaten a single team in this World Cup that is ranked above them in the FIH Outdoor Hockey Rankings. Will they be able to end that curse today?

Arsenal got its title defense off to a perfect start Friday with a 3-0 win over newly promoted Coventry City in the opening match of the Premier League.

In France, a second-half double from Amine Gouiri set Marseille on its way to a 4-0 victory over Strasbourg on the first night of this season’s Ligue 1 action.

Elsewhere in Europe, Real Betis beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in the Spanish league while fan trouble overshadowed the first round of the German Cup.

Arsenal sweeps Coventry aside in Premier League opener 
Newcomer Christos Tzolis helped set up two goals as defending champion Arsenal opened the Premier League season by dismantling promoted Coventry 3-0 to spoil the visitor’s long-awaited return to the top flight.

After ending a 22-year wait for the Premier League title, Arsenal showed why it’s favored to repeat as champion by completely dominating Frank Lampard’s side in a game that was one-sided from start to finish.

Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard scored for the Gunners, who spurned chances to pad the scoreline even further.

For Coventry, it was a rude welcome back to the Premier League after a 25-year absence. Having won the second-tier Championship last season by a wide margin, Lampard’s side simply looked outmatched as it was repeatedly taken apart by the marauding Gunners.

Gouiri leads Marseille to dominant win over Strasbourg 
Gouiri, who scored eight goals in 22 league matches last season, has been linked with a move to Everton in recent days, but the speculation clearly did not hinder his concentration in the Ligue 1 opener.

He slotted home from close range a minute after the break and then doubled his tally from the penalty spot midway through the second half, just minutes after Strasbourg was reduced to 10 men following Samir El Mourabet’s dismissal for a bad tackle.

Keyliane Abdallah added a third in the 89th minute before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg completed the scoring in stoppage time to give new Marseille coach Bruno Genesio the perfect start to the season.

Rodrigo Riquelme gives Real Betis a winning start in SpainBetis kicked off its La Liga campaign with a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad in Seville.

Riquelme’s volleyed goal after 63 minutes separated two evenly matched teams and extended Betis’ unbeaten home run in Friday night games to 18.

The win takes the Seville club into joint second place in La Liga, one of four teams on three points, behind Alaves, which has four.

It’s a stuttering start to the league season in Spain, with some teams having played twice before others have even kicked off their campaign.

Rowdy fans and startling scoreline in the German Cup 
Police had to intervene in the German Cup match between Waldhof Mannheim and Kaiserslautern as fans threw flares and other objects and some Mannheim supporters invaded the pitch. The trouble started as the game was heading into extra time with the score tied at 0-0.

The match was halted for nearly 30 minutes as officers in riot gear and mounted police pushed fans back into the stands before the players could return.

Ibrahim Kanate scored in the last minute of extra time, giving second-division Kaiserslautern a 1-0 win to advance to the second round.

Eintracht Frankfurt cruised into the second round of the competition with a staggering 11-0 win away at fifth-tier St. Tonis. Ten of the goals came before half time, three of them from Jonathan Burkardt.

Karlsruhe beat Munster 2-1 and Dzenan Pejcinovic scored a hattrick as VfB Stuttgart beat Hansa Rostock 4-0 away from home.

What a difference a pair of years can make.

Kevin O’Connell was riding high going into 2024. Kirk Cousins had walked for a gigantic payday in Atlanta but Minnesota was set up with Sam Darnold alongside J.J. McCarthy. The Vikings were therefore working with the best of both worlds due to the upside veteran and raw but developing young fella. O’Connell was pleased.

Of course, the great issue with that plan was the upcoming injury for J.J. McCarthy. The Michigan alumnus would need to spend his rookie season in the infirmary. O’Connell, though, was quite brash and bullish in public praise, declaring the kid as the Vikings’ long-awaited franchise quarterback.

No longer, it would seem.

Kevin O’Connell Has Lost Confidence in J.J. McCarthy

Earlier in the week, Coach O’Connell sidestepped a question about whether McCarthy would remain in the QB2 spot.

“I think to me,” O’Connell began, “it’s making an assessment on what we think is best for the team.” Afterwards, O’Connell ventured into various thoughts about other roster battles and how Max Brosmer is still around. None of that chatter, though, can mask how far McCarthy has fallen over these past two years in O’Connell’s assessment. Not a declared franchise quarterback, McCarthy isn’t even a locked-in QB2.

In August of 2024, O’Connell felt so good about McCarthy that he was willing to proclaim the kid as Minnesota’s franchise quarterback to the media. Doing so came after seeing him lose his debut season to his knee injury. Still, though, O’Connell was confident.

Will Ragatz sent along the quote in a piece for Sports Illustrated: “As excited as I was to draft him, he’s confirmed everything that I hoped to see. Our fan base and everyone should be excited about the fact that we’ve got our young franchise quarterback in the building.”

Football publications covered the quote. All of the NFL’s website, Pro Football Talk, CBS Sports, and even the Vikings’ website covered that comment. Many others did, as well. And why not? It was a bold, brash claim that gained instant credibility due to who was saying it: the quarterback whisperer.

Fast forward into August of 2026 and things are quite a bit different. Already, McCarthy has been the backup for a couple of weeks. He appears to be hanging on by a thread to remain as the main backup rather than sinking down to being the QB3.

These past several weeks and months have involved Kevin O’Connell repeating himself. Over and over again, Minnesota’s skipper has insisted that the Vikings were conducting a true passer battle. Most didn’t believe what he had to say; seeing things go to Kyler Murray so early in training camp didn’t help the coach to retroactively persuade people.

Going into the Vikings’ final preseason game, many think the Carson Wentz is going to become the Vikings’ main backup. Based purely on the on-field play in the preseason, Wentz should be the QB2. The issue, though, is that he’s a 33-year-old journeyman who is well respected but not viewed as a world beater. How high is his ceiling?

At this point in time, Wentz could have more upside for 2026 alone even if the long-term edge goes to the young fella.

The thorn in the Vikings’ side: McCarthy hasn’t progressed nearly as much as desired. My theory is that the kid’s confidence is shot, meaning he reverts to old habits and struggles to scan the field.

For a long time, I argued that Kyler Murray would start in Week 1 but that J.J. McCarthy would start more games overall in 2026. That thesis was always unpopular but is now on life support.

Kevin O’Connell is entering his fifth season as the Vikings’ head coach. He’s 43-25 in the regular season since taking over, working out to a sizzling .632 winning percentage. He has won the NFC North title a single time (2022), was honored as NFL Coach of the Year (2024), and been to the playoffs twice.

He is 0-2 in the playoffs.

Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.