Since moving up to heavyweight, Richard Riakporhe has become acutely aware of the pronounced power he now possesses in each fist.

He was, of course, a destructive puncher at cruiserweight, only now there is an extra 30-odd pounds that can be utilised to generate the force required for a dramatic finish.

Combining that with his natural speed, too, Riakporhe has become almost fearful of the devastating effects his punches might have on future opponents.

In fact, before steamrolling Tommy Welch in his last outing, ‘The Midnight Train’ had envisioned the outcome being far worse than just a second-round stoppage.

Speaking with Boxing News, he reflected on his emphatic performance last November while, at the same time, expressing concern for his opponents’ safety.

“I’m definitely feeling way more powerful. When you have more weight on you, and you’re turning into the shots, it’s going to be way more impactful.

“That’s why, when I’m preparing for a fight, I always pray for my opponents. I don’t want to get myself in a situation where serious damage is done.

“Before my last fight, I had a dream that I did some serious damage to my opponent, so I was happy that he left the ring in one piece.

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“I know what I do in the gym; I know what I’m capable of. That’s why you see me calm and collected throughout these processes.”

Sticking with this routine, the next person for whom Riakporhe must say a prayer is Jeamie TKV, who he will face on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11.

But while acknowledging his concussive knockout power, the Londoner ultimately believes his speed represents a key advantage over heavyweights such as TKV.

“[Speed is] all I really focus on. The other day I was sparring Pat Brown, who’s a super-fast cruiserweight, so to be able to mix it with him gives me more and more confidence.

“I always tell people that it’s good to have power, but power is overrated. Speed and timing is everything.

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“When you’re fighting someone with speed, and you can’t do anything to counter them or respond, it almost feels like you’re disabled; it’s like you’re handicapped.”

Since moving up to Scotland, where he trains with head coach Billy Nelson, Riakporhe has noticed several differences to his previous set-up in Loughborough.

More specifically, there is less of an emphasis on video analysis and more of an old-school feel to his camps, encouraging him to make adjustments on the fly.

“Once you understand how to adjust, you can deal with most things. For me, it’s not complicated.

“In this day and age, a lot of people are using video analysts and are waiting [for their opponent to throw] one type of shot, so they can react and respond to it.

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“But what if they’re waiting for the shot and the shot never comes? That’s why I like the old-school kind of vibe: just going in there and dealing with what’s in front of you.”

Standing in front of Riakporhe at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be TKV, who claimed his British title with a split decision victory over Frazer Clarke in November.

Having previously held the Lonsdale Belt at 200lbs, Riakporhe looks forward to replicating his success in the land of the giants.

“I can add something else to my legacy: becoming a two-weight British champion. That’s something to rant and rave about, for sure.”

While TKV represents a strong opponent, Riakporhe equally believes that Clarke, his former stablemate, would have defeated the 32-year-old if not for his apparent lack of top-tier preparation.

“I feel like Frazer would have done much better if he didn’t have certain issues in camp, but even though he fought a completely different gameplan [to what he should have], it was still such a close decision.

“So I see [TKV] as another opponent in the Riakporhe story. He’s a durable opponent – someone who shouldn’t be taken lightly – but it’s about how Riakporhe deals with him.”

At heavyweight, Riakporhe is just one win away from landing a major opportunity, but must first become a two-weight British champion against TKV this Saturday.

Ryan Garcia has finally achieved world honours and now looks to secure a significant during the second half of the year.

Garcia trumped Mario Barrios to get his hands on the WBC welterweight world title back in February. He has since been linked to a rematch with Devin Haney, but that seems set to marinate for a while longer, with Teofimo Lopez instead being touted as a possible first defence.

Garcia does have a mandatory challenger in Conor Benn, however, who fights Regis Prograis on Saturday night at a catchweight of 150lbs in an attempt to drop fully back down to welterweight.

Speaking to the Ring ahead of his return, the Brit made it clear that he was looking to enforce his position should he get the win.

“I want the biggest fights and I don’t think that there is any bigger fight out there than me and Ryan. I have got Regis in front of me, who is an absolute handful, and, no doubt, I have prepared for him as if I am preparing for the unified world champion.”

Benn then went on to explain why he opted to accept a fight with Prograis, rather than wait for a showdown with Garcia, admitting that he ‘likes the risk’ of losing his position as mandatory challenger and was keen for activity.

“I could have waited until July, August, September for Garcia, or whenever he is ready, I could have waited. Do I wait or do I stay active? Do I run that risk fighting a two-time world champion? I like that risk.

“I am in this game to fight and I believe that, on my best day, I beat anybody. So, although he is a southpaw and fights nothing like Garcia, it’s just being active, getting me out. After this fight, get me straight back out again.”

Benn-Prograis is the co-main event of the Fury-Makhmudov bill on Saturday night. Should Benn come through, he is expected to call Garcia out post-fight, leaving it in the hands of the WBC to order the fight.

Lexie Hull remembers what it was like playing for the Indiana Fever before Caitlin Clark arrived in town.

It’s different now. The arenas are louder, the opposing players are more motivated and social media is more volatile.

“The most challenging part is there’s just so much scrutiny. People have opinions online, and, unfortunately, that’s part of the job and the role that we play,” Hull told Fox News Digital about what’s harder about playing in Indiana since 2024.

“People need to know that everyone’s human. We’re real people. I think when things get blown out of proportion, when things get really personal and there’s personal attacks on people’s character, I think that’s where it gets over the line.”

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Lexie Hull, left, and Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever during a game against the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena June 27, 2024, in Seattle. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

When asked if she has been the target of personal attacks online, Hull said, “I’m sure I have. I try not to read comments for that reason.”

Much of the controversial social media discourse about the Fever stems from heated moments on the court over the last two seasons. Clark and Fever fans often expressed outrage at times when an opposing player fouled her or delivered a physical play against Clark without a foul being called.

Hull was drafted by the Fever in 2022 and played two full seasons in a quieter, less-crowded Gainbridge Fieldhouse than the one she has played in the last two years, falling short of the playoffs both years.

But when Clark was drafted in 2024, Hull’s team became the center of the women’s basketball world.

Hull says she noticed a difference in how opposing players started to perform against her team that year, which she credits to the surge in popularity.

“Because of the fans that we’ve gotten since 2024, with the rise in, I think, like, popularity with the Indiana Fever being like a name that people know. … And there’s a million Fever jerseys and Fever shirts. I think, like, as an opposing team, you’d want to win even more because you feel there’s so many people rooting,” Hull said.

“It’s exciting to have that type of following across the country, and I think, like, for other teams, they have great fans and great people that show up for them, and they want to perform for those people, just like we want to perform for ours.”

When asked if she believes games have gotten more physical as a result, Hull said, “I think just the game itself is physical. I don’t know if it’s gotten any more physical. I think social media amplifies a lot of that.

“I think people want to win. I think people just want to win. … [The games] are all physical. … They all get chippy at times. Calls get made, calls don’t get made. That’s just part of the game.”

FEVER’S SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM DROPS ‘NO ONE LIKES US’ TAKE AS INDIANA DEALS WITH ADVERSITY

The Indiana Fevers’ Lexie Hull, Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham watch as the Golden State Valkyries celebrate their 88-77 win in a WNBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco June 19, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

During a game between the Fever and the Connecticut Sun June 17, physicality boiled into a brawl. After Sun guard Jacy Sheldon poked Clark in the eye and fellow Sun player Marina Mabrey shoved Clark to the ground, Fever star Sophie Cunningham committed a hard foul on Sheldon, initiating an on-court fight that resulted in three ejections.

When asked if she believes her team is prepared for a similar incident in 2026, Hull said, “It shouldn’t get to that point.”

Instead, Hull said she is focused on helping her team win a championship. And she embraces all the attention and popularity despite the challenges that come with it.

“Growing up, I didn’t necessarily watch the WNBA as much, didn’t have dreams of playing in the league at a young age, and now girls have the ability to watch us, see us, dream about being professional athletes. And that’s what’s been the most rewarding part about it,” Hull said of the positives that come with the attention.

She came one game shy of reaching the WNBA Finals last year, leading the Fever through the playoffs after Clark and Cunningham were lost for the season with injuries. In a career-best year, Hull averaged career highs in points (7.2), rebounds (4.3), and assists (1.8) while shooting 36.7% from 3-point range and appearing in all 44 games.

In the playoffs, she averaged 10.3 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 8 games. It all came to an end in a 107-98 overtime loss to the Las Vegas Aces in Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals.

With Clark and Cunningham healthy and back this year, the Fever go into 2026 as a top contender for the title.

“Tasting that and being so close and feeling like we have so much more to give, I think that just changes our mindset a little bit,” Hull said.

The trio of Clark, Cunningham and Hull proved to be an efficient and gravitating force in popularity when they were all on the court at the same time last year. Along the way, they earned a mysterious nickname on social media, which they later adopted for themselves — “Tres Leches,” which translates from Spanish to “three milks” and refers to a popular Latin American sponge cake.

“We saw it on Twitter at some point, and people ran with it,” Hull said of the nickname. “It was funny.”

In terms of navigating the attention, Hull, Clark and their teammates now have two years of conditioning in that arena.

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Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull (10), Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham laugh near the team bench June 3, 2025, during a game against the Washington Mystics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. (IMAGN Syndication: The Indianapolis Star)

“I think everyone does a really good job of not giving the rise in attention any attention. I think we’re just showing up the same we do everyday,” Hull said.

“Knowing that there’s more eyes on us, knowing that there’s more seats in the stands, all of that is exciting, but I don’t think that necessarily changes how we go about the game, go about our relationships, go about what we post on social media. It just adds to the engagement.”

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Brazil fast bowler Laura Cardoso entered the record books, becoming the first player in either men’s or women’s T20I cricket to pick up nine wickets in a single innings. Cardoso delivered the sensational spell against Lesotho, finishing with extraordinary figures of 9/4 from her three overs – the best-ever bowling figures in T20I cricket – at the BCA Kalahari Women’s T20I Tournament at the Botswana Cricket Association Oval 2 in Gaborone.

The previous record was held by Bhutan’s Sonam Yeshey, who claimed eight wickets for just seven runs against Myanmar in a men’s T20I in 2025.

In women’s T20Is, Cardoso surpassed Indonesia’s Rohmalia Rohmalia’s figures of 7/0 against Mongolia in 2024, according to the ICC.

Earlier in the match on Thursday, Brazil posted a commanding total of 202, powered by impressive knocks from Roberta Avery (48 off 35) and Monnike Machado (69 not out off 41).

Cardoso’s incredible spell began in the second over, when the pacer picked up a hat-trick. She followed it up with four more wickets in the fourth over to take her tally to seven.

Two additional wickets in the sixth over saw her reach an unprecedented nine wickets in an innings.

The final wicket was claimed by Marianne Artur, as Lesotho were bowled out for just 13 in 6.2 overs, handing Brazil a massive 189-run victory. 

Brazil have been in dominant form throughout the tournament. In a previous fixture, they outclassed Zambia Women by 174 runs in a comprehensive all-round display. Cardoso led from the front with a quickfire half-century, while Laura Agatha struck 62 as the pair stitched together a crucial 105-run partnership to guide the side to 200/5.

Zambia’s response in that match faltered early and never recovered, as they were bowled out for just 26 in 15.1 overs. Maria Ribeiro starred with a five-wicket haul, while Cardoso contributed with three wickets to dismantle the batting lineup.

With commanding performances in both batting and bowling departments, Brazil have emerged as a formidable force in the tournament.

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England might not play again until the summer but Thursday night would have brought a smile to Thomas Tuchel’s face.

The England manager watched his side labour for goals without captain and record goalscorer Harry Kane during last month’s friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.

It once again underlined Tuchel’s limited options when it comes to an alternative for 32-year-old Kane, with the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico a little more than two months away.

So he would have been very happy to find out Ollie Watkins had come up with two more goals for Aston Villa in their 3-1 win against Bologna in the Europa League quarter-final first leg in Italy.

The Villa forward was left out of the expanded 35-man England squad by Tuchel in March, having scored just one goal in his previous nine Premier League matches.

“Watkins is not with us but this is more down to the fact that I know what he can bring to the group – I know him very well,” Tuchel said during the squad announcement.

Despite the comments, the striker’s hopes of making it to the World Cup were left in doubt.

Watkins’ response to the setback has been nothing short of emphatic, with the 30-year-old adding to the goal he scored against West Ham in the Premier League just before the international break.

“It’s the back end of the season and I’m raring to go,” Watkins told TNT Sports after Villa moved one step closer to a place in a European semi-final.

“I could play another 90 minutes. I’m excited for the next few games. I’m hungry.”

After Ezri Konsa’s opener against the run of play in Bologna, Watkins eased Villa’s nerves with a second early in the second half as he pounced on a mistake from Torbjorn Heggem and finished through the legs of goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia.

After the Serie A side then scored a late goal through Jonathan Rowe in the 90th minute, Watkins restored Villa’s two-goal advantage in the 94th minute from a corner, before the return leg at Villa Park next Thursday (20:00 BST).

Mukul Choudhary (BCCI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Lucknow Super Giants pulled off a thrilling last-ball win against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2026, chasing down 182 to win by three wickets. The match stayed tense till the very end, with LSG holding their nerve to cross the line in dramatic fashion.Asked to bat first, Kolkata Knight Riders posted a competitive 181/4.