World class trainer and former IBF super-featherweight world champion, Robert Garcia, believes that Oleksandr Usyk’s undefeated streak could soon come to an end, if he accepts a fight with one undefeated champion.

Usyk looked uncharacteristically flat-footed and demotivated in last month’s unorthodox clash with Rico Verhoeven, who came close to achieving one of the greatest upsets in the history of boxing before being controversially stopped in round 11.

Following the Ukrainian’s performance, fans are left debating whether the 39-year-old overlooked Verhoeven or if Father Time has finally caught up with him, with potential fights against the likes of Agit Kabayel and Moses Itauma seemingly all the more dangerous off the back of that showing.

At present, it seems as though either a mandatory defence of the WBC title against Kabayel, or a rematch with Verhoeven, is next – an outing that is expected to take place before the end of the year and could prove to be Usyk’s penultimate professional bout.

However, speaking with YSM Sports Media, Garcia believes that three-division conqueror, David Benavidez, who recently captured the unified cruiserweight world titles, would be capable of handing Usyk a first career defeat and should pursue that opportunity.

“I think that he [Benavidez] should go straight into Usyk, now.

“I think that Benavidez beats Usyk, really, for reals bro. I don’t think that I am the only one that thinks that, after Usyk’s last performance, I think that people might [agree]. I know there is a lot of risk and it won’t be easy, but I do believe that Benavidez beats him.” 

Whilst a heavyweight move has been mentioned for ‘The Mexican Monster’, it appears as though the 29-year-old will remain at cruiserweight and next take on WBC titleholder, Noel Mikaelian.

Tremont will play at the Class 1A IHSA baseball state finals.

The Turks rolled to a 9-1 win over Armstrong at the Bloomington Supersectional on Tuesday, June 9. Tremont (37-2) heads to Illinois Field in Champaign, facing Jacksonville Routt (24-12) at 10 a.m. Friday, June 12 in first state semifinal.

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Tremont’s lone state finals appearance resulted in a 2011 Class 1A state fourth-place finish.

Three-run innings were the Turks’ specialty at Horenberger Field on the Illinois Wesleyan campus. In the bottom of the third, Josh Papenhuse’s two-run, infield single plated two of the three runs for the Turks, who are riding a 23-game win streak.

In the next inning, Valparaiso signee Andrew Dawson made it 6-0 when he ripped a two-RBI triple to centerfield. He had two of Tremont’s five hits.

Dawson then scored in the sixth when Chase Rhodes reached on an infield error. A Griffin Meeker triple to center scored Eli Bohm.

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Hunter Smith picked up with win, striking out 12, walking none and giving up two hits in 6.0 innings.

IHSA baseball: 2026 Illinois state finals schedule

Class 1A: Putnam County 7, Galena 4

The Panthers broke open the game with a four-run fifth inning to punch their ticket to the state finals for the first since a 2013 state runner-up finish. Putnam County (25-11) now heads to Illinois Field in Champaign, facing North Clay (35-4) at 1 p.m. Friday, June 12 in the state semifinals.

In the bottom of the fifth, PC sent seven players to the plate, getting four hits, including Maddox Poole’s go-ahead RBI single to left. He came around to score on a wild pitch for a 6-3 lead after a base hit from Carter Hochstatter scored Kade Zimmerlein (2-for-4). Hochstatter (2-for-3) scored before Galena turned an inning-ending double play to set the final score.

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Galena (23-8) took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth with run-scoring hits from Jacob Loso (RBI-single) and Mason Smith (two-RBI double).

Poole picked up the win in three innings of relief work. He struck out one, walked none and gave up a hit, plus went 2-for-4 along with Johnathon Stunkel, who also had two of Putnam County’s 10 hits.

Class 2A: Ottawa Marquette 9, Brimfield/Elmwood 6

Brimfield/Elmwood couldn’t recover from allowing a three-run fifth inning, preventing the Indians from advancing to the state finals for the first time in program history.

Trailing 4-1 entering the bottom of the fourth, Dane Fagerburg and Layne Johnson came up with clutch, run-scoring hits for the Indians. Fagerburg’s double to center scored Griffin and Sean Crowe.

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Johnson then drove Fagerburg home with his single to left, making it a 4-4 game.

In the next half inning, Marquette (37-3), which faces St. Joseph-Ogden (38-2) at 7 p.m. Friday, June 12 in the state semifinals, plated three runs off a Caden Durdan double, a single by Alec Novotney and a bases-loaded walk.

B/E, however, wasn’t done, pulling the Indians within 7-6 in the sixth. Brody Kenney singled home Tommy Burkitt and Griffin Hougham. Marquette then added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh before the Indians left a pair of runners stranded in the bottom half of the frame.

The Indians boasted five hits, including one from Illinois State signee Kaden Schatsiek, who was also intentionally walked twice. Novotney was 4-for-5 with three RBIs for the Crusaders, who are the two-time reigning Class 1A state champions before getting bumped up a class for the 2026 season.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA baseball: Tremont wins Class 1A super, advances to state finals

Real Madrid scout Arsenal‘s Riccardo Calafiori, Tottenham consider Juventus defender Gleison Bremer to replace Cristian Romero, Manchester United chase Newcastle‘s Lewis Hall.

Real Madrid are interested in Arsenal and Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori, 24, who previously played under Jose Mourinho at Roma. (Sky Sports), external

Tottenham are considering a move for Juventus and Brazil defender Gleison Bremer, 29, to replace 28-year-old Argentina international Cristian Romero in central defence. (Tuttosport – in Italian), external

Manchester United are not interested in signing Romero from Tottenham but are interested in Newcastle‘s versatile 21-year-old English defender Lewis Hall. (Teamtalk), external

Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is willing to satisfy the wage demands of Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson, 23, in order to bring him to Manchester United. (Mirror), external

Manchester City remain the frontrunners to sign Anderson despite United’s efforts to steal a march on their rivals. (Star – subscription required), external

Incoming Real Madrid boss Mourinho is keen on West Ham‘s 21-year-old Portugal midfielder Mateus Fernandes who is also of interest to Chelsea. (AS – in Spanish), external

Manchester United are also exploring a deal for Fernandes with West Ham valuing the player at about £80m, but the London club are in no rush to sell him. (Sky Sports), external

Manchester United are considering a surprise move for 35-year-old English goalkeeper Karl Darlow, who is out of contract at Leeds this summer, with Turkish shot-stopper Altay Bayindir, 28, set leave Old Trafford. (Talksport, external)

Fulham are interested in signing Nigeria midfielder Samuel Chukwueze from AC Milan following the 27-year-old’s season-long loan at Craven Cottage, but are trying to negotiate a smaller fee. (Gazzetta dello Sport – in Italian), external

Atletico Madrid are hopeful of persuading former Manchester City midfielder Bernando Silva to join them instead of Barcelona or Real Madrid because they can offer the 31-year-old Portuguese more game time. (Marca – in Spanish), external

Fulham are weighing up whether to trigger the £8m release clause of Ipswich head coach Kieran McKenna, who leads their list of candidates to replace Marco Silva. (Talksport, external)

Leicester are in talks with former Southampton and Rangers head coach Russell Martin about taking over the club following their relegation to League One. (Leicester Mercury, external)

Here’s a look at the bench of both teams:

Argentina: Juan Musso, Lionel Messi, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Tagliafico, Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Gonzalez, Lautaro Martinez, Thiago Almada, Nicolas Paz, and Nicolas Capaldo

Iceland: Hakon Valdimarsson, Anton Ari Einarsson, Stefan Thordarson, Dagur Thorhallsson, Kristian Hlynsson, Gisli Thordarson, Brynjolfur Willumsson, Daniel Gudjohnsen, Kristall Mani Ingason, and Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson

23 years on from Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno’s famous ‘Battle of Britain’, the sport of boxing finds itself on the verge of a similar yet larger event, with domestic heavyweight rivals Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua set to collide. Looking ahead to the proposed fight, Bruno has doubled down on his forecast for how the contest may play out.

Back in 1993, Frank Bruno came up short against Lewis, halted in round seven of what was a third unsuccessful challenge for the heavyweight crown. That Millennium Stadium event marked a first all-British scrap for the coveted throne, kickstarting an impressive run.

Since then, that number has extended to seven all-British heavyweight world title contests, Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley going to war in the most recent, with the latter having since activated his rematch clause to tee up an eighth.

There will be no world title on the line when Fury and Joshua collide, but that won’t stop the main event becoming one of the biggest in the sport’s recent history

Both men are scheduled for ‘warm-up’ bouts before their meeting – Fury’s yet to be made official – as Joshua looks to build additional experience under newly appointed trainer, Iegor Golub, when he faces Kristian Prenga in July.

Speaking last month, Bruno praised the move, believing Joshua’s mindset will be the difference-maker come fight night, saying, “if he’s in the right frame of mind, then I don’t see him having a problem.”

Now, in an interview with iFL TV, Bruno has doubled down on that opinion, believing that ‘old age has caught up with Fury’ and that Joshua will capitalise if he is in the correct headspace.

“It will be a good fight, I think that it is definitely going to go on, but I think that old age is catching up with Tyson Fury. Even his Dad says that, [about his] old age. I hope that he does very, very well.

“He has got the survival skills you know, Tyson, but Joshua is a very good puncher – if he believes in himself. If he goes in there believing in himself, it is going to be a hard fight for Tyson.

“We need it, it is good for boxing.”

Joshua returns on  July 25 against Prenga, while Fury may take on an Albanian heavyweight of his own the following month. If both men come through, their own Battle of Britain is pencilled in for mid-November.

With about five minutes remaining in the first quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Spurs star Victor Wembanyama’s shoved Knicks standout Jalen Brunson hard to the ground in a play that resulted in no foul call on the floor. However, NBA Senior Vice President and Head of Development and Training for Referee Operations Monty McCutchen admitted Tuesday that the play should have been whistled as a foul.

“Well, most certainly I think we can all agree that a foul was missed on that play,” McCutchen said on ESPN’s NBA Today. “A big part of our job is on-ball, off-ball exchanges between referees. We did a poor job of that here, where we’ve got two people on ball and we don’t see the screening action. Lots of fighting over screens throughout the game. And if we break down in our fundamentals in even the smallest amounts, we have the opportunity to miss a clear foul as we missed here.”

Despite McCutchen’s comments, the league said Tuesday night that Wembanyama’s shove on Brunson will not be upgraded to a flagrant foul. 

The play itself came with a bit less than five minutes remaining in the first quarter. Josh Hart took the ball up the court, and Brunson was fighting for position with Wembanyama just above the free-throw line. After about a second of physical contact between the two, Wembanyama can be seen shoving Brunson by the head into the ground.

If it had been upgraded to a flagrant foul, it could have had significant ramifications on the rest of the series. When a player accumulates four flagrant foul points in a single postseason, he is automatically suspended for one game. Wembanyama currently has two flagrant foul points, both accumulated on a single play. In the second round against the Timberwolves, he received a flagrant-2 foul and was ejected for elbowing Naz Reid in the neck.

If the play with Brunson was upgraded to a flagrant-1, Wembanyama would have been just one flagrant foul away from an automatic suspension. It would have undoubtedly affected the physicality he could play with for the rest of the Finals. Instead, he remains at two flagrant foul points heading into Wednesday night’s Game 4. 

While suspensions resulting from players hitting the four-flagrant foul point threshold in the postseason are rare, they do happen. Most notably, Draymond Green was suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals after accumulating four flagrant foul points throughout that postseason, culminating in his absence in a key loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers that eventually led to the first-ever 3-1 Finals comeback at Golden State’s expense.

Wembanyama’s propensity for hard fouls has come under increased scrutiny this postseason, particularly since that elbow to Reid’s neck. In Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he appeared to pull Lu Dort’s hair while running up the court.

In Game 2 of the NBA Finals, Wembanyama can be seen tossing Knicks backup point guard Jose Alvarado by the neck while fighting for rebounding position following a Dylan Harper layup attempt.

Simply put, the Spurs need Wembanyama on the court. Though the Spurs went 12-6 in the regular season without Wembanyama and they won Game 3 of their first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers without him, things have only gotten harder as the competition has improved deeper into the postseason.

When Wembanyama was ejected against Minnesota, the Spurs lost Game 4 to the Timberwolves. He has not missed a game in the last two rounds, but the minutes that he rests have become very precarious. In the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs were outscored by 38 points with backup center Luke Kornet on the floor. Thus far in the NBA Finals, the Knicks have won Kornet’s minutes by 17 points.

Beyond even backup center, the Spurs only seem to fully trust six players in this series: Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, De’Aaron Fox, Harper, Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie. Removing Wembanyama from the equation would force San Antonio to lean even more heavily into bench players who have lost prominence as the postseason has progressed. But Tuesday night’s decision by the NBA eases any concerns that Wembanyama won’t be on the court due to disciplinary reasons. 

Though he was focused more on the free-throw disparity, Knicks coach Mike Brown shared his frustrations with the officials following New York’s Game 3 loss. “I never thought I would be in the NBA Finals and see a team get 24 free-throw attempts in the second half to another team’s eight,” Brown said Monday night.

When asked about the shove from Wembanyama, Brunson refused to add fuel to the fire. “Whatever you saw is what you saw,” he said.

While the verdict on the Wembanyama-Brunson play did not change, other calls in this series have been adjusted. Mitchell Robinson’s Game 2 technical foul, received for a bit of shoving with Wembanyama, was rescinded on Saturday. A change here would have been far more consequential. 

Marco Silva has agreed to become Benfica’s new head coach as the Portuguese club formalised Jose Mourinho’s departure for Real Madrid.

Silva, 48, ended his five-year stint as Fulham boss a week ago when his contract at Craven Cottage expired.

Benfica said they had “reached an agreement” with Silva who is set to sign a contract until the end of the 2027-28 season which can be extended to 2028-29.

Fulham were Silva’s fourth English club after spells in charge of Hull City, Watford and Everton.

Mourinho’s exit from Estadio da Luz was also announced, with Benfica saying Real Madrid will pay them £13m (15m euros) in compensation to bring the 63-year-old back to the Bernabeu.

“The coach [Mourinho] has given his agreement to this hiring,” added a Benfica statement.

“Thus ended Jose Mourinho’s second spell as manager of Benfica’s professional football team.”

Mourinho took charge of Benfica in September and led them to third place in the Primeira Liga this season as they went through the league campaign unbeaten.

In his previous spell in charge of Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013, the Portuguese won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup.