During the aftermath of his victory on Saturday, Shakur Stevenson demanded a showdown with Conor Benn. Now, Carl Froch has weighed in on how he believes the potential scrap would play out.

Stevenson delivered a masterful performance to decision Teofimo Lopez by a significant margin at Madison Square Garden and claim the WBO super-lightweight world title, becoming a four-division world champion in the process.

Yet, despite an expectation that the Newark southpaw will now return to lightweight to defend his WBC 135lb crown, the 28-year-old then called out British welterweight Conor Benn, who is eyeing up belts in the 147lb division.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, four-time super-middleweight ruler Carl Froch dismissed Benn’s chances in the contest.

“Nobody is giving Conor Benn a chance, at all, and you can see why.

“Conor Benn is still learning on the job, he has never fought for an English, British, Commonwealth or European title, he has never fought for a world title.

“He got a good win against Chris Algieri, he has had them two mega fights with Chris Eubank Jr. but he is not ready for them kind of opponents, in my opinion.”

However, ‘The Cobra’ then went on to explain that he does believe Benn to be capable of claiming world honours, once he has a couple more world-level bouts under his belt.

“Conor needs a couple of steady fights around world level before he challenges for a world title and I like him against someone like Ryan Garcia in a couple of fights, or maybe [Mario] Barrios, I think that that they are winnable fights.”

Barrios and Garcia fight one another in just over two weeks’ time with the WBC world title at stake and Benn has admitted that he is planning to take on the victor, or possibly WBA titleholder Rolando Romero, in his next fight, though he is not shying away from Stevenson’s challenge.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola gave an extraordinary press conference that moved far away from football

Pep Guardiola spoke out against deaths in Palestine and the United States – and the situation in Sudan – at his latest Manchester City press conference.

Having aired his views at a charity concert, in support of Palestinian people, last week, the Blues boss spoke about the shootings of two US civilians involved in a protest by ICE agents that has been hugely controversial for president Donald Trump and his administration.

During the press conference at the City Football Academy, Guardiola spoke about the death of nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, asking people to think what would happen if an NHS worker was killed in the UK.

He said: “When I see the images, I am sorry – it hurts. It hurts me, that is why in every position I can help speaking up to be a better society, I will try and will be there. All the time.

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“It is for my kids, my families, for you. For all of you and your families as well and the kids. For my players, my staff and everyone do whatever he can in his job, in his life for the best. From my point of view, the justice? You have to talk. Otherwise it will just move on.

“Look what happened in the United States of America. Renee Good and Alex Pretti have been killed – one of them a nurse. Imagine [someone from] the NHS, five six people around him, go on the grass and 10 shots. Tell me how you can defend that?

“Make something wrong, go to the jail. That is what happens in the modern [day]. There is not a perfect society, nowhere is perfect, I am not perfect, we have to work to be better. A person who can go there, defend a woman, hundreds have been killed for that. Who can defend that? I don’t know. I will always be in front of that.”

Guardiola’s comments on the US could well irk Trump, who was given the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize by the body’s president Gianni Infantino ahead of the World Cup in the country this summer. They may well cause other awkward conversations closer to home.

City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak was sat next to Trump two weeks ago as he signed up to the president’s Board of Peace on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. The country’s vice-president is City owner Sheikh Mansour.

Protests have been held outside the Etihad this season by groups accusing the UAE of ‘providing extensive financial and military support’ to one side of the Sudanese conflict. That claim is denied. The UAE this week agreed with the UN World Food Programme to supply $20m in aid.

There is also a strong a Jewish presence among City’s fanbase. Many will have taken note of the manager’s references to Palestine. The Jewish Representative Council of Greater Manchester wrote to chairman Al Mubarak in December to complain that Guardiola had not condemned the synagogue attack in Prestwich.

Guardiola spoke about issues he said he was happy to disagree on with friends on, adding: “Never, ever in the history of humanity – never ever have we had the info in front of our eyes watching more clearly than now: genocide in Palestine, what happened in Ukraine, what happened in Russia, what happened all around the world – in Sudan, everywhere. What happened in front of us? Do you want to see it? It’s our problems as human beings. It’s our problems.

“There is somebody who sees the images from all around the world who is not affected? Here it’s not a question about right or wrong. Maybe a politician, left wing, right wing, of course, everyone with ideas can do with that, but there is someone here that is not affected every single day? Today we can see it. Before we could not see it. Today we see.

“It hurts me. For me, it hurts me. If it was the opposite side, it would hurt me. Wanting harm for another country? It hurts me. It’s not about the position. Every argument, I’m sorry, this is my feeling. You can discuss when. Completely kill thousands of innocent people, it hurts me. It’s no more complicated than that. No more. I have a lot of friends from many, many countries, a lot of friends, but when you have an idea and you need to defend [it] and you have to kill thousands of people [to do that], I’m sorry, I will stand up, always I will be there. Always.

“I cannot imagine how anybody cannot feel that, when you see the images every single day, the fathers, mothers, kids, having happened what happened, their lives being destroyed and the people cannot feel a little bit of being attached? I’m sorry, I cannot feel it.”

Mike Tyson is known as one of boxing’s biggest ever punchers but he also dealt with his fair share of heavy hitters too.

Tyson burst onto the scene in the 1980s, with that massive power evident from the beginning, as he won his first 19 professional fights by knockout, 12 of them inside the very first round.

He would become the youngest world heavyweight champion in history at the age of 20, and held undisputed honours from 1987 to 1990.

In championship match-ups, Tyson claimed knockout victories over fighters such as Larry Holmes, Michael Spinks, Trevor Berbick and Frank Bruno, but was on the wrong side of stoppage defeats to the likes of Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield and Buster Douglas.

Tyson had another name in mind though when discussing one fighter who hit so hard he went numb, as he explained to CNN about his time in the ring with Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock.

“Yes, Ray Ruddock … You’re talking about when you were like whoa. When you get hit, it doesn’t hurt anymore. It’s just numb. You just hear the bell ringing — bong.”

Tyson and Ruddock met on two occasions, the first of which taking place in March 1991, with ‘Iron Mike’ earning a seventh round TKO.

The controversy over the early nature of that stoppage led to a brawl inside the ring between the two teams, resulting in an immediate rematch three months later, with Tyson this time claiming a unanimous decision victory.

Ruddock earned 40 wins in his career, 30 of them coming by knockout, and also had notable battles with Lennox Lewis and Tommy Morrison.

Three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck played in the NFL for 18 seasons and was no stranger to playing through injuries.

Both of the quarterbacks in the Super Bowl are listed on the injury report. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold is listed with an oblique injury, something he has played through for the last two weeks, while New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is listed with a right shoulder injury.

Hasselbeck said he had Darnold’s injury and said it is not painful.

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(Left) New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) and wide receiver Kayshon Boutte (9) run off the field after a Patriots touchdown against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Jan. 4, 2026. (Right) Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) looks on before the 2026 NFC Championship Game against the Los Angeles Rams at Lumen Field in Seattle, Washington, on Jan. 25, 2026. (David Butler II/Imagn Images;Kevin Ng/Imagn Images)

“It’s not a painful injury. You know, I’ve had the injury. It’s not a painful injury. It’s just a little bit more like the muscle that needs to fire quickly, doesn’t work necessarily. But from my experience, it gets better as the game goes on. Sam’s played with it for a couple weeks now, and he’s looked pretty good, you know, a little measured but pretty good,” Hasselbeck told Fox News Digital in a recent interview with the Family Heart Foundation.

Darnold has played well in both of his playoff appearances. In the Seahawks’ 41-6 blowout win over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Divisional Round, he completed 12 of 17 passes for 124 yards and one touchdown.

Against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game, Darnold had one of the best games of his career in what was the biggest game of his career. The former USC star completed 25 of 36 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns in the Seahawks’ thrilling 31-27 win.

Hasselbeck said Maye’s shoulder injury might be tougher to deal with than Darnold’s oblique.

“I think the Patriots listed Drake Maye with a shoulder injury from this last game. That’s a little bit tougher, too, because it’s not so again, it’s not so much the pain of it. It’s just it’s feeling like you have your fastball, so to speak. But that’s the NFL. Like, this isn’t baseball where you’re on a pitcher’s mound. Part of your job is to be a thrower with people trying to tackle you and throw you to the ground and hit you,” Hasselbeck said.

PRO BOWL QUARTERBACK MATT HASSELBECK ADVOCATES FOR CHOLESTEROL SCREENING AFTER FATHER’S CARDIAC ARREST DEATH

ESPN Monday Night Football announcer and former quarterback Matt Hasselbeck during the Arizona Cardinals’ game against the New York Jets at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Oct. 17, 2016. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports)

Maye sustained the shoulder injury during the Patriots’ 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game. The 23-year-old appeared to have been injured in the third quarter when he got hit on a scramble and immediately grabbed his right shoulder.

Maye, who was fantastic in the regular season, has not seen the same success in the playoffs, despite making the Super Bowl.

In the regular season, the 23-year-old completed 72% of his passes for 4,394 yards with 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions, along with 421 rushing yards and two touchdowns. In the playoffs, Maye has not been as effective through the air, completing 55.8% of his passes for 533 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions while getting sacked 15 times.

However, Maye has been dynamic with his legs, rushing for 141 yards and one touchdown, the lone one the Patriots scored in the AFC Championship, in three games.

The Patriots will need Maye to be at his best in the Super Bowl, as the Seahawks’ defense was the best in the NFL this season, allowing just 17.1 points per game. 

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Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (8) of the Seattle Seahawks throws a pass in the second quarter against the Chicago Bears in the 2011 NFC divisional playoff game at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, on Jan. 16, 2011. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Hasselbeck said that both quarterbacks, with the combination of an extra week of rest and modern medicine, should be good to go for the big game.

Hasselbeck played for four different teams in his 18-year career: 10 seasons with the Seahawks, three with the Indianapolis Colts, two with the Green Bay Packers and two with the Tennessee Titans. In 209 games, he completed 60.5% of his passes for 36,638 yards with 212 touchdowns and 153 interceptions.

The Seahawks play the Patriots in the Super Bowl on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

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The Seattle Seahawks will take on the New England Patriots in the 2026 Big Game at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, February 8. One option for a potentially massive payout is a Seahawks vs. Patriots score prediction. Both teams went 14-3, won their divisions, and then had to survive hard-fought conference championship games. The Seahawks beat the Rams, 31-27, to win the NFC Championship Game, while the Patriots earned a 10-7 win over the Broncos on the road in a defensive struggle that ended with a surprise blizzard.

The latest Patriots vs. Seahawks odds list Seattle as a 4.5-point favorite, while the over/under is 45.5, both unchanged from the opening line. The Seahawks are -238 money line favorites (risk $238 to win $100), while the Patriots are +195 underdogs. You can use these sportsbook promos to bet those lines or any of the numerous NFL props available. The SportsLine Projection Model is predicting that the Seahawks come away with a 24-20 win, an exact score prediction that pays as high as +15000 on some of the best sports betting apps. You can also boost your bankroll for the Big Game even further by capitalizing on some of the best Big Game promo codes.

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Seahawks vs. Patriots odds, betting lines

Patriots vs. Seahawks exact score prediction, betting preview

In a season where the playoff picture was crowded from start to finish, both the Seahawks and Patriots established themselves as upper echelon by the midway point of the season. Seattle loss its opener to San Francisco and fell to 3-2 after a Week 5 loss to Tampa Bay, but ripped off wins in 13 of the next 14 wins to earn its way into the Big Game. Meanwhile, New England lost two of its first three but has won 16 of its last 17.

Sam Darnold and Drake Maye both looked like NFL MVP candidates at points throughout the season, though they’ll likely fall short to Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. Darnold has rejuvenated his career by throwing 60 touchdown passes in the last two seasons and Maye became the youngest player in NFL history to lead the league in completion percentage (72.0%).

Both teams were top five in the NFL in scoring offense and scoring defense and the SportsLine Projection Model is predicting thin margins against the spread and with the over/under. It’s slightly leaning towards Seattle to cover against the spread based on the percentages and also projects that the Under hits in 59% of its 10,000 simulations of the Big Game, higher than the implied odds of 52.2%.

Exact score prediction: Seattle Seahawks 24, New England Patriots 20 (best odds +15000 at BetMGM):

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As expected, Minnesota Vikings fullback C.J. Ham is walking away from the NFL after 10 seasons of service. Ham joined Minnesota as an undrafted free agent in 2016 — and never left the franchise.

Ham’s value lived in the dirty work, and the Vikings now have to replace a role that rarely shows up in stat sheets.

The future of the fullback position is unknown for the Vikings, but the next guy, if there is one, will have big shoes to fill.

Vikings Will Feel C.J. Ham’s Exit on Offense and Special Teams

The Week 18 going-away party was for real.

Ham Retires

It’s a done deal for Ham. Duluth News Tribune staff wrote Tuesday, “Longtime Minnesota Vikings fullback C.J. Ham formally announced his NFL retirement through his agency, Team IFA, on Tuesday.”

“The 32-year-old Duluth native recently completed his 10th season in the NFL in 2025. Ham, who played running back at Division II Augustana from 2012 to 2015, broke into the NFL as a rookie minicamp invite by the Vikings in the spring of 2016, eventually earning a spot on the practice squad.”

Ham was universally adored by fans from cover to cover in his career.

DNT added, “After transitioning to fullback, Ham made the active roster the following year in 2017, and has gone on to earn Pro Bowl nods in 2019 and 2023.”

“The former Duluth Denfeld star finished his NFL career with 681 receiving yards, 119 rushing yards, and eight total touchdowns — including a goal-line plunge in the Vikings’ season finale against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium on Jan. 4, a game in which he and the team gave several indications it would be his last.”

The Career

Ham showed up on the scene in 2016, near the start of the Mike Zimmer era, and within a year, he had earned a roster spot, taking over for fullback Zach Line, who had been with the franchise since 2013. After that, Ham would play in 141 games, starting 42, and accumulated 681 receiving yards, 119 rushing yards, and 8 total touchdowns in 10 seasons.

The Minnesota native also played a significant role on special teams, in addition to doing a fullback’s dirty work: blocking on rushing and passing downs.

Until this week, Ham was the second-longest tenured member of the Vikings, outlasted only by safety Harrison Smith, who joined the club in 2012, and, too, could retire in the next few weeks. Brian O’Neill now takes Ham’s spot as the second-longest tenured Viking.

Ham was voted a five-time captain of various Vikings squads.

The Tributes

Fans, naturally, poured in tributes for the fullback. Sleeper‘s Jason Harmon tweeted, “Minnesota native, UDFA, rookie mini camp invite, moved from RB to FB, ten year career as a Viking, 2x Pro Bowler, community hero. Happy retirement CJ Ham.”

VikingzFanPage posted, “CJ Ham started his career as a rookie minicamp invite for the Vikings back in 2016. He ends it as a 2x Pro Bowler. The Duluth native defied all odds to have a great 10 year career in the NFL.”

Last of the Fullbacks’ on Ham: “Congrats to Division II Augustana & Minnesota Vikings Fullback C.J. Ham on a great career. It’s been a pleasure watching you carry the torch. Happy retirement CJ! 🫡 #LongLiveTheFullback.”

Writer Matt Zimmer: “Sounds like CJ Ham has made his retirement official. Pretty amazing career. From D2 Augustana to NFL Pro-Bowler and Vikings captain. And a great dude on top of it.”

And our Steve Hoikkala on Ham: “We all kind of expected CJ Ham to retire with what look to be his farewell in the final home game for the #Vikings, but definitely was one of the best fullbacks in the league for a long time. Sad to see him go. From Vikings fans, Thank you C.J. Ham. 🫶💜 #SKOL.”

A New FB or Nothing?

The next item of business at fullback? Well, nobody knows.

Including the Vikings, about 10 NFL teams use fullbacks on any given Sunday, and it’s unclear if Ham stuck around during the Kevin O’Connell era as a matter of lifetime achievement and utility. For example, O’Connell came from the Los Angeles Rams in 2022, and Sean McVay’s teams do not use fullbacks. On the other hand, Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, who runs a similar offense, does employ fullback Kyle Juszczyk.

Generally speaking, fullbacks are reserved for run-first or run-happy offenses (at least the 2025 version of the definition). The Vikings, rather emphatically, do not love running the football, so we shall see if O’Connell finds a Ham replacement.

Thus far this offseason, folks have learned that Minnesota will venture into 2026 with a new general manager and no Ham for the first time in 10 years.