Jaron Ennis became a two-division unified world champion last month, but the Philadelphia fan-favourite is looking to get out again soon. Now, his father and trainer, Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis, has ruled out of the possibility of his son facing one well-rumoured opponent.

Ennis had been linked to a bout with long-term rival Vergil Ortiz Jr at the beginning of the year, but complications between Ortiz and his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, led to the collapse of that proposed contest.

Instead, Ennis moved on to a showdown with WBA and WBO super-welterweight ruler Xander Zayas, and stopped the Puerto Rican after seven rounds of action last month to begin his 154lb reign.

Ortiz and his team are now once against pursuing a clash with the new unified world champion, but ‘Bozy’ Ennis told K.O. Artist Sports that he and his son are no longer interested in a meeting with the Texan, stating that Ortiz is currently ‘on the back burner’.

“We are not even thinking about him now. He made us wait. Boots got in the ring and said, ‘we gotta fight, sign the contract,’ and then all of a sudden, him [Ortiz] and De La Hoya fell out.  Now, they are all back together again, so what do you think that was? 

“At the time, they must not have wanted to fight him, but you wanna sound [off on] him? Telling him to come on up in the ring and all of that stuff?

“I ain’t sitting here talking bad about him but that is the way that it seems to everybody now. So, he is on the back burner.”

Continuing, ‘Bozy’ Ennis revealed that his son is now only interested in unifying the division, meaning his current targets are fellow super-welterweight world champions Sebastian Fundora (WBC) and Josh Kelly (IBF).

“Boots wants to unify all of the titles, that is undisputed. Once we do that, [we will fight] whoever.” 

Of the two titleholders, it seems as though a fight against Kelly is the more likely, given the fact that Fundora is expected to defend his title against Ermal Hadiibeaj later this year.

Although, Kelly defends his IBF crown on Saturday night against Belfast’s Caoimhin Agyarko, who could spoil the plans of the Sunderland star and take his place in an Ennis unification if able to pull off the upset.

Robbie Williams has jokingly addressed a “deeply unprofessional” on-screen gaffe during the World Cup final in which he accidentally spat a small white object onto his microphone.

The 52-year-old singer, who had performed alongside Nicole Scherzinger and Laura Pausini at the closing ceremony on Sunday, drew attention during an appearance on German TV channel Magenta Sport.

While speaking to pundits, the object emerged, which he then picked up, held, and subsequently rubbed onto his head, where it stuck to his forehead.

The incident quickly garnered attention. Williams later took to social media to share a video explaining the mysterious item, clarifying the nature of the unexpected moment.

Filming himself lying in bed, the performer says: “I’d just like to apologise for the object that fell on to the microphone yesterday.

“I was deeply unprofessional, and people worried about me.”

“But it’s OK. Because I had several more,” he continues, before sticking his tongue out and revealing two circular mints.

Williams breaks out laughing before the video cuts off.

Captioning the Instagram post, he wrote: “Just woke up and feeling…. Mint x.”

On Sunday night, the first World Cup half-time show was also held.

The final between Argentina and Spain featured an 11-minute spectacle with stars from around the world including Madonna, Shakira, BTS and Justin Bieber.

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The show at the New York New Jersey Stadium also featured an appearance from Muppets characters Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.

Fifa extended the half-time interval of the match from the customary 15 minutes to more than 27 minutes.

Former England forward Wayne Rooney, who was at the New York New Jersey Stadium working as a BBC pundit alongside Joe Hart and Micah Richards, did not hold back when asked for his highlights of the show by presenter Gabby Logan

“I’ll be honest, mine was when it finished. I like a lot of them artists but I thought it was crap,” he said.

“It just didn’t get me going and I wanted the football to come back on. I like Burna Boy, I like Bieber, I like Shakira, but that was too flat.”

Richards called Rooney “miserable” for his assessment, while Logan added: “I’ll tell you what else you get on the BBC: honest reviews.”

Former Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran has joined Benfica on a season-long loan from Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr.

The Portuguese giants will be the seventh club of Duran’s career at the age of just 22, following recent stints with Fenerbahce and Zenit St Petersburg.

Benfica will pay a £5.19m (6.1m euros) loan fee for the Colombia international with the option to make the move permanent for £25.5m (30m euros) at the end of the 2026-27 season.

“I am happy! I continue to say that it is the biggest club in Portugal. I am very grateful to be here,” said Duran.

“I have very high expectations of being here. I want to play well, give my all and become champion.”

Duran began his professional career with Colombian side Envigado in 2019 before earning a move to MLS team Chicago Fire in 2022.

He was on the move again in January 2023 when he joined Aston Villa for £14m and quickly became a fan favourite.

A move to West Ham fell through in the summer of 2024, but after scoring a famous winner for Villa against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Duran was sold to Al-Nassr for £71m in January 2025.

Despite scoring eight goals in 13 games for the Saudi Arabian side, he stayed for only half a season before moving to Fenerbahce on loan.

But manager Jose Mourinho was sacked less than a month after Duran made his debut and the loan was cancelled in February 2026 so he could join Zenit.

After bagging three goals in nine games in Russia, Duran now has the chance to make a home at Benfica, his seventh club in the seventh country of his young career.

A former three-weight world champion has discussed how Ryan Garcia’s pedigree and world-level experience could see him knock out Conor Benn.

The world welterweight champion secured his WBC title in February, dethroning Mario Barrios with a wide unanimous decision victory after scoring a first-round knockdown.

Conversely, Garcia’s first major title shot resulted in a devastating seventh-round stoppage defeat after Gervonta Davis landed a sickening body shot in their 2023 encounter.

‘King Ry’ then moved up to 140lbs but failed to make weight against Devin Haney, who he nonetheless defeated in 2024 before testing positive for banned substance ostarine.

This rendered his majority decision victory a no-contest and, following his year-long ban, Garcia was dealt a shock defeat against now-WBA welterweight champion Rolando Romero.

But despite each of these setbacks, the 27-year-old is now considered one of the leading operators at 147lbs, making him a sizable favourite against his upcoming opponent.

One of many who seem to be backing against him is British boxing icon Duke McKenzie, who has said on his YouTube channel that Benn would need a generous slice of luck to have any chance of defeating Garcia.

“I just don’t see him beating Ryan Garcia, because we’re talking about levels. Conor Benn might get lucky and knock him out … but I don’t see that happening.

“Ryan Garcia’s tried, tested, proven … and he has the mental strength of knowing how it is to be a world champion.

“He got knocked off that pedestal and climbed back up the tree – got his act together – and became a bona fide world champion.

“He’s got pedigree over Conor Benn. He was an outstanding amateur. I think Garcia will probably get him later in the fight – anywhere after the six-round mark.”

It was finally announced earlier this week that Garcia will defend his WBC title against Benn on September 12, with the pair colliding at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

This weekend, Errol Spence Jr returns to the ring after three years out to face a fellow former world champion in Tim Tszyu. Boxing icon Roy Jones Jr has weighed in with his fight week prediction.

Spence has been inactive since a comprehensive 2023 defeat at the hands of Terence Crawford. As time passed, many fans assumed that he had quietly retired from the sport.

He has now booked a comeback against Tszyu, who has remained active but suffered bruising defeats to Sebastian Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev in recent years.

Speaking to FightHype, Jones – who has visited Spence in training ahead of this return – backed the American to win, praising his engine.

“It’s going to be a slugfest. Man, it’s a hard call, but I’m going with Errol to withstand the onslaught that Tszyu gonna put on early. If he gets past four, five rounds, Errol definitely gonna beat him. To me, Errol is stronger later than anybody fighting. You get him past round six and you’ve got a problem on your hands, especially if he ain’t beat up or anything in the face, because that’s when he starts to come alive.”

The fight was originally set at a 158lbs catchweight, but a late request from Spence’s side to move it up to the middleweight limit of 160 was accommodated by Tszyu.

It tops the bill this Saturday, July 25, at Afterpay Arena in Sydney, Australia, and is promoted by PBC in association with No Limit Boxing. It will be available live on pay-per-view via both DAZN and Prime Video, depending on territory.

The FIFA World Cup is typically an event where the best teams from around the world face each other every four years, with the right to be called world champions on the line.

Despite the tournament being a team event, with the highest prize being the FIFA World Cup trophy, it also features several awards that recognise the individual brilliance of players throughout the tournament.

Two of the biggest individual awards at the FIFA World Cup are the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot, which is awarded to the player who scores the most goals during the tournament, and the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball, which is awarded to the best all-round player of the tournament.

But who are the individuals who have been able to win these prestigious awards in the 96-year history of the tournament? Take a look.

FIFA Golden Boot

The FIFA Golden Boot is the oldest individual award in the tournament’s history, having been presented to the top goalscorer since the inaugural edition of the competition in 1930.

While no player in the tournament’s history has been able to win the Golden Boot twice, there have been two editions in the past 96 years in which more than one player shared the award.

During the 1994 World Cup, Oleg Salenko and Hristo Stoichkov were announced as the joint winners of the FIFA Golden Boot. In 1962, six players, namely Garrincha, Vavá, Leonel Sánchez, Dražan Jerković, Flórián Albert and Valentin Ivanov, received the award as they all finished with four goals each.

FIFA World Cup: Full list of Golden Boot winners:

FIFA Golden Ball

Unlike the Golden Boot, the Golden Ball award was not introduced until the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. In the tournament’s history, only one player has been able to win the award twice, namely Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who received the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball in 2014 and 2022.

FIFA World Cup: Full list of Golden Ball winners:

The BCCI on Monday invited bids for the title sponsorship rights for its domestic and international home events, with the current agreement with IDFC FIRST Bank nearing the end of its tenure. The cricket board issued an Invitation to Tender (ITT), inviting entities to bid for the rights through a competitive process. The ITT document will be made available on payment of a non-refundable fee of Rs 1 lakh, plus applicable GST. Interested parties can purchase the document until August 4, while the deadline for seeking clarifications is August 5.

Bid documents must be submitted by August 13, the BCCI said in a press release signed by its secretary Devajit Saikia.

The BCCI said the tender document, containing the eligibility criteria and terms and conditions governing the bidding process, will be shared only after confirmation of payment of the ITT fee.

The board clarified that purchasing the ITT does not automatically entitle an entity to participate in the bidding process, with only those meeting the eligibility criteria specified in the tender document being allowed to submit bids.

The successful bidder will acquire the title sponsorship rights for BCCI events, which include international matches involving the Indian men’s and women’s teams played at home, domestic tournaments such as well as Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Cup, besides age-group competitions.

The current rights are held by IDFC FIRST Bank, which secured the deal in September 2023 and runs until August 2026.

IDFC First Bank is the exiting title sponsor for all BCCI international and domestic home matches (including Test, ODI, and T20 series, as well as domestic tournaments like the Ranji Trophy).

Additionally, Apollo Tyres serves as the official lead sponsor and jersey sponsor for Team India.

The BCCI reserves the right to cancel or amend the tender process at any stage without assigning any reason.

BCCI also invites bids for associate partner rights 

The BCCI also issued a Request for Quotation (RFQ), inviting entities to bid for the associate partner rights for its events through a tender process.

The RFQ document will be made available on payment of a non-refundable fee of Rs 1 lakh plus applicable GST. Interested parties can purchase the RFQ till August 14, seek clarifications until August 16, while the last date for submission of quotation documents is August 25.

The board said the RFQ, containing the eligibility criteria and detailed terms governing the bidding process, will be shared only after confirmation of payment of the RFQ fee.

The successful bidder will acquire the associate partner rights for BCCI events, which include home international matches involving the Indian men’s and women’s teams, domestic competitions and age-group tournaments.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Featured Video Of The Day

FIFA World Cup 2026 | ‘I Don’t See A World Cup Trophy…’: Mbappe Says France’s Job Isn’t Done

At 19, most footballers are still trying to establish themselves in a first team. Lamine Yamal could already be discussing what remains to achieve.

The Barcelona winger walked into his first FIFA World Cup and walked away with the biggest prize in football as his team beat defending champions Argentina 1-0 in the final, adding it to a collection that already included a European Championship, multiple La Liga titles, domestic cups and individual awards. For someone who only made his senior debut three years ago, the list borders on the absurd.

The only glaring omission now is the UEFA Champions League.

For a player who has barely entered adulthood, Yamal is already approaching what many legends spend an entire career chasing. Football has rarely witnessed a rise this complete, this early.

A teenager rewriting football’s timeline

Football has always celebrated young prodigies. Pelé won the World Cup at 17. Lionel Messi became Barcelona’s future before turning 20.

Cristiano Ronaldo announced himself at Sporting CP as a teenager. Yet very few have combined sustained excellence with silverware quite like Lamine Yamal. Instead of merely being labelled “the next big thing,” he has already become one of football’s biggest stars while still technically being a teenager.

The remarkable aspect is not simply the quality of his football. It is how quickly he has converted potential into trophies.

From Rocafonda to La Masia

Born on July 13, 2007, in Esplugues de Llobregat and raised in the working-class neighbourhood of Rocafonda near Barcelona, Yamal’s football journey began on local concrete courts before Barcelona spotted his extraordinary talent.

He joined La Masia at the age of seven. Within the academy, coaches quickly realised they were nurturing something different.

His close control, awareness and decision-making separated him from his peers long before physical development became a factor. Former Barcelona coaches frequently pointed to his football intelligence rather than his dribbling as the quality that made him unique.

Breaking Barcelona records before turning 16

Barcelona fast-tracked his development. In April 2023, Xavi handed Yamal his senior debut at just 15 years and 290 days, making him the youngest first-team player in club history. The records followed almost weekly.

• 
  Youngest Barcelona starter.
• 
  Youngest Barcelona goalscorer in La Liga.
• 
  Youngest player to feature in El Clasico.

By the start of the following season, he was no longer regarded as a promising academy graduate. He had become an automatic starter.

His breakthrough campaign produced goals, assists and mature performances well beyond his years as Barcelona reclaimed domestic supremacy.

As the seasons progressed, Yamal lifted:

La Liga titles

Copa del Rey

Spanish Super Cup

Domestic treble with Barcelona

Barcelona’s iconic No. 10 shirt once worn by Lionel Messi

By 19, he was already carrying the responsibility that once belonged to Barcelona’s greatest-ever player.

Spain’s youngest history-maker

His rise with Spain mirrored his club career. Yamal became Spain’s youngest senior international and their youngest-ever goalscorer. Then came Euro 2024.

He became the youngest player ever to appear in the European Championship. He dazzled throughout the tournament, producing decisive assists and unforgettable goals before helping Spain defeat England in the final.

The tournament transformed him from a promising youngster into one of football’s genuine superstars. He had become a European champion before turning 18.

A debut World Cup that ended on the biggest stage

Expectations entering the 2026 FIFA World Cup were enormous. Yamal handled them with remarkable composure.

Spain reached the final after conceding just one goal throughout the tournament, with the Barcelona winger once again emerging as one of Luis de la Fuente’s biggest attacking weapons.

His dribbling, creativity and fearlessness repeatedly unsettled defenders, while his maturity stood out even more than his technical brilliance.

Whether producing moments of magic or sacrificing himself defensively, Yamal played with the assurance of someone far older. For many players, reaching a World Cup final defines a career. For Yamal, it arrived at the very beginning. 

  The Messi connection football never imagined

No story involving Yamal feels complete without mentioning Lionel Messi. In 2007, a 20-year-old Messi unknowingly held five-month-old Yamal during a Barcelona charity photoshoot.

Nearly two decades later, the pair met again on football’s grandest stage. The photograph became symbolic. One Barcelona icon unknowingly holding another.

Now wearing Messi’s former No. 10 shirt at Barcelona, Yamal has gradually stepped into a role few imagined anyone could inherit so naturally.

Regardless of the World Cup result, the symbolism remains extraordinary.

What has Lamine Yamal already won at 19?

By the age of 19, Yamal’s trophy cabinet already includes:

Individual achievements include:

• 
  Barcelona No. 10 shirt
• 
  Spain’s youngest debutant
• 
  Spain’s youngest goalscorer
• 
  Youngest player at the Euros
• 
  Youngest player in a major international final
• 
  Ballon d’Or runner-up 

Only one mountain still remains

With Spain winning the World Cup, there is realistically only one major team trophy left missing from Yamal’s résumé. The UEFA Champions League.

That statement alone illustrates the absurdity of his career. Most elite footballers spend 15 years attempting to collect even half of those honours.

Yamal has placed himself within touching distance before celebrating his 20th birthday.

Football’s future has already arrived

Regardless of whether Spain would’ve lifted the World Cup or fell one game short, the broader picture remains unchanged.

Yamal is no longer football’s future. He is football’s present. The World Cup final may have represented the biggest occasion of his career so far, but everything suggests it will not be his last despite the triumph.

At 19, he has already built a résumé that rivals established legends. If he won, he is frighteningly close to completing football before turning 20.

Spain‘s newly crowned World Cup champions were greeted by a million fans as the team arrived for the victory parade in Madrid.

The players, some shirtless, others holding drinks, set off on their procession along the main arteries in the city centre where a sea of fans in red and yellow were waiting, with the destination Cibeles square.

After flying back from the United States to Madrid, the players were received by King Felipe VI and the royal family, and then Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, before kicking off the parade.

“You have shown your grit, your resilience and your courage, always backed by your technical skill, your control and command of the game, combining head and heart,” the king told La Roja’s stars.

“Kings of the world” ran the words on the front of their vehicle, with fans chanting “champions” to their heroes.

Spain’s 1-0 victory over Argentina in New Jersey on Sunday, secured by a Ferran Torres strike in extra-time, has sparked an outpouring of national pride in the football-mad country, whose only other World Cup triumph came in 2010.

Read moreSpain crowned world champions after extra-time thriller against Argentina

Spain captain Rodri held the World Cup trophy aloft at the top of the stairs as he descended from the Iberia plane that flew the team home after clinching their second star.

Later at Moncloa, the Manchester City midfielder said this was the crowning achievement of his career.

“I’ve always said it, winning with your country is the most beautiful thing there is, above all a World Cup,” said Rodri.

“This generation grew up watching (Iker) Casillas and (Andres) Iniesta lift the cup and that we can do it today is the biggest thing you can do in football.”

Many younger supporters were not yet born when Andres Iniesta’s extra-time goal against the Netherlands secured Spain’s first World Cup in South Africa 16 years ago.

Madrid fans react to Spain’s World Cup win

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On Monday morning, the Castellana, Madrid’s main avenue, bore the marks of a boozy evening – the tarmac strewn with trash, beer cans and shards of glass.

Among the last remaining supporters, some slept with grins on their faces on the pavement or on benches, while others were still staggering home as cleaning crews worked from the early hours to prepare the route for tonight’s party.

On a tragic note, a 13-year-old boy was killed around midnight in the town of Ciudad Rodrigo in the west, after a fountain crumbled under the weight of supporters who had climbed onto it to celebrate.

Spain’s women’s side won the World Cup in 2023, meaning for the first time a country has both trophies at the same time.

Read moreSpain crowned Women’s World Cup champions after beating England in historic win

In 2030, Spain will defend their crown on home soil, as one of the World Cup hosts along with Portugal and Morocco.

“It’s two for two,” said Sanchez, of Spain’s record in World Cup finals. “Why not dream of a third in 2030, especially with Spain as hosts?”

‘All-time’ kings

The Spanish press was running out of superlatives to describe its heroes after they overcame favourites France in the semi-finals before downing Argentina.

Read moreBrilliant Spain defeat toothless France to reach World Cup final

“The kings of all-time!” wrote Marca, celebrating a “second star that will now be stitched onto the Spanish jersey after yet another masterclass in collective play”.

Argentina, despite the presence of all-time great Lionel Messi, failed to create clear chances against Spain’s well-organised and more positive side in the final.

Messi had a sensational World Cup but drifted through the final like a ghost, shedding tears at the end.

Read moreMessi denied dream farewell as Argentina lose World Cup final to Spain

“The pain is immense, and it’s going to be hard for this wound to heal,” Messi wrote on Instagram.

 In Madrid, tears also flowed on Monday night, but they were tears of joy.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)