Usyk’s reputation has always felt untouchable, through a combination of his bewitching boxing, his refreshingly-upstanding personal nature, and that drive to give his beleaguered Ukraine something to celebrate in the face of inconceivable horrors.
Oleksandr Usyk during his tough clash with Rico Verhoeven (Reuters)
So, when the unified champion opted for a voluntary title defence against Rico Verhoeven, a kickboxing icon with just one pro boxing match to his name, it would have felt harsh to even bat an eyelid. Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua both boxed UFC star Francis Ngannou over the last three years, and “AJ” even fought a YouTuber in Jake Paul six months ago. It was unexpected that Usyk would tread similar terrain, but after beating Fury, Joshua and Daniel Dubois twice each, he had earned a supposedly-easier outing.
That brought him to Saturday and to the pyramids of Giza, whose very existence have often raised unanswerable questions about invention and labour. And against Verhoeven, Usyk laboured in a way we have not seen before, with his usual invention distinctly lacking.
Yes, Verhoeven was bigger. Yes, as a non-boxer – but with the great Peter Fury in his corner – he approached this fight without the pressure that has consumed many of Usyk’s opponents. As Chris Algieri put it: he fought like a big man on the inside, and a small man on the outside.
But those aspects alone do not account for Verhoeven’s impressive display in Egypt, where this writer had him 97-93 up after 10 rounds, before Usyk’s late, controversial KO win. For as good as Verhoeven was, Usyk fought sluggishly and agitatedly.
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You could argue there’s an element of chicken and egg to this: was Usyk sluggish because he was struggling with Verhoeven’s application of weight, and was he agitated by the Dutchman’s movement – those twitchy feet and the constant circling away from Usyk’s southpaw power hand? To give Usyk his due credit, he eventually found his timing, range and rhythm, with uppercuts proving decisive as a tiring Verhoeven reverted to a higher, closer guard. It was one such shot that dropped Verhoeven, 37, in round 11.
And while much of the ensuing controversy (rightly) centred on the referee stopping the fight after the bell, there is an imperfect counter-argument that Verhoeven was given extra time to recover from the initial knockdown, as he was allowed to re-insert his mouthguard while in his corner. Two wrongs don’t make a right, of course, so have a third anyway: the scores were 95-95, 95-95, and 96-94 in Verhoeven’s favour after 10 rounds.
Usyk dropped Verhoeven late in round 11 before a controversial finish (Getty)
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In any case, as Steve Bunce wrote in these pages: “The first thing Usyk said when he was interviewed in the ring was not about the fight, but about a conversation he had with his daughter that very day. ‘She is in a bomb shelter,’ he said. Have we become so immune to human disaster that we hear that and still question why a man did not look and fight like he normally does?”
The problem for Usyk is that fans are fickle and unforgiving.
If the 39-year-old opts for a rematch with Verhoeven, his almost-impenetrable reputation will degrade slightly from two successive bouts with a kickboxer, at the expense of his mandatory challenger, Agit Kabayel, getting his rightful shot. Yet if Usyk chooses to face Kabayel, a sour taste will be left in many a mouth, with Verhoeven hard done by.
For what it’s worth, Kabayel’s promoter Frank Warren said “we’re not going to stand for” Usyk vs Rico 2, and Usyk vs Kabayel (perhaps in the latter’s native Germany) would be a strong match-up. On paper, it would be a tougher test for Usyk than the first Verhoeven fight, or even a rematch, in which the Ukrainian would likely figure out the kickboxer more quickly.
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Agit Kabayel is the WBC’s mandatory challenger to Usyk (Getty)
But boxing matches aren’t won on paper, if you’ll pardon a cliche. Verhoeven gave Usyk a tougher test than Joshua, Dubois and Fury, and with the multiple controversies that muddied the end of Saturday’s main event, the Dutchman deserves another shot at Usyk.
Yes, Verhoeven will likely get a big-name opponent in his next boxing match – because he will stay in the sport – but we saw how that went for Ngannou. He dropped Fury and was unlucky not to be awarded a points win over the “Gypsy King”, but he was annihilated by Joshua a few months later. Styles make fights, if you’ll pardon a second cliche.
Perhaps a solution is for Usyk to box Verhoeven again, and to vacate his WBC title so Kabayel can fight another contender for that belt. Usyk could then face Kabayel, if the latter is victorious, in 2027. At that point, Usyk will be 40 years old with just one fight left in his plan for three final bouts, the first of which was his duel with Verhoeven.
Yet based on Saturday, there is an argument that Usyk should get out sooner rather than later. He did have nothing left to prove, yet all of a sudden that has changed. All of a sudden, he is in a no-win situation for the first time.
There is some bad news for Joe Hendry’s fans. The popular UK star has won over the WWE Universe with his charisma since signing for the promotion last year. He joined NXT and won the brand’s top championship before moving to the main roster.
Hendry was called up to RAW following WrestleMania 42 and quickly began a feud with The Vision. He has been a thorn in the faction’s side and even came up with a catchy “Fire Logan Paul” parody song.
Thanks for the submission!
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But just as it looked like he was taking things to the next level, he disappeared from WWE TV. He was absent from the company’s European tour. With the second leg of the tour set to commence and WWE stopping in the UK, it was expected that the British star would be available. But he shared a disappointing update.
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Speaking on the Toronto Sun’s No Holds Barred, the host mentioned that Joe Hendry would be a part of WWE’s upcoming UK tour. However, the former TNA World Champion was quick to correct him.
“You said I’ll be part of the UK tour, but right now I am healing up, my friend. I was attacked by Austin Theory. So, you know, it is what it is,” he said.
On the May 24 episode of RAW, Hendry was viciously attacked by Austin Theory with a steel chair. Theory, who is one-half of the tag team champions, sandwiched Hendry’s head between the chair and the ring post to end the attack.
Hendry possibly missing the UK tour is bad news for his fans, who have seen his rise over the years.
Joe Hendry wanted to face John Cena during his retirement tour
Last year, John Cena retired from WWE after a year-long retirement tour. During this run, he faced several stars, from veterans to fresh talent.
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It turns out Joe Hendry also wanted to face The Last Real Champion in his retirement tour. Speaking on INSIGHT with Chris Van Vliet, Hendry revealed he wished to be one of Cena’s opponents last year.
He blamed himself, saying he didn’t do enough to make himself an obvious choice, but said he has no regrets.
If you use quotes from the first half of this article, please credit Toronto Sun’s No Holds Barred and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
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Achraf Hakimi will stand trial for rape a Paris appeals court has ruled. The captain of the Moroccan team was first accused of rape in 2023, by a then 24 year old woman. In February this year, an investigative judge ruled that Hakimi would face trial followed recommendations from public prosecutors. The PSG right back appealed the decision, but today that appeal was quashed paving the way for Hakimi to be tried in a criminal court.
Kildunne is one of England’s biggest rugby union stars and among the most high profile players in the world.
She was the face of the 2025 World Cup for the Red Roses and her profile has only continued to skyrocket since the team lifted the trophy last September.
Bristol, who finished a disappointing eighth in the table this season, is also a club that has a track record of signing prominent figures of the sport.
America superstar Ilona Maher enjoyed a three-month spell at the club during early 2025, New Zealand captain Ruahei Demant similarly joined this season and Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit joined their men’s Prem outfit last summer his return to the sport from American football while their chief executive officer stated that marketability of players, external is a factor in their recruitment strategy.
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The Bears’ running rugby style of play was a key factor in Kildunne wanting to make the move she said but also that joining a club which has worked with other high profile players did come into her thinking.
“Bristol have worked with players who have maybe stepped out of just being the rugby players that you prioritise, is something that definitely aids moving here because I do have a lot on my plate at times,” Kildunne said.
“My priority is always rugby, will always be rugby. But this is new territory, so to feel supported by the staff to ensure that I can keep rugby being my priority as well as aiding the progression of women’s rugby in different ways that I am doing as well.
“It’s definitely something that was a huge positive.”
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Kildunne added that she feels the “best is still yet to come” with her rugby.
At Bristol she will link up with a number of England team-mates including Sarah Bern, Hannah Botterman, Abbie Ward and Lark Atkin-Davies and pointed to wing Millie David, who won her first cap this spring, as someone she was excited to link up with.
“Millie Wizz (David) is someone that has been in and out of the Red Roses camp. We’ve seen where she’s got the pace that she’s got when she’s been playing in the PWR.
“I’m excited to keep on growing that bond. I think we can get the best out of each other on the pitch.”
It now appears that Benavidez will remain at cruiserweight rather than return to the light-heavyweight scene, at least for his next fight.
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Despite calls for him to face Jai Opetaia, the 29-year-old looks set to first prioritise a charge towards the undisputed throne, with a clash against WBC world champion Noel Mikaelian close to being finalised. Should he win there, there are more fights in the division, including Opetaia, worth a mention.
After witnessing Benavidez’s cruiserweight debut, former WBO world champion Chris Billam-Smith – who lost his belt to Ramirez in 2024 – has thrown his name into the mix, telling Inside The Ring that a scrap with ‘The Mexican Monster’ could prove to be a ‘fire fight’.
“Of course, you are always thinking how you go about beating those sorts of guys. I said before that [Zurdo] fight, I said, ‘if he does win, me against him is an absolute fire fight and a very fan-friendly fight’.
“He is a fantastic fighter, obviously he has come up through the weights and put on a great performance there.”
With Benavidez-Mikaelian appearing to be next, Opetaia is likely to seek an in-house defence of his Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight title – with Billam-Smith being the standout candidate for the away corner.
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With that route in mind, ‘The Gentleman’ said that he sees a showdown with Benavidez as a more difficult test than a dust-up with his promotional stablemate.
“Benavidez would be harder to beat [than Opetaia], stylistically for me.”
The traffic is a nightmare, and the prices are insane. But it’s still nice to spend a weekend in the Hamptons — it’s even better when you’re playing for a national championship.
As of noon Friday on the tip of Long Island, with the second round of the U.S. Open well underway, that picture was coming into view.
A reminder of how this works: the cut at a U.S. Open comes down to the top 60 players and ties after 36 holes. Everyone else packs up and heads back to the bottlenecked Long Island Expressway. Or a private jet. But you get the point. Not everyone gets to stick around.
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According to DataGolf, the current projected cutline sits at three over, a number that puts a bunch of big names in jeopardy.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who doesn’t tee off until 2:24 p.m. local time, is sitting one shot inside the projected number at plus-two. Brooks Koepka, who won the U.S. Open the last time it was held at Shinnecock in 2018, is living right on the number after an opening-round 73, and he’s got company there: Hideki Matsuyama and Patrick Cantlay are both at plus-three as well.
A notch below sit a trio of major champions: Bryson DeChambeau, Shane Lowry and Jordan Spieth. DeChambeau sits at five over while Spieth and Lowry are at four over, on the wrong side of the line for now. Joaquin Niemann is at plus-four, too, and if he ends up spending the weekend on his couch, he might blame his own temper. He was assessed a two-stroke penalty for a club-throwing incident in the first round.
Then there’s defending champion J.J. Spaun, who has a steep climb ahead of him. He’s at plus-seven and will need something special when he tees off alongside Scheffler this afternoon.
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Of course, cutlines are like the winds at Shinnecock: they can shift. And this one still has plenty of golf left to move. Check back here for updates as the number shakes out.
After months of recovery and rehabilitation, Neeraj Chopra is finally set to return to competitive action at the Doha Diamond League 2026. The Indian javelin superstar will compete for the first time since the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo last year, where a persistent back injury affected his performance and resulted in an eighth-place finish.
The Doha meeting holds special significance for Chopra. It was at this venue in 2025 that he finally crossed the coveted 90-metre mark with a national record throw of 90.23m. Although he finished second behind Germany’s Julian Weber, the achievement marked a major milestone in his career.
This year’s event offers Chopra the perfect opportunity to assess his fitness and form against a world-class field. With the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games later in the year, the Doha Diamond League represents the beginning of an important season for India’s biggest athletics star.
SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — When Scottie Scheffler arrived at Shinnecock Hills for his first round of his ninth U.S. Open early on Thursday morning, he had to be thinking, somewhere in his large and impressive head, that he could be four days away from becoming the seventh player to win the career Grand Slam. That prospect is out there, in the universe. Not even Scottie Scheffler can block out all the world’s noise.
But by high noon on Friday, with his second-round tee time still more than two hours away, Scheffler was closer to the cutline than the lead in this 126th U.S. Open.
The issue was his first-round score, 72, that put him six shots behind the first-round leader, Wyndham Clark. The issue was surprisingly low first-day scores, despite the windy conditions. The issue was the weight of golfing history. (See: McIlroy, Rory.) The issue was the nature of this U.S. Open at Shinnecock and, very possibly, most of the U.S. Opens Scheffler will play for the rest of his career.
“Would it be a dream to win the U.S. Open? Of course,” Scheffler said in a pre-tournament press conference. “But at the end of the day, the Grand Slam has never been a motivating factor for me. I always just wanted to be the best version of myself, and that got me this far.
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“When it comes to this golf tournament, I’m going to step on the first tee and remind myself I’ve done everything I possibly could in order to play well and now it’s just a matter of going out there and trying to execute and enjoy the competition, versus feeling like you have to win for some reason.”
Scheffler is so insightful, in his own keep-it-simple way. When he’s in the mood to talk, he’s one of the most interesting people in golf. His approach to life is there for all of us to see.
Then came the Thursday 72. Not a disaster. Not what he was looking for.
“Today felt like a day where a lot of good shots were going to get punished,” Scheffler said. “You had to be hitting a great shot if you wanted to avoid punishment.”
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Scheffler is an expert in golf, so his opinion should surely carry more weight than the opinion of any walking-in-the-rough observer. But you could make the case that the opposite was true. With fairways here that are often 40 to 50 yards wide, with easy (relatively speaking) pin positions, with soft and slow greens, the world’s best golfers didn’t really need to play a long series of great shots to shoot par or better.
What they needed to do was avoid major problems off the tee and into the greens, followed by a seize-the-moment mentality whenever a slow flat birdie putt from 20 feet and in presented itself. This course is not set up, as Augusta National is every year, to produce golfing magic. Scheffler knows all about what Augusta National requires. He’s won two green jackets. This is a different exam.
This discussion of the USGA’s U.S. Open setup is not a criticism. But it is a necessary starting point when you bring the national championship to this spectacular course to this spectacular place, and the forecast calls for wind and more wind.
The R&A deals with the exact same thing every year, whether the Open is at Royal St. George’s in the south of England or Carnoustie in northern Scotland. Scheffler, much like Phil Mickelson before him, didn’t imagine that British Open golf would be his thing. But when he won last year at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, he actually made it look easy, winning by four. It was nothing like a high-wire act, with all manner of golfing excitement. What he did was produce a relentless series of good shots. His winning score was 17 under par. Seventeen under!
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What golf-heads say about the people behind the R&A really is true: They do not care about the scoreboard totals. The Open goes to old-line, tried-and-true golf courses again and again and again. The R&A attitude is, whatever happens, happens. It speaks volumes about their collective golf IQ, and about their confidence as golf administrators.
Scheffler turns 30 on Sunday. He’s been intimately involved in golf at a high level for more than half his young life. Over the course of those years, the USGA has reinvented itself. Its day as the stern overlord over all you do in golf course is over. The modern USGA is now golfer-friendly, and it does not worship 280 as a Sunday-night score to the degree it did for decades.
Along those same lines, and at its greatest championship, the USGA does not prize point-to-point golf as it once did. Trees are not even a thing anymore at U.S. Opens. U.S. Opens and British Opens are more alike than they have even been. Not just here at Shinnecock Hills, where the course looks like a Scottish immigrant. At most U.S. Open sites. Pinehurst No. 2 (talk about firm terra firma) and Oakmont (now that it has no trees) and Pebble Beach (full name Pebble Beach Golf Links), to cite three anchor sites.
“I always felt like The Open would be one of the hardest ones for me to win because I didn’t have a lot of experience playing in the UK,” Scheffler said the other day. “I didn’t really play much internationally at all. Not having the experience on links golf, I would have said that would probably be the most difficult for me to win.”
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And then he won at Portrush last year. Handily.
Will Scheffler win a U.S. Open sometime between now and when he calls it a day? You would have to think yes. But to do it, he’ll have to be in touch not with old-school U.S. Open values. The Opens are melding. He’s won one. That means he can win the other.
Japan celebrates after winning vs Czechia in the VNL Women’s Week 2 in Pasig City. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Japan escaped Czechia’s tough third-set challenge and scored a 25-15, 25-23, 27-25 win to stay unbeaten in six games in the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Women’s Week 2 on Friday at Philsports Arena.
Czechia reached the set point, but a crucial successful floor touch challenge by Japan mid-rally tied the third at 25-all. Yukiko Wada scored back-to-back kills to seal the win for her team and keep them on top of the standings of the 18-nation field.
New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. reacts after hitting himself with a foul ball in the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York, on June 18, 2026.(Wendell Cruz/Imagn Images)
He fouled a breaking ball off that hit the dirt surrounding home plate and bounced directly back at him. After the ball made contact, he collapsed and was tended to by trainers while clearly in some serious pain.
Apparently, the injury was not a quick fix, as Anthony Volpe took his spot in the lineup.
In his first 21 games, Chisholm struggled after boldly claiming he’d hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases, hitting .164 with a .498 OPS and zero homers.
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But in his last 49 games, while 50-50 might be a far cry, he is hitting .254 with an .811 OPS, both of which are above his career numbers and extremely similar to last year’s .242/.813.
New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. receives medical attention after fouling a ball off his lower leg during the second inning against the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York, on June 16, 2026.(John Jones/Imagn Images)
The Yankees have been hit with the injury bug this season, as Aaron Judge is out with a broken rib, and Giancarlo Stanton “reinjured” a bothersome calf recently. Trent Grisham was also placed on the injured list, while Cy Young candidate Max Fried is also on the shelf.
However, the team has been able to more than tread water without them and are in first place in the American League East by 3.0 games.
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The Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Guardians and Seattle Mariners are the only teams in the American League that are above .500, so New York has been able to take advantage.
New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. reacts after hitting himself with a foul ball in the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York, on June 18, 2026.(Wendell Cruz/Imagn Images)
An investigation into the nightclub incident, when Stokes and pace bowler Gus Atkinson were present when a member of security staff was struck by a Saracens rugby player, remains ongoing.
While the England and Wales Cricket Board is hopeful of a swift resolution, no update is expected on Friday.
There remains a growing likelihood Stokes will return as England captain for the third Test at Trent Bridge next week.
“This is a difficult situation,” added Bostock. “It sounds like common sense is prevailing.
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“We are happy to have Ben here but not under these circumstances.”
England introduced a curfew after a number of off-field incidents dogged their defeat in last winter’s Ashes in Australia.
In the aftermath of the incident on 8 June there were fears Stokes would retire, ending a storied England career. Those fears were allayed when he returned to training with Durham last weekend.
He has continued to train with his county through the past week and, with the investigation not preventing the all-rounder – nor fast bowler Atkinson – from playing in domestic, both returned to the field on Friday.
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After having a catch dropped in his first over, Stokes had returned figures of 0-26 in nine overs by tea on day one against Northants at Chester-le-Street.
Atkinson dismissed Kiran Carlson and Ben Kellaway in his first 11 overs in Surrey’s visit to Glamorgan.
“[Stokes] should be playing for England,” Bostock said. “Hopefully will be back captaining next week.”
If Stokes and Atkinson are picked to play in Nottingham they may have to be withdrawn from the latter part of the county fixtures, given the Test begins on Thursday.
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