Recognised as an all-time great by almost every boxing fan, Manny Pacquiao is undeniably one of the most talented and adored fighters to have graced the sport. When asked to name his own top three greatest fighters, there was a common theme amongst the names selected by the Filipino icon.

Pacquiao remains as boxing’s only eight-division world champion, having first claimed world honours as a flyweight and then repeated the feat as high as super-welterweight during an arduous and ongoing three-decade long career.

At 47-years-old, ‘Pac Man’ is attempting to further enhance his legacy, with plans to break his own world record as the oldest welterweight champion in boxing history, having previously won the title at the record-breaking age of 40 years and 215 days, and held it for two additional years.

Whilst unsuccessful in his challenge for Mario Barrios’ WBC welterweight crown upon his comeback to the sport, Pacquiao had been rumoured for a shot at Rolando Romero’s WBA title, before talks collapsed.

Although, Pacquiao is now preparing for a shock rematch with perennial rival Floyd Mayweather, but there remains some uncertainty surrounding that bout, as to whether it will be an exhibition contest or a fully professional encounter.

Pacquiao continues to build hype for the event and pile pressure on Mayweather to agree to a sanctioned bout and in an interview with Inside The Ring, the beloved veteran refused to name Mayweather amongst his top three fighters of all time.

Instead, Pacquiao picked those who, like himself, were truly loved by fight fans around the globe during their respective careers.

“Excluding me; Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Julio Cesar Chavez.”

It’s no surprise to see the Filipino icon select the legendary trio, with each of Ali, Leonard and Chavez widely regarded as three of the greatest boxers to ever lace up a pair of gloves.

Pacquiao is scheduled to face Mayweather on Saturday, September 19, with further details regarding the fight expected to emerge in the coming weeks.

For 38 consecutive major starts that spanned a decade, Rory McIlroy didn’t win a major. Now, after his back-to-back Masters titles, he has won two in his past five starts.

So, what’s next? Another Irish star is predicting big things.

“Rory could win 10 of them at this stage, or five of them, anyway,” said Padraig Harrington, speaking at Concession Golf Club in Florida on Tuesday ahead of this week’s Senior PGA Championship. “He probably will still be competitive at 50 years of age around that golf course. For him, it was interesting that he won that one with his short game, which makes him even better a player.

“He’s always been a superb chipper, but now it’s with the putting and things like that,” he continued. “A very rounded game and a game that looks like it has a lot of longevity in it. So he’s in a very nice place going forward, particularly at that tournament that you would think. It’s amazing when you win one, that he’s now got two, and we’re thinking that maybe two or three or five would be realistic around that golf course.”

Harrington’s point that McIlroy, who turns 37 next month, could compete at Augusta National past his prime isn’t crazy. Jack Nicklaus famously won at Augusta National at age 46 in 1986. Tiger Woods was 43 when he won in 2019. Even Fred Couples, who plays little golf these days, became the oldest player to make a Masters cut when he made the weekend as a 63-year-old in 2023.

Last week, McIlroy held a six-shot, 36-hole lead at Augusta but lost it all in the third round Saturday. He started Sunday sharing the lead with Cameron Young but fell back after a double-bogey 5 on the par-3 4th hole, but he took control with back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 and beat Scottie Scheffler by one.

“He showed some real good character there,” Harrington said. “You know, psychology-wise he really won that tournament. His mentality and how he went about things, that’s a very strong showing for him. He obviously still has the physical side of the game, but to show that short game and the mental side of the game means he looks like he would be a very strong force for a while to come in the game.”

While we won’t make our own claims regarding how many more Masters titles McIlroy might win, we will say he has work to do. Nicklaus holds the record with six Masters victories. Woods has five, and Arnold Palmer won four. If McIlroy wins one more, he’ll be the sixth golfer to win three.

Stephen Curry delivered when it mattered most as the Golden State Warriors came from behind to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 126-121 in the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament.

Golden State trailed by 13 points with under 10 minutes remaining, but closed the game on a 16–5 run to keep their season alive.

Curry led the charge, finishing with 35 points and seven three-pointers, including 27 in the second half.

“That’s what you live for right there,” Curry said.

While Curry controlled the offense, Draymond Green anchored the defense, limiting Kawhi Leonard in the closing stages.

Leonard managed just two shots in the fourth quarter before the game slipped away.

“Hall of Fame defender. It was hard to even get shots up,” Leonard said.

Curry’s moment came late when he knocked down a go-ahead three with 50 seconds remaining, falling into the crowd as the shot dropped.

“This is what you work all year for, all summer, offseason,” Curry said. “We’re not guaranteed a (playoff) series yet, but these nights make everything worth it… Considering how our season has gone… for us to play the way we did tonight was special.”

Head coach Steve Kerr also said:

“For one night, we’re us. We’re champions again,” Kerr said. “I don’t care. Just absolutely beautiful to watch.”

After a difficult regular season, the win leaves Golden State one victory away from securing a playoff series.

“I know we’re not satisfied,” Curry added. “We want to go to Phoenix and guarantee a playoff series against OKC. That’s the next goal… The eight guys that got on the floor all had a part in making it happen.”

Wales: Powell; Singleton, Dallavalle, Keight, Joyce; George, Lockwood; Pyrs, Jones, Tuipulotu, Aiono, Crabb, Lewis, Williams (capt), King

Replacements: Reardon, Davies, Rose, John, Metcalfe, Evans, Bevan, De Vera.

France: Barrat; Grando, Rousset, Vernier, Murie; Arbez, Bourdon Sansus; Brosseau, Lazarko, Khalfaoui, Zago, Fall Raclot, Berthoumieu, M Feleu (capt), L Champon

Replacements: Riffonneau, Mwayembe, Deshaye, Soqeta, Escudero, A Chambon, T Feleu.

Go back and look at all the NBA preseason predictions. Just about everyone had the Orlando Magic being a top-four team in the East and a legitimate threat to win the conference. They had the star duo of Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero. They had the defense. The depth. They made the big trade for Desmond Bane, sending four first-round picks to the Memphis Grizzlies in a clear signal that they, too, believed this was their chance to rise in a wide-open East. 

It did not exactly go according to plan. 

Orlando struggled all year to establish any sustainable momentum. Injuries hit them pretty hard. Jalen Suggs (to whom Orlando’s lineup successes are highly connected) and Wagner combined to miss 73 games. But it was more than that. The team was just off. 

Banchero became a punching bag for his inefficiency and dumb decisions, even though the numbers were remarkably similar to past seasons. As expectations rise, so does frustration, and even when Banchero had solid stretches, the Magic were still a blah team. 

2026 NBA playoff bracket: Matchups, schedule as Suns, Magic advance out of Play-In Tournament

Brad Botkin

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They wound up in the Play-In Tournament and lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the 7-8 game, largely in the same uninspiring fashion they displayed all season. It made it seem like Friday night’s do-or-die game vs. the Charlotte Hornets was a forgone conclusion. The Magic would lose, slink into the offseason, fire Jamahl Mosley and start looking at potential trades for Banchero. 

That also did not go according to plan. 

Instead, the Magic obliterated the Hornets, who showed up expecting to put on their usual circus act, only to realize the Magic were there for a demolition derby. 

It was the version of the Magic that everyone expected to see from the start this season, especially with the physical, at times straight-jacket, defense. Banchero was superb with 25 points, taking and making efficient shots and making quick decisions to get downhill and finish with force. 

And again …

And again …

And when Charlotte managed to cut the drive off, he did this:

This was superstar stuff from Banchero, who was hesitant in all the wrong ways on Wednesday against Philly but isn’t exactly new to playing like this in the biggest games. He averaged 29-8-4 on 44% 3-point shooting against the Celtics in the playoffs last year, and he has averaged 28 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.3 steals on 41.8% 3-point shooting across 12 career playoff games. 

Is this version of the Magic a threat to the Pistons?

There’s no saying this will carry over against the top-seeded Detroit Pistons in the first round. But there’s also no saying it won’t. Again, this is the team the Magic were supposed to be all along. Banchero has had sustained stretches of this kind of play. He’s a superstar-level talent. Bane has been good all season. Wagner is rounding back into form. Suggs is a beast. This is about as talented as a No. 8 seed team can be in the Eastern Conference, and they are facing something of a mirror-image opponent in the Pistons. 

Both teams smother you with physical defense that is officiated way more leniently in the playoffs; this stands to be an absolute street-fight series. Both teams struggle to shoot. The Magic don’t have a creator like Detroit’s Cade Cunningham, but you could make a case that Orlando’s big three of Banchero, Wagner and Bane represent more star power than Cunningham and Jalen Duren. 

Both teams do the bulk of their damage inside. Nobody gets to the free-throw line more than the Magic, but the Pistons are close. Orlando is a good offensive rebounding team, but Detroit is better. Everything about a series like this screams slugfest, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it could be fun nonetheless. 

Can the Magic beat the Pistons? Probably not. When you have a whole season’s worth of evidence against a single game, go with the former. But don’t completely rule out the Magic, who are not your typical No. 8 seed in terms of talent. 

If they bring the fight like they did Friday night, the team everyone expected to show up all season might actually stick around a little longer.

Cole Palmer has shut down talk of a move to Manchester United by insisting that he has “no plans” to leave Chelsea.

Palmer, a Manchester City academy graduate and boyhood United fan, has been linked with a switch back to his home city amid struggles this season at Stamford Bridge.

But the England international has reiterated his commitment to the Blues ahead of the visit of United on Saturday evening.

“Everyone just talks,” he told The Guardian when probed on the reports. “When I see it I just laugh.

“Obviously Manchester is my home. All my family are there, but I don’t miss it. Maybe I’ll miss it if I don’t go for three months or something. But then when I get home I think there’s nothing there for me anyway.

“I’ve got no plans to move from Chelsea. We’ve still got a lot to play for. We’ve got the FA Cup semi-final [against Leeds] and if we finish in a Champions League spot it puts us in a good position to sign players that we need.”

There were claims earlier this season that Palmer was homesick after enduring a challenging period marked by injury and a dip in form.

The 23-year-old has managed 10 goals in all competitions this term, down from 18 last season and 27 in a stunning debut campaign in 2023/24.

Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior firmly stated that Palmer is “very happy” at the club in a direct response to reports of homesickness.

“I’ve had numerous conversations with Cole and he seems very happy to be here, he is very happy to be here,” Rosenior confirmed.

“He’s a huge part of our plans in the long term. He’s an outstanding player. Every player goes through difficult moments in their career in terms of injury. It’s not any reflection of his quality.”

Palmer’s statement of commitment to Chelsea acts as a refreshing change of pace for the Blues hierarchy, who have seen a couple of their top stars question the project in recent weeks.

Enzo Fernandez was suspended by the club for two games following an interview during the international break in which he appeared to court Real Madrid, while Marc Cucurella said Chelsea made the wrong decision in parting ways with Enzo Maresca in January, blaming “the instability around the club” on the former manager’s departure.

Chelsea require a change in fortunes in their bid to earn Champions League qualification this term, sitting four points off fifth-place Liverpool having lost four league games in their last five.

But Palmer says that he and his teammates have the trust of the owners to achieve, which is one of the reasons captain Reece James put pen to paper on a long-term contract in March.

“We spoke to the owners and they’re sure of the players that are going to do it,” Palmer added. “Reece won’t sign a six-year contract if he’s not spoken to the owners and the directors.

“Me and Reece spoke a lot. About things we need, players we need to sign and how things need to be. He wouldn’t sign a new contract if he didn’t know what was going on.”