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Sparring partner makes KO prediction for David Benavidez vs Jai Opetaia: “He’s a beast”

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Unbeaten super-middleweight Daniel Blancas has considered how David Benavidez, who he spars on a consistent basis, would fare in a cruiserweight battle with Jai Opetaia.

A potential showdown between the pair has been spoken about for quite some time, with both undefeated fighters facing off last weekend.

This followed Opetaia’s ninth-round stoppage of Noel Mikealian and, with Benavidez entering the ring, they seemed genuinely eager to collide on Cinco de Mayo weekend in 2027.

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Before then, Benavidez is expected to face WBC champion Michal Cieslak on December 12, which, if it materialises, will signify the final fight on his current contract with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions.

Additionally, it would present ‘The Mexican Monster’ with an opportunity to unify his division after claiming the WBO and WBA world titles against Gilberto Ramirez in May.

Back then, Benavidez was making his 200lb debut but nonetheless produced arguably a career-best performance, dethroning Ramirez with an emphatic sixth-round finish.

And while Opetaia poses a vastly different challenge, particularly from a stylistic perspective, the Jose Benavidez Sr-trained Blancas has told Sean Zittel that he would predict a similar outcome for May 2027.

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“That’s a great fight; that’s an amazing fight. Opetaia – he’s a beast. His power – he can hit. He’s amazing.

“Honestly, though, much respect to him and his team but David – you guys saw what he did to [Ramirez]. Even at cruiserweight, his speed didn’t go nowhere.

“His speed was still there, his explosiveness was still there … he was even stronger. I just think that, if he were to face Opetaia, it’s going to be the exact same thing.”

With Blancas training at the same gym as Benavidez, it is hardly surprising that he favours the 29-year-old to defeat Opetaia, who currently holds The Ring cruiserweight title.

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Khabib Nurmagomedov Vs Islam Makhachev: Who Is The Greatest Lightweight In UFC History?

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One retired undefeated. The other has already surpassed him in title defences and moved up to win a second belt. The debate over the greatest lightweight in UFC history is the most interesting argument in MMA right now.

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Ireland players make protest against Israel during anthem in controversial Nations League match

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Ireland players lowered their heads during the Israel national anthem after the contentious Nations League match went ahead on Sunday.

The Irish team wore black armbands, with the fixture attracting bitter opposition in Ireland over Israel’s actions in Gaza.

The Irish players were seen looking down at the turf and also held their hands behind their backs during the pre-match anthem, and Irish captain Dara O’Shea approached the center of the field for the pre-match talk with his hands still firmly clasped behind his back.

O’Shea shook hands with the referee and his assistants but there was no attempt to shake the hand of Israel captain Manor Solomon. While Irish national broadcaster RTE opted for reduced coverage.

Reserve goalkeeper Gavin Bazuno decided Saturday to boycott both of Ireland’s games against Israel because of what he said was his “personal belief that the killing of innocent people is wrong.”

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There was a small group of Israeli fans in the otherwise almost-empty stadium in Debrecen, Hungary, but an even smaller group of around 10 people without colors were celebrating when Troy Parrott broke the deadlock in the 13th minute.

Ireland players bow their head during Israel national anthem
Ireland players bow their head during Israel national anthem (AP)

There weren’t supposed to be any Irish fans present. Some Ireland supporters who managed to get tickets through the Israeli soccer federation told Irish broadcaster RTÉ that those had been canceled Saturday night.

Adam Idah made it 2-0 three minutes after Parrott’s opener and Jack Moylan got the third goal in the 25th.

It was 3-0 at halftime, but Ireland needed goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher at his best to deny Israel after the break, and tempers became frayed around the hour mark after a clash between Idah and Raz Shlomo.

Both players were booked by German referee Harm Osmers.Israel forward Sayed Abu Farchi was suspended for the game after his sending off following his goal-celebration in Thursday’s 3-1 loss to Austria.Ireland and Israel meet again on Oct. 4 in Ireland’s “home” game in Backa Topola, Serbia.

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AP contributed to this report.

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USA captain credits Trump for inspiring comeback victory at Presidents Cup

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U.S. captain Brandt Snedeker credited U.S. President Donald Trump for inspiring the Americans to a thrilling Presidents Cup comeback victory over the International Team.

An 11th straight victory for the USA came after big surges on the back nine by two-time major champion Collin Morikawa and 21-year-old rookie Jackson Koivun.

And despite being outplayed for three days in the team golf format, the USA dominated the singles to claw back a three-point deficit and win 17-13.

Captain Snedeker then praised Trump for his impact, having seen the President welcome his players on the first tee at Medinah with the home fans creating a raucous atmosphere.

“All these guys fought for each other, fought for this country, fought for this team,” Snedeker said. “And one last shout to Donald Trump, President Trump.

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“He told me I was going to bring some energy today for you guys, you guys need it, and I told him if we did this, he gets all the credit. Thank you, President Trump.”

USA teams' Collin Morikawa celebrates his win over International teams' Hideki Matsuyama
USA teams’ Collin Morikawa celebrates his win over International teams’ Hideki Matsuyama (AP)
(Reuters)

Cameron Young and Justin Thomas set the tone early. Scottie Scheffler took down Nico Echavarria with a show of pure sportsmanship when a spectator disrupted the Colombian’s swing. Patrick Cantlay had another moment, as he always seem to do in this competition, holing a birdie putt from just inside 60 feet on the par-3 16th against hard-luck Adam Scott.

Five matches remained on the course — the Americans were 1 up in three of them, the other two were all square. All the Internationals had to do was find three points from them. The Americans simply refused to budge.

Wyndham Clark, Captain Brandt Snedeker, Chris Gotterup, Assistant captain Gary Woodland, Justin Thomas and Assistant captain Jim Furyk celebrate
Wyndham Clark, Captain Brandt Snedeker, Chris Gotterup, Assistant captain Gary Woodland, Justin Thomas and Assistant captain Jim Furyk celebrate (Getty)
Justin Thomas of the U.S. Team celebrates
Justin Thomas of the U.S. Team celebrates (Getty)

Koivun was 2 down through 10 holes to the Internationals’ top performer this week, Si Woo Kim, when he won three straight holes to flip the color to American red on the board. The kid drilled his tee shot on the 18th, and twirled his iron when he knew the approach was pure. He wound up with a 2-up victory, and then it was a matter of time.

The clinching point came from Jacob Bridgeman, who rolled in a 3-foot par putt on the 18th green for a 1-up victory over Min Woo lee, assuring the Americans the 15 1/2 points they needed.

AP contributed to this report

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Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield suffers dislocated thumb vs. Vikings

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have to navigate a late-game scare that left Baker Mayfield down on the field in Sunday’s loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

Mayfield was sent down in apparent pain after being hit on a fourth-down play with less than two minutes remaining in the game. The 31-year-old quarterback was scrambling to try to find an open receiver — on which Tampa Bay needed 13 yards to extend its drive — before being hit by Blake Cashman as he threw an interception.

Mayfield was holding the thumb on his throwing hand as he walked off the field.

Jalon Daniels handed the duties under centre for Tampa Bay’s final drive of the game.

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Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles told reporters after the game that Mayfield had dislocated that thumb and will go for an MRI on Monday.

Mayfield completed 17 of his 34 pass attempts on Sunday, tossing one touchdown and the interception in what ended as a 23-16 defeat, sending Tampa Bay to 0-3 on the year.

The veteran QB agreed to a three-year, $165-million contract extension before the regular season began.

In 2025, Mayfield passed for 3,693 yards and 26 touchdowns in 17 games.

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😱 Enner Valencia off the bench, headed hat-trick sends Boca through

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Enner Valencia had his first big moment in a Boca Juniors shirt, Vasco’s rival in the Copa Sudamericana semifinal, this Sunday (27).

Racing had opened up a two-goal lead at the Gigante de Arroyito in the Copa Argentina quarterfinals.

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But they hadn’t counted on the cunning of the 36-year-old Ecuadorian striker.

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He came on in the 11th minute of the second half.

And he scored a HAT TRICK with headers to seal a 3-2 comeback win that sent Boca into the tournament semifinals.

With the “detail” that the decisive goal came in the VERY last minute indicated by the referee.

It wasn’t easy for him…

After his spell at Pachuca, Enner, a former Internacional player, made his Boca debut on August 18.

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He was coming off an underwhelming World Cup with Ecuador.

He had gone six straight matches without directly contributing to a goal before scoring and providing an assist against Central Córdoba.

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He then drew another blank against São Paulo before making all the difference against Vojvoda’s Racing.

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Always in the air.

The first became reality in the 27th minute

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MLB Highlights (Sept. 27)

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MLB Highlights (Sept. 27)

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49ers Mike Evans ruled out with injury after taking a hit against Cardinals

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San Francisco 49ers star wide receiver Mike Evans was ruled out against the Arizona Cardinals after suffering a rib injury during the second quarter of the Week 3 matchup. After taking a big hit, he went down holding his rib area and was carted off the field.

According to the NFL Network, Evans is dealing with a rib strain and will have a full evaluation tomorrow.

Before going down, Evans had three receptions for 34 yards.

The six-time Pro Bowler led the team in receiving yards (103) heading into this game. With Evans out, wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Jordan Watkins will be seeing more action. 

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Evans was dealing with a hip injury this year and was questionable heading into this Week 3 game. He did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday due to the injury and was limited in practice on Friday.

The 49ers are already dealing with numerous significant injuries this season, with many key players on injured reserve. Wide receivers Christian Kirk, Ricky Pearsall, De’Zhaun Stribling and Demarcus Robinson are all on IR and Brandon Aiyuk’s estrangement with the team still has not been resolved. The 49ers may need to make moves in terms of adding a pass catcher if Evans is out for a significant amount of time. 

This marks the fourth 49ers player to be carted to the locker room this season.

This is Evans’ first season with the Niners. The Buccaneers drafted him No. 7 overall, and he stayed through 2025, winning a Super Bowl during that span. 

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Evans’ only season with less than 1,000 yards was in 2025 when he was limited to eight games due to a hamstring injury, concussion and broken clavicle. He is tied with Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons with 11.

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Noah Gragson disappointed after mechanical woes at Kansas Speedway

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Noah Gragson’s strong run at Kansas Speedway ended with an engine failure during the NASCAR Hollywood Casino 400. The Front Row Motorsports driver had been running around the top 20 after making progress in his No. 4 Ford, but a mechanical problem ended his race early, leaving him with a disappointing result.

Gragson started 21st after the starting lineup was set by the qualifying metric. He had an average running position of 28.58 and lost spots during the Stage 1 pit stops, but a good adjustment helped him recover from 26th to 18th in Stage 2. That progress ended on Lap 114 when the No. 4 Ford engine failed. He was running 20th at the time and said on the radio:

“Blew up.”

FRM No. 4 team immediately acknowledged his effort to keep the car under control:

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“Good job hanging on to it.”

Noah Gragson replied:

“Thanks. Good car. Sh**ty result. Thanks for the effort today.”

Noah Gragson’s No. 4 Ford went sideways on the inside line before producing a large amount of smoke as he moved into Turns 1 and 2. He managed to avoid spinning and did not collect anyone, for the first incident-led caution in the race.

The restart that followed then produced a major incident involving Carson Hocevar in the middle of a multi-car crash. Gragson’s race, however, was already over, with his No. 4 officially listed as a DNF on Lap 152.


Noah Gragson reacts after the Kansas DNF

Noah Gragson with a Front Row Motorsports member at Pocono. Source: GettyNoah Gragson with a Front Row Motorsports member at Pocono. Source: Getty
Noah Gragson with a Front Row Motorsports member at Pocono. Source: Getty

Noah Gragson’s Kansas result comes after Front Row Motorsports announced on August 14 that he would return to the No. 4 Ford for the 2027 NASCAR Cup Series season, with options to extend beyond next year. The contract extension came during a difficult season for Gragson, who entered Kansas 31st in the standings with 376 points.

Since the announcement, Gragson had finished 18th at Richmond and 10th at New Hampshire, his second-best result. He then finished 32nd at Daytona, 33rd at Darlington, 16th at Gateway and 16th at Bristol before the Kansas DNF. Asked whether there was any indication of the engine problem, Gragson said:

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“We were pretty good. Just proud of everybody at Front Row Motorsports and on the Long John Silver’s car. We kind of struggled here in the spring, and we’ve been showing a lot of progress into the last couple of weeks. We were 16th at Bristol, and we’re having a strong showing today, running 17th around there, 16th. So we’re entering in on it. Just unfortunate, but it’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Noah Gragson‘s post-race comments showed that the No. 4 FRM team had made progress compared with its spring Kansas performance. Despite the engine failure, he felt the car had enough speed to run around the middle of the top 20. He will now look to recover on his home track next week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.