Keith Thurman was stopped inside six rounds by towering WBC super-welterweight world champion Sebastian Fundora this weekend in Las Vegas.

The champion, who stands at 6-foot-5½, used his significant height and reach advantage from the off, making it hard for Thurman to settle and land any sustained attacks.

‘One Time’ showed impressive resilience as Fundora peppered the body and landed cleanly up top, but a steady decrease in output saw him, bloodied and bruised, stopped on his feet by referee Thomas Taylor.

Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Thurman criticised Taylor for stepping in and waving the fight off.

“Fundora’s a tremendous champion, but whoever the f**k that referee was, don’t hire him for f***ing main event s**t again, real talk.”

“I never got dropped in the whole fight. I’m getting caught on the back end of punches. The referee told me in the locker room, ‘show me something, move your feet, duck your head – I won’t stop the fight.’ … The fight was getting fun. People were getting on their feet. We were just getting into the grind.”

As for his future, the 37-year-old former unified world champion made it clear he intends to fight on.

“I’ll be back, man. I want to do great things in boxing once again, and I’m gonna come back hard, I’m gonna come back strong.”

Fundora’s latest successful title defence opens the door to several high-profile match-ups in the division, with the likes of Vergil Ortiz Jr and a returning Jermell Charlo likely to be calling for a shot. There is also the prospect of a three-belt unification against the winner of Xander Zayas vs Jaron Ennis.

Manchester City have regenerated their squad in the past 18 months and decisions now loom on four senior players

Manchester City’s squad evolution gathered pace last weekend as the Blues won their first trophy since the 2024 Premier League title when they beat Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final.

While the silverware absence was not even two years, the Wembley win reaffirmed the trajectory this squad is on after a trophyless 2024-25 campaign.

City have a plethora of emerging talent alongside a core of experience and while there remain questions over Pep Guardiola’s future beyond the summer, the playing squad is in good shape.

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This summer will likely see the departure of two long-serving City players in John Stones and Bernardo Silva when their contracts expire. Skipper Bernardo said earlier in the campaign that he already knew what the future holds and there is little to suggest he will pen fresh terms at the Etihad even though Guardiola would happily hand a new deal to a player he values so highly.

For Stones, it’s injuries that look set to preclude a new City contract. The defender has suffered with fitness issues this term and pulled out of the England squad this week with a groin problem. Guardiola has spoken of how a decision on Stones would need to take into account what he has shown over the last two years and sadly for the centre-back, injury has prevented him from showing too much.

The departures of Stones and Silva would see a huge amount of experience leaving the building but City are in a position to cope with both exits. A summer transfer move for a new midfielder, with Elliott Anderson at Nottingham Forest of interest, would certainly help offset the departure of Silva, while Abdukodir Khusanov, Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias mitigate the loss of Stones.

It’s what might happen with two more City stalwarts that will carry plenty of intrigue over the coming months and potentially impact the Blues’ summer transfer plans.

Rodri and Phil Foden both see their contracts expire in 2027 and just now it’s difficult to confidently predict both will be here past that date.

Rodri spoke of his admiration for La Liga and Real Madrid this week, and while he then suggested people listen to the entire interview before jumping to conclusions, it’s difficult to ignore the prospect of Real signing the midfielder.

The 29-year-old is beginning to show his best again having suffered a serious knee injury and a couple of setbacks. Guardiola doesn’t feel his star man will be back to full throttle until this summer’s World Cup but City and Rodri will need to make a decision on whether a new deal is offered sooner rather than later.

City will not stand in any player’s way if they do want to depart, and would potentially rather obtain a fee for Rodri this summer rather than risk losing him on a free transfer in 18 months.

The same would be true of Foden, although his future is more likely to be at City than not. The 25-year-old has struggled for form in recent months but remains a player capable of being among the best in the country and the hope at the Etihad is that he can return to the peak of his powers.

A probable World Cup and the uncertainty surrounding Guardiola’s future will play a part in any contract talks over the next few months but the feeling is club and player will come to an agreement for the boyhood Blue to extend his Etihad contract.

City’s summer transfer business will offer a further indication as to what the future holds as we wait for answers.

Moses Itauma has made his feelings clear on a potential showdown with Oleksandr Usyk following another destructive performance, this time against Jermaine Franklin.

Many observers view the highly touted heavyweight as a natural successor to Usyk, and the emphatic win over the durable American in Manchester last night has only intensified talk that the 21-year-old could be ready to dethrone the Ukrainian champion.

Franklin entered the bout having never been stopped in 26 professional fights, including decision defeats to Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was expected by some to provide valuable time in the ring for a rising contender who had only gone a total twelve rounds in his previous nine contests.

However, the contest proved one-sided from the opening bell. The British prospect controlled the action throughout, dropping his opponent in the third round before sealing the finish in the fifth with a perfectly timed uppercut that left Franklin out on his feet and open the final, devastating right hand.

Focus now shifts to what comes next. When asked whether he would be willing to face the unified champion before the end of the year, the rising star did not hesitate in his response.

“If I get the opportunity”

However, that matchup appears unlikely. Usyk recently dismissed the idea of facing the young Brit, suggesting he has no interest in halting his momentum so early in his career.

“No, I’m not going to fight with Itauma because he’s a young guy. I don’t want to break this guy.”

The Ukrainian is set to return to the ring on May 23, where he will face kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven. Beyond that, the champion announced that he will target the winner of Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois, followed by a potential trilogy bout with Tyson Fury before bringing his career to a close.

Kolkata Knight Riders player Manish Pandey (PTI Photo/Kunal Patil)

Indian batter Manish Pandey, one of only four players to have featured in every edition of the Indian Premier League since its start in 2008, describes his 19-year IPL journey as having “flown by in a flash.”Pandey will don the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) jersey in IPL 2026, as the three-time champions face five-time winners Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium. Across 174 IPL matches, Pandey has scored 3,942 runs at a strike rate of 121.52.