Oleksandr Usyk’s most recent performance has left fans wondering if he could be there for the taking, and now former Usyk opponent Tony Bellew has shared his thoughts on whether Moses Itauma should pursue a fight with the Ukrainian.

Usyk suffered a close shave when he was shockingly pushed to the limit by Rico Verhoeven back in May, despite the challenger having just one prior boxing fight to his name before providing Usyk his ‘toughest fight’ to date.

Since then, 39-year-old Usyk has opted to vacate all three of his heavyweight world titles, as he begins to wind his career down, with a clash against Deontay Wilder being suggested as his farewell fight.

If Usyk wishes to leave his mark on the next generation, he could accept a showdown with Itauma, who is being tipped to be both his successor and a long-reigning heavyweight ruler.

Speaking on ‘Fight Your Corner, in partnership with Midnite’, Bellew declared that Itauma, who will face Filip Hrgovic in August, is not ready for a clash against the tactical mastermind due to the fact that he has never boxed beyond six rounds.

“Moses wouldn’t go near him at the minute. I think that it would be absolutely insane to throw Moses Itauma into Usyk after not going past six [rounds] yet. 

“Would you throw a fighter like that in with someone like him [Usyk]? His game plan would be, ‘I have only got to see past six rounds with you, kid. I am going to take you to places that you have never been’.”

Bellew then went on to pump the brakes on the Itauma hype train, reminding everyone that the 21-year-old is yet to beat an elite heavyweight in his 14-fight career.

“[His] best win is Jermaine Franklin. Jermaine Franklin is known for losing.”

“That [building fighters up] is one thing that Frank [Warren] does well, nobody can knock that. He built a fighter really well, he generates the hype train to a point where there is no going back and that is where Moses is at now.”

Itauma could score a career best win when tasked with Hrgovic on Saturday, August 29, with victory over the Croatian expected to tee up either a WBA or IBF world title challenge.

The controversy surrounding Argentina’s thrilling 3-2 win over Egypt in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 is showing no signs of slowing down. While Argentina came back from two goals down to register a sensational win, Egypt’s players and coaching staff were left fuming over some of the refereeing decisions in the match. In a new video that has surfaced on social media, Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan was seen shouting at FIFA officials once the game ended. Hassan, along with some members of his coaching staff, was having a heated chat with the officials when Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni walked past them without engaging. In the video, Hassan was seen animatedly screaming at Scaloni as well.

However, Scaloni did not react and quietly made his way back to the dressing room at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said Wednesday it “cannot remain silent” after what it believes was unfair and biased officiating in Egypt’s 3-2 round of 16 loss against Argentina on Tuesday.

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan and several players criticized the officiating after being left in disbelief as Argentina scored three unanswered goals in 13 minutes to pull off one of the biggest comebacks in World Cup history.

Egypt coach screaming at Lionel Scaloni’s face while Scaloni completely ignoring him. pic.twitter.com/U4qb5gmpTi

— World Cup HQ (@WorldCup26HQ) July 8, 2026

“Defending the rights and interests of the Egyptian national team is not a matter that can be ignored, minimized, or treated as secondary,” the EFA said in a statement. “It is a responsibility that we carry with full conviction and determination.”

FIFA’s chief of refereeing Pierluigi Collina, in a statement issued later Wednesday, said while constructive discussion about decisions would always be part of football, “unfounded allegations have no place in our sport.”

“Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials,” he said. “When this happens, it may provoke reactions that lead to threats against them and their families. This is not right.”

The EFA said that the referee failed to use the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system appropriately, leading to the loss to Argentina.

Egypt appeared to have netted its second goal in the 58th minute, but a VAR review determined that Marwan Attia had fouled Argentina defender Lisandro Martínez early in the buildup up to the goal.

“Several key incidents raised serious concerns and left profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly influenced the course of the game,” the EFA statement read.

(With AP inputs)

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NEW DELHI: Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has strongly criticised the selectors for leaving Sanju Samson out of India’s T20I squad for the upcoming Zimbabwe tour, calling the decision “just unfair”. Ashwin also warned that frequent changes in the team could create insecurity among players and hurt India’s T20 setup.Speaking on his YouTube show Ash Ki Baat, Ashwin said he completely disagreed with the decision.“I mean, what can I even say? It’s just unfair. Just unfair. I don’t agree with it. But it is what it is. I mean, I don’t know. Seriously, it’s difficult.”Ashwin questioned the logic behind dropping Samson after a few poor scores and wondered who would be next if the team continued to lose.“Sanju has been dropped because of losses and form. He has been left out. We’ve already lost two games. If we lose again, will someone else be dropped too? Who is next? That’s wrong. I really hope the Indian team finds itself. Indian cricketers should not be put in an insecure position.”Samson’s omission has become one of the biggest talking points in Indian cricket. The wicketkeeper-batter, who was named Player of the Tournament at this year’s T20 World Cup, managed scores of 5, 0 and 1 in his last three innings against Ireland and in the opening T20I against England.Samson was replaced in the playing XI by 15-year-old batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and was later left out of the Zimbabwe-bound squad.Ashwin said such decisions can make players think more about protecting their place than winning matches.“As I had said earlier after the SKY incident, players will go insular. They will start thinking only about themselves. In T20 cricket, that is disastrous.”“If batters start thinking that they will be dropped if they don’t score runs, they will begin playing only to protect their place in the team, which is extremely dangerous.”Ashwin added that even if Samson gets another opportunity, the pressure of keeping his place could affect the way he bats.“Even now I’m saying, imagine Sanju gets another chance. He too will start thinking about himself. And you can’t even say that’s wrong.”“If Sanju scores 45 or 48 off 25 balls and takes two more deliveries to reach his fifty, you can’t say that’s wrong because he is trying to protect his place in the team. I really hope… I really hope they find a solution to this.”Ashwin further argued that a good domestic season should not automatically guarantee an India call-up, while responding to suggestions that players like Prabhsimran Singh deserved opportunities after impressive performances.“In our TNPL team, there’s a player named Hunny Saini. He’s a very good player and an excellent finisher. He also wants a chance. There’s BR Sharad from Bengaluru Dragons, who is playing well too. If you’re asking when they should get an opportunity, then send them to Zimbabwe as well. I’ll send Hunny Saini too.”“See, I have all the time for Prabhsimran Singh. He’s a very good player. He has produced excellent performances. He has scored over 500 runs.”“Does he deserve a break? Maybe he does. Maybe it’s debatable. But nowhere is it written that scoring 500 runs in a season automatically guarantees an India call-up,” Ashwin said.

As July 4th has passed and the NFL dead period winds down with teams getting closer to training camp reporting day (for the Vikings—July 26 for rookies, July 28 for vets, first padded practice on August 3), I’m feeling more anxious for the return of football and the Vikings.

The Wild and Wolves playoffs caught our attention for a while. The Twins have been mostly back-of-mind since they unloaded their bullpen last year at the trade deadline (although it’s nice to see them close to .500 with Byron Buxton having a great year, but sad to see him on the injured list once again).

Former Vikings GM Reminds Fans Where Minnesota’s Sports Attention Still Goes

As for the World Cup, I played soccer in high school and college, and while I loved playing the sport, I find it rather boring to watch. So I catch a few minutes of World Cup action (bad job against Belgium by Team USA but Messi-wow, what a player for Argentina), but I only watch soccer every four years during the World Cup, and I find FIFA the most ridiculous and corrupt sports organization.

Like most Minnesota sports fans (along with many in Iowa and the Dakotas and a few western Wisconsinites), I have held the Vikings at the top of my list of teams I’m interested in. That was the case for me long before I went to work for the team in the late-1970s.

I remember playing football in the front yard with my three brothers. At the same time, we listened to the first-ever Vikings game—the monumental 37-13 upset of the mighty George Halas-coached Chicago Bears at old Met Stadium on September 17, 1961, when rookie QB Fran Tarkenton came off the bench to relieve George Shaw and, scrambling Fran threw four touchdown passes and had a rushing score in the shocking blowout victory.

Our family had Vikings season tickets at the Met, and I often went to home games. As a teenager, I would sleep until noon on Sundays when the Vikings played on the road, but I was glued to the tube as soon as the games kicked off.

Sure, I was a big Twins fan in the 1960s when the team went to the World Series and in their championship years of 1987 and 1991. And we had season tickets to the North Stars before they bolted to Dallas in 1993. I liked going to Gopher basketball games in the Bill Musselman era. And it was a thrill to attend the first-ever Timberwolves game against Michael Jordan and the mighty Bulls in 1989. Today I like to watch the Lynx play their unselfish team basketball at such a high level.

But the Vikings always have been No. 1 for me and for the vast majority of sports fans in our area. That’s obvious from attendance numbers, basically constant sellouts at Met Stadium, the Metrodome, and now U.S. Bank Stadium, and from consistently robust TV and radio ratings.

With training camp now less than three weeks away, my thoughts drift to position battles, obviously beginning with Kyler Murray vs. J.J. McCarthy at quarterback and what kind of production will we see from the 2026 draft class led by the top three picks—DT Caleb Banks (is he healthy?), LB Jake Golday and safety Jakobe Thomas along with some interesting later round picks such as CB Charles Demmings and RB Demond Claiborne. And when will we hear from Harrison Smith on his return or retirement?

In this quieter period, I also think back to my mid-July mindset during my Vikings front office years, when it wasn’t quiet for me as I returned from post-minicamp vacation the week after the 4th of July. Early in my career, I was in charge of training camp in Mankato.

During this time, I would be communicating regularly with the wonderful staff at Mankato State University (before the college was renamed Minnesota State-Mankato). I would be working with them on rooming lists in the Gage Hall dorm, menus for the team’s three meals per day in the dorm cafeteria, meeting room setup for all position groups and for the offense, defense, and entire team, and field prep for the practice fields and Blakeslee Stadium.

I was also in charge of team travel, and I would finalize all the road trip logistics with Northwest Airlines, hotels along the route, and the team buses and equipment trucks we would need.

Other than the 90-minute drive from my home to Mankato and sleeping in non-air-conditioned Gage Hall, I mostly enjoyed training camp in Mankato (especially our pickup basketball games in the gym or quick drives to Mankato Country Club for a late round of golf after the long workday concluded with dinner). But I was certainly happy when I joined the Tennessee Titans as team president and learned that our training camp would be held at our Nashville team facility, so I would no longer have long drives to camp.

For players in the old days, training camp was a grind, with two-a-day practices, usually in full pads, in the summer heat. Fortunately for our players when Bud Grant was head coach, we were the last team to open training camp (just 10 days before the first preseason game).

It’s hard to believe there were six preseason games when I started my career and the starters played in every game except the finale. Kevin O’Connell and I were talking at camp last year. We agreed that today’s players have no idea how good they have it with limited padded practices, shorter practices, and only three preseason games compared to the norm in the past. Key starters such as Justin Jefferson usually don’t play at all in preseason games.

So in just a few weeks, Vikings fans will be showing up for practices at the Vikings’ Eagan facility. They’ll be reading and viewing daily media reports on the 2026 training camp, with September 13 circled on the calendar as the opening-day border battle/division rivalry/likely Kyler Murray debut in Vikings purple against the Green Bay Packers. Everything else in our sports market will take a back seat as usual.

Next Week: I’ll make my annual pre-training camp game-by-game predictions on the 2026 Vikings season. 

Jeff Diamond is a former Vikings GM, former Tennessee Titans President and was selected NFL Executive of the Year … More about Jeff Diamond