Hamzah Sheeraz has been called out for a “huge” British stadium showdown, but only if he retains his WBO title by the time next summer rolls around.

The 27-year-old became a world champion in May, scoring a second-round finish against overmatched challenger Alem Begic for the vacant super-middleweight belt.

Since then, Sheeraz has successfully defended his WBO strap – via points victory over Simon Zachenhuber last month – and is now set to face mandatory challenger Janibek Alimkhanuly.

The pair have been ordered to collide in due course, with former unified champion Alimkhanuly moving up to 168lbs after testing positive for banned substance Meldonium in December.

It is therefore uncertain that Sheeraz will retain his title but, if he does, a domestic dustup with Callum Simpson could suddenly become realistic.

The Barnsley man exacted his revenge over Troy Williamson last Saturday, unanimously outpointing his man after suffering a 10th-round stoppage defeat in their first encounter.

But while pleased to reclaim his British and Commonwealth belts, Simpson is now targeting a world title shot and a return to Barnsley’s Oakwell Stadium.

Speaking with talkSPORT, the 29-year-old explained that Sheeraz represents his most desirable opponent for the summer of 2027.

“It might be Hamzah Sheeraz at Oakwell – he’s the one that’s got the [WBO] title. If we do Oakwell, it would have to be in the summer. That would be a huge fight.”

While the Simpson fight could materialise, Sheeraz will likely be targeting a unification match – possibly against the winner of Christian Mbilli vs Canelo Alvarez – if he proves successful against Alimkhanuly.

Australia have made one change to their squad for the second and final ICC World Test Championship match against Bangladesh in Mackay.Opener Jake Weatherald has been left out of the 13-player squad, with left-hander Matthew Renshaw coming in as his replacement.

Renshaw gets Test recall

If selected, Renshaw will make his first Test appearance for Australia in more than three years.The 30-year-old last played a Test in Delhi against India in 2023, when he came in as a concussion substitute for regular opener David Warner.Renshaw has since represented Australia in both ODI and T20I cricket. He now returns to the Test squad after Australia’s top order struggled in the first Test against Bangladesh.Australia were bowled out for just 198 in their first innings, while Weatherald managed scores of only 23 and zero in the match.

Labuschagne under pressure

Regular No.3 Marnus Labuschagne has retained his place in the squad. However, Australia coach Andrew McDonald admitted that the batter needs to score more runs to secure his place in the team.“I think it was 31 he got in the second innings, and up until the point he got out, you’d sit there and say he was looking good,” McDonald said of Labuschagne.“He was moving well, he’s clipping off his pads, he was getting back through the ball down the ground. So it’s easy for me to sit here and try to defend that, but ultimately it’s 31. It’s not a big score. He’s lacked runs. He feels that. We feel that. We’re working incredibly hard as a coaching group.”

Inglis, Boland retain places

Back-up wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis and reserve bowler Scott Boland have also retained their places in the squad.Both players could come into contention for the second Test, which begins on Saturday.

Australia squad vs Bangladesh

Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster.

Filip Hrgovic is set to face off with Moses Itauma in a clash for the vacant IBF heavyweight world title next weekend – and the Croatian already knows who he wants to take on in his first fight as champion.

‘El Animal’ could have become a heavyweight world champion back in 2024, but lost to Daniel Dubois in a battle for the IBF Interim title, with Dubois being elevated to full world champion soon afterwards.

Hrgovic has responded well to a first career loss, stringing together three consecutive victories over British heavyweights in Joe Joyce, David Adeleye and Dave Allen, before agreeing to collide with a fifth straight Briton in Itauma.

Despite the fact that Hrgovic will step through the ropes as a major underdog come fight night, the 34-year-old told DAZN Boxing of his intentions to rematch Dubois and avenge his solitary defeat, after he puts an end to the hype surrounding Itauma.

“I am going to stop Moses and stop that hype. Then, I will fight Dubois for [WBO] world title and kill him.”

Whilst Hrgovic may wish to take on Dubois if he upsets Itauma, Cuba’s Frank Sanchez is likely to be the next opponent for the victor of next weekend’s duel, as Sanchez agreed to a step-aside deal in order to allow the IBF title to be added to the bout.

Meanwhile, Dubois is poised to rematch Fabio Wardley in an attempted first defence of the WBO heavyweight world title, with Saturday, October 17, being the rumoured date for a second showdown at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.

With an eye on declaration, Cheteshwar Pujara has urged India to be a bit more aggressive and brave on Day. 

“India will have to make their intentions very clear. Not a lot of time is left in the Test match. Also, you have to keep an eye on the forecast. You can’t ignore it. To qualify for the WTC final, they will have to win both the Test matches. To do that, they will have to be a little brave and a little more aggressive,” Pujara said on Cricinfo.

“India will have to be brave with their declaration. They will have to give enough time to the bowlers. Maybe try and look at a minimum of 90-100 overs. To do that, India will have to declare at somewhere between 350-375. In worst case scenario, if Sri Lanka get to 350-375, give credit to Sri Lanka, but India will have to be brave,” he added.

Red Sox Fans Want Franklin Arias, but They’re Forgetting One Thing originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

If the Boston Red Sox ultimately decide to call up youngster Franklin Arias, there are going to be some decisions that have to be made with the remainder of their roster. 

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The one promising thing for Boston is that Sept. 1 allows teams to call up two extra players, as rosters expand from 26 to 28. 

With the hope that Arias will make his debut, many fans think that will probably be the time Boston decides to call him up. 

However, it feels like some fans are forgetting something: the Red Sox active roster doesn’t have Trevor Story on it. 

Story, Roman Anthony, and Garrett Crochet will all have to be activated when and if they return. That means the Red Sox already have to move on from a guy when rosters expand to 28, and that’s without factoring in Arias.

“His talent is hard to ignore. But Monasterio is hitting .333 with a .946 OPS since July 1 and plays passable defense. The Sox also hope to have Trevor Story back on the roster before the season ends. Rosters expand from 26 to 28 on Sept. 1, and one addition must be a pitcher,” Peter Abraham wrote.

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There are definitely players on the active roster the Red Sox could move on from if they feel, at the time, that Arias can be the guy they need. 

It’s also possible Boston just wants to call him up to get some at-bats in September and have him travel with the team in October, even if he doesn’t get much playing time. 

That postseason experience can be valuable, and with the right moves the front office has made recently, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them go in that direction.

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AEW star Buddy Matthews is one of the most agile stars in the company. Unfortunately, he has been absent from the Jacksonville-based promotion for over 18 months. He injured his leg at Grand Slam Australia in February 2025 during his match against Kazuchika Okada. Throughout the year, fans have been waiting for him to return.

A few weeks ago, the former AEW World Trios Champion announced that he will return to the ring in October 2026 for a major tour of World Series Wrestling. He is also medically cleared to wrestle. Shockingly, the date for All Elite Wrestling has still not been announced. With All In just around the corner, he could have played a major part at the pay-per-view.

Recently, Buddy Matthews took to Instagram and uploaded a story of him working out. He is looking absolutely phenomenal despite being out of the ring for over one and a half years.

Take a look at the screenshot of the story below:

Rhea Ripley talks about Buddy Matthews’ road to recovery

The injured AEW star has been training for many months to get ready for a return. His wife, Rhea Ripley, recently talked about his training.

While speaking on What’s Your Story? With Stephanie McMahon, the Eradicator said that the couple train together.

“Every now and then (her & Buddy train in the ring together). He’s still starting to get back into the ring stuff because he got injured over a year ago in February when they (AEW) went to Australia. So he got injured then, so he’s just started getting back into the ring now, and he’s just trying to rehab it and see what he can do. So he’ll get in, and we’ll run the ropes. I’ve been teaching him some rolls, since the boys class didn’t do as many rolls as the girls class apparently… We’ve been getting in a little bit. Also, I get nervous about getting hurt, especially these days, because I’m always on the road, I’m always doing stuff. I want to stay sharp, but I also don’t want to get beat up more than I get beat up. So, I go a little bit easier,” she said.

It will be interesting to see if Buddy Matthews returns at All In.