Moses Itauma was selected as the most desirable opponent for a world champion but, instead, he will now be facing Filip Hrgovic on August 29.

The pair have agreed to collide at London’s O2 Arena, with Itauma coming off a fifth-round finish over the typically durable Jermaine Franklin in March.

Against Hrgovic, though, the heavyweight prodigy is set to encounter his sternest assignment thus far, testing whether he is capable of competing at world level.

Up to this point, the 21-year-old has shown signs of genuine world-class potential, albeit against opponents he was largely expected to dispatch within a few rounds.

Hrgovic, meanwhile, has only suffered the one defeat against Daniel Dubois, in June 2024, when he remained fiercely competitive before getting stopped on cuts in round eight.

But while the Croatian is seen as a credible opponent, Itauma could have ended up with a world title opportunity if only his team had entertained a showdown with Murat Gassiev.

The Russian was elevated from ‘regular’ to full WBA champion after Oleksandr Usyk, his former cruiserweight foe, decided to vacate his three belts.

Before that, promoter Al Siesta told Seconds Out that Gassiev was particularly keen on defending his title against Itauma.

“[Gassiev] watched that fight against Jermaine Franklin and the trainer called me instantly and said, ‘I will have him – please, please’.

“When I went back to Frank [Warren, Itauma’s promoter], I comfortably said, ‘Frank, we’re happy with Itauma. Bring him on’.

“They were like … ‘Right, okay. Let’s see. Let’s revisit that later’.”

Gassiev was set to lock horns with Tony Yoka on July 11 but, with the Olympic gold medallist sustaining a back injury, the WBA champion is now searching for a new opponent to face at Moscow’s VTB Arena.

Anthony Joshua has named the two standout wins of his career, remembering the immense pressure attached to both contests.

In terms of magnitude, it must be said that his showdown with Wladimir Klitschko was the most significant, given the manner in which it unfolded at Wembley Stadium.

At the time, in April 2017, Joshua was the unbeaten IBF champion and had won every fight by stoppage, swiftly becoming the biggest star in British boxing.

Klitschko, meanwhile, had not fought since getting dethroned by Tyson Fury, who upset the odds by scoring a unanimous decision victory when they collided in November 2015.

Yet the Ukrainian was still a serviceable operator at world level and, after getting dropped in round five, he stunned the Wembley crowd by flooring Joshua in the following frame.

‘AJ’ then ultimately scored an 11th-round stoppage and, given the manner in which he did so, was able to reach a new level of stardom.

During a conversation with Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn and Frank Smith on DAZN, though, the 36-year-old named wins over Dillian Whyte and Andy Ruiz Jr as his absolute best.

“Klitschko – a lot of pressure. Ruiz 2 – immense pressure. But what was the best win? Can I pick two?

“I would probably pick Dillian Whyte – maddest fight. Good, good scrap. And then [I would pick] Ruiz 2, because people were saying I should retire and that, if I didn’t win, I’d have no chance of getting back in the heavyweight rankings.”

Joshua stopped Whyte in round seven of their all-British grudge match in 2015, before exacting his revenge over Ruiz just under four years later.

After losing their first encounter via a major upset, which resulted in a sixth-round stoppage, ‘AJ’ kept to a strict gameplan and unanimously outpointed his Mexican-American rival.

Miami Heat 2026 NBA free agency tracker: Live signings, updates, trades, and more originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Miami Heat have already made their big offseason splash by trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo, but all eyes will still be on the team entering NBA free agency.

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Miami won’t have much money to spend, but the franchise does have a plethora of exceptions to use, including the nontaxpayer mid-level exception for around $12 million. Miami also has $20.5 million in first apron space.

As NBA free agency kicks off at 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday, follow along with our tracker below to stay up to date on the latest signings, updates, and trades for Miami.

Heat free agency moves

UPDATE: There hasn’t been a reported signing for the Heat since Tuesday, when they agreed to terms with Tim Hardaway Jr. The team continues to show interest in guards, including Bradley Beal, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald.

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Lebron James is also still a possibility. It’s unclear when the 41-year-old will make his decision.

UPDATE: Like Day 2, Day 3 of free agency has been quiet for the Heat. The team passed on signingAnfernee Simons, who landed with the Philadelphia 76erson a two-year deal. Hardaway remains the lone signing so far for Miami.

UPDATE: It’s been a quiet Day 2 for the Heat, but there are still plenty of options left on the market. According to Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, the Heat have recently had discussions with Bradley Beal. Khris Middleton and Anfernee Simons are also still options.

UPDATE: Miami has yet to sign any other free agent other than Hardaway. The team had interest in veteran point guard Mike Conley, but the Heat ended up passing (Barry Jackson). Conley signed with the Celtics on Wednesday.

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UPDATE: Miami has officially lost Norman Powell. The All-Star guard is signing a two-year deal with the Chicago Bulls worth $45 million (Shams Charania).

UPDATE: The Heat are signing Tim Hardaway Jr., who spent last season with the Denver Nuggets(Chris Haynes). The contract is for one-year at $6.5 million, per Shams Charania of ESPN. Hardaway will provide some much-needed perimeter shooting to Miami.

Miami extended forward Andrew Wiggins on a three-year deal worth $64 million. The deal includes a player option in the third year (Shams Charania).

The Heat have also retained forward Simone Fontecchio on a one-year deal (Charania).

Heat free agents

According to Spotrac, the Heat have five free agents, with Norman Powell headlining the list. All signs point to Miami losing the All-Star guard.

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Here is the full list of the Heat’s free agents:

• C Vladislav Goldi (Restricted Free Agency)

Heat trades

The lone Heat trade so far this offseason is the blockbuster Giannis trade, which can’t be finalized until July 6. Let’s take a look at the details of the franchise-altering deal.

MIAMI received: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis

MILUWAKEE received: Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, Nate Ament (No. 13 overall pick), two first-round picks, one pick swap, and a 2033 second-round pick.

Nigel Benn believes there is one British boxing legend who would have been able to overcome the iconic quartet known as the ‘Four Kings.’

The famous group consists of Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran, and saw the fighters each involved in epic battles against one another throughout the 1980s.

Fans often debate how the ‘Four Kings’ may have fared against fighters from different eras, and two-weight world champion Benn has weighed in with a view of his own.

Benn competed in a similar timespan as Leonard, Hagler, Hearns and Duran, and so was confident with his view when telling The Sun that Joe Calzaghe would have beaten them all.

“Old timers will tell you [Calzaghe] would never have lived with Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler or Tommy ‘Hitman’ Hearns.

“I disagree – Joe would have beaten them all. How many fighters would love to finish with a record like Joe’s?

“Outside of Wales, I don’t think he got the recognition he deserved. Forty six fights unbeaten is a heck of an achievement. I don’t think we will ever see his like again.”

Calzaghe is one of a few world champions to have retired unbeaten, after becoming unified super middleweight world champion before moving up to light heavyweight and ending his career with wins over Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr.

It is perhaps his size that may have given Calzaghe an edge over the other ‘Four Kings’, with Hearns the only one of group that ever held gold at 175lbs.

Jonas Vingegaard took the first leader’s yellow jersey of the 113th edition of the Tour de France as his Visma-Lease a Bike outfit won Saturday’s opening team time-trial in Barcelona.

Vingegaard will wear the yellow jersey on Sunday for the first time since he last won the Grand Boucle in 2023.

He finished the 19.6km course eight seconds quicker than Filippo Ganna for Netcompany Ineos, with reigning champion Tadej Pogacar earning third place for UAE Team Emirates at 12sec.

The first of 21 stages took riders along the Mediterranean coast, past the city’s famous Sagrada Familia basilica and finished with a short climb up a hill overlooking the popular tourist destination.

Read moreFive 2026 Tour de France key stages to watch out for

Throughout the stage, Visma had been almost neck-and-neck with Netcompany and the Lidl-Trek team of Spaniard Juan Ayuso.

But Visma went quicker over the second half and Vingegaard made the difference on the final 800-metre uphill drag to the finish.

Pogacar remains the overall favourite thanks to his Tour victories in 2020, 2021, 2024 and 2025, as well as his strong form this year. 

The Slovenian sensation is aiming to join the select crowd of Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Indurain and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault as the only riders to have won cycling‘s most prestigious race on five occasions.

Vingegaard is once again his biggest challenger. The Dane took home the yellow jersey in 2022 and 2023 and is aiming to complete the men’s Giro-Tour double. 

The three-week race will cross into the French Pyrenees on Stage 3. Stages 19 and 20 culminate at the famed Alpe d’Huez climb in the Alps, which comes just 24 hours before the 21st and final stage ending on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) — South Africa tore apart England 45-21 after a stunning three-try blastoff in Nations Championship rugby at Ellis Park on Saturday.

The shock and awe start by the Springboks for a 17-0 lead inside the first 12 minutes gave the double world champions a cushion they rode to their biggest win over England in 18 years.

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The English impressively fought back to trail by only three by halftime but they succumbed to South Africa’s heavy carries and clinical finishing, and were down to 13 players at fulltime.

England was barely sweating when Boks fullback Damian Willemse charged the tryline and prop Thomas du Toit burrowed over. A Willemse chip and catch was followed by prop Ox Nche shrugging off England’s Ollie Chessum and Jamie George and shooting away for Cheslin Kolbe to cross in the right corner. Kolbe converted his try.

Nche left injured and moments later Kurt-Lee Arendse swept past Marcus Smith and went over in the left corner. Three entries into the England 22 and three tries.

The explosive start made light of the late forced changes by the Springboks. Captain Siya Kolisi was ruled out by an ankle strain and Eben Etzebeth reportedly by concussion. England also had to reshuffle when fullback George Furbank was sidelined by appendicitis after working for two years for his test recall.

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Shakur Stevenson has been called out for a clash under Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing banner as reports suggest he will soon confirm he is joining the new promotional outfit.

The 29-year-old’s last outing saw him dethrone Teofimo Lopez in January, becoming a four-division world champion by unanimously outpointing his fellow American.

But despite claiming the WBO super-lightweight title, Stevenson has not ruled out a move back down to 135lbs, where he made three successful defences of his WBC strap.

The crafty southpaw has also been heavily linked with a move to Zuffa, who do not currently recognise 140lbs as an official weight class.

But, if Stevenson was to sign with the promotion, he could end up facing former world champion Jose Valenzuela, who made his Zuffa debut at 135lbs last weekend.

This resulted in a second-round knockout over Edwin De Los Santos, who won their first encounter via a third-round stoppage in 2022.

Speaking with Zuffa, Valenzuela insisted that he has always wanted to face Stevenson, who could now be a more realistic target than ever before.

“He’s a fighter that I’ve been wanting to fight since I was a young kid. Even when I was a world champion, I was like, ‘Hey, I’ll fight him’.

“I would love that fight. That’s the fight I want. I know my abilities and want to compete with the best.

“He’s a boxer first; I’m a fighter first. Styles make fights. I believe I’m his kryptonite.”

Valenzuela claimed his WBA title by edging a split decision against Isaac ‘Pitbull’ Cruz in 2024, only for current super-lightweight champion Gary Antuanne Russell to dethrone him the following year.

Having since dropped back down to lightweight, though, it seems that ‘Rayo’ could soon become a key component of the Zuffa stable.

As we count down to the first college football game of the 2026 season, we continue our new series: The records of each top CFB program in the West against all the others in the region.

Some schools have met many times over the years, while others are beginning new rivalries in the wake of recent realignment.

For each opponent in the table below, we provide the total games played, wins, losses, ties, winning percentage, first year played, and most recent contest.

We continue with New Mexico, which has played 818 games against regional foes, winning 331, losing 470, and recording 17 ties, for a winning percentage of .415.

The Lobos have recorded the most wins (75), have played the most games (115) and lost the most games (35) against New Mexico Stat.

Here is a breakdown of New Mexico’s records vs. the region’s teams.

France are bracing for furnace-like temperatures when they face Paraguay in Philadelphia in the World Cup’s last 16 on Saturday as co-hosts Canada prepare for a daunting date with African giants Morocco in Houston. With a brutal heatwave roasting swathes of the United States as it celebrates July 4th, Les Bleus take on Paraguay at Lincoln Financial Field against a backdrop of extreme heat warnings.