Wladimir Klitschko: I want a rematch after losing to Tyson Fury

   

      DEFEATED: Wladimir Klitschko

The Ukrainian lost his WBO, IBF and WBA heavyweight titles to Fury in one of boxing’s biggest shocks last night.
Klitschko, 39, has a rematch as it was included in the contract for this fight.
And despite losing a unanimous decision to the British fighter, he is ready to do it again.
He said: “I have it in my contract, yes.
“Where, how, when? Let's wait and you will definitely get to know.
“I wish I could have landed more clean shot, I couldn't find the right distance to land.

  

CHAMP: Tyson Fury

“Tyson was quick with his hands and his body movement, and I couldn’t land the right punches.
“He won the fight and to be continued. How this to be continued will look like remains to be seen.”
Fury is also up for facing the Ukrainian again.
The Manchester-born challenger said: “I'm a fighter, so I will take on all challengers. I want to be a great champion.
“I'd like to do it all again. I came here and took the world titles so whatever happens next is a blessing.”

 

 

The Welshman was given hell by three-weight world champion Fernando Montiel on his American debut.
But he survived some scares to take a unanimous points win and retain the IBF strap.
The win was certainly not as easy as the 119-109, 118-110, 116-112 scorecards suggested as the Welshman had one of the toughest nights of his career.
Selby said: “My jab, reach and speed were my biggest advantages.
“That was how I got the win.
“I was honestly disappointed in my performance.
 
I got the win and it was a great feeling to get my first one on US soil, but the fans didn't see me at my best, and a big part of that was Montiel's experience. He's a great fighter.”
Selby’s height and reach advantages were huge over the former world champion.
Mexican Montiel had moved up through the weights and initially looked too small for featherweight.
It looked like it would be an easy night for the Welshman, who started the fight in positive fashion.
Selby looked like he could go through the gears in the opening two rounds, but Montiel was not going to be out-boxed.
The pint-sized puncher started to show his ring knowledge as he was able to get through Selby’s reach and land some telling shots.

Montiel rallied though and continued to bully Selby heading into the final round of what turned out to be a much harder night than expected for the defending champion.
The 60-fight veteran has only been stopped once in his career and despite moving up in weight, he did not give Selby an easy night.
Montiel finished the fight strongly and some blistering combinations may not have been powerful but they landed.
It made for a nervy wait while the judges’ scorecards were read out, but the British fighter got the nod.
There were a few boos inside the Gila River Arena in Pheonix about the cards, which were surprisingly wide.
Selby may not have got to show his best as he had planned on his US debut, but he will have gained a lot of experience in handing veteran Montiel his fourth defeat.

German Defender Hints He Would Be Open to Joining Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool

 

 

Schalke defender Benedikt Howedes has hinted he could be interested in joining fellow countryman Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, according to ​Bild.

Howedes has spent his entire career with the German outfit but has been linked with a move to the Premier League on a number of occasions - with Arsenal recently considered a prime candidate to sign him.

However, the 27-year-old confirmed he turned down offers from the Gunners and AC Milan in the summer in favour of staying put.
According to ​Sky Sports, he had said: "Arsenal and AC Milan were really keen on my services. But I have decided in favour of Schalke."

However, in a recent interview with Bild he confirmed that he would consider a move away from his homeland now if the chance came his way, naming England as a potential destination.

Howedes says Liverpool and English football are now privileged to have a man like Klopp in their league, and while he stopped short of confirming that he would definitely like to move to Liverpool, the player spoke highly of the club's history. He did however stress that there are no ongoing talks or potential deals on the table.




“English football is very fortunate to have someone like Klopp in the league, Liverpool is a club with great tradition and values.”

Klopp was appointed Liverpool's manager last week, while he has been preparing his team throughout the last few days ahead of his first Premier League match in charge of the Merseysiders.

Liverpool face Tottenham at White Hart Lane in Saturday's early kick off, however they will now be without Joe Gomez and Danny Ings, who could each miss the rest of the season.

 

EXCLUSIVE: Amir Khan to enter talks over mega-money Las Vegas fight with Floyd Mayweather

  

Bolton’s former world light-welterweight champion, 28, is due to have a conference call with adviser Al Haymon, who also works with boxing’s pound-for- pound king Mayweather.
Despite failing to impress in a unanimous points win over New Yorker Chris Algieri last weekend, Khan is top of a shortlist of possible opponents for the undisputed world welterweight champ’s final bout before retiring.
Miguel Cotto is also in the running after losing to Mayweather, 38, on points in 2012.
Others hoping to get a £10m pay-day against the man nicknamed ‘Money’ include fellow Sheffield’s Kell Brook and American Daniel Garcia.
Brook, however, is more likely to face Brandon Rios in Sheffield on August 29.
Mayweather says his next fight will be his last when he will be looking to extend his unbeaten record to 49 and match legendary Rocky Marciano.

  

Barcelona announced on Sunday evening that they had to come an agreement with Europa League winners Sevilla for the transfer of midfielder Aleix Vidal.

The 25-year-old is set to undergo a medical before being presented at the Camp Nou on Monday, according to a statement on the club's ​official website.

Aleix Vidal set to sign for Barça on Monday http://t.co/SdGdVHDpJu pic.twitter.com/ecmW4uqfeU

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) June 7, 2015

The 25-year-old wing-back is set to sign a five-year deal at the Camp Nou to keep him at Barcelona until 2020.

There was no mention of the transfer ban the club are supposed to be restricted by, but is expected that Vidal will join Barca in January when the ban is due to be lifted.

Vidal has only been with the Andalusian-based side since last summer after signing from Almeria for €3m. The 25-year-old has been a key player in Sevilla's Europa League triimuph this season, making 47 appearances in all competitions, scoring six and assisting 11 more.

The imminent signing of Vidal will surely cast more doubt on Dani Alves' future at the Catalan club, especially given the Brazilian's comments following the Champions League final that he would welcome a move to AC Milan.

Alves' contract expires at the end of the month and has refused to pen to paper on a new deal, reportedly citing the club's lack of respect towards him as a reason for leaving Barcelona after seven years.

 

Premier League Clubs Alerted by Zlatan Availability

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ByAiden Cusick

on8 Jun 2015

​ Premier League clubs are on alert after Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic decided he has had enough in the French capital, according to ​the Independent.

The Sweden international, 33, will reportedly seek a move away from the Parc des Princes over the summer and is thought to prefer a return to former club AC Milan.

Arsenal are allegedly keen on Ibrahimovic, who could cost as little as £11m due to his waning contract situation, while both Chelsea and Liverpool are understood to have expressed an interest.

The Gunners are believed to be in the market for a new centre-forward to take them to the next level but whether manager Arsene Wenger would fancy a player of Ibrahimovic's character remains to be seen.

Wenger famously missed out on Ibrahimovic in 2000, when the then 19-year-old turned down his offer of a trial.

Speaking in 2012, the player said: “Arsene gave me the famous red and white jersey - the No. 9 shirt with Ibrahimovic on it and I was so pleased I even posed for a picture wearing it.

“It was a fantastic moment for me. Arsenal had a great team then and here was an Arsenal shirt made just for me.

“So then I waited for him to convince me that I should join Arsenal. But he didn't even try.

“He never actually made me a serious offer, it was more, ‘I want to see how good you are, what kind of player you are. Have a trial’.

“I couldn't believe it. I was like, ‘No way, Zlatan doesn't do auditions’.

“I thought ‘You either know me or you don't and if you don't know me you can't really want me’.”

PSG are thought to be looking to the future beyond Ibrahimovic, who has a fractured relationship with fellow striker Edinson Cavani - another reported Arsenal target.

Ibrahimovic, who is yet to play in England, has won league titles with every club he's been at - including Milan, Ajax, Juventus and Barcelona - since leaving Malmo 14 years ago.

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AMIR KHAN has revived hope of a mega-money clash with Floyd Mayweather Jr by revealing for the first time he can fight in September.

The Bolton fighter, 28, had claimed that he would not be ready to fight by then because of the Muslim fasting month Ramadan.

Mayweather, 38, said after his win over Manny Pacquiao on Saturday that his 49th and final fight will be in September.

The fasting in Ramadan would have played havoc with Khan's preparations for any fight in early September, but it ends early this year in mid-July and now the Brit is back in line to face the American.

He said: "I've not ruled it out because it is possible I could fight in September.

"Ramadan is a little bit earlier so it does help and it can happen."

      

Welterweight Khan could get the final chance to end the American's unbeaten reign at the top of boxing.
The Bolton fighter must overcome Chris Algieri first though when he faces the former WBO light-welterweight champion on May 29 in New York.
And he added: "Mayweather is the best fighter in the world and you have to put on great performances to get that fight, you have to shine.
"There has been talk that fight will happen but now I have to just take every fight as it happens. If it comes, it comes.
"I can't take this fight lightly and lose this fight or my dreams will be shattered. By losing this fight would ruin my dreams of fighting the biggest names in boxing.
"The pressure is on to make sure I win this fight."

Any deal for Chelsea to sign Paul Pogba this summer will cost in excess of £158m, the Sunday Mirror claim.

The Blues and Manchester City both want to sign the Frenchman but will have to break the bank if they are to bring him back to the Premier League.

Paris St-Germain have reportedly had a £60m bid accepted for the former Manchester United player but Juventus hope an auction will raise that price to £75m while the midfielder wants a five-year deal worth £320,000-a-week.

Eden Hazard has no interest in leaving Chelsea anytime soon, his brother Thorgan has told The Sun.

The PFA Player of the Year has been linked with a summer move to Real Madrid or PSG despite signing a new five-and-a-half year deal in February.

But Thorgan claims his brother wants to stay at Stamford Bridge and win the Champions League with the Blues.

      

Cesc Fabregas has spoken of his desperation to finally get his hands on the Premier League trophy, the Daily Mail report.
The midfielder failed to get his hands on the trophy during his eight-year spell at Arsenal before he returned to Barcelona in 2011.
But he has the opportunity to mark his first season at Chelsea; after they defeated Crystal Palace.
Former Chelsea boss Ruud Gullit has blasted Jose Mourinho's style of play and says he deserves his negative label, the Sunday Mirror report.
Despite being runaway leaders, the Blues have been criticised for playing boring football and grinding out results.
And Gullit says Mourinho has the players capable of both winning the title and playing entertaining football.

    

The former light-welterweight champion revealed the news on the YouTube channel of his wife, Faryal Makhdoom Khan.
Khan, 28, had been linked with potentially bigger fights against Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman, but opted to take on former kickboxer Algieri at welterweight.
British rival and IBF champion Kell Brook wanted to face Khan at Wembley on June 13.
But the Bolton fighter turned down the clash which could have earned the pair around £3m.
Algieri, 31, has lost just one fight but is relatively inexperienced with just 21 professional contests since changing sports in 2008.

His solitary defeat was a one-sided points loss to boxing star Manny Pacquiao who takes on Floyd Mayweather next on May 2.
The Filipino puncher had Algieri down six times during that bout in November.
Khan said: “He has only lost one fight, ranked number eight in the world.
“The last fight he lost was Pacquiao and that led Manny to go on to fight Floyd Mayweather.
“You can class him as an A-class fighter and he just fell short against Manny Pacquiao.

REAL MADRID fans hurled abuse and attacked Gareth Bale's car after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona last night.

Madrid supporters waited for the stars to arrive back at their Valdebebas training ground and vented their frustrations by hurling abuse at their own team.
Spanish television channel Cuatro captured one fan throwing punches at Bale's white Bentley while the Welshman attempted to drive home.
Team-mate Jese rolled down his window to confront the unhappy fans, but continued driving to avoid the same fate as Bale.

     

Vice captain Sergio Ramos blasted the fans for their actions, he said: "What’s the matter? Do you think that’s the right attitude?"
Bale has repeatedly been booed by sections of the Bernabeu crowd, and described as a selfish player - so tensions were already high.
It could have been a completely different story had Bale's goal not been incorrectly given offside.

    

LAURENT BLANC last night warned his players to expect dirty tricks from Diego Costa.

Jose Mourinho hit back at the Paris St-Germain boss claiming Blanc’s team are the roughest he has faced this season and dirtier than a League Two side.
The French giants are at Stamford Bridge tonight with a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League at stake.
But a war of words erupted after Blanc claimed Chelsea hardman Costa is the man to watch out for.
“He’s a boy who loves the contact, loves the duels, and is very suited to the English game,” said Blanc.
“He likes the challenge, the contact, and provoking opposition players.
“That’s something he needs. He thrives off that. It’s important not to get caught up in that.
“I watched the game against Tottenham and, right from the start, he was looking to do that.
“He’s got good physicality, is technically good, but he tries to provoke a reaction always.
“Away from home, we have to be as effective as possible in trying to stop him.”

    

Mourinho refused to respond directly to Blanc’s attack on his star striker, who was banned last month for stamping on Liverpool’s Emre Can.
Instead he claims PSG showed in the first leg they take no prisoners.
Chelsea star Eden Hazard claimed after the 1-1 draw he needed shin pads to protect all of his legs after being roughed up in Paris.
“I was surprised in that game,” said Mourinho. “Because a team with fantastic players was the team with a record number of fouls.
“It was the team making foul after foul, it was the team which stopped Eden Hazard with fouls all the time.
“It was the team attacking the man in possession of the ball with two or three players with some very aggressive actions, a team where – even a player like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a typical attacking player – came back when they lost the ball and attacked Hazard from behind when we were countering.I thought an English team would never be surprised by aggression, because aggression we have in our country.
“This season we’ve played against sides form the Championship in the cups, against teams from League One, and Shrewsbury from League Two, but the most aggressive team was PSG.
“With players of such quality, I was expecting more football and less aggression.”
Mourinho also dismissed the impact of moneybags PSG offering their players a £180,000 bonus to beat Chelsea.
“Professionalism goes above and beyond that,” he said.
“In many areas of society you reach certain objectives and people get extra payments, reaching some targets or numbers.
“That’s fine, but football is about our passion for the game, the happiness and the pride of victories. They have no price.”

   

The Colombian dynamo was signed by Jose Mourinho to help Chelsea conquer the Premier League, but the 26-year-old is more interested in conquering the English language first.
The Sun claim Cuadrado and Howe have been exchanging private messages via Instagram, with the famous twin ready to undertake a new role as teacher.

A Chelsea spokesman was less than enamoured with the reports, and told The Sun: "The club will be providing English lessons for him."
Howe is said to have learned Spanish during a trip to LA, and is more than capable of conducting lessons with the £26.8m signing.
The Sun claim the 24-year-old model has previous with Premier League footballers, and is alleged to have had romantic connections to Juventus star Patrice Evra and Manchester United full-back Luke Shaw.

THERE won’t be many things Brendan Rodgers and Siegfried and Roy have in common.

But one thing the Liverpool boss and the Las Vegas entertainers do is trying to tame something that simply does not want to be told what to do.
Siegfried and Roy trained tigers for a famous show at the Mirage in the capital of gambling that drew in millions over a decade ago.
But it all came to an end when one tiger took a chunk out of Roy Horn’s throat and almost killed him back in 2003 live on stage.
Kop boss Rodgers’ life is certainly not on the line, but trying to keep Mario Balotelli in check has been a right pain in his neck.

      

The manic striker caused yet another stir on Thursday night when he took the ball from stand-in skipper Jordan Henderson for their late penalty against Besiktas in the Europa League last-32 clash.
Balotelli calmly slotted home the winner as the whole of Anfield watched from behind their fingers.
Rodgers insisted there was no issue after the game, but skipper Steven Gerrard’s claim from the punditry box made it clear that team orders were broken by the Italian.
Gerrard insisted Henderson should have been the penalty taker and Balotelli was again the centre of attention not only for his winning goal.
Henderson was the designated spot-kick taker for the game, he was the one who got the ball, he wanted to step up.

    

But Balotelli does not play by the rules, or orders from above on this occasion.
Rodgers reckoned he could tame the former AC Milan striker when he spent £16m on him in the summer as he searched desperately for a front man.
But many believed he bit off more than he could chew as he struggled with form on the pitch and rumblings of off-field issues would not go away.
Siegfried and Roy called a halt to their show when an untameable tiger tucked in, but even they could not help bringing “Mantecore” back for a swansong show some years later.
Balotelli’s Liverpool career looked over until recently when Rodgers turned to him once more as just like the Vegas duo, the Kop boss wanted to gamble again.

 FOOTIE legend David Beckham has marked 10 years of campaigning for Unicef by launching his own children’s charity.

      

And the superstar revealed he will tour war zones with his four kids in tow in a bid to show them ‘real life’ as he raises cash and awareness.
His eldest sons Brooklyn, 15, and Romeo, 12, could visit some of the world’s most dangerous countries as part of the new Seven campaign.
Becks told the Daily Star: “The children will be getting involved because I’m going to make them.
“But they are excited about that.
“They know exactly what I’m announcing today and what needs to be done.”
The 39-year-old revealed he had never sugar-coated the suffering he saw when he discussed previous Unicef trips with his children.
His new fund, named after his lucky football shirt number, will focus on helping seven countries including Burkina Faso, El Salvador and Papua New Guinea.
David added: “Romeo and Brooklyn are old enough to understand what’s going on in the world and how they can help.
“Brooklyn only said to me on the school run this morning ‘I want to go on a trip, when can I go on a trip?’ So they understand it, they respect it, they get it.”
The sportsman said he always takes photos on his travels to explain his charity work to younger kids Cruz, nine, and Harper, three.

    

His campaign was inspired by a visit to the scene of Typhoon Haiyan, which left 1.3 million children homeless in the Philippines and killed thousands more.
David said: “You don’t really experience devastation until you’re on the ground, until you’re actually in the place where it’s happened.
“The Philippines, it was two and a half months after the Typhoon so it was so fresh, people were still scared, devastated, had lost family members.
“I saw a father stood at a grave and there was 11 family members that he’d lost. You can see the grief, it’s horrendous. It really is terrible.

The retired England legend has also been to South Africa and Sierra Leone as a Unicef Goodwill Ambassador.
Last night he vowed to work with Unicef for at least another decade, calling 7: The David Beckham Unicef Fund a ‘high point’ of his career.

   

David said: “My fame, my success that I had on the field, opens doors for exactly things like this - the protection of children, the protection of women.”
He added: “When people turn around to me and say ‘what’s the great thing about being David Beckham’, it’s exactly this situation.”

   

The Nigeria topflight league is billed to commence in the first week of March according to the League Management Company

The League Management Company has fixed March 7, 2015 as the date for the commencement of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) for the 2014/2015 season.
The LMC recently gave two options of January 21 and March 7 for the start of hostilities and circulars were sent to various clubs for them to choose the more preferred of both dates but the league body has opted for the latter with a fresh date for the start of the 2015 general elections being fingered as the brain behind the new development.
Owing to this, the LMC has announced a registration deadline of February 20 for clubs to submit their licensing documents for the new season or risks severe sanctions.

The documents expected to be submitted by the 20 clubs in the top flight include proof of no debts carried over, financial guarantee and medical passport of players.

The LMC Chief Operating Officer (COO) Salihu Abubakar announced this and said the clubs have been put on the alert that mid-week fixtures will hold to accommodate the socio-political developments in the country.

“As part of the registration process for the new season, Clubs are to mandatorily provide a quarterly Financial Performance Guarantee of N50m which is a condition for licensing to participate in the league. Clubs that are in a position to provide a one-off Performance Guarantee of N200m is also encouraged to do so”, Abubakar stated.

The league organizer further disclosed that clubs in the elite division must provide their  Financial Performance Guarantee on or before March 5, if they are to be considered among the 20 to vie for points.
Kano Pillars are the defending champions of the league and they have emerged victorious since the last three seasons while Enyimba and Warri Wolves came second and third last season.