Shakur Stevenson and Conor Benn have heated exhange, agree to fight at 147lbs
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Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
You know who's winning some fights right now? The old people. Saturday was another example
You know what this is? The elders putting their foot down. There's this stat that came into popular conversation in MMA a couple of years back, concerning the age of Dramatic Fall Off (or DFO) in the fight game. Champions who are 35 or older, especially at the lighter weights it was shown — and especially in the UFC — tend to fall off precipitously at that age. The proof of this was well documented. Younger competitors have been flushing the old birds out with duck calls or whatever and shooting them in flight. (With the obvious exception being Jon Jones, who doesn't respond to duck calls.) This stat was particularly true until it wasn't. That's because recently the old guard has gotten real, real stubborn, whether in the UFC or the boxing ring. Alex Pereira has done his best work north of 35, realizing a twilight windfall of cash. Valentina Shevchenko fended off Manon Fiorot at 37 years old at UFC 315. Alexandre Pantoja looked the best he ever has at 35 years young in his title defense against Kai Kara-France at UFC 317. Last week, 39-year-old Katie Taylor defeated Amanda Serrano for a third time at Madison Square Garden, bringing the greatest rivalry in women's boxing history to a close. Perhaps the most understated compliment we could pay her afterward was, 'She didn't look her age.' And this weekend? Why, this weekend was a veritable geriatric renaissance! An old-fashioned blue-hair revival! Older fighters showed up like it was early bird dinner at the Golden Corral and laid waste to the youth without regret nor conscience. Out in London, it was 38-year-old Oleksandr Usyk straight outclassing Daniel Dubois with counters and speed and in-ring acumen. The left he dropped Dubois with to end the fight in the fifth round was a masterclass of fast-twitch muscle memory and instinct, generated from a well harnessed source of power. 'Thirty-eight is a young guy, remember!' Usyk yelled into the microphone afterward, winning over Earl Court's finest quadragenarians. 'Thirty-eight is only the start!' What an icon. Only the start? That must explain why Manny Pacquiao, returning to the boxing ring at 46 years old to face Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title on Saturday night, gave 'El Azteca' all he wanted. The fight ended in a majority draw (!!), yet it was Pacquaio pulling away in the later rounds. He was out-foxing, out-quicking, and out-gunning a fighter who was 16 years younger. Scenes, baby, scenes! And think about that for a minute. When Barrios was born in 1995, Pacquiao already had facial hair and a driver's license. By comparison, when Pacquaio came into the world, 'The Dukes of Hazzard' was the hottest show on television. Maybe the DFO line is moving. If we thought that Terence 'Bud' Crawford, who turns 38 in September, might be a little long in the tooth for his epic boxing match with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez scheduled for that same month, we might think again. If the trend continues, Crawford — who was alive in the 1980s — could very well be in a sweet spot. 'Athletes are extending their prime performance age more so than ever before,' Most Valuable Promotions CEO Nakisa Bidarian posted on social media after the dust settled in the Pacquiao fight Saturday night. 'Plus they have experience.' Bidarian ain't wrong. Experience is having a freaking day. It was true at UFC 318 out in New Orleans, too. At 39 years old, Michael Johnson was a five-to-one underdog in his fight with 26-year-old Daniel Zellhuber, the Mexican brawler who put on the Fight of the Year against Esteban Ribovics at the Sphere last fall. When they showed Johnson in the promo before the fight, he was talking about 'making another name,' which sounded like rocking chair babble for a guy whose points are no longer all that lucid. So, what did Johnson do? He went out there and lit up Zellhuber for two of the three rounds, hurting him on occasion, dropping him, schooling him in the ways of 'experience.' And in the main event, when 36-year-old Dustin Poirier stood in the pocket and fired shots against 33-year-old Max Holloway, there was no sense of a dramatic drop off. There was only the bittersweet feeling that it was all coming to an end. That the Bayou-born Poirier was going out on his own terms, one last time into the breach, right in the heart of New Orleans, whether he won or lost. It's good to get out gracefully. It's rare to get out gracefully. Yet next to some of his counterparts, Poirier was still a proverbial spring chicken. Not that the young aren't holding their own if you pan back. Dakota Ditcheva, the 26-year-old phenom at PFL, reminded everyone why she's the hottest name outside the UFC down in South Africa, defeating Sumiko Inaba from pillar-to-post (even through a broken hand). Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez, 25, unified the WBC and WBO super flyweight titles by stopping Phumelele Cafu in the 10th. Ilia Topuria has done more by the age of 27 than some of the most decorated fighters of our generation did in their entire careers. But give it up to the mainstays, the veterans, the graying distinguished fighters who right now are defiantly staying relevant. Looking at you, Beneil Dariush. The gray on the temple is as menacing an omen as any cauliflower ear in the industry. Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson is the oldest fighter in the UFC at 42, and even though he lost to Gabriel Bonfim on the scorecards, he didn't really lose. Jim Miller may go on forever. And there's no telling how old Myktybek Orolbai is — the program says he's 27, but let's just say there's a museum of natural history out there somewhere missing a warrior from its exhibit of prehistoric man. Older, wiser, meaner. Usyk, Pacquiao, Johnson. Either the young guys are dropping off, or these guys are refusing to.
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Thousands defy rain to celebrate Pride festival
Thousands of people defied the downpours to take part in Leeds Pride this weekend. The vibrant annual festival, which celebrates LGBTQ+ life, was held in the city centre on Sunday. Despite the miserable weather, there were smiles everywhere as huge numbers turned out to watch the parade make its way across The Headrow amid a party atmosphere. Several people who attended claimed Leeds had one of the best Pride festivals. One woman, who went to the celebration with her partner and her partner's daughter, said: "Leeds Pride is one of my favourite Prides and I've been to a lot of them. "I like the family feel about this place. It keeps me coming back every year and I'm really excited to be here. "Despite the rain the atmosphere feels like it's buzzing." Pride's distinctive rainbow colours, music, dancing and drag queens all formed part of the fun at the festival, which was first held in Leeds in 2006. Another woman who attended said: "My son came out as gay one-and-a-half years ago, so I wanted to be here for him and to celebrate equality for everyone. "It's amazing. I'm absolutely loving it!" Nazir Uddin, who is originally from Bangladesh, said he had to hide his sexuality until he came to the UK. He said: "It is illegal to be homosexual in my country. "It's not just Bangladesh, there are still 64 countries where it's still illegal, so I'm here to represent all of those who are still hiding their sexuality. "I never experienced this (Pride) back home, so it's like heaven for me and I feel very safe here." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. Related stories Pride marchers 'don't let it rain on their parade' Pride festival cancelled amid funding shortfall Glasgow streets awash with colour for Pride march Related internet links Leeds Pride
New York Times
9 minutes ago
- New York Times
Tara Moore, British tennis player given four-year doping ban, says system is ‘broken'
Tara Moore, the British tennis player given a four-year ban for a doping violation, says 'the anti-doping system is broken.' Moore's ban was confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last Tuesday. After returning a positive test for the anabolic steroids boldenone and nandrolone following a tournament in April 2022, an independent panel ruled that Moore bore no fault or negligence in December 2023, only for the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to appeal that decision to CAS. Advertisement CAS ruled in the ITIA's favor, at the same time dismissing a counter-appeal from Moore, who was previously Britain's No. 1-ranked doubles player. The 32-year-old's four-year ban is minus the time she served while provisionally suspended, which began following her adverse test result from the tournament in Colombia. She will be able to return to tennis at the start of the 2028 season. 'The last three-and-a-half years have broken me into so many pieces,' Moore said in a statement on social media Sunday. 'As my family and friends have scrambled to pick up the broken shards of me, they've glued me back together in the form of a different person. 'I don't need a panel to tell me I'm innocent. I know the integrity I bring and I know I am innocent. I believe everyone over the past couple of years can see how subjective this process is. 'I have been the underdog. I have had my life as I knew it ripped away from me because the organisations and people in power failed to do what was right. They may have taken my fight away on the court, yet my fight is not over, not for me or others like me. 'The anti-doping system is broken. I am proof of this. We need to fix it. Not for me as it's too late, but for future players who find themselves in this unfortunate situation. I have so much more to say when the time is right.' Moore had argued that the presence of boldenone and nandrolone in her sample had been caused by the consumption of beef and/or pork while in Colombia. 'After reviewing the scientific and legal evidence, the majority of the CAS Panel considered that the player did not succeed in proving that the concentration of nandrolone in her sample was consistent with the ingestion of contaminated meat,' the court said in Tuesday's media release. 'The Panel concluded that Ms. Moore failed to establish that the ADRV (anti-doping rule violation) was not intentional. The appeal by the ITIA is therefore upheld, and the decision rendered by the independent tribunal is set aside. The cross-appeal filed by Ms. Moore was declared inadmissible.' Advertisement Doping has been a highly contentious issue for the sport in recent months following the positive tests and subsequent bans served by men's world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and four-time French Open women's champion Iga Świątek. Both players went on to win their respective singles titles at Wimbledon last weekend.
