World champion Price cruises past Jonas to unify division
Welterweight Lauren Price easily outpointed Natasha Jonas to settle their domestic rivalry and become a unified world champion in a changing of the guards moment for women's boxing at the Royal Albert Hall.The 30-year-old's speed, sharpness and youthfulness was too much for veteran Jonas, who struggled with her timing over 10 rounds in the main event of an all-female card in London.Liverpool's Jonas, 40, cut a deflated figure at the final bell, in contrast to the exuberant celebrations of Welshwoman Price. The judges scored it 98-93, 100-90 and 98-92 to the Welshwoman. Any doubts on Price's elite-level credentials and ability to handle the occasion were expelled by a virtuoso performance which suggested the Newport-born fighter may well dominate the sport for years to come.In just her ninth pro fight, the Olympic gold medallist retains her WBA title and captures Jonas' WBC and IBF belts.Jonas - a two-weight world champion - loses for the third time in 19 pro bouts.
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The Herald Scotland
39 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Scotland have suffered a system malfunction
Losing goalkeeper Angus Gunn early on and having to bring on the uncapped Cieran Slicker to replace him was far from ideal for manager Steve Clarke. Still, Andy Robertson and his team mates could have no complaints about the final scoreline. This was another dire display and a wretched result. Here are five talking points from a bitterly disappointing night for Scotland. Nightmare debut The last thing that Clarke, who had been at pains to point how few goalkeepers Scotland have playing at a decent level when he named his squad for this double header last month, was to see his first choice goalkeeper pick up an injury. But that is exactly what happened. In just the third minute too. Gunn was clattered by Andri Gudjohnsen as he tried to pluck a high ball out of the air and landed awkwardly. He failed to respond to medical attention and hobbled off with the help of a physio. It was a devastating setback for a man who has not had his problems to seek fitness wise this term. Read more: The 15-times capped 29-year-old had not featured in an international since the narrow Nations League loss to Portugal in Lisbon back in September and he was eager to make amends for lost time and stake a claim for a start in World Cup qualifying. It was not to be. Gunn's knock meant an unexpected debut for Slicker of Ipswich Town. The 22-year-old, who is eligible to represent Scotland because of his Glaswegian father, made just one appearance in the season which has just finished. He came on for the final nine minutes of an FA Cup win over Bristol Rovers in January. His lack of game time showed. He played the ball straight to Stefan Poroarson shortly after taking to the field. The Iceland midfielder nodded down to Gudjohnsen who did superbly curl a left foot shot into the top left corner. The son of former Barcelona Chelsea star Eidur is a chip off the old block. It was hard not to feel sympathy for the newcomer. But he settled the nerves he would inevitably have been feeling when he saved a long-range Jon Dagur Porsteinsson attempt. His distribution improved thereafter too. Not that it could have got any worse. Could Slicker have done better at the visitors' second goal on the stroke of half-time? Possibly. But the Albert Gudmundsson corner came off John Souttar, Grant Hanley and finally Lewis Ferguson before it trundled over his line. It was a comedy or errors. The Oldham-born keeper, too, flapped at the header Victor Palsson got on target at a Gudmondsson free-kick and failed to keep it out. There was a lengthy VAR check to see if the scorer had been offside. The defender, though, was on when the ball was played through to him. System malfunction With Kieran Tierney considered fit enough to start once again, Clarke reverted to the five man defence which had served him so well during the opening games of the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. He positioned the Celtic full-back on the left of three centre-backs and deployed Robertson at wing back outside him. (Image: Jane Barlow) It did not work, either defensively or offensively. Yes, the hosts created a few chances and levelled when John Souttar held off Mikael Egill Ellertsson and nodded a Max Johnston corner home. But the players looked uncomfortable in the system and there were far, far too many open spaces for their opponents to exploit. Billy Gilmour, Scott McTominay and Lewis Ferguson, who have picked up silverware in Italy with Napoli and Bologna respectively this term, started together in midfield for just the third time. But they proved incapable of turning things around. Clarke needs to have a rethink. Tierney and Robertson and have played in a flat back four together at international level in the past and can do so again in future if required. At this moment, a move to a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 is worth trying. There is no point persevering with a system which functioned effectively in the past if it is not working now. Scotland switched to a back four when Clarke made a triple substitution in the second half and looked better for it. Bright Hirst It may take Scotland supporters a little time to get used to a striker called Hirst playing up front for them even if his surname is spelt differently from a certain former England centre forward. But members of the Tartan Army may have to get used to the Ipswich Town man George, who was preferred to Che Adams, James Wilson, Kieron Bowie and Tommy Conway up front, leading the line for them. Clarke is clearly an admirer of the former England age-group player, who qualifies to play for this country through his paternal grandfather, as this was the third game in a row he has fielded him. He came on in both of the Greece games back in March. Read more: But this was a first start for him. He showed why was given the nod despite failing to find the target during his time on the park. He headed a John McGinn chip over, forced a one-handed save from Elias Rafn Olafsson after meeting a Scott McTominay cutback with a first-time shot and had a goal, correctly, chalked off for offside. He received a warm round of applause when he was replaced by Adams. Rightly so. He showed he has much to offer despite the result. To the Max Johnston, who helped Sturm Graz to retain their Bundesliga title in Austria this season, caught Clarke's eye in training at Lesser Hampden this week and started at right wing-back ahead of both Anthony Ralston of Celtic and the returning Nathan Patterson of Everton. He had some good moments and set up the Scotland goal. It was also nice to see Lennon Miller, the teenage Motherwell midfielder, make his first appearance for his country. He came on for Tierney as Scott McKenna replaced Hanley. Patterson later took over from Johnston and Tommy Conway came on for McTominay. But none of the replacements made a significant difference. Tartan Army boo boys The boos and jeers which rang out at the half-time and full-time whistle told a story. The Scotland supporters were furious with the insipid performance they had witnessed. A vast improvement against Liechtenstein in Vaduz on Monday is now needed to get the fans back onside ahead of the World Cup qualifying opener against Denmark.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Josh Kelly vs Flavius Biea LIVE RESULTS: Fight updates ahead of huge welterweight battle in Newcastle
JOSH KELLY will leave it all in the ring tonight as he takes on WBC Latino champion Flavius Biea on a huge Newcastle bill - and the main card is currently UNDERWAY! Kelly, 31, most recently survived an onslaught from Ishmael Davis before being victorious via a points decision on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois. And it doesn't get any easier for the British boxer as he now faces a Latino champ who enters the ring on the back of a 12-fight winning streak. But before that huge bout gets underway, there are several fights on the undercard for fans to sink their teeth into.
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Inside story of Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham sacking with Daniel Levy rift that worsened during Europa League run
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SO, Daniel Levy did kill off his main character in the second season finale of the Ange Postecoglou show. Postecoglou himself warned that could be the case just a day after teasing fans at Spurs' Europa League-winning parade that he could stay on for a third campaign with a prestige-telly analogy. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 6 Ange Postecoglou has left Spurs Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 6 It comes despite him ending the club's 17 year trophy drought Credit: PA 6 Postecoglou does not get the chance to deliver on his third season promise Credit: Reuters The 59-year-old had told hundreds of thousands of delirious supporters lining the streets outside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that in 'all the best television series, season three is better than season two'. It went down a storm, with many of those who had wanted the Aussie out for the woeful league form now fully behind him after he had ended the club's 17-year trophy drought. Their hope had been that Levy would perform a similarly emotional U-turn, and NOT go through with his pre-final plan of wielding the axe whatever the outcome in Bilbao. How can he possibly ditch the guy who has delivered our first piece of silverware since the League Cup in 2008, and the first European trophy in 41 years, they asked themselves. READ MORE IN FOOTBALL NOW WE'RE BOTH POSH! David Beckham to be awarded knighthood after string of near misses In fairness, Levy did pause for thought, albeit briefly. But Postecoglou always knew the chances of the long-serving Spurs supremo doing an about-face were slim, given how their relationship had frayed in the previous months. So it will have come as no surprise to the former Celtic treble-winner - even if it did to millions of Tottenham fans across the globe. Levy turned to Postecoglou in the summer of 2023, after being snubbed by Arne Slot who had decided to stay at Feyenoord for one more season ahead of his switch to Liverpool. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS Postecoglou even described himself as 'the last man standing' in the race to succeed Antonio Conte. But the Athens-born Aussie, who had never previously managed in Europe's top five major leagues before, got off to a stunning start by taking 26 points from his first 30 available. That was despite the club selling their record goal-scorer Harry Kane to Bayern Munich on the eve of the season. After an unbeaten first ten Prem games, Spurs were five points clear at the top of the table and anything seemed possible under Postecoglou. Fans took to singing a version of Robbie Williams' Angels regularly after matches, with the key lyrics altered to 'I'm loving Big Ange instead'. Levy seemed giddy with excitement too, proudly declaring at a fans' forum in September 2023 that 'we've got our Tottenham back' in reference to Postecoglou's thrilling style of play. 6 Daniel Levy has wielded his axe again Credit: GETTY 6 Fans and players appeared with him after the Europa League success Credit: Getty But then came THAT 4-1 home defeat to Chelsea in November 2023 - the bonkers game Postecoglou may be best remembered for, even more so than the Europa final win over Manchester United. Having had two men sent off and having lost James Maddison and Micky van de Ven to serious injuries, Spurs, amazingly, continued to attack and almost nicked a 2-2 draw. But then Nicolas Jackson completed what was dubbed the worst hat-trick ever in injury-time - before Spurs were treated to a standing ovation by their fans as they left the pitch. It was unprecedented - yet after that game, things were never the same. Teams started to wise up to Spurs' style of inverted full-backs and clever cut-backs - as well as exposing the gaps they left at the back. Eric Dier, who left to join Kane at Bayern Munich in January, later claimed that Postecoglou 'really doesn't do barely any tactical work, what he does is every single training drill from Monday to Friday is drawn up to represent the way he wants to play.' Van de Ven and Maddison being sidelined disrupted the team's rhythm and they ended up being pipped by Aston Villa to fourth spot and Champions League qualification. Injuries decimated Postecoglou's squad in his second season - with the Aussie's intense pressing style accused of being a contributing factor - and the league campaign began to unravel. Raw teenage talent had mainly been added in the summer - although £65million was spent on striker Dominic Solanke - and it told. Postecoglou hoped for more experience to be added in January but out of the three arrivals, only Kevin Danso fitted that description. Spurs went on to finish 17th after losing 22 league games - the most a Prem team has ever managed and NOT been relegated - including embarrassing defeats to Ipswich and Leicester who both went down. The AngeOut army grew among the fanbase, who had been irked by his misreading the previous season of their desire to lose against Manchester City to deny rivals Arsenal the title. In another clash, Postecoglou mockingly cupped his ear in the direction of Spurs away fans at Chelsea in April. 6 Postecoglou appeared to cup his ears at fans against Chelsea Credit: Getty But all was forgiven when he ended the trophy curse in Bilbao. Ironically, it was done in a defensive style akin to predecessor Jose Mourinho, with the team having just 27 per cent possession and completing just 184 passes. It was more Ange Wall than Ange Ball, which suggested Postecoglou was capable of adapting when many pundits suggested he could not. That feat was not enough though to convince the higher-ups, who had not agreed with Postecoglou's decision to prioritise the Europa League from February onwards. It is understood the club began talking to representatives of other managers from the start of the year, underlining the shaky ground Postecoglou has been on for some time. Now it has collapsed from underneath him, to his disappointment as he felt the job in N17 was not done. But at least he walks away a hero, having finally changed the narrative to one of rare trophy success during the silverware-starved Levy story of the last 25 years.
