Latest news with #Cafu
Morocco World
a day ago
- Sport
- Morocco World
Football Legend Cafu Says Hakimi is the Best Right Back in the World
Rabat — Former Brazilian football legend Marcos Evangelista de Morais, known as Cafu, has confirmed what a group of other stars believe: Hakimi is the best right-back in the world. Italian sports-focused outlet Gazzetta quoted Cafu, who, without hesitation, commented on Hakimi and described him as the best in the world right now. The remarks come amid a consensus on Hakimi's stellar performance with PSG this season, earning him not only recognition but also support for his Ballon d'Or bid. Fans, public figures from football and beyond are backing the Atlas Lion bid as a potential winner — or at least among the top three contenders — for the Ballon d'Or international award. Additionally, several renowned players from Morocco and beyond believe Hakimi deserves the Ballon d'Or. Morocco's Youssef Chippo said recently that if Hakimi wins the Ballon d'Or, it wouldn't be a mere gift, but that he deserves it. 'He was consistent, decisive, and always stepped up,' he told Le360, adding that the Atlas Lion maintained a 'very high level of performance from the first match to last,' unlike other football stars like Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Debele. French coach Hervé Renard said the same, also noting that he thinks Hakimi is the Ballon d'Or of this season. He shared the same perspective as former Morocco coach Badou Zaki, who said that the Ballon d'Or must go to the player who outshines the rest, and that is Hakimi, who contributed to his team's triumphs during the whole season. Tags: Achraf HakimiAtlas Lion Achraf Hakimi
France 24
3 days ago
- Sport
- France 24
Rodriguez stops Cafu in super flyweight unification fight
Rodriguez landed a hard right hook and followed with an unchallenged series of punches that forced referee Hector Afu to stop the bout after two minutes and seven seconds of the 10th round. "All I remember is I caught him with a right hook. That's about it," said Rodriguez. "I felt like it was a good performance, my best performance up to today now. It was my toughest opponent, my toughest fight." Rodriquez kept his WBC crown and took Cafu's WBO title, improving to 22-0 with his 15th victory inside the distance. Cafu fell to 11-1 with three drawn, his seven-fight win streak snapped in his US debut. "All credit to Cafu. He's a tough opponent. He was a lot tougher than I thought he would be but we got the job done no matter what," Rodriguez said. "I wasn't hurt but I could feel he had pop. He had better pop than I expected. I knew he had power but not like that. And he can take a shot." That forced a strategy change in the 115-pound (52.2kg) division matchup of stellar southpaws. "I had to stop throwing every shot hard," Rodriguez said. "I was trying maybe a little too hard to get him out of there, but once I felt he could take my best shot and keep going, that's when I had to slow my pace down, set him up with a few shots here and there like I did to get him out of there." Rodriguez, 25, and Cafu, 26, were cautious in the early rounds, the American trying to press the attack but wary of the African's counter punches, each fighter respectful of the dangers his rival offered. A right uppercut by Rodriguez set up a combination in the fourth round but Cafu began working to the body, striking with his own combination late in round five and a solid left hook late in round six. Rodriguez landed a hard combination of five punches starting with a left hook in the final minute of the ninth round and won it with his flurry late in round 10, forcing Cafu's corner to wave the towel. Rodriguez plans to fight the division's other unbeaten champion, WBA title-holder Fernando Martinez of Argentina, on November 22. He had a cut on a left knuckle but said he was fine. "It's just a little, I don't know what you call it, but I'll be good," Rodriguez said. "I want to be undisputed, especially the way I did it against Cafu, a world champion and I got him out before the 12th round. It just shows I'm here to stay."
TimesLIVE
3 days ago
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
'The Truth' hurts as 'Bam' Rodriguez stops brave Cafu in unification bout
A brave Phumelela Cafu gave it his all, but he failed to handle the experience, pressure and power of Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez, losing their unification title bout on a 10th round stoppage in Frisco, Texas, on Saturday night. 'The Truth' Cafu ceded the WBO junior-bantamweight crown he had won in his last outing to the 25-year-old WBC champion, widely rated as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world who had seen far more action at this level. Rodriguez had already won a unification title at flyweight. Cafu, suffering the first defeat of his career, dropped to 11 wins, one loss and three draws while Rodriguez improved to 22-0 with 15 stoppages. Rodriguez was the busier of the two boxers, fighting with relentless energy and unleashing punches in endless combinations as he controlled large swathes of the fight. Cafu, by comparison, fought in spurts, winning skirmishes and owning moments. He was unable to match his opponent blow for blow, sometimes relying too heavily on single punches, although he found his target time and again, marking his opponent. The statistics showed that Rodriguez threw 610 punches and landed 218 of them, compared to Cafu's 468 thrown and 144 landed. The South African spent the entire time fighting off the ropes, trying to counter the pressure-fighter, a southpaw with a vicious left hand. The furthest Cafu ventured towards the centre of the ring was for the final instructions just before the start of the contest. After that he slid his way along the ropes. On the one occasion that he turned Rodriguez in the corner in the seventh round, Cafu simply retreated to the ropes again, absorbing more punishment than he dished out. He landed some good shots to the head and the body, occasionally forcing Rodriguez to take a step back, but he never looked in control of the fight. The sixth round was probably Cafu's best, but in the corner after the ninth, trainer Colin Nathan threatened to end it if the boxer didn't do more. In the 10th Rodriguez rocked Cafu with a right hand, but he was unable to drop his wounded opponent as they got tied up in a messy clinch, with both going down. The referee was prepared to let it continue but Nathan had seen enough, throwing in the towel to give his charge a reprieve from further punishment and allowing him to fight another day. Rodriguez afterwards rated the bout as his toughest to date. 'All credit goes to Cafu, he's a tough opponent. He was a lot tougher than I thought he was going to be, but we got the job done.'
TimesLIVE
4 days ago
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Lerena, Cafu bank on Madiba Magic in key battles
The Madiba Magic, which is spread all around SA as the country celebrates Nelson Mandela's birthday on Friday, could stimulate Kevin 'Two Guns' Lerena and Phumelela 'The Truth' Cafu to victory as they raise the flag in super boxing matches outside the country. Lerena and Cafu have tough assignments this weekend, facing credible champions in their backyards. On Saturday, Lerena will be at the 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium, against Englishman Lawrence Okolie. Okolie's WBC silver heavyweight belt will be on the line. Then in the wee hours on Sunday (SA), WBO junior-bantam world champ, Cafu, will attempt to unify belts with WBC and The Ring champion, Jesse "Bam" Rodrigruez of San Antonio, Texas. The venue for the unification match is the Ford Centre at The Star in Frisco, also in Texas. Rodriguez is seen as the next big star to emerge from the lower weight divisions, with the potential to reach pound-for-pound great status. He is signed with Matchroom Boxing and promoter Eddie Hearn, who will stage the fight on Sunday morning.
TimesLIVE
14-07-2025
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Cafu wraps up Vegas prep for Rodriguez fight, heads for Texas
Sunday was Phumelela 'The Truth' Cafu's last hard training session at the DLX Boxing Gym in Las Vegas, said his trainer Colin Nathan as his charge wrapped up his preparations for the bout of his life against Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez. Cafu's camp fly to Dallas, Texas, on Monday after spending a week in Las Vegas, where they were joined by US-based, South African former IBF mini-flyweight champion Deejay Kriel and Cafu's Johannesburg gym mates Joshua Feldman and Doron Zinman. Cafu meets Rodriguez in a junior bantamweight unification bout on Saturday at the Ford Centre at The Star in Frisco, the 91-acre training campus of the Dallas Cowboys American football team. 'I've pushed Phumelela as hard as I can and honestly I can't push him any harder,' said Nathan, who described their last session on Sunday as 'gruelling'.
