SPORTS
Anthony Joshua’s Brilliant Display Beats Otto Wallin in 5 Rounds
Anthony Joshua delivered one of his best displays in recent memory with an impressive stoppage of Otto Wallin in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The 34-year-old made it three wins from three in 2023 after the fight was called off following a thunderous fifth round which left Wallin unable to continue.
Joshua, having already beaten Jermaine Franklin Jr by unanimous decision in April before sealing a seventh-round stoppage against Robert Helenius in August, cruised to a 27th professional career victory.
But the identity of his next opponent is unclear following Joseph Parker’s shock defeat of Deontay Wilder on the same card.
Joshua has recorded three career losses so far – beaten by Andy Ruiz in 2019 before Oleksandr Usyk defeated him twice – while the Swedish southpaw Wallin had only one career loss to date against Tyson Fury.
But Joshua came flying out of the blocks in Riyadh and inflicted damage on Wallin as early as the second round.
Joshua landed a left hook to Wallin’s head, followed by a thunderous right cross and a second quick right which left Wallin frazzled and with blood leaking from his right nostril.
On to the third and Wallin’s patched-up nose was pouring again as Joshua landed another right. A strong left knocked Wallin off balance, and the former European champion was backed up on to the ropes and now with a cut to his right eye.
A steely-looking Joshua showed no sign of easing up in the fourth round as he landed a number of head and body shots on his opponent. A right hand skimmed the face of Wallin with Joshua looking comfortable and in control.
In the fifth, Joshua was throwing menacing, calculated punches with Wallin offering little to nothing in attack. Then with just over one minute of the round remaining, Joshua unleashed a superb left hook to leave Wallin stumbling towards the ropes.
Wallin managed to stay on his feet and see out the round, but the Swede’s corner said their fighter was unable to continue as Joshua celebrated a destructive win.
Asked if this felt like this was a throwback fight, Joshua said: “Not a throwback fight, just another fight.
“I respect Otto and I was telling everyone in the build-up I need to focus on the man in front of me because of what he brings to the table. It was just another day in the office.”
“(My approach) was victory by any means. This is a treacherous business. It is like snakes and ladders, one win takes you up the ladder and a defeat takes you all the way down so I just want to be victorious for as long as I can. I am a gifted fighter who has a special gift and I am just searching for greatness.”
Reflecting on Wilder’s defeat, Joshua added: “I wasn’t watching. I focus on myself. I know how important this fight is for me. I heard Deontay lost but so what, he will come back. It shows this business is fine margins.”
“Deontay, everything he has said about me, I could rip him apart right now, but I am going to take the higher ground and I hope he comes back.”
When it was suggested to him that his much-anticipated fight against Wilder could now be off the table, Joshua replied: “No. If he wants, he can come back and fight another day. It is up to him and I am sure everybody still wants to see that fight.”
Wilder, who has claimed 42 of his 43 victories by knockout, was the overwhelming favourite to beat Parker, but the New Zealander ripped up the script with a crushing victory.
Parker dominated Wilder, heavily regarded as one of the biggest punches the heavyweight division has ever seen, with a perfectly executed gameplan that left his American opponent bamboozled.
Parker was comfortably ahead on the scorecard heading into the eighth round where he delivered an overhand right and then a flurry of destructive punches as Wilder clung on.
Wilder was hurt and Parker went for the finish, but the Bronze Bomber, who last fought in October 2022 – a first-round knockout win over Robert Helenius – survived the round.
Parker landed another big left hand in the ninth, with Wilder looking increasingly vulnerable.
Parker remained composed in the 10th and 11th before a desperate Wilder came out swinging in the final round looking for the knockout blow required.
But Parker never looked in danger of losing against the former WBC champion as he sealed a huge upset, with the judges scoring the most one-sided of bouts, 118-111, 118-110, 120-108 in the 31-year-old’s favour. (P A Media/dpa/NAN)
The Portuguese Football Federation has reaffirmed its support for Cristiano Ronaldo’s continued involvement with the national team, with president Pedro Proença describing the veteran forward as an icon of Portuguese football.
Proença on PFF’sX handle on Monday, said Ronaldo remains an important part of the national team whenever he is fit and available.
He also defended Ronaldo’s place in the squad, insisting that his selection is justified by his performances.
Proença also addressed the reported disagreement between Ronaldo and Portugal coach Jorge Jesus, describing the situation as a misunderstanding that should be handled internally.
The federation president stressed that Ronaldo remains firmly connected to the national team, pointing to his role as captain in the first of Portugal’s four matches.
According to Proença, Ronaldo’s decision to continue representing Portugal reflects his strong attachment to the national team.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese icon and an exceptional player. He could have ended his career at the World Cup, but he didn’t because of his love for his national team,” he said.
Proença added that he has personally witnessed the relationship between Ronaldo, the Portuguese public and the national team.
With the four matches now completed, Proença believes there is an opportunity for Ronaldo and Jesus to resolve their differences.
Proença concluded by reiterating that Ronaldo remains part of Portugal’s football legacy and that his future with the national team remains open.
“Cristiano is part of our legacy, and he will always be here whenever the coach wants him,” he said.
As Lionel Messi prepares to get a hero’s farewell for his successful international career, Cristiano Ronaldo’s could have ended with him running down the tunnel at the final whistle of a game he did not play.
After the World Cup, Argentina’s Messi, 39, decided to retire from international football, while Ronaldo, 41, opted to play on for Portugal.
Yet there is the possibility that Messi’s Argentina career will end up lasting a few days longer – with a home friendly with Benin on Tuesday marked as his final game.
Ronaldo, furious at being made to warm up and not be brought on against Norway in the Nations League, walked out on the Portugal squad after finding out he would not start against Denmark either.
The Al-Nassr forward has scored 146 goals and won 234 caps for Portugal – both world records.
After such a high-profile falling-out with new boss Jorge Jesus, also a larger than life character who does not back down, Ronaldo is facing a big decision.
Jesus has insisted he would be welcome back if he wants to return and talks between Ronaldo, his representatives and the Portuguese FA are ongoing as they look for a solution.
While Ronaldo could not carry on playing forever, this is not how he would have expected his international career to end.
His fans are remaining loyal to him, with social media full of posts supporting Ronaldo and criticising Jesus, while on the other side some fans and a lot of Portugal’s media have been critical of what they see as selfish behaviour.
Ahead of Portugal’s next match against Denmark in November lies a big decision for one of the world’s greatest ever players.
It has all happened very quickly.
After the World Cup, Portugal replaced Roberto Martinez with Jesus, who had been Ronaldo’s boss with Al-Nassr last season.
Less than two weeks ago, Ronaldo said: “I had a conversation with our president, with our coach. I still believe that I’m able to help the national team to reach what they want.”
Things were still looking OK when he started in the 1-0 win over Wales.
Jesus told Ronaldo he would be on the bench for the next game against Norway. After being told to warm up for a period of the game, he remained an unused substitute in a Portugal game for the first time in 18 years.
Guillem Balague, who wrote a book about Ronaldo in 2015, said: “He gets asked to warm up for the whole of the second half, practically.
And as the final whistle went he went down the tunnel instead of going to the fans with his team-mates.
Jesus said there was no falling out but confirmed Ronaldo would not start the next game with Denmark either.
Portugal’s FA president Pedro Proenca flew to Copenhagen, landing at 02:30 in the morning, to try to smooth things over with Ronaldo but failed.
After beating Norway on Sunday in their final Nations League match – again without Ronaldo – Jesus said: “If he wants to, he’ll return to the national team. We can talk before the next call-up, but Cris is the one who’s going to decide.
On several billboards in Lisbon posters went up praising Ronaldo and criticising Jesus.
They read, in Portuguese: “Thank you Cristiano Ronaldo for everything you did for Portugal. You will always be our captain.
“Jorge Jesus was not up to the task. Lack of sensitivity. Treating a captain wrongly. Inflated ego.”
One was placed next to the Estadio da Luz, home of Benfica – who Jesus managed to three league titles.
At the Denmark game, some fans wore T-shirts spelling out ‘Love you Jesus’ while others were head-to-toe in Ronaldo merch.
Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund, incidentally, celebrated his goal with his idol Ronaldo’s trademark ‘siuuu’ something he has done previously when netting against Portugal.
Portugal’s newspapers had differing perspectives.
Meanwhile, videos were posted online of angry fans ripping up their Portugal jerseys.
Jesus and Proenca were booed leaving a building in Copenhagen.
But many foreign fans purely supported Portugal because of Ronaldo – so they do not necessarily represent the views of actual Portuguese supporters.
Portugal fan Maria Ribeiro, from Lisbon, said: “It is so hard for all us fans. We all love him but it is getting too much now. It is hard to imagine Portugal without Ronaldo but maybe this is the time. There is too much arguing between ourselves.”
Ronaldo’s search for a record 1,000 career goals remains on but will he have to finish that at club level in Saudi Arabia?
He has scored 979 times for Portugal, Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr.
While his old rival Messi scored eight goals, and assisted four more, to take Argentina to the summer World Cup final – Portugal fell at the last-16 stage.
Ronaldo’s former United team-mate Wayne Rooney added: “He is a genius, a superstar. What he has given to football and millions of people is something very rare.
In the last nine years of Ronaldo’s international career, Portugal’s win percentage without him is slightly better 64% to 63% and they have scored 2.7 goals a game without him compared to 2.1 with him.
The two biggest wins in their history – 9-0 over Luxembourg and 9-1 against Armenia – came in the last two qualifying matches that he missed, both through suspension.
Journalist Marcus Alves, who covers Portugal, said: “How much gratitude is enough? That’s a question that Portuguese fans have been asking for a few years now.
“Of Portugal’s last five coaches, Ronaldo had issues with four of them Carlos Queiroz, Paulo Bento, Fernando Santos and now Jesus. That’s too much of a distraction when Portugal has arguably their best generation ever.”
Former players of Bayelsa United on Wednesday donated a set of jerseys to the club to support their preparations for the 2026/27 Nigeria National League (NNL) season.
Presenting the jerseys to the club, leader of the players and former Chairman of Bayelsa United, Ebiki Timitimi, said the gesture was their little way of contributing to the club’s campaign in the NNL.
Timitimi said the former players remain committed to the growth and development of the club and appealed to critics to be constructive in their assessments.
“As ex-players of the club, we deemed it fit to support the team in our own little way.
We decided to give a set of jerseys to the club as they start their pre-season friendlies.“Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but we should criticise constructively by engaging the management to hear their side of the story before jumping to conclusions.
“Criticising them publicly without proper knowledge of the subject matter,” he added.
Receiving the jerseys on behalf of the Chairman, Peter Singabele and the Management Board, Godson Ekadi described the gesture as a significant show of solidarity from a key constituency of the club.
Ekadi said that the donation, the first major support from stakeholders ahead of the new season, will serve as a huge morale booster for the board, technical crew, and players.
“It is a wonderful statement that has been made today by the ex-players, because when you get support from your immediate constituency, it means that it’s going to be a wonderful season for us.
“Because this is the first gift we’re getting from stakeholders, and we’re calling on others to toe the line of the ex-players.
“It’s like our season has already started because of this gesture they have shown not only verbally, but also by giving a set of jerseys to the club,” he said.
He called on corporate organisations, stakeholders, and International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the state to emulate the ex-player
ASUSS Opposes NUT Strike in FCT, Urges Teachers to Ignore Stay-at-home Directive
ShareBy Laide Akinboade, Abuja The Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Chapter, has dissociated itself...
Edo Varsity Lecturer Dies after Sex Romp in Hotel
ShareA senior lecturer at the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma in Edo State, Dr. Matthew Uwuigbe, has died under mysterious circumstances...
Over 84 Per Cent Nigerians willing to Vote During 2027 Elections – Yiaga
ShareYiaga Africa said 84 per cent of Nigerians intend to vote during the 2027 general elections, urging political parties to...
PNC 2026: NCDMB, DMG Affirm Collaboration with Bayelsa, Unveil New Activities
ShareFrom Mike Tayese, Yenagoa As preparations intensify for the 2026 edition of the Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) Forum, slated for...
Tinubu’s $700 Billion Mineral Resources Deal With America at Whose Interest?
ShareBy Hajia Hadiza Mohammed For some time now the hottest issue of debate in the Nigeria media space has been...
Atiku’s Production Subsidy: Has politics overtaken economics?
ShareBy Kayode Oladele Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President of Nigeria and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, (ADC),...
2027: Governors’ Backing Boosts Tinubu’s Chances, says Presidency
ShareBy Tambaya Julius, Abuja The Presidency has said the growing number of governors backing President Bola Tinubu has strengthened his...
Security Operatives Rescue 20 Abducted NYSC Members in Imo
ShareBy Tambaya Julius, Abuja Security operatives have rescued 20 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) who were abducted...
Nigeria’s Oil Reforms will Unlock $50bn Deep Offshore Investments – Tinubu
SharePresident Bola Tinubu said recent reforms in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector are designed to unlock up to 50 billion...
Ododo Condoles Families of NAF Personnel, Armed Forces Over Ondo Crash
ShareFrom Joseph Amedu, Lokoja Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Ododo has commiserated with the families of the Nigerian Air Force personnel...