Tyson Fury's heavyweight unification clash with Oleksandr Usyk is off after talks between the pair collapsed, according to reports.
A fight date had been agreed for April 29 at Wembley Stadium with progress made in recent weeks after the pair had agreed to a 70-30 purse split in favour of Fury.
However, the two sides have since been unable to match up on other key details such as a rematch purse split, with Ukrainian fighter Usyk now said to have shut down his training camp.
"No matter how much Usyk compromised, he was pushed for more," Usyk's manager Egis Klimas said, according to reporter Steve Kim.
WBA president Gilberto Mendoza previously set a deadline of April 1 for the fight to be agreed, with the latest setback likely to scupper any chance of reaching an agreement before that date.
Usyk, who has the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles, now looks set to return in June or July in a mandatory defence against Daniel Dubois.
The 36-year-old was the undisputed champion at cruiserweight before moving up to heavyweight.
Back-to-back victories against Anthony Joshua in September 2021 and August 2022 saw him capture and retain the three belts.
Fury, who last fought Derek Chisora in December, holds the WBC heavyweight title. It is unclear who or when he will next fight.
The Briton had previously announced he would be entering a social media blackout as he began training camp for the Usyk fight.
He had made numerous demands in order to make the fight happen and suggested his opponent only warranted 30 per cent of the total fight purse.
Usyk had agreed to this proposal but also requested that Fury donate $1million to relief efforts in Ukraine.
The bout would have marked the first crowning of an undisputed heavyweight title in the four-belt era.
New Zealand would have been better off biding their time before announcing Ian Foster's replacement, according to former head coach Steve Hansen.
The All Blacks confirmed on Tuesday that Crusaders coach Scott Robertson will succeed Foster after this year's Rugby World Cup in France.
Robertson, who lost out to Foster on the position when Hansen stood down four years ago, has been handed a deal that will run through until after the next World Cup in 2027.
Foster revealed earlier this month he would not be reapplying for the job when his contract expires in November.
The 57-year-old questioned New Zealand Rugby (NZR)'s decision to find his successor while their tournament preparations are in full swing.
NZR said "significant competition for elite coaching talent" forced them to act now, but Hansen believes that decision may backfire.
"I think they got burned last time so they were worried about that," he told The Platform podcast. "What they didn't take into account was everybody had their coaching sorted.
"In my opinion, they would have been better to wait, but in their opinion they wanted to push the button and they've done that.
"They're in charge of New Zealand Rugby, so it's them that die and fall on these decisions.
"Just like coaches there's got to be repercussions if it doesn't work. If it does work, well they've been super."
Robertson played 23 Tests for New Zealand and has been praised for his work since moving into coaching, having won six successive Super Rugby titles with Crusaders.
That made Robertson an obvious contender to take over as the All Blacks' next head coach, but Hansen questioned NZR's handling of the situation.
"It doesn't come as a surprise because he's been offered the job. [Foster] fought back and maintained it [last year]. He was obviously the prime candidate," Hansen said.
"I don't know who else applied and they're not telling us, so I think [NZR's] leading us in the dark whether there was more than one candidate or not."
New Zealand, who are third in the rankings, begin their Rugby World Cup campaign against hosts France before facing Namibia, Italy and Uruguay.
Shohei Ohtani was described as a "unicorn to the sport" by United States manager Mark DeRosa after he led Japan to victory in the World Baseball Classic final.
Ohtani struck out Los Angeles Angels team-mate Mike Trout to seal a 3-2 victory in a thrilling conclusion in Miami on Tuesday.
Named the tournament's MVP, Ohtani ticked off a list of achievements during the game that had only ever previously been matched in an MLB or WBC game by the legendary Babe Ruth in October 1921.
The 28-year-old started in the batting lineup, drew a walk, got a hit, came on to pitch in relief, struck out a batter and was the finishing pitcher.
"What he's doing in the game is what probably 90 per cent of the guys in that clubhouse did in Little League or in youth tournaments, and he's able to pull it off on the biggest stages," DeRosa said.
"He is a unicorn to the sport. I think other guys will try it, but I don't think they're going to do it to his level.
"What blows me away on this stage is the fact that no moment is too big for him. He did not seem rattled by walking Jeff McNeil on a close pitch, not rattled that three MVPs were coming up to bat."
Ohtani himself was happy to accomplish one of his career goals by winning the tournament, and believed the victory over the USA was also proof that Japan can get the better of anyone.
"In my baseball life, [winning the World Baseball Classic was] one of the things that I wanted to achieve," Ohtani said. "Today I was able to achieve one of the goals.
"Of course, I happened to get the MVP, but this really proves that Japanese baseball can beat any team in the world."
The Los Angeles Clippers' hopes of a deep playoffs run may have suffered a major blow after Paul George exited their 101-100 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder with a leg injury.
George fell to the floor after his right knee collided with Luguentz Dort's knee in the air while attempting a rebound.
The eight-time All-Star got up with help and exited the game with 4:38 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said during his post-game press conference that George was still being evaluated and that he had not spoken to him.
ESPN reported George was spotted exiting the arena in the back of a cart with his right leg extended.
George scored 18 points with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals before exiting, with the loss seeing the Clippers fall to a 38-35 record in fifth in the West.
The 32-year-old is averaging 23.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game this season.
Team-mate Kawhi Leonard said the Clippers would take on a "next man up" mentality if George was unavailable for a significant period.
"Next man up, but we'll see," Leonard told reporters. "We've got a group of guys that still want to win and like to play basketball. We'll see happens."
The Carolina Hurricanes secured their first back-to-back 100-point seasons in franchise history on Tuesday as they scored three in the third period to defeat the New York Rangers 3-2 on the road.
With the victory, the Hurricanes improved their record to 46-15-8 – trailing only the 54-11-5 Boston Bruins for the league's top mark – and 69 games is the fewest needed to reach 100 points in franchise history.
Adding to their historic night, Carolina set another franchise record with their 10th third-period comeback of the season.
Despite the action-packed finish, it was a defensive grind through two periods as an early goal from New York's Tyler Motte was the only score heading into the last.
Jalen Chatfield equalised nine minutes into the third period, but Kaapo Kakko put the Rangers back in front 2-1 just 31 seconds later.
The hectic scoring sequence was not over, as Stefan Noesen made it 2-2 only 18 seconds after the restart, setting up Teuvo Teravainen for the Hurricanes' winner with 2:33 remaining.
Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour said he was inspired by the way his team refused to drop their heads after going down.
"I thought it was a great effort, right from the start," he told reporters. "We didn't come off of it. We had a game plan and the guys knew what we needed to do.
"They've got a high-offense team, so we were trying to limit their chances. Everybody – all 20 guys – contributed in this win.
"Even though it wasn't looking good for most of the game, we were down, then we tied it up and they got another right away, I just loved the way we [shook it off], next shift.
"It was great to tie it up and then get the late one. We got what we deserved tonight, for sure."
Offseason acquisition Brent Burns also got in on the history-making fun, adding to his franchise record for points by a defenseman (53) with the game-winning assist, and he pointed to Brind'Amour's system as the catalyst for his terrific year.
"The system has been great," he said. "We play with a deep team and we just roll. It's been a lot of fun.
"I've said it before, but it's a great group, and a special group. It's been a lot of fun to try and come in and find a place."
Chatfield pointed to how previous comebacks have given the Hurricanes "more confidence" when faced with difficult situations, and they trust what they are doing as a unit.
"We know what we've got in this locker room, and we know how we want to play every night," he said.
"To be able to match up against these guys, another great team, [is great]. We lost the first two to them, so to be able to get this one feels nice. We just have to keep going from there."
Donovan Mitchell says his dunk on Brooklyn Nets wing Yuta Watanabe is up there with his best, and that it also sparked the Cleveland Cavaliers in their 115-109 win on Tuesday.
Mitchell, who finished with 31 points on 10-of-22 shooting and five rebounds, slammed over Watanabe early in the fourth quarter as the Cavs looked to repel the Nets' rally.
The Cavs were up 96-80 with 10:55 remaining when Mitchell received the ball on a fast break from Caris LeVert, taking four steps before dunking over Watanabe who contested the attempt.
"Everyone's reaction was like 'that's your best one'," Mitchell told reporters after the game.
"It's up there. I don’t know if it's my best one, but it's definitely up there."
In a moment of celebration, Mitchell was caught out of position, allowing Mikal Bridges to score down the other end, before glancing up to the Barclays Center screens for a replay.
"I was trying to see it but I forgot we're on the road," Mitchell said. "They’re definitely not going to show it.
"First time I saw it was when we went back in the locker room. It was not bad."
The poster dunk sent social media into a frenzy but it also "sparked" the Cavs according to Mitchell, pulling ahead to a 22-point lead which put the game to bed.
"It really sparked us," he said. "It gave us a little bit of a boost. Those are defining plays. Different plays for different moments to continue to push us going forward.
"It's not like I go into a game thinking 'alright, I'm going to try get a dunk on somebody', but sometimes that's what's needed.
"I felt good enough to try get up there and dunk it. I figured I'd try use my body and finish. It worked out."
The result saw the Cavs firm up their grip on the four seed in the East with a 46-28 record ahead of the 42-31 New York Knicks, while the Nets are sixth at 39-33.
In a clash between two of the seven best records in the NBA, the Boston Celtics produced an impressive 132-109 road blow-out win against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.
It was shaping up as a shoot-out as both teams started red hot from three-point range, but the Kings could not keep up as the Celtics scored at least 30 points in all four quarters.
Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston with a game-high 36 points on 14-of-25 shooting, adding eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. His All-Star co-pilot Jaylen Brown chipped in an efficient 27 points (10-of-16 shooting) with five rebounds and four assists.
Kings All-Star Domantas Sabonis put together his 12th triple-double of the season with 16 points (seven-of-12), 13 rebounds and 12 assists, although his six turnovers were costly.
The win improved the Celtics' record to 50-23, becoming the second team in the league to reach 50 wins this season, while their 24-14 mark on the road is bettered only by the Philadelphia 76ers (22-12).
Sacramento are still sitting pretty at 43-28, holding a five-game buffer in the Western Conference's third seed.
Mitchell poster highlights Cavs victory
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell threw down arguably his biggest dunk of the season to put an exclamation point on a 115-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Mitchell ended up with a game-high 31 points on 10-of-22 shooting, including five-of-nine from three-point range, highlighted by a monstrous fast-break poster jam over Yuta Watanabe as both leapt off two feet and met chest-to-chest.
After missing 10 days due to an eye injury, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen looked right back to his best with 12 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks, with eight of his rebounds coming on the offensive end.
The victory improves Cleveland's record to 46-28, and while they have been a disappointing 17-20 on the road, they have now won four of their past five away from home.
Top pick Banchero flirts with first triple-double
Orlando Magic top draft pick and overwhelming Rookie of the Year favourite Paolo Banchero nearly posted the first triple-double of his career in a 122-112 home win against the Washington Wizards.
The 20-year-old finished with 18 points (six-of-nine shooting), nine rebounds and eight assists for his second close call of the month. It comes 10 days after he put up 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in an overtime win against the Miami Heat.
Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 30 points (12-of-22 shooting), six rebounds, three assists and two blocks, continuing what has been arguably the best season of his eight-year NBA career.
In a clash between two of the seven best records in the NBA, the Boston Celtics produced an impressive 132-109 road blowout against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday.
It was shaping up as a shootout as both teams started red-hot from three-point range, but the Kings could not keep up as the Celtics scored at least 30 points in all four quarters.
Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston with a game-high 36 points on 14-of-25 shooting, adding eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. His All-Star co-pilot Jaylen Brown chipped in an efficient 27 points (10-of-16 shooting) with five rebounds and four assists.
Kings All-Star Domantas Sabonis put together his 12th triple-double of the season with 16 points (seven-of-12), 13 rebounds and 12 assists, although his six turnovers were costly.
The win improves the Celtics' record to 50-23, becoming the second team in the league to reach 50 wins this season, while their 24-14 mark on the road is bettered only by the Philadelphia 76ers (22-12).
Sacramento are still sitting pretty at 43-28, holding a five-game buffer in the Western Conference's third seed.
Mitchell poster highlights Cavs victory
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell threw down arguably his biggest dunk of the season to put an exclamation point on a 115-109 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Mitchell ended up with a game-high 31 points on 10-of-22 shooting, including five-of-nine from three-point range, highlighted by a monstrous fast-break poster jam over Yuta Watanabe as both leapt off two feet and met chest-to-chest.
After missing 10 days due to an eye injury, Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen looked right back to his best with 12 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks, with eight of his rebounds coming on the offensive end.
The victory improves Cleveland's record to 46-28, and while they have been a disappointing 17-20 on the road, they have now won four of their past five away from home.
Top pick Banchero flirts with first triple-double
Orlando Magic top draft pick and overwhelming Rookie of the Year favourite Paolo Banchero nearly posted the first triple-double of his career in a 122-112 home win against the Washington Wizards.
The 20-year-old finished with 18 points (six-of-nine shooting), nine rebounds and eight assists for his second close call of the month. It comes 10 days after he put up 17 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in an overtime win against the Miami Heat.
Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 30 points (12-of-22 shooting), six rebounds, three assists and two blocks, continuing what has been arguably the best season of his eight-year NBA career.
Japan superstar Shohei Ohtani struck out Los Angeles Angels team-mate Mike Trout to end a 3-2 victory over the United States in a thrilling conclusion to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) on Tuesday.
The two pre-tournament favourites ended up meeting in the final, and almost like the script of a sports movie, fans were gifted the most anticipated matchup in baseball for the last out of the game.
It was the United States striking first, with Trea Turner continuing his remarkable tournament with a solo home run in the second inning. With it, he broke the US record for most home runs in a single WBC (five) and the most RBIs (11).
But their lead was short-lived, as 23-year-old Japan slugger Munetaka Murakami crushed a 432-foot bomb to tie the game with the first pitch in the bottom of the second frame.
With the final being played in Miami, the visiting team jumped ahead 2-1 later in the second through a Lars Nootbar RBI ground-out with bases loaded.
That score would hold until a solo home run from Kazuma Okamoto in the fourth inning to put Japan up 3-1, and while the United States finished with nearly double the amount of hits (nine against five), they failed to string them together and score.
The game was injected with life in the eighth inning as Kyle Schwarber put together a 10-pitch at-bat against Texas Rangers star Yu Darvish – including five foul balls in a row – before blasting a 436-foot homer to cut the lead to one.
All-Star Devin Williams pitched a clean eighth inning for the United States to reach the ninth with the scores still at 3-2, when Ohtani was sent out to close the show.
After a Jeff McNeil walk to open the inning, Ohtani got Mookie Betts to ground into a double-play, putting Japan one out away from securing their third WBC title.
The only thing standing in his way was Trout, and with the entire stadium on their feet – with a full count – Ohtani struck out the three-time AL MVP to collect the save.
Japan are the only team with more than one WBC crown, denying the United States a chance to tie them with two each, while the Dominican Republic also has one.
The Minnesota Timberwolves could receive a massive boost for their Wednesday clash against the Atlanta Hawks with Karl-Anthony Towns upgraded to questionable.
Towns, who earned his second All-NBA selection this past season, was averaging 20.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and a career-high 5.3 assists per game before suffering a calf strain on November 28.
Nearly four months have passed since he last suited up for the Timberwolves, and with co-star Anthony Edwards also currently out injured, Minnesota's playoff chances appeared to be hanging by a thread.
Sitting eighth in the Western Conference at 36-37, the Wolves are only one game behind the six-seeded Golden State Warriors (37-36), but are also only a half-game clear of the 11th-ranked Los Angeles Lakers in a tightly bunched play-in tournament race in the West.
But Minnesota are preparing for some reinforcements to arrive for their final nine games of the regular season, with Towns being upgraded to questionable for the first time since his injury. The team sent down backup center Luka Garza to the G League in a further indication that they are expecting their star back in action.
Edwards is also listed as questionable, likely indicating that they will return to the line-up if they successfully make it through their warm-ups without any incident.
If they cannot get up for Wednesday's game, they will have a few more days to prepare for Sunday's road trip to take on the Golden State Warriors.
The Wolves have gone 26-26 in the 52 games that Towns has missed this season.
Camila Giorgi progressed into the Miami Open second round despite blowing a 5-0 third-set lead as she edged past veteran Kaia Kanepi in the equal-longest main draw match of the year on Tuesday.
The Italian world number 44, who won February's Merida Open, outlasted the Estonian 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) in three hours and 32 minutes.
The length was equal to the Erika Andreeva-Harriet Dart first-round match at the ATX Open last month for the longest this WTA season.
But Giorgi could have had an earlier finish, leading 5-0 in the decider before Kanepi hit back by winning the next five games, only for the Italian to rally in the tie-break, converting her fourth match point.
Giorgi, who blew match points at 5-3 and 5-4, will take on three-time Miami Open winner and 2023 Australian Open semi-finalist Victoria Azarenka in the second round.
Russian 34-year-old Evgeniya Rodina produced the upset of the day's play, beating 37th-ranked Bernarda Pera 6-3 6-4 in 73 minutes and will take on 20th seed Magda Linette in the second round.
Rodina is currently ranked 369th in the world having returned to the WTA Tour midway through last season after a two-year absence, having reached a career-high 67th in May 2019.
World number 39 Elise Mertens eased into the second round with a 6-1 6-4 win over USA's Alycia Parks, setting up a second-round clash with eighth seed Daria Kasatkina.
World number 43 Yulia Putintseva bowed out prematurely, going down 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 to Canada's Rebecca Marino, who advanced to face sixth seed Coco Gauff.
Teenager Linda Fruhvirtova, ranked 50th in the world, also suffered a shock loss, beaten 6-2 4-6 6-4 by 172nd-ranked Canadian qualifier Katherine Sebov, while Laura Siegemund won 6-3 6-4 over 52nd-ranked Mayar Sherif
Katerina Siniakova withdrew due to injury despite winning the first set against USA's Claire Liu, with scores at 6-3 3-3. Liu's prize is a second-round meeting with top seed and reigning champion Iga Swiatek.
Memphis Grizzlies franchise player Ja Morant faced the media on Tuesday to discuss what he had learned from his eight-game suspension.
Morant, 23, has missed nine games since showing off a gun while intoxicated on an Instagram live video in the early hours of the morning in a Colorado nightclub.
A league investigation found him guilty of bringing the league into disrepute and "holding a firearm in an intoxicated state", but did not find any evidence that the gun belonged to him, or that he took it on the team plane or any NBA facilities.
After serving an eight-game suspension from the NBA, Morant missed his ninth in a row on Monday as he worked his way back into playing shape, and he is expected to return on Wednesday at home against the Houston Rockets.
Speaking to the media about his time away from the team, where he spent 11 days at a Florida counselling facility, Morant stated he has no problem with alcohol and has been focusing on positive ways to deal with stress.
"Obviously, I took that time to better myself, get in a better space mentally," he said. "It's an ongoing process, a continued process for me.
"I've been there for two weeks, but that doesn't mean I'm completely better. So that's an ongoing process for me that I've still been continuing since I've come out.
"Obviously, I've made mistakes in the past that caused a lot of negative attention – not only to me, but my family as well, my team, the organisation – and I'm completely sorry for that.
"So my job now is, like I said, to be more responsible, more smart, and don't cause any of that no more.
"I don't have an alcohol problem, never had an alcohol problem. I went [to Florida] for counselling to learn how to manage stress, cope with stress in a positive way instead of ways I've tried to deal with it before that caused me to make mistakes."
When asked if he planned to dial back his nightlife activities, Morant said "clubbing and all is not on my mind at all right now".
"Right now for me, it's just keeping the main thing, the main thing, and continuing to go through my process of becoming a better me," he said. "I feel like if I do that, not only will it help me, but it'll help everybody around me as well."
While he received a raucous ovation from the home fans in Memphis when he returned to the bench on Monday, Morant admitted he is "uncomfortable" with how crowds may react to him.
"It's a lot, man," he said. "A lot of people don't know what's going on – not in my shoes right now with everything that's been going on as of late. Obviously, I take responsibility for decisions I've made that pretty much hurt me to the core.
"Like I said, it not only affected me, but it affected everyone around me… and caused me not to be out there on the floor. Which, one thing I love to do the most is play basketball.
"So it's a lot, but like I said before, it's an ongoing process with everything I've been doing the past two weeks, and I'm going to continue to do that to get through everything I need to be healthy."
Legendary New York Knicks Hall of Famer Willis Reed, who was part of one of the most memorable moments in NBA history, died on Tuesday at the age of 80.
Reed played his entire 10-year NBA career with the New York Knicks, winning championships in 1970 and 1973 while being named MVP in both of those Finals.
He is most famous for surprisingly playing in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers after sitting out Game 6 due to a thigh injury.
After not joining his team-mates on the court during pregame warm-ups, Reed emerged from the tunnel at Madison Square Garden and received a rousing ovation from the fans.
Reed started the game and hit his first two shots, and while those were the only points he scored, the captain of the Knicks inspired his team to a 113-99 win that secured the franchise's first title.
"Willis Reed was the ultimate team player and consummate leader," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.
"My earliest and fondest memories of NBA basketball are of watching Willis, who embodied the winning spirit that defined the New York Knicks' championship teams in the early 1970s.
"He played the game with remarkable passion and determination, and his inspiring comeback in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals remains one of the most iconic moments in all of sports."
Reed was the NBA regular-season MVP in 1969-70, earned seven All-Star selections and was named to the 50th and 75th NBA anniversary teams.
The first pick of the second round (eighth overall) in the 1964 NBA Draft and 1964-65 NBA Rookie of the Year, Reed averaged 18.7 points and 12.9 rebounds over 650 regular-season games before retiring after the 1973-74 season.
Reed became head coach of the Knicks in the 1977-78 campaign and led them to the playoffs before only lasting 14 games the next season. He coached Creighton University from 1981-85 and took over the New Jersey Nets in March 1988 before coaching them in 1988-89.
That marked Reed's final season as a coach before moving to the Nets' front office.
Prior to the NBA, Reed helped Grambling State win the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) championship in 1961 and averaged 26.6 points and 21.3 rebounds during his senior season.
He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982 and was a member of the founding class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
Iona did not take long to replace departed Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, turning to the breakout star of the NCAA Tournament.
Tobin Anderson has been rewarded for leading 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson into the second round with one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.
FDU defeated Purdue, who had won the Big Ten regular season title and the Big Ten Tournament, in what Anderson described as "one of the most unbelievable stories of all".
Anderson had garnered attention even before that first-round game, telling the Knights after a play-in win: "The more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them. Let's go shock the world."
He and FDU delivered on that, although their run ended in the second round against Florida Atlantic, losing 78-70.
And that was the end of the road for Anderson at Fairleigh Dickinson as his appointment at Iona was confirmed on Tuesday.
The Gaels moved swiftly to name a new coach after Pitino left for St. John's this week.
"We are very excited to introduce Tobin Anderson as Iona University's men's basketball head coach," said Iona director of athletics Matthew Glovaski.
"We have long known him to be a fantastic coach and an even better person. Now, with his team's impressive run in the NCAA tournament, everyone paying attention to March Madness also knows this.
"We're delighted that he will be at the helm of our men's basketball programme."
Tyson Fury will have to train "extra hard" if a unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk is set for April 29, his trainer SugarHill Steward admitted.
The two heavyweight champions have been exchanging barbs on social media in the push to secure a fight, which would see the crowning of first unified champion in the heavyweight division since 2000.
While it is widely reported that talks are progressing and terms are agreed, the fight is still yet to be officially announced – despite Fury saying publicly he wants to return to the ring next month.
That would result in a quick turnaround for the 34-year-old, who last fought in April 2022 against Dillian Whyte, but Steward is confident in the abilities of the Gypsy King.
"If that's what they agree on and that's what he wants to do, if he feels he can get ready for April 29 and fight Usyk then he'll just have to train extra hard for that," he told Sky Sports.
"It's a short bit of time, but I believe Tyson has the ability and the physical attributes to handle the situation."
Should the bout go ahead, Fury's plan, as always, will be to go for the knockout, Steward added: "The game plan is always a knockout.
"It's setting it up, using certain punches, certain movements to make your opponent move into that knockout punch.
"Good jabs set up knockouts. Every fight is adjustments and watching what your opponent does and making adjustments.
"It's not just one game plan ever. It's seven, eight, nine, 10, 11, 12, 13. We're only doing 12 rounds, but you've got an extra one in the bag always."
Former New England Patriots linebacker D'Onta Hightower has retired from the NFL.
A first-round pick in the 2012 draft out of Alabama, Hightower spent his entire career with the Patriots, playing a pivotal role in three Super Bowl championships.
After helping the Patriots defeat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX at the end of the 2014 season, bringing down Marshawn Lynch short of the endzone on the play prior to Malcolm Butler's game-winning interception, Hightower made a key contribution in their remarkable comeback against the Atlanta Falcons two years later.
His strip sack of Matt Ryan in the fourth quarter gave the Patriots the ball deep in Falcons' territory, allowing New England to cut it to a one-score game as they incredibly fought back from 28-3 down to prevail in Super Bowl LI.
Hightower also capped the 2018 season with a title, the Patriots' defense holding the Los Angeles Rams to a field goal in a 13-3 success in Super Bowl LIII having lost a thriller to the Philadelphia Eagles a year earlier.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Hightower did not play in the 2022 season after his contract expired.
Hightower wrote in an article for the Players' Tribune: "Today, I am officially retiring from the NFL. I know these announcements always feel bittersweet, but I can't think of a better story than the one I wrote in New England. A decade, three Super Bowls, two Pro Bowls, and the birth of my son — all playing for one franchise. How many guys have a story like that?
"So this is a happy day for me, and I just wanted to let you all know how much I appreciate you embracing a Southern kid from Lewisburg, Tennessee.
"I appreciate everyone who helped me make this dream come true. But I especially want to thank my mom. None of this happens without her. Now that I got my own 40-pound two-year-old running around the house like a little wrecking ball, I don’t know how you held it down for us all by yourself.
"I just want to say thank you for helping me live my dream.
"To you, to my beautiful wife, Morgan, to all my coaches, my team-mates, my mentors, my teachers, my friends, my entire family, and to all the fans at Bama and New England....
"Thank you. Just, thank you. I wouldn’t rewrite a single chapter of this story."
There is a common saying that you’re not a true champion until you defend your title.
Well, if that’s the case, Leon "Rocky" Edwards can now officially call himself a UFC champion.
The 31-year-old Kingston-born British fighter, now 21-3 (1) in MMA, successfully defended his UFC Welterweight title with a majority decision win over Nigerian former Welterweight champion Kamaru Usman at UFC 286 at the O2 Arena in London over the weekend.
It was Edwards’ second straight win over Usman, who, before their last fight, was on a 19-fight win streak. That streak included a unanimous decision victory over Edwards back in 2015.
With that being said, their chapter appears to be closed with the question now being: who is next for Leon Edwards?
One good thing about being a UFC champion is that there’s never a shortage of opponents to choose from. In some cases, fighters even get to select who they want to defend their title against, no matter how deserving they truly are of that shot.
Edwards made his attempt at this when, in his post-fight press conference, he called out veteran Jorge Masvidal (35-16) who Edwards had a viral run-in with back in 2019.
On that fateful night, interestingly at the same venue where Edwards defended his title, Masvidal, after knocking out British Welterweight Darren Till in the second round of their main event, was giving an interview backstage after the fight.
Edwards, who was also victorious on the night after securing a split decision win over Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson, made some comments while walking past Masvidal during interview before telling the Miami native to “shut up.”
Masvidal then made his way over to Edwards and the two got into an altercation, with the former landing several unanswered punches to Edwards, who declined to press charges.
Two years later, the pair were scheduled to fight, officially this time, at UFC 269 in Las Vegas before Masvidal pulled out and the bout was scrapped.
Since the incident, their careers have gone on two different paths. Edwards just defended his title and has won four of five fights, with one no contest, while Masvidal is 2-3 in his last five fights, including three straight losses. Two of those came against Usman while his last came against Colby Covington, the man who UFC President Dana White has said is next for Edwards.
Masvidal is currently ninth in the UFC Welterweight rankings and will need to beat number five-ranked Brazilian Gilbert Burns at UFC 287 next month for the UFC to even consider booking him against Edwards for the Welterweight belt.
Another contender for Edwards’ next fight is the aforementioned Colby Covington. Covington, 35, is a former Interim UFC Welterweight champion and is currently the number two-ranked Welterweight contender.
He is 2-2 in his last four fights with both losses coming in title fights against Usman. Covington, 17-3 in MMA, also weighed in as the back-up fighter for Saturday’s title fight between Edwards and Usman, signaling that he may be next in line for a title shot.
The other two main contenders are Khamzat Chimaev and Belal Muhammad.
Chimaev, ranked number three, is a Swedish wrecking ball who is currently 12-0 that could be fast-tracked to a title fight despite having only one win against a ranked fighter in the UFC. Him versus Edwards is unlikely as he is currently contemplating a move up to middleweight.
Muhammad, 22-3 in MMA, could very well have the best argument for a fight with Edwards based on merit. The 34-year-old is ranked number four and is currently on a nine-fight unbeaten streak including eight wins and one no contest.
Remember the no contest for Edwards? It came against Muhammad when they fought in a UFC Fight Night main event back in March 2021.
Edwards accidentally poked Muhammad in the eye in the second round leaving the latter unable to continue. It was determined that the poke was accidental by the referee, meaning, instead of a Muhammad win by disqualification, it was ruled a no contest. Perhaps those two could run it back with the belt on the line.
In the end, whether it’s Edwards vs Masvidal, Edwards vs Covington, Edwards vs Chimaev or Edwards vs Muhammad 2, we will all be watching.
Antoine Davis claims there was a concerted effort to block him from breaking 'Pistol' Pete Maravich's NCAA points record after the Detroit Mercy Titans were not invited to the College Basketball Invitational.
The 24-year-old Davis finished his college career with 3,664 points, three behind Maravich's total, which was the precursor for a five-time NBA All-Star career.
Maravich scored his points in 83 games over three years for LSU at an average of 44.2 points, while Davis reached his total in 144 games across five seasons, averaging 25.4 points.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Davis spoke of feeling "upset" and "cheated" out of a possible moment of history.
Detroit Mercy's 14-19 record meant they were counted out of the reckoning for the CBI, despite initial interest from organisers.
Davis responded angrily to Twitter user @801bracketology, who posted: "I'm sorry WHAT? Antoine Davis feels he got 'cheated' out of the scoring record AND that the CBI is selfish for not inviting a 14-19 Detroit Mercy team?? Are you joking??"
In a retort to that comment, Davis suggested there had been pressure put on CBI organisers to exclude Detroit Mercy and deny him an opportunity to go past Maravich.
Davis posted: "I said they cheated me and 5 other seniors from playing post season play cause people like you are sending emails to the CBI telling them not to invite us so he can't break it. You don't know what you're talking about weirdo.
"So you should just shut up cause you don't know what's going on or why I said it."
Rick Giles, president of CBI organiser the Gazelle Group, last week told the Detroit News there had been consideration given to handing the Titans a place.
Talks took place, and Giles said: "After just weighing all the different factors, we just decided that we would move forward with the teams that we had. It was a number of things. It wasn't one single thing.
"It didn't turn on us wanting to facilitate him breaking the record or not, being for or against that. It was just weighing everything out. It was interesting."
Davis, who will hope to make his way in the professional game, also said last week: "My career can't and won't be taken away from me. If people were in my shoes, they would feel the same way. It's weird how people are moving about this."
Mike Davis, Antoine's father and head coach, said earlier this month: "People would have put an asterisk by his name if he would've broken [the record].
"Pistol Pete was in a world of his own, and there will never be another Pistol Pete in college basketball.
"I think there will never be another Antoine, the way he scored in 144 consecutive games."
MLB Opening Day is still over a week away but several of baseball's biggest names will be in action on Tuesday – and Shohei Ohtani cannot wait.
The final of the World Baseball Classic will pit Ohtani's Japan against the might of defending champions the United States.
With Ohtani planning to hit and pitch in relief as he ramps up his preparations for the new season, all eyes will be on his potential matchup with Los Angeles Angels team-mate Mike Trout, the Team USA captain.
"It's not only Mike Trout, but one through nine in that order is filled with superstars, household names," Ohtani said.
"I'm just excited to face that lineup. It's a great thing for Japanese baseball."
Ohtani was speaking after Japan's dramatic 6-5 comeback win over Mexico that booked their spot in the final.
In an apparent nod to the Angels' eight-year absence from the MLB playoffs – spanning his entire career – Ohtani said: "It's been a while since I've played in a win-or-lose game, in a playoff atmosphere."
Munetaka Murakami, a Japanese Triple Crown winner last year, clinched Japan's victory with a walk-off double at the bottom of the ninth.
"It was the best, epic," said Boston Red Sox outfielder Masataka Yoshida, while Mexico manager Benji Gil graciously added: "Japan advances, but the world of baseball won tonight."
That is still not enough for Ohtani, though, as the two-way superstar said: "Obviously, it's a big accomplishment to get to the championship series.
"But there's a big difference from being in first and second, so I'm going to do all I can to get that first place."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
