List of All Articles with Tag 'eppersons'

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino said he was disappointed just to take a point from his opening match in charge after his side came from behind to...

Anthony Joshua is confident a potential fight with Deontay Wilder will happen soon and insists he continues to carry the heavyweight division. Joshua claimed the 26th victory of his professional career on Saturday with a thunderous seventh-round stoppage of last-minute opponent Robert Helenius at London’s O2 Arena. While it was a spectacular finish, Joshua faced boos during the third round before jeers returned by the halfway mark following another pedestrian round. The sold-out crowd were up on their feet after one minute and 27 seconds of round seven, but this contest was always a stepping stone to an eagerly-anticipated clash with ex-WBC belt-holder Wilder. I don't feel pressure any more. Remember I am not a heavyweight champion, I leave that to the other guys. I am just a contender trying to make my way. Anthony Joshua Discussions between the camps of Joshua and Wilder continue to take place with Saudi Arabia’s promotional company Skills Challenge looking to host the bout between former champions in January or February. “Any time is a good time to fight. It could have been Wilder eight years ago or Wilder now. It don’t matter,” Joshua insisted. “It is only a fight and boxing wins so roll on really. There is no worry to me when it is. “I am just happy we can get the fight going and I think people appreciate that I am doing my best to keep heavyweight boxing on the map. “Yeah, we’re carrying heavyweight boxing. I have believed that for years I have played my part in bringing entertainment to heavyweight boxing. “That is why you are asking about the Wilder fight. I am not comparing what it could have been, I’m just happy that we’re getting this fight under way potentially soon because it does great for boxing I think. “We’ll look back in years to come and think, ‘look at that era, that guy fought everyone,’ and that’s what is important. Not protecting you zero. It is about fighting the best and giving your best.” There is no guessing who Joshua’s final sentence was aimed at with fellow Briton Tyson Fury set to take on UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Riyadh on October 28. Joshua would have celebrated a decade in the pro ranks that month and despite not holding any belts for nearly two years, he is confident his team can strike a deal with Wilder’s camp. He said: “I don’t feel pressure any more. Remember I am not a heavyweight champion, I leave that to the other guys. I am just a contender trying to make my way. “It is not easy to get these fights over the line, he (Wilder) didn’t fight Andy Ruiz Jr. It is not easy to get these fights over but I have got full trust in my team. “They’ve taken me a long way to become unified two-time heavyweight champion of the world. We collected belt after belt. Four of the five major belts. IBO, IBF, WBO, WBA. “We collected all them belts, defended them multiply times, done great business, stadium fights, fought in American, Saudi. “My team are amazing so I put all my faith in them to deliver. We’ve just got to hope the other team play ball.” Joshua was quick to credit trainer Derrick James for his first knock-out victory in three years. In only their second fight together and after dealing with Dillian Whyte’s late withdrawal, James reiterated to his tutelage to keep “shooting the right” and it helped to produce the money shot before midnight in England’s capital. While frustration had started to grow over Joshua failing to consistently engage with Helenius, who had suffered a vicious first-round loss to Wilder in New York last October, the Finchley boxer was comfortable with his tactics. He questioned: “Are they booing me or booing Helenius? That is the question. “I think they don’t understand it is competitive boxing. We are trying to shut each others passes down. “It is a game of chest. When you are playing, it is the most interesting and thinking man’s sport but from the outside chest is a boring game. “Why am I going to go in there and trade from round one? “We are building confidence in myself, which is important and I have confidence in my team. “It was a late replacement and Helenius’ reputation was damaged due to the fact he was knocked out in a round, but he’s a very good operator. “He was presenting certain obstacles for me to get over and Derrick guided me to that knock-out. “I am just happy to get the win because I always know after one win it can lead onto something spectacular and I believe we’re onto something big.” Read More Anthony Joshua eyes Deontay Wilder fight after Helenius knock out Conor McGregor calls out KSI for bare-knuckle fight after Anthony Joshua wins by KO Anthony Joshua takes swig of Conor McGregor’s Irish stout after Helenius knockout Anthony Joshua shares ringside footage of brutal Robert Helenius knockout Joshua vs Helenius LIVE: Boxing result and reaction after brutal KO Anthony Joshua is back and reveals defiant edge needed to take down Deontay Wilder

Manchester City showed why they remain the team to beat on the Premier League's return this weekend as the English champions cruised to...

Mauricio Pochettino’s return to the Premier League didn’t start with a win, but there was plenty to like for the Argentine manager in his first game in charge of Chelsea

Tottenham has started life without Harry Kane with an entertaining 2-2 draw at Brentford in the Premier League with new manager Ange Postecoglou praising the team’s resilience after a trying week

Liverpool's best and worst players in their 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.

American Lilia Vu sealed her second major title of the year with a dominant six-shot victory over Charley Hull at the...

College football rankings of all 10 FBS conferences for the 2023 season.We are just under two weeks away from the start of college football.The 2023 college football season figures to be one of the most exciting in recent memory. Hanging over all of it, though, is the specter of conference r...

American golfer Lilia Vu has won the Women’s British Open to claim her second major title of 2023

Ange Postecoglou promised Tottenham would improve and praised the resilience of his squad for not allowing Harry Kane’s departure to distract them after they battled to a 2-2 Premier League draw at Brentford. Kane’s exit to Bayern Munich – coupled with four full debutants being used in their season opener – contributed to the start of a new dawn at Spurs and along with hosts Brentford, they produced an entertaining affair in west London. Cristian Romero headed Tottenham in front after 11 minutes before quick-fire efforts from Bees forwards Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa turned around this season opener, but James Maddison – wearing the 10 shirt in Kane’s absence – set up Emerson Royal to level matters on the stroke of half-time. It stayed 2-2 despite the visitors having 69 per cent possession and 18 shots, which pleased Postecoglou to an extent but the Australian was also aware they must get better in the final third, especially following the £100million sale of their record goal-scorer. “Football clubs move on pretty quickly,” Postecoglou reflected when asked if he had discussed Kane’s departure with the squad. “I haven’t needed to address it, I haven’t needed to give them a warm fuzzy cuddle just to see how they are. We had a game to prepare for and they knew that. “I think that was the important thing for us. If it felt like we were distracted, I was distracted or anyone else, I think you would have seen evidence of it today, particularly after that first half and the way it went. “We showed a real resilience that we’re going to need because it’s going to be a challenging year for sure. “It was a good starting point for us today, but we need to improve and we have to improve and we will. “I think that 2-1 down, having conceded a penalty and an own goal, it would have been very easy for us to drop our heads but I never sensed that in the group.” After Romero had combined with fellow vice-captain Maddison to open the scoring, he was forced off following an earlier clash of heads with Mbeumo. The Argentina international wanted to stay on, but Postecoglou had no doubt over the substitution, although was critical over how a pedantic minor error by Spurs’ backroom staff penalised them when it came to further substitutes. Postecoglou added: “They were pretty sure we needed – for his own benefit – to get him off and obviously what we know about head injuries, for me it is not even an issue. We will always err on the side of caution. “Disappointed that we apparently filled out the wrong slip and it was not a concussion sub. “In this day and age, where what we know about head injuries, if we are going to worry about what form we fill out, I thought it was pretty clear what happened – but hopefully he’ll be OK.” Despite no longer having Kane to call on and with other experienced members of the squad in Hugo Lloris and Eric Dier not involved, Postecoglou was happy to give the away fans reasons for optimism. “I thought our supporters were outstanding today,” he said. “It is fair to say we have put them through a fair bit this pre-season and all we can try and do is give them some hope and belief. “Hopefully they leave the ground, maybe disappointed we weren’t able to get the win, but at least seeing the players are fully committed to us trying to be a football team that makes an impact.” While a lot of the pre-match focus centred on Tottenham being without Kane, Brentford are missing last season’s top goal-scorer Ivan Toney until January due to his ban for repeated betting breaches. Bees boss Thomas Frank maintained there was no need for them to sign a new forward and was pleased to be validated in their opening fixture with Mbeumo and Wissa on target. He said: “There have been quite a few questions from you guys at the end of last season and the start of this about ‘will we buy a striker?’ And I’ve said no, no, no, no and no because we believe the forward players we have will provide enough goals. “Bryan and Wissa showed it last season and I am so glad they showed it again today. “Do I want Ivan in the team? Yes, but I know he is not there before January so I am not focused too much on that, only on the players we have now.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Arsenal defender William Saliba ‘really happy’ to be back after injury Two assists for James Maddison as Tottenham move on without Harry Kane with draw Kylian Mbappe returns to PSG squad after ‘constructive and positive’ talks

Florida football head coach Billy Napier made the final decision on his starting quarterback.Speculation no more. Florida football head coach Billy Napier has finally announced his starting quarterback, three weeks before the season is set to begin. And the award goes to...After much thought...

It is great to see Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen having rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson's back right after their first preseason game working together.Shane Steichen and Anthony Richardson will need to lean on each other to help bring the downtrodden Indianapolis Colts ...