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Naoya Inoue will look to become a four-division world champion on Tuesday, as the Japanese superstar challenges Stephen Fulton for his unified super-bantamweight titles. Inoue, 30, is Indy Sport’s pound-for-pound No 1. The “Monster” is a former light-flyweight champion, a former unified super-flyweight champion, and he recently vacated his undisputed bantamweight belts to move up to super-bantamweight. Fulton, 29, is unbeaten like his opponent here, and the American will carry the WBC and WBO titles into Tokyo this week, where Inoue awaits. Last time out, Inoue toyed with Paul Butler in December before finishing the Briton to achieve undisputed status at bantamweight. Meanwhile, Fulton last fought in June, outpointing David Roman to retain his super-bantamweight belts. Here’s all you need to know. When is it? Inoue vs Fulton will take place at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday 25 July. The main card is due to begin at 9.30am BST (1.30am PT, 3.30am CT, 4.30am ET), with ring walks for the main event expected at around 12.30pm BST (4.30pm PT, 6.30pm CT, 7.30pm ET). How can I watch it? In the UK, the event will air live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Action. Subscribers can also watch the fights on the Sky Go app. In the US, ESPN+ will broadcast the event live. Odds Inoue – 1/4 Fulton – 16/5 Draw – 16/1 Via Betway. Full card (subject to change) Stephen Fulton (C) vs Naoya Inoue (WBC and WBO super-bantamweight titles) Robeisy Ramirez (C) vs Satoshi Shimizu (WBO featherweight title) Kanamu Sakama def. Ryu Horikawa via TKO Yoshiki Takei def. Ronnie Baldonado via TKO Taiga Imanaga def. Hebi Marapu via split decision Hiroyuki Takahara def. Chihiro Iwashita via TKO Masato Shinoda def. Yuki Kajitani via TKO Kenta Yamakawa def. Ryosuke Nakamura via TKO Takero Kitano def. Kenta Kawakami via TKO Read More Spence vs Crawford live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV this weekend Another boxing robbery: Maxi Hughes deserves justice for heist that shames the sport George Kambosos reacts to ‘robbery’ claims after controversial win over Maxi Hughes Inoue vs Fulton LIVE: Latest boxing fight updates and results Liam Smith: ‘Chris Eubank Jr is a nightmare – not for me, for other people’ The Independent’s pound-for-pound boxing rankings

England forward Lauren Hemp feels the Lionesses have moved on from their Euro 2022 triumph and are determined to refocus attention on their World Cup campaign. Manchester City’s Hemp started every game for boss Sarina Wiegman during an historic run that ended, one year ago Monday, with England lifting their first major trophy at Wembley, igniting unprecedented interest in women’s football across the UK. As a result of injuries and retirements, the England boss’s World Cup squad features seven players who were not part of that monumental match, while Rachel Daly, last summer’s left-back, is a forward for this competition. Asked if it was fair to place sky-high expectations on her largely changed side, Hemp said: “I think, as a team, yes that happened last summer, what a fantastic summer it was, but obviously it’s a new summer now, new challenges. You’ve seen in games in this tournament that anything can happen, but we’re ready for each one. “So yeah, it’s exciting to be a part of but obviously it’s a massive tournament where anything can happen, so as a team we’re just focusing on each game as it comes.” Norfolk-born Hemp, 22, was speaking from the palm tree-lined Central Coast Stadium north of Sydney, home of the A-League’s Central Coast Mariners and the Lionesses’ training base for the remainder of the tournament. After beating Haiti 1-0 in their opener, England will now play Denmark in the New South Wales capital on Friday before travelling to Adelaide to face China in their final group game on Tuesday. There were 49 places separating world number four England from Haiti, but they are just nine clear of their more familiar European opponents Denmark, who Hemp said feature “a very big attacking threat” in ex-Chelsea forward Pernille Harder. The Lionesses began their Australian adventure on the Sunshine Coast before travelling to Brisbane for the Haiti match, and have now settled into the beachside town of Terrigal, New South Wales. The full squad took part in Tuesday’s training session, which was attended by approximately 2500 locals, mostly school groups, with many sticking around for autographs and pictures with obliging players – though a strong contingent were also hollering for Wiegman herself to pay them a visit. The England boss has demanded her side be more “ruthless” after Georgia Stanway’s retaken penalty was the only goal against Haiti. Hemp said: “I think we are all working really hard in training to make sure we are being more clinical, creating more chances and obviously getting our goal percentage higher. “But we know it is something we need to improve on and we are working really hard as a team to make sure we are ready for the next game. We will be raring and ready to score some goals. “We have seen in games that we are capable of doing that, so it’s not like we have not scored before. We are all capable of scoring. It is just about making it click and getting those connections working. “I think obviously being at a World Cup is new for a lot of us – a lot of us have never been to one before. It’s across the other side of the world and I’m not making excuses but it’s important that each game we build on and we’ve seen that last summer, so we’re more than capable of doing that.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Erik ten Hag says Manchester United are making progress in striker search Palace boss Roy Hodgson ‘really sad’ to lose Wilfried Zaha to Galatasaray Premier League chief ‘not too concerned at moment’ about Saudi Arabia rise

Sarina Bolden rose above two defenders and headed the ball toward the goal

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Kylian Mbappe could be on the brink of securing a move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal, becoming the highest paid player in the history of professional football. Reports have given an insight into the numbers involved in the offer, and they are truly mind-boggling. The French international, who is still only 24, is already on a huge contract at PSG and earns around £2 million a week. However, that is a paltry amount compared to what he could be earning at Al-Hilal, which is majority owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Mbappe has decided not to sign a new one-year extension at the French giants, and given that the side don’t want to let him go for nothing when his contract expires they’ve reportedly accepted Al Hilal’s £259m offer. The World Cup winner is said to be keen on a move to Real Madrid in 2024, but he could be tempted to take the one-year offer from the Saudi side before moving to Spain further down the line. According to reports from CBS, the offer from Al Hilal is a staggering £604 million per year, which breaks down to £11.62 million per week – an increase of around six times his current PSG contract. Those numbers are astounding, but almost too large to appreciate. It’s only when you drill down into the figures that the true size of the offer becomes really clear. The offer breaks down to £1.65m per day, £68,950 per hour and £19.15 per second, and we can barely get our heads around the scale of it all. An hour’s work for him would be more than twice what most people earn in an entire year in the UK. In fact, If he dropped a 20 pound note on the floor, he would have earned it back about five times over by the time he stopped to pick it up. Some have questioned his motivation, should the deal go through. Mbappe would be giving up Champions League football and effectively sacrificing the chance of winning the Ballon D’or for the year – some would even argue he’s essentially taking a year-long retirement due to the standard of the league compared to what he’s used to – but there’s no doubt that the numbers are enormous. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Colombia wins its first match of the Women’s World Cup 2-0 over South Korea Tuesday without head coach Nelson Abadía on the touchline

When word came through that Kylian Mbappe was available this summer, Manchester United were surprisingly quick to insist they weren’t interested. The Old Trafford club are actively looking for a forward and are one of very few clubs that could afford the 24-year-old’s fee and wages. It has been insisted to The Independent that the United hierarchy are similarly willing to make separate funds available for Harry Kane should he become buyable, so they would surely see the commercial logic in securing Mbappe. Instead, they have no current interest this summer and don’t see that changing. It was similar with Arsenal, especially as their budget isn’t as big as United’s. This is one of many contradictions to Mbappe’s career that has left both Paris Saint-Germain and the player’s camp considering a world-record offer from Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League. It is difficult not to think it would be a waste; a needless squandering of a football great’s limited years in his physical prime, even if it is only for a season. This is not to besmirch the Saudi Pro League itself, before you even get to all of the other debates about how it is used politically by Mohammed Bin Salman. That is another warranted discussion in this, in how Mbappe himself would be politically used. This is not too much different from Qatar's ownership of PSG now. It is more that he would be outside Europe, outside the Champions League. The Saudi Pro League is aiming to be the second-best in the world after the Premier League, but it is clearly nowhere near there yet. It may have attracted a lot of headlines for its transfer business this summer, but it’s going to take a long time for that to translate into an actual audience. The legacy just isn’t there. The executives of one major broadcaster already confided this summer they would have no interest in paying for rights. The Saudi Pro League is still a football backwater, if a lucrative one. And yet it could well play host to a prime season for one of the greatest footballers who ever lived. If that currently feels like an exaggeration given Mbappe’s career so far, it is how he is looking at things, and it plays into this contradiction. While many footballers aren’t too bothered about the history of the sport, that isn’t the case with the 24-year-old. Mbappe is one of those obsessed with the lore of the game, and has consequently become obsessed with his own legacy within it. Those who know him say he was more anguished than most realised to lose the World Cup final in December, because that would have meant equalling Pele in winning his first two finals. This is how he sees his career. It is also why a move to Arsenal appeals, since he likes the idea of delivering such a great football institution to their first title in 20 years. The same outlook explains his ultimate ambition to become one of Real Madrid’s great names, alongside Alfredo Di Stefano and his boyhood idol Cristiano Ronaldo. He could instead play against the Portuguese for a season in Saudi Arabia, just when they were supposed to be going in opposite directions – and even if it is en route to Madrid. Ronaldo would not have even considered that at the same age. It could well end up ‘Mbappe: the lost year’, no matter what he wins. Many in football would say that already applies to his time at PSG, mind. The Qatari sportswashing project are so likely to win the French league every season that it isn’t really seen as a proper feat and barely has much of a global audience. It also means such a great player only features in about eight consequential fixtures a season. If even that. All of this as Erling Haaland has made himself a global megastar in the Premier League, scoring in front of a TV audience of hundreds of millions every week. Mbappe must surely envy that. In some ways, though, it isn’t a contradiction at all. That is for the same reason it just wouldn’t have been a consideration for Ronaldo. The game is very different than it was even in 2009. That point in its history was still the end period of an era where there was a remaining vitality to the European game. Clubs of genuine legacy and stature such as Lazio, Parma, Valencia and Borussia Dortmund would have at minimum been in the same financial sphere as one of the best players in the world, and at least offered him an option. It was only a decade before that point that Real Betis broke the world transfer record. This was a period where people could genuinely talk of the “big five” leagues. That description is now an irrelevance. The economic evolution of the game has meant it is now just the Premier League and a handful of other clubs in western Europe. They have just been buttressed by what is essentially a state competition in the Saudi Pro League, that in many cases offers a necessary financial counterbalance. This is the true cost of a Champions League that is itself becoming a closed shop and a Premier League that is becoming a Super League. This is what the global audience wants to see. And, without any checks or balances from football’s authorities, it could well mean not even getting to watch Mbappe for a prime season. A final contradiction is that the Saudi Pro League may further fall into this. For all the necessary sportswashing criticisms of the competition, the other side of it is that the country’s sporting authorities are legitimately trying to build a sustainable – if super-funded – league. They want it to become the next best league after the Premier League, and the plan was to go from great old names like Ronaldo to that next tier of good quality players like Ruben Neves in order to offer that substance. That has happened quickly but Mbappe would represent a drastic acceleration. Maybe too quickly. As excited as Al Hilal have been about the prospect of the signing in the weeks they have sounded it out, that isn’t quite shared within the rest of the Saudi Pro League. There is an argument it would look bad if he just departed for Madrid after a season, and that it would then leave a vacuum. The league would already be looking to constantly catch up with one season it had. And what a season it might be for Mbappe, even if one argument within his camp that these years will mean his career will be able to go on for longer. It is not like he has been suffering the physical rigours of the Premier League in his early twenties. It may all play into him becoming a Real Madrid legend, in exactly the way he wants. It might just play into something bigger too. Read More Kylian Mbappe’s Al Hilal transfer could spark chain reaction affecting every top club in Europe World-record bid made for Kylian Mbappe as PSG exit looms PSG attempting to hijack Bayern Munich’s bid to sign Harry Kane Erik ten Hag says Manchester United are making progress in striker search Premier League chief ‘not too concerned at moment’ about Saudi Arabia rise Football rumours: Premier League clubs scramble for Kylian Mbappe

Star striker Sam Kerr is sidelined with a calf muscle injury but Australia's squad remains confident it has the depth to keep winning games at the Women's World Cup it it co-hosting with New Zealand

Norway star striker and former Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg was seen walking back into the tunnel moments before her country’s Women's World Cup match against Switzerland, despite being named to the starting lineup

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United are making progress in their pursuit of a new striker. Already light of a frontman in his first season at Old Trafford, the acrimonious exit of Cristiano Ronaldo and January loan move for Wout Weghorst underlined the need for an attacking acquisition. United have signed midfielder Mason Mount and goalkeeper Andre Onana this summer but work continues to sign a striker, with up-and-coming Atalanta talent Rasmus Hojlund targeted. The Old Trafford giants are only believed to be willing to go up to £60million for the Denmark international, while Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani is an alternative. “We make progress, yeah” Ten Hag said when asked about United’s pursuit of a striker. “But you know how it works – when we have him, we will tell you directly. “The only thing I can say is we do everything that’s in our power to get that done. “If it was up to me, yeah, as soon as possible. The earlier the better because we have to integrate him in the team, the way of play. “In an ideal situation, he was already here but you do not always get ideal situations as a manager and you have to deal with the situation.” While United look for a forward with potential, talk of a move for Tottenham sharpshooter Harry Kane persists. United sources have downplayed such talk and suggestions they are targeting Kylian Mbappe, who is subject of a world record bid from Al Hilal after Paris St Germain decided to sell him. Asked about a move for Mbappe, even on loan, Ten Hag said: “We never speak about players who are under contract in other clubs.” I think with Mason Mount already we have a player extra who is capable of not only scoring goals but also to create, and to put play players like Rashford into position to score more goals. Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag United need a striker to bolster a goal-shy side, whose return of 58 was comfortably the lowest in the Premier League top-six. Marcus Rashford scored a career-high 30 club goals, but Ten Hag wants more from the rest of the team. “We are under-performing there, and we are aware of it so others have to contribute also in that area but therefore we are looking for scoring abilities,” said Ten Hag, who has given the green light for forward Anthony Elanga to join Nottingham Forest. “I think with Mason Mount already we have a player extra who is capable of not only scoring goals but also to create, and to put play players like Rashford into position to score more goals. “But as a whole team we have to score more.” A fully fit Anthony Martial would certainly aid that cause next season. The France international impressed during the last pre-season tour, only to score nine goals in 29 appearances during an injury-hit campaign that was ended by a hamstring issue. “Today he was in the team training, so that is really hopeful,” Ten Hag said after Monday’s session in San Diego. “Of course, when you have a player in your squad you expect that he is available and players have to take responsibility to be available. “But when he is not, I have to deal with the situation and we show we can be successful without that striker. “But it’s easier when you have that striker in the team because I think every club who wins big trophies has scoring abilities in that team. “We need a good squad and Anthony Martial is a brilliant football player so he will help us, he scores goals. “Also in other areas of football like pressing, in possession, combinations, he’s a great player, so let’s hope he will be fit and he stays fit.” United are in the USA as Ten Hag’s men continue to gear up for the 2023-24 season. The Under-21s – supplemented by some senior players, including Jonny Evans – face Wrexham in San Diego on Tuesday before the first-team play Real Madrid in Houston the following day. “I didn’t watch the Wrexham documentary, but I know them, we played them last year,” Ten Hag added. “I know they got promoted. Of course I’ve seen the actuality, the way we play, I know the players. “We brought the Under-21s in but we will strengthen them with some players who are on the tour with the first squad.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Palace boss Roy Hodgson ‘really sad’ to lose Wilfried Zaha to Galatasaray Premier League chief ‘not too concerned at moment’ about Saudi Arabia rise Football rumours: Premier League clubs scramble for Kylian Mbappe

Pound-for-pound phenom Naoya Inoue fights Stephen Fulton in Tokyo today, in a bid to become a four-weight world champion. Japanese superstar Inoue – a former light-flyweight champion and unified title holder at super-flyweight – achieved undisputed status at bantamweight in 2022, before vacating those titles to set up this clash with Fulton. The American, 29, will carry the WBC and WBO super-bantamweight titles into the Ariake Arena, as well as an unbeaten record (21-0, 8 knockouts). It was in the Ariake Arena that Inoue, 30, last fought, toying with Paul Butler in December before finishing the Briton to stay unbeaten (24-0, 21 KOs). Meanwhile, Fulton most recently competed in June, beating David Roman on points to retain his world titles. Those belts will be on the line today, in what should be an intriguing main event. Follow live updates and results from Inoue vs Fulton and the undercard fights, below. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Inoue vs Fulton live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV Spence vs Crawford time: When does fight start in UK and US this weekend? Another boxing robbery: Maxi Hughes deserves justice for heist that shames the sport

It isn’t so much that Liam Smith has to go through another fight night with Chris Eubank Jr; it’s more that he has to go through another fight week with him. When the Britons square off at the AO Arena in Manchester in September, it will have been eight months since Smith dropped and stopped Eubank Jr in the same building. Many in boxing labelled the result an upset. Smith certainly did not see it that way. “No one in my team thought it was an upset,” the Liverpudlian, 34, tells The Independent. “No one in my former team, who watched me spar Chris, was gonna think it was an upset. If I’d won that fight on points, people wouldn’t have been surprised. People are just like ‘wow’ because ‘Liam Smith stopped Chris Eubank with a headshot.’ That’s all it is. It got made out like it’s impossible to hurt Chris, like he can’t be hurt. That’s why it was a big surprise for people.” Backed into a corner, overcome by volume and variation, Eubank Jr first hit the canvas 45 seconds into Round 4, slinking to the mat. Barely managing to grip the ropes with his gloves, the Brighton boxer hauled himself to his feet and wobbled to referee Victor Loughlin with his hands by his sides. He almost teetered past Loughlin. Eubank Jr was given the benefit of the doubt, but within 20 seconds he was down again, tumbling into the ropes as he fell. This time, despite another quick climb from the canvas, the 33-year-old was saved by the referee. Smith was walking away, with his back to Eubank Jr and the official, when the fight was waved off. The sound of the crowd tipped off Smith to the result, before he even had a chance to turn around and see for himself. Then, the jubilation set in. “I enjoyed every bit of it,” Smith says. “My ring walk, the changing room beforehand and after. You ask anyone around me, they know I enjoy everything until the moment I need to switch on. When I get down to the bottom of the ramp, I’m business-like. I wish I could have that week back, it was a great week. “If you asked about the three brothers, people would always say, ‘Liam enjoys it the most, he enjoys a fight night the most,’” he says, referring to Stephen and Callum, the latter of whom is an ex-world champion like Liam. “I remember saying to them, ‘There’s no better feeling than making that ring walk,’ and they were like, ‘You’re mad! There’s no better feeling than walking back to the changing room, knowing you’ve won!’” Although the fight was a successful foray up to middleweight for the former super-welterweight champion, the lead-up – containing comments that crossed a line at times – was altogether less enjoyable, Smith says. However, that is not for the reasons one might expect. “A lot people used to think Chris was getting under my skin,” Smith says. “I don’t lose sleep over Chris, he doesn’t change my day. Me and Chris’s personalities... Somebody with Chris’s persona is just someone I wouldn’t get on with in any form of life. “I just don't like them type of divas, who think everything’s got to revolve around them. In the build-up to the last fight, we were waiting on him a lot with promotion stuff, head-to-heads. It was on Sky Sports Box Office, and the people trying to produce the advert were asking us, ‘Can you meet in the middle of the ring and touch gloves with two hands?’ He was like: ‘No, I don’t touch gloves with two hands.’ “He was just being a nuisance, petty, spoilt, a diva. I just thought: ‘It’s nothing to me, you’re not doing my head in, but these people are trying to do a promotion. You know what you signed up for, just do it.’ He was just a nightmare – for other people really; I didn’t give a s*** about it.” The build to the pair’s rematch has begun, and Smith will hope for a smoother ride en route to what may even be his final fight. That, however, depends on the result, with the Scouser having claimed that his next loss would herald his retirement. “I shouldn’t really lose to Chris. I’m a better fighter than him, there’s not really a thought of defeat,” Smith stresses, but there are thoughts on life after boxing. “It’s tough. I’ve got two gorgeous little girls, who I’m still fighting for and trying to secure the rest of their futures, give them an easier start in life. They’ve changed my perspective on boxing and life in general. “I’ll take it as it comes,” he continues, pondering what retirement might look like. “I’ve got a good family, and once I’m done with boxing, I can put my whole energy and time into my girls and giving them some memories that I’ve probably missed now. There are certain things that I can’t do now – certain holidays that I can’t go on – but once I’m done, I’ll have enough time to give them some memories for life. There’s a little bucket list with them two: things that they’ll enjoy, places where they’ll smile.” When Smith takes on Eubank Jr at the AO Arena, he will be returning to a place where he did plenty of smiling, and where he did the thing he enjoys most. SMITH vs EUBANK II: REPEAT OR REVENGE? takes place on Saturday 2 September at the AO Arena in Manchester. It will be shown live exclusively on Sky Sports Box Office. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday 25 July. Fans can access tickets now at Boxxer.com. Read More Spence vs Crawford time: When does fight start in UK and US this weekend? Inoue vs Fulton live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV Another boxing robbery: Maxi Hughes deserves justice for heist that shames the sport Inoue vs Fulton LIVE: Latest boxing fight updates and results The Independent’s pound-for-pound boxing rankings What time does Spence vs Crawford start this weekend?