List of All Articles with Tag 'sports'

American swimmer Katie Ledecky's legacy keeps growing

A day after Paris marked a year to go until the 2024 Olympics, Ukrainian fencer Olga Kharlan was disqualified from participating in the world championships after she refused to shake hands with Russian Anna Smirnova.

Veterans Eugénie Le Sommer and Wendie Renard have revived France’s Women’s World Cup hopes with a goal each in a 2-1 win over Brazil to give Les Bleues the lead in Group F

Hello from London, where the mayor’s plans for cleaner air got a boost from the courts on Friday.

After leaving it to the last minute against South Africa, Sweden left nothing to chance in a 5-0 win over Italy which sealed its place in the knockout rounds of the Women’s World Cup

Norway forward and 2018 Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg is out with a groin injury for her country’s final group stage match against the Philippines

Errol Spence Jr knew this time would be different. For the best part of five years, fans had debated what a fight between the two best welterweights of their generation would look like. Promoters had spoken in public and in private about whether fans would get a look at that fight at all. On more than one occasion, the contest seemed to be within grasp before drifting out of reach. But when Terence Crawford texted him, Spence Jr knew this time would be different. “I think it really took us just getting on the phone, and talking to each other,” Spence told The Independent over Zoom, a week out from Saturday’s fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. “It took us relaying different messages to each other about the negotiations, and basically me just giving him stuff that he wanted to make the fight happen. I didn’t really want much. The big obstacles were the [purse] split and the ring walk.” Such obstacles could not have been overcome without Spence and his fellow American sharing a mutual respect, both fighters told The Independent, with Crawford saying on a call with other reporters: “You’ve got a lot of people that put on a little circus act and start going about things the wrong way – being disrespectful, taking it to another level that it doesn’t need to be taken to. Sometimes, you can’t come back from that.” There was no such problem when Crawford, 35, and Spence, 33, picked up the phone, initially bypassing promoters, agents and handlers to try to hash out a deal for a historic fight – one between two unbeaten title holders, to crown an undisputed welterweight champion. “There’s definitely a respect between us, I respect him a lot,” Spence acknowledged, while Crawford said: “It was never nothing [antagonistic], it was all business and respect [on the phone]. “I hit him up on 1 January,” Crawford added. “I sent him a text, just telling him that we need to actually fight, to make history. He was in agreement about us fighting. And at that particular time, I reached out to [promoter] Al Haymon and started back up the conversation. Errol got back on a phone call and started talking about the structure of the fight, the deal. That’s how the fight was made.” “The conversations were just us talking about what was going on with the negotiations, and seeing if we could get to the middle of it – the meat of it,” Spence explained. “Basically there was some stuff that he wanted, which me and my team didn’t agree to [at first].” Eventually, however, agreements were reached. It has been a year of mixed results in terms of talks over marquee fights. Tyson Fury’s prospective clash with Oleksandr Usyk collapsed, despite the latter agreeing to a 70-30 purse split in the Briton’s favour. The Ukrainian made that concession in spite of holding three of the four major heavyweight belts, compared to Fury’s one, and holding an unbeaten record like his potential opponent. A long-awaited bout between Fury and compatriot Anthony Joshua also crashed and burned before it got off the ground, and not for the first time. However, a highly-anticipated showdown between Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Ryan Garcia did materialise, as did huge title fights between Vasiliy Lomachenko and Devin Haney and Josh Taylor and Teofimo Lopez. So, should more fighters take the approach that Spence and Crawford did? “If they’re mature enough, they definitely need to get on the phone with each other and talk,” Spence said. “But I don’t know if they’re as level-headed as me and Terence are, talking and having disagreements but trying to make the fight happen. You’ve got to have a level head to talk to another fighter and just come up with the same scenario. [It was me] talking to my people, and then at some points we had my team and his team, himself and myself. We were always on a call with each other, trying to figure out how to make the fight happen.” Crawford then told The Independent: “If you have two grown men that are willing to set aside their pride and put the hype to the side and come together and both want the same thing, then yes,” before telling another reporter: “I can’t speak on other people’s situations, because I’m not the one trying to make the fight happen with them, but boxers are the ones in charge. “Once a fighter realises that, the advisers, promoters and managers go to work. They’ve got to give the fighter what he wants. You’ve had two cases recently: ‘Tank’ and Garcia wanted to fight each other, and they made sure that deal got done, just like you have Terence Crawford and Errol Spence wanting to fight each other. We both went to our people and got the fight done, so it all comes down to the fighters at the end of the day. “Yeah, our handlers want to look out for our best interests and make sure we make the best business decision at the right time, but it’s up to us as fighters to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. There’s a lot of fighters that can say, ‘No, I don’t wanna fight this guy; I want him, give me him,’ and if the opposing fighter is saying the same thing, there’s nothing anyone can do but to make the fight happen.” And now, one of the most-anticipated fights of a generation will happen, when Spence carries the WBC, WBA and IBF welterweight titles into the T-Mobile Arena, while Crawford brings the WBO belt. “I definitely think it’s something that would’ve been hanging over our heads for our whole careers, if we didn’t make this fight happen,” Spence admitted. “It’d have been tied to us all the time. ‘Man, Spence, I wish he would’ve fought Terence.’ Or, ‘Man, I wish Terence would’ve fought Spence.’ It would’ve been that super-fight that didn’t happen. “I feel like it’s definitely gonna be on another level. This is a super-fight, people have it as a 50-50 fight. [It will crown] the undisputed welterweight champion, we’re both undefeated. The accolades that he has, the accolades that I have...” Meanwhile, Crawford said: “It means a lot, given the history that’s on the line, but at the same time there are a lot of other fights in the history of boxing that didn’t happen. So, if the fight with Errol didn’t happen, I wouldn’t be the first and I wouldn’t be the last to have people talking about them like that. It’d just be another fight on the list.” Both boxers are grounded as the fight approaches, even while acknowledging that it could define both men’s careers. Spence told The Independent: “Just because it’s a big fight, that doesn’t mean it isn’t just another day in the ring for me. I’ve been treating it as that, as far as my emotions and how I feel, but I’ve definitely been training hard and focused a lot more on my craft, my abilities, and my training. But when I wake up on the day of the fight, it’s gonna be another day in the office. [My first thought] will probably be what I’m gonna eat!” “This fight week feels the same,” Crawford said. “It definitely feels bigger, but at the same time, in my mind it’s no different. I’m already pound-for-pound No 1, I feel. In my eyes, a win over Errol Spence Jr would just put me as undisputed, pound-for-pound No 1 in everybody’s eyes. There would be no debate.” On Saturday, a maximum of 12 rounds will end five years of debate. And all thanks to one text. TNT Sports Box Office will show Errol Spence Jr vs Terence Crawford exclusively live on Saturday 29 July. Learn more at https://www.tntsports.co.uk/boxoffice Read More Spence vs Crawford live stream: How to watch fight online and on TV this weekend The factor that could decide Spence vs Crawford super-fight Terence Crawford wins coin toss with Errol Spence Jr to make key fight-night decision Exclusive look at Terence Crawford’s ring gear ahead of clash with Errol Spence Jr The meaning behind Terence Crawford’s ring gear in Errol Spence Jr clash Terence Crawford wins coin toss with Errol Spence to make key fight-night decision

Fans at the Women's World Cup are seeing some greats of the game slow down while younger talents put on a show

Terence Crawford's ring gear has been revealed ahead of his titanic bout with Errol Spence Jr this Saturday. Spence likes to refer to himself as the "Big Fish", and Crawford is taking no prisoners with his outfit. The ring gear features hooks and other fishing-related imagery. “I was able to do a lot of research into deep-sea fishing, the fabrics and hardware they use, and I implement that into the design", said Imtayaz Qassim of Bespoke Boxing, where Crawford’s outfit was designed and created. The two professional boxers are set to clash to crown an undisputed welterweight champion in their match. These two Americans are both currently unbeaten, but Crawford's WBO belt is on the line, as are Spence's WBC, WBA and IBF titles. Read More Moment Biden forgets to sign executive order in Maine Distressing moment dachshund stolen from Essex home by masked thief Driver Snapchats speeding at 80mph before killing passenger in crash

The world’s most expensive female soccer player could be out of the Women’s World Cup

Savannah DeMelo was a surprise addition to the U.S. roster for the Women's World Cup because she had never played for the national team

Colombia head coach Nelson Abadía says forward Linda Caicedo is healthy ahead of Sunday’s Women’s World Cup match against Germany despite a training session video showing her voluntarily dropping to the ground while holding her chest