Double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra met Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer a few months back. Both athletes showed immense respect, spoke highly of each other, exchanged souvenirs and interacted nicely.
Tennis superstar and devout Orthodox Christian Novak Djokovic celebrated Christmas with his family in Melbourne on Tuesday as he gears up for the 2025 Australian Open.
While most Christians celebrate Christmas Day on December 25, many of the Orthodox Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus on January 7.
Djokovic, who is aiming to claim his 25th career Grand Slam – and incredibly, his 11th title at Melbourne Park when the tournament begins on Sunday – posted shots of his Christmas celebration to social media.
Peace of God, Christ is born! Merry Christmas,’ he captioned the pics.
The first shot featured himself and wife Jelena in front of a Christmas tree. The second was similar, but included his two children, Stefan and Tara.
Matchroom CEO Frank Smith has shared his two cents on a potential Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua showdown.
Fury is coming off a second consecutive loss against Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua, meanwhile, was brutally knocked out by Daniel Dubois in his last fight.
The two British heavyweights, though, remain two of the most popular fighters in the world. Frank Smith reckons a hypothetical showdown would be a global attraction.
He is confident that the two boxing behemoths clashing inside the squared circle would attract the US audience as well.
UFC icon Don Frye has confessed that the face-off between Jake Paul and former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson made him feel nauseous. The boxing community was taken aback last year when Tyson announced his plans to return to professional boxing.
His last official match before his bout with Paul was in 2005, where he lost to ex-Irish boxer Kevin McBride. However, he did participate in an exhibition match against Roy Jones Jr in 2020.
Many expressed concern for Tyson’s health leading up to the fight, but the boxing legend shared several videos of his training for the match, sparking worldwide conversation and leading fans to believe he could turn back time.
Regrettably, his age was apparent on the night of the fight, and it was clear after the second round that the 58 year old had nothing more to give.
Saudi billionaire Turki Alalshikh has urged Australia’s Jai Opetaia to go and unify the cruiserweight division in 2025 – convinced an ‘undisputed’ crown can then catapult him into a megafight against heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk.
Already the IBF and Ring champion,2 9-year-old Opetaia is set to ignite a huge start to the year for Australian boxing when he defends against New Zealand’s David Nyika on the Gold Coast, Wednesday night.
Only a fortnight after Opetaia throws down, fellow undefeated Aussie Sam Goodman will look to cause one of the greatest boilovers in boxing history when he challenges Japanese megastar Naoya Inoue in Tokyo on January 24.=/8
Both Tim Tszyu and younger brother Nikita are also looking to return to the ring in the first quarter of 2025, with the boxing brothers expected to star on huge Pay-Per-Views in both March and April.
Should Opetaia take his undefeated streak to 27 straight in Wednesday’s headliner, there is already talk of him potentially looking to unify in May against Mexico’s Gilberto Ramirez, who holds both the WBA and WBO straps.
Of his 34 wins (34-2-1, 24 KOs) in the paid ranks, only three have come inside the opening round.
However, one early pro-fight was over in a flash.
Back in April 2009, when Fury was a fresh-faced 20-year-old with a full head of hair, he took on wiley veteran Matthew Ellis in his fifth professional outing at Bethnal Green’s York Hall.
In his prime, Ellis was a solid British heavyweight contender, who once boasted an impressive 18-1 record.
But by the time he squared off against Fury, Ellis was on the decline and had self-admittedly ‘turned up for a payday’.
RISING heavyweight star Moses Itauma has now reached the age of 20, meaning his ambition to break Mike Tyson’s record is beginning to slip away.
The devastating puncher comes off an emphatic stoppage over Demsey McKean, ending their encounter on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2 in just over a minute.
Not only is Itauma a prolific knockout artist, but he has also proven to be one of the most dynamic and explosive movers in the land of the giants.
And yet, the talented Brit now has just under five months to become the youngest heavyweight champion of all time, a goal he has made no attempt to hide.
‘Iron Mike,’ of course, set the record when he dethroned Trevor Berbick with a destructive two-round display in 1986.
Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk, who holds the WBA, WBO, WBC and IBO heavyweight titles, was named the best boxer of 2024 in any weight category by the World Boxing Council.
Details: The organisation justified its decision because Oleksandr Usyk, 37, became the first boxer in the four-belt era to win the absolute heavyweight championship.
Quote: “Usyk has consistently demonstrated his exceptional skills outside of Ukraine, showcasing his global impact on the sport. These achievements solidify Usyk’s legacy as one of the greatest boxers of his generation.”
More details: The best female boxer of the year is Australian Skye Nicolson, 29. She competes in the featherweight division and defeated the main contenders in 2024: Dane Sarah Mahfoud, Dominican Republic’s Dayana Vargas, and UKʼs Raven Chapman.
Coco Gauff overpowered Iga Swiatek on Sunday to help the USA win the mixed teams United Cup title by beating Poland in the final.
World No. 4 Taylor Fritz sealed the USA’s second title in the 18-team competition after edging Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (4) in the men’s singles at Sydney’s Ken Rosewall Arena.
The Americans added to their triumph in the inaugural tournament in 2023, while Poland fell agonizingly short for the second straight year.
All eyes were on the blockbuster women’s singles match, with Gauff and Swiatek having enjoyed unblemished records through to the final.
World number three Gauff had only won two of her previous 13 matches against Swiatek, but claimed a confidence boosting victory at the season-ending Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Finals.
Three-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka started her 12th consecutive week at the top of the rankings on Monday to move to 20 weeks in total, putting her joint-20th with Belgian great Clijsters.
She is assured of remaining top for at least another two weeks and next week she will move level with Tracy Austin and Maria Sharapova on 21 weeks in 18th place before edging ahead of them a week later. Naomi Osaka in 17th place on 25 weeks will be her target after that.
Sabalenka strengthened her lead over Swiatek after she won the Brisbane International – her 18th career title – while her Polish rival lost in the final of the United Cup.
The Belarusian is now 1,536 points ahead, but that is not enough to ensure she remains at No 1 after the Australian Open as she will defend 2,000 points while Swiatek will drop only 130 points