Aurelia Butler

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    Boxing drug cheat vows to ‘RETIRE’ Anthony Joshua as Eddie Hearn scrambles to find August opponent for AJ

    DISGRACED drug cheat Jarrell Miller has offered to step up on short notice and save Anthony Joshua’s August ring return.Joshua, 33, is without a dance partner for his proposed August 12 return after negotiations over a rematch with Dillian Whyte went south.
    Anthony Joshua was set to throw down with Jarrell Miller in 2019Credit: GETTY
    A spate of failed drugs tests for the American scuppered the pair’s showdownCredit: AP
    Big Baby is willing to step up and fight AJ on short notice in AugustCredit: GETTY
    Promoter Eddie Hearn is scrambling to find a new opponent for the second fight of AJ’s career rebuild, which kicked off in April with a scrappy points win over Jermaine Franklin.
    And American motormouth Miller is eager to save the day, although he plans to end Joshua’s hopes of getting back into world title contention four years after their grudge match was cancelled.
    “Big Baby” told Stamina For Sale: “I’ll annihilate him! Retire him! Send him back packing – plain and simple.
    “I’m not playing no games with nobody, I’m playing no games.
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    “There is bad blood there in a boxing sense so it would be great entertainment.
    “It’s nothing personal, I just don’t care for him, but when I see you on my radar, I don’t like you.
    “I don’t like anything about you, I want to rip your guts outs and nothing going to change that.
    “I’m not going anywhere for a while, I’m back, I’m here to stay and I’m coming with vengeance.
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    “And if anybody wants the smoke they know I’m here. I’m back baby.”
    Miller was due to welcome Joshua to America in a Madison Square Garden melee in 2019 but their fight was scrapped after he tested positive for a cocktail of performance-enhancing drugs.
    The New Yorker popped for THREE banned substances, paving the way for Andy Ruiz Jr to pull off one of the biggest upsets in boxing history at MSG.
    Matchroom supremo Hearn vowed to never work with Miller in wake of his anti-doping violations – another of which he racked up ahead of his proposed 2020 clash with Jerry Forest.
    But he’s seemingly softened his stance, telling Boxing Social: “I understand that it could be a big fight. Do I rule it out forever?
    “I don’t think it would be wise in this crazy boxing world to rule anything out forever.
    “Obviously I don’t like what happened.
    “I do understand it’s a big fight but it’s not something we’re looking at at the moment.” More

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    Zharnel Hughes becomes fastest British man in HISTORY after finally beating legend’s 30-year 100m record

    GOBSMACKED Zharnel Hughes says he dreamt about becoming the fastest British man in history – just hours before he officially earned the title.The 27-year-old sprinter stormed to victory at the USATF New York City Grand Prix in the world’s quickest time this year of 9.83 seconds.

    Zharnel Hughes celebrates taking Linford Christie’s record after his NYC GP winCredit: Getty
    GB sprinter Hughes overcame Brandon Carnes, Christian Coleman, Ackeem Blake and Terrance Laird in his barnstorming New York performanceCredit: Getty
    Iconic Linford Christie set the previous British 100m mark of 9.87s in 1993Credit: PA:Press Association
    Jamaican Ackeem Blake finished second in 9.93 seconds in the nine-man race while American Christian Coleman, the world champion in Doha four years ago, settled for third place in 10.02 seconds at the Icahn Stadium in Manhattan.
    Hughes’ personal best smashed Linford Christie’s British record of 9.87 seconds, which has stood since the 1993 World Athletics Championships in Stuttgart.
    Though he benefited from a +1.3 metres/second tailwind, it was deemed to be a legal display.
    And the former European champion put his hands over his mouth in disbelief when the time was announced in the stadium.
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    Initially it flashed up as 9.84 seconds before being quickly corrected to 9.83 as Hughes looked at the clock in astonishment.
    Hughes, who is coached by Usain Bolt’s ex-guru Glen Mills, had previously run 9.91 seconds but this has put him into the record books.
    He said: “I woke up with a dream (on Saturday) morning. This morning I woke up with 9.83 on my mind.
    “When I looked at the clock and saw 9.83 – I don’t know if you saw my reaction – but I was like: ‘What just happened there!’ It actually came through. Manifestation is real.”
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    “I wasn’t coming up here thinking about breaking records – I just wanted to run fast.
    “I didn’t try to do anything crazy. I didn’t try to say, ‘Get the perfect start’ – I didn’t get the perfect start – but I relaxed and that’s what’s really important for me.”
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    Hughes, a former European 100m and 200m champion, will head to the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August tremendous form and confidence.
    It is a far cry from his appearance in the Tokyo 2021 Olympics final when he was disqualified for a false start.
    Away from the track, Hughes is a qualified private pilot – and once told SunSport he has ambitions to run his own airline one day. More

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    Ebanie Bridges launches X-rated rant with specific complaint about Northerners after moving to Leeds

    EBANIE BRIDGES has launched an X-rated attack on Northerners after moving to Leeds.In trademark fashion, the Aussie boxer pulled no punches when ranting about a specific trait that annoys her.
    Ebanie Bridges aired her grievances about NorthernersCredit: Instagram @ebanie_bridges
    The Aussie boxer has moved to YorkshireCredit: Instagram @ebanie_bridges
    Bridges is never one to pull any punchesCredit: PA
    Since moving from Essex to Yorkshire, one thing in particular has got on Bridges’ nerves.
    Airing her grievances online, the 36-year-old tweeted: “A big difference between the north & Essex that I’ve noticed is y’all northerners are c***s on the road & have no etiquette.
    “I swear drivers in Essex are so sweet & chilled & I never experienced road rage…
    “It’s like people up here are angry f***ers on the road…. CHILL..
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    “I still love you but please relax on the road.”
    Not wanting to completely alienate her new neighbours, she then added: “Northerners are nicer and friendlier except for when it comes to the road! I swear haha.”
    One Twitter follower weighed in, replying to Bridges: “All true. Lives in Sheffield 20 years and people yell at me for pulling on to my drive.
    “I also get yelled out for not mounting curbs at 20 mph and f***ing up my alloys.”
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    Bridges complained about Northerners’ drivingCredit: PA
    But she still loves her beloved LeedsCredit: PA
    Bridges then responded: “For real!! And no one lets u in lol.”
    While another joked: “Wait till you try Bradford.”
    And a further social media user labelled Bridges: “Queen of the north.”
    The Blonde Bomber has over 750,000 Instagram followersCredit: Instagram @ebanie_bridges
    She called Northern drivers ‘angry f***ers’Credit: Instagram @ebanie_bridges More

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    I quit my job as a BINMAN to become a European boxing champion and my team all wore high-vis jackets to the ring

    RENDALL MUNROE is the former binman turned world title challenger – whose team used to don high-vis vests on their way to the ring.Back in the 2000s, Munroe juggled the Sweet Science with his day job of collecting bins in the streets of Leicester.
    Rendall Munroe challenged Toshiaki Nishioka for the WBC super bantamweight title in 2010Credit: AP
    Munroe juggled his job as a full-time bin man with his boxing careerCredit: GETTY
    Munro eventually packed in collecting bins to focus on his fightingCredit: GETTY
    “The Boxing Binman”, however, eventually packed in his refuse work when he got the call to challenge Toshiaki Nishioka for the WBC super-bantamweight title in Japan.
    He recalled in an interview with talkSPORT: “Mike and Jay [Shinfield, my trainers] said to me, ‘Look, you need to concentrate more on the boxing now’.
    “It was the wrong thing to do because I used to like being a ‘normal person’.
    “I liked being a boxer for a training camp, eight weeks, and then I’m just Rendall, back on the bins – a normal guy.
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    “After that, everything became boxing. You’re bored in the daytime but can’t train because you’d over-train.
    “I was always very active, so it messed me up a little. I started going for runs when I didn’t need to. When I retired [in 2014], I went back and they told me I had no job.”
    Munroe’s team often played up to his moniker, accompanying him to the ring in high-vis vests – which a slew of Japanese fans wore in tribute to him the night before his unsuccessful bid to dethrone Nishioka.
    The former EBU super bantamweight champ said: “At the weigh-in [pre-Nishioka], I had a few Japanese fans with high-vis [binman] vests at the scales.
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    “There was a Japanese fan that came and waited outside my [hotel] room and gave me a cup and a dream catcher. I’ve still got them at home in a glass cabinet.
    “I’m a guy who just enjoys boxing. For people like that to wait outside my hotel room – there must have been about 600 rooms – it touches you a bit.”
    Munroe and his body failed to rise to the occasion as he suffered a unanimous decision defeat in what would be his sole world title fight.
    He recalled: “It got to the fifth round, and I remember sitting down and Jay would be, ‘Are we ready to turn up the gas now?’.
    “Normally I’d be, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah’. [This time] I stood up, and both my calves cramped up. ‘Wow, what’s going on here?’ I’m half-a-second out, all the time.
    “It was about the seventh round I come back and said, ‘Jay, I don’t think I’m going to win. I ain’t going to let him stop me’.
    “When the final bell went I went back to my corner and broke down. ‘The biggest fight of my career, and it’s gone wrong. I just don’t know what’s gone on.’
    Rendall Munroe’s final fight was against Josh Warrington in 2014Credit: Getty
    “It’s like someone’s looking at you – hit this – and then it’s gone. My body just didn’t feel that sharpness.
    “Sometimes you can get away with it; when you’re in there with the elite, you ain’t getting away with it.”
    Munroe bounced back from championship heartache with three victories before back-to-back bouts with Scott Quigg, the first of which he drew and the second he lost.
    He ended his career – which he looks back on with great pride – following a seventh-round TKO defeat to Josh Warrington.
    He said: “I proved myself good enough to be in there with the best.
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    “I wanted enough money out of boxing to buy a house to live in and buy a house to rent, and then I’m going to kick back and enjoy life.
    “Boxing wasn’t as much money as it is now, but it was still decent. I achieved what I wanted to achieve.” More

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    Anthony Joshua shows off hulking body after sweaty workout – but may be forced to wait MONTHS for next fight

    RED HOT Anthony Joshua could have his career put on ice until 2024 by the Saudi paymasters.After the cautious April 1 win over Jermaine Franklin, the London 2012 legend and promoter Eddie Hearn promised three fights in 2023.
    Anthony Joshua beat Jermaine Franklin back in AprilCredit: Getty
    But he may not fight again until 2024Credit: Instagram/@anthonyjoshua
    But Dillian Whyte insists their three-line email offer for an August 12 showdown was a fake.
    And now the head of boxing in Saudi Arabia – where 33-year-old AJ is supposed to meet Deontay Wilder in December – says that Christmas cracker could be shelved until the Spring.
    Crazy-money Skills Challenge chief Amer Abdallah revealed the first quarter of 2024 is now being considered for big heavyweight fights, which will leave frustrated fans fuming. 
    He said: “The intent was never to have them (AJ, Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and Wilder) inactive.
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    “I was hopeful everyone would keep their records intact and then get to December or the beginning of next year, or whenever the fight ends up happening.
    “I believe, in this transitional period, we are still a far way out from the end of this year – and the beginning of next year – to start deciding what happens.
    “These guys need to stay active and the most important thing is what happens after these keep-busy fights that leads us into Q4 or Q1 for the mega-fights.”
    Whyte, 34, is fuming his name was used to tease a huge summer trilogy decider with his old foe.
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    The Body Snatcher, who won a 2009 amateur slugfest but lost their 2015 pro battle, was sent a vague offer at the start of June and blanked with the numerous calls and messages he made to Hearn to continue talks.
    He told SunSport: “I told them I wanted the fight, I didn’t turn it down and I didn’t price myself out.
    “In fact, I have not had a single discussion about it with Matchroom since the so-called offer on June 2.
    “It is out of order to use me to boost AJ’s value in negotiations for the Wilder fight, without any intention to fight me.
    “There hasn’t been a single conversation with me, my lawyer or any of my team.
    “I chased him with a follow-up email on June 13, to tell him that the offer didn’t feel real and that AJ obviously didn’t want the fight and was going to wait for his Saudi payday in December.
    “Heavyweight boxing is in an absolute mess at the moment and bulls*** like this doesn’t help.” More

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    in Athletics

    Della Pascoe dead at 74: Two-time Olympian and former British record holder dies after battle with Parkinson’s Disease

    FORMER British Olympic sprinter Della Pascoe has died aged 74.The star competed at the Games in 1968 and 1972 and held the 100m British record, making her one of the country’s finest athletes of her era.
    Della Pascoe, right, competed at the Olympics twice for Great BritainCredit: Getty
    Pascoe held the British 100m record and was one of the finest sprinters of her eraCredit: Getty
    According to Athletics Weekly, she passed away yesterday after suffering from Parkinson’s Disease for a few years.
    Born in Southsea in 1949, Pascoe – initially Della James – excelled at youth level winning various English schools titles.
    She went to Mexico 1968 aged just 19 and reached the 100m semi-finals.
    However, it was in the quarters that she made history by equalling Dorothy Hyman’s British record with a time of 11.3 seconds.
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    Pascoe also formed one leg of the 4x200m team that broke the world record in 1968.
    Four years later at the Munich 1972 Olympics, she was knocked out of the 200m in the quarter-finals and finished seventh in the 4x100m final.
    She won a further 12 medals at the Women’s AAA national championships.
    However, Pascoe was controversially snubbed for the 1974 Commonwealth Games – despite finishing on the podium in the 100m and 200m trials.
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    Some suggested it was due to her marrying outspoken fellow athlete Alan Pascoe, whom she met as a teenager.
    Pascoe said in 2017: “Alan and I met at the running track in Portsmouth.
    “I had to slow down for him to catch me.”
    Following the Commonwealth heartache, Pascoe subsequently retired and spent time as an art teacher and did lots of charity work, specifically raising money through popular garden parties.
    Della and Alan had two children together, daughter Lucy and son Daniel. More

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    ‘World’s sexiest athlete’ Alica Schmidt sizzles in Cannes as she shows off toned abs in elegant cut-out red dress

    ALICA SCHMIDT set hearts racing as she took a break from athletics to attend a glitzy charity bash in France. The 400m runner was in attendance at the American Foundation for AIDS Research Gala in Cannes.
    Alica Schmidt posed in front of an Aston Martin at the Gala
    She wore a red cut out dress that showed off her back
    Alica works as a part-time model as well as an athlete
    She is well known for her Instagram posts as well as her sporting achievements
    Alica posed on the blue carpet at the event
    She wore a stunning red dress as she walked down the blue carpet outside the event.
    Alica shared a photo to her Instagram of the evening, which her 3.7million followers lapped up.
    The post, which amassed almost 120,000 likes in just two days, showed the 24-year-old posing side-on for her followers.
    Her fans were sent into frenzy at the picture and took to the comments section to shower her with compliments.
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    One fan wrote: “Pure perfection.”
    Whilst another added: “Wow, you are of immeasurable beauty.”
    One other fan simply just wrote: “Gorgeous.”
    Alica has been dubbed ‘The world’s sexiest athlete’ before as she mixes her stunning photos with her athletic ability.
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    The German-born runner was recently named in the Forbes 30 under 30 list and is a part-time model.
    She is hoping to make her dream of qualifying for the 2024 Olympics in Paris come true.
    Alica is a 400m runner
    She previously worked as a fitness coach at Borussia Dortmund during the 2020/21 season
    Alica is sponsored by BOSS
    She was part of Germany’s 2020 Olympic team, but did not feature
    Alica regularly posts pictures to her Instagram of her travel-filled lifestyle More

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    Canelo Alvarez to face undefeated Jermall Charlo in mouthwatering bout after signing huge three-fight deal

    CANELO ALVAREZ is set to return against Jermall Charlo as part of his eye-watering three-fight deal. The Mexican superstar operates as a free agent, meaning he is able to move to and from different promotional companies.
    Canelo Alvarez is set to return against Jermall Charlo as part of his three-fight dealCredit: Reuters
    Jermall Charlo is an unbeaten world championCredit: Getty
    Canelo, 32, looked on course to stay with Eddie Hearn and DAZN to rematch Dmitry Bivol, also 32, following his May 2022 loss.
    But after talks broke down, the four-division champion pivoted towards Premier Boxing Champions.
    And Canelo took to social media to confirm his move to PBC was a “done deal” while hinting at a September fight.
    Now according to ESPN, he is due to face unbeaten Charlo, 33, on September 16, Mexican Independence Day weekend.
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    The American is 32-0 and holds the WBC middleweight world title, meaning he will move up to challenge for Canelo’s super-middle belts.
    Alvarez is undisputed at 168lb and last fought in May, beating Britain’s John Ryder, 34, on points in a homecoming over a decade in the making.
    Before that, he beat old rival Gennady Golovkin, 41, in their trilogy bout but needed hand surgery afterwards.
    That had followed after Canelo moved up to light-heavyweight but was beaten by Russian WBA champ Bivol.
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    His last three bouts have all been on sports streaming service DAZN with Hearn involved.
    But in 2021, Canelo did pen a one-fight deal to face Caleb Plant, 30, in an undisputed title decider.
    Alvarez won the fight in 11 rounds and was guaranteed to make at least £30m.
    Canelo recently held talks to fight David Benavidez, 26, and WBC cruiserweight title holder Badou Jack, 39.
    But he demanded Jack come down 20lb from the 200lb cruiserweight limit to meet in a catchweight clash.
    Similarly, Hearn revealed weight was a factor in a deal collapsing between Canelo and Bivol.
    Bivol wanted to instead move down to super-middleweight and challenge for all four of Canelo’s belts.
    So it left Alvarez to turn his attention to PBC, who are believed to have fronted $100m (£78.6m) to secure him for three fights.
    And the first will start with Charlo, who has been out since June 2021 following victory over Juan Macias Montiel, 29.
    Jermall Charlo has not fought since beating Juan Macias MontielCredit: Getty More