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      in Boxing

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

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      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.
      Most read in Boxing
      CASINO SPECIAL – BEST ONLINE CASINOS FOR 2023
      “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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      in Soccer

      Ex-Premier League star who went from millions to Universal Credit & bankruptcy wins row over house ownership

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      A FOOTBALL star who went from earning millions to going bankrupt and claiming benefits has won a court battle over a home.Ex-Premier League striker Marcus Bent has fought off bankruptcy trustees who tried for four years to seize a London property.
      Ex-Premier League footballer Marcus Bent has been battling bankruptcy officialsCredit: Simon Jones – The Sun
      They said the former striker – who played for top-flight sides Everton, Brentford, Crystal Palace and Wolves – owned the house and should hand it over to help pay off debts.
      Yet 45-year-old Bent, who went bankrupt in January 2019, insisted it belonged to his 19-year-old daughter.
      He bought it for her in 2006 and meant it to be held in trust for her until she turned 18, he told London’s specialist Insolvency and Companies Court.
      Now judge Clive Jones has ruled in his favour, London’s Evening Standard newspaper reported.
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      He said Bent’s estimated debt following bankrutpcy proceedings brought by tax officials was “a couple of million”.
      But Mr Jones said the house “fell outside the bankruptcy estate” and that trustees administering the estate, had “no interest” in it.
      Former England Under-21 international Bent, watching via videolink, told the judge after hearing the verdict: “We are very happy.”
      His daughter is from a former relationship with ex-fiancee Kelly Clark which ended in 2006, the same year he got together with Hollyoaks actress and future Strictly Come Dancing star Gemma Atkinson.
      Most read in Football
      After they too split he later dated model and Celebrity Big Brother contestant Danielle Lloyd.
      Bent earned up to £20,000 a week during his football career but endured a miserable fall from grace after retiring.
      He turned to drugs and alcohol and also found himself with a criminal record after a police raid which saw him Tasered.
      And despite earning an estimated £10m during his playing days, he struggled with his finances – culminating in bankruptcy in 2019.
      He later told of being forced to claim Universal Credit benefits.
      Bent, born in Hammersmith in west London, was banned from the roads for 32 months in March last year after being found four times over the drink-drive limit.
      He pleaded guilty to driving his grey BMW X5 three-litre diesel on the A3 at Tibbet’s Corner in south-west London on February 27 last year.
      Magistrates in Wimbledon rejected his excuse he had only had two glasses of wine the night before, describing his reading as one of the highest they had seen.
      He was recorded at 134 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, whereas the the legal limit is 35.
      Bent’s lawyer Scott Ewing told the court the ex-footballer was “remorseful” while outlining his financial woes.
      Mr Ewing said: “He is not working at the moment, but does some football match commentary and recently was on Universal Credit.
      “He has no income, save for a £20,000 return on an investment, and says he had depression that led to drug and alcohol issues in the past.”
      Mr Ewing also described football as a “comfort blanket” for Bent, who struggled to cope after retiring and “went from having a high-profile, successful career to nothing”.
      The lawyer added: “Unfortunately sycophants and leeches provided unregulated investment advice.
      “He has now hit rock bottom, from where he’s looking up and there’s only one direction to go and that’s to give advice to others so they don’t fall into the same traps.
      “It is a pity it has taken something like this for Mr Bent to get the assistance he needs.”
      Bent had appeared in the same courthouse in 2016, being fined £385 for possessing cocaine at Chessington World of Adventures.
      Earlier that year he received a suspended prison sentence for possessing cocaine and affray, after being Tasered by police arresting him at his home in Esher, Surrey.
      His affray trial heard how he was high on cocaine when he ran at officers while wielding a meat cleaver and a kitchen knife.
      He later insisted: “At no point was I ever going to take someone’s life. I called them because I was hallucinating, paranoid, terrified.”
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      But he revealed it prompted him to go into rehab, including a spell helped by former England and Arsenal captain Tony Adams’ Sporting Chance clinic.
      Bent’s other clubs during a 573-game, 113-goal career included Sheffield United – also now in the Premier League – as well as current Championship sides Birmingham City, Blackburn Rovers, Ipswich Town, Leicester City, Middlesbrough and Queens Park Rangers.
      Bent’s 14 English league clubs included Championship side Birmingham CityCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      The former striker was banned for drink-driving by Wimbledon magistrates last yearCredit: Square Mile News More

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      in Athletics

      I was an Olympic sprinter but my career unravelled when a friend used my flat as a crack cocaine lab – he betrayed me

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      A FORMER Olympic sprinter has revealed how his career unravelled when a friend used his flat as a cocaine lab.Leon Reid, 28, said he felt deceived and betrayed by pal Romaine Hyman, 31, after being sentenced following a drugs bust.
      Leon Reid has revealed how his career unravelled when his friend used his flat as a cocaine labCredit: Police Handout
      The former athletics star once competed at the Tokyo Olympics
      The talented sportsman once represented Ireland at the 2021 Olympic games, reaching the semi-finals of the 200m.
      But he was given a suspended sentence in February last year after being found guilty of allowing his flat to be used for the production of crack cocaine.
      Speaking out about his ordeal, Reid told Sky News: “I put my trust in someone and an old training partner, an old friend.
      “I feel like I’ve got really taken advantage of, especially when I was at the height of my career.”
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      Running for Northern Ireland, his major event debut came in 2018 where he scooped Bronze at the Commonwealth Games.
      By 2020 he was preparing for the Olympics in Tokyo but had to change his routine after he was delayed by the pandemic.
      Lockdown saw him come back to England, returning to a flat in Bristol that he was subletting to a friend.
      Reid maintains while he was out training, Romaine was using the flat to produce crack cocaine.
      Most read in Athletics
      And he insists that the first he knew about it was when cops arrived.
      In May 2020, Reid was arrested as part of an operation led by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, taking down an encrypted communications service.
      The former Olympic star said: “It’s obviously really upsetting.
      “It’s been everything I’ve tried to get away from my whole life (drugs) and getting put back into that sort of that circle, it was just nothing that I had ever dreamed that I’d ever be involved in, ever.”
      While awaiting trial, he was still able to go to the Olympics – after appealing against an Irish deselection decision – and made the 200m semi-finals in Tokyo in 2021.
      But his trial last year saw a conviction for allowing his flat to be used for the production of cocaine and receiving payment, which text messages showed to be £500.
      Reid was ordered to carry out community service while Hyman was jailed for 26 years after being found guilty of 18 offences in the crackdown on his attempt to build a drugs empire.
      “I was there training for the Olympics. I was at the peak of my career,” Reid recalled.
      “I wasn’t really focused on my friend. He was doing his work-out in the apartment, which obviously he said it was forex trading and things like that, which I’ve got no interest in.”
      And Reid said his one-time friend was “making sure I was out of the apartment” before cooking drugs.
      ‘DESTROYED MY CAREER’
      He continued: “I was on a WADA drug list, so even if I touched a door handle that did have traces of drugs on, I would get a positive drug test and I would fail that, and I would lose my career. So I was in no position to risk that on any scale.”
      Reid maintains he was “too nonchalant about the whole situation” while doing a favour for a friend, insisting: “I didn’t need the money.”
      He had gained status, sponsors and success which all abandoned him after his conviction.
      A return to the Commonwealth Games was also blocked last year when he was deemed a security risk by Birmingham organisers.
      A regretful Reid said: “It destroyed my career. And also my reputation.”
      Now, he hopes to use his misfortune to help those still in professional sport by forming a mentoring business.

      “I fought my demons of the past two years,” Reid says.
      “I’ve had the no sleep nights and the cry myself to sleep. But now I’m looking forward to the future.”
      Reid said he was betrayed by friend Romaine Hyman who he had no idea was using his flat to cook drugsCredit: Police Handout
      Bands of cash were also found at the apartmentCredit: Police Handout More

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      in Boxing

      Troubled boxing champion Scott Fitzgerald is jailed after KOing man outside pub in drink and drug-fuelled rampage

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      FORMER boxing champion Scott Fitzgerald has been jailed after floored a man outside a pub with a single punch.The Commonwealth gold medallist attacked Leevi Francis in a drink and drug-fuelled rage.
      Scott Fitzgerald has been jailed for punching a man to the ground outside a pubCredit: Reuters
      Leevi suffered a broken jaw and a cut below his eyebrow after being knocked unconscious outside the Grand Junction in Preston, Lancashire.
      Fitzgerald has now been jailed for 46 weeks after he pleaded guilty to GBH on the first day of his trial.
      Preston Crown Court heard how the boxer had been drinking all afternoon and smoked cannabis on November 27 last year.
      CCTV footage showed him “bouncing around the pub” before he went into the pool room.
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      Landlady Kirsty Allen kicked him out after he stamped on the floor hard close to the pool table.
      After being shoved outside by a group of drinkers, Fitzgerald first confronted another man.
      Seeing this, Leevi stepped in to help and was punched to the ground by the British light-middleweight champion.
      He lay unconscious for around a minute before being taken to hospital.
      Most read in Boxing
      In a victim impact statement, Leevi said a plate inserted into his jaw causes him pain at night as he told how he lost two stone after being left unable to eat.
      He also revealed he has suffered socially since the attack and feels anxious about his son’s boxing hobby.
      Ayaz Qazi, defending, told the court how Fitzgerald’s successful career, which saw him win a gold medal for his country in 2014, was blighted by his drink and drug use.
      The lawyer said he is now banned from professional boxing but has remained sober while being kept on remand in custody.
      Mr Qazi added: “He is utterly aghast and ashamed of the way he was behaving, this loutish and disorderly behaviour in public.”
      Sentencing, Judge Richard Archer said Fitzgerald using his fists was the equivalent of using a weapon in a fight.
      He said: “You know, as somebody who is supposed to be trained to control aggression and channel it for the purposes of professional sport, that when to behave that way – even by your own admission under the influence of drink and drugs – is entirely unacceptable.
      “You risk very serious consequences for your victim.
      “A professional boxer who under the influence is unable to charge the power in those fists could all so easily have rendered a man not just unconscious, but dead.
      “It is fortunate you are not facing a much more serious charge. There are many people who face those charges based on a single blow.”
      The sentence is the latest drama in the boxer’s troubled personal life.

      In 2021, worrying pictures emerged of super-welterweight champ lying on the street outside a pub.
      Fitzgerald took to social media to reassure fans after promotor Eddie Hearn voiced his concerns over the pictures.
      The boxer had been kicked out of a pub after drinking and taking drugsCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      The British light-middleweight champion pleaded guilty to GBHCredit: Getty
      He has struggled with drinking and drugs, his lawyer saidCredit: Getty More

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      in Boxing

      Amir Khan, 36, set for boxing comeback after personally phoning up YouTuber to ask for fight despite drugs ban

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      AMIR KHAN is set for a boxing comeback after personally reaching out to YouTuber Adam Saleh over a fight, reports say. The British boxing icon retired last year following defeat to bitter rival Kell Brook and left the door open to a return.
      Amir Khan is set for a boxing comeback after reaching out to a YouTuber over a fightCredit: Reuters
      YouTuber-turned boxer Adam Saleh
      But that was until it was announced Khan failed a shock drug test and was handed a subsequent two-year ban.
      Although it does not look set to stop him from trying to organise a fight with social media star Saleh.
      According to Fred Talks Fighting, the former world champion reached out to Saleh to discuss a bout.
      Due to Khan’s ban, it would likely be an exhibition bout with a target date believed to be in August or September.
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      Saleh, 29, boxed an an amateur before finding fame on the internet but returned to boxing amid the rise of influencer bouts.
      He has since fought five times, with three wins and two draws.
      Saleh has had two professional bouts, with his last coming in Saudi Arabia in February, winning by first-round stoppage.
      Khan, 36, is meanwhile still serving his backdated ban having tested positive for Ostarine, which aids weight loss and muscle growth.
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      CASINO SPECIAL – BEST ONLINE CASINOS FOR 2023
      The substance is prohibited by United Kingdom Anti-Doping, who the 2004 Olympian co-operated with during their investigation.
      UKAD confirmed Khan’s ban – after it was referred to the National Anti-Doping Panel – but he doubled down on unknowingly consuming the substance.
      A statement read: “Mr Khan’s case was heard by the independent tribunal on 24 January 2023 and in its written decision dated 21 February 2023, the panel found both violations proved, concluded that Mr Khan had established that they were not ‘intentional’ within the meaning of ADR Article 10.2.3 and imposed a two-year ban on him.”
      Kell Brook after beating Amir KhanCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun More

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      in Soccer

      Ex-England footballer banned from pharmacies for using fake prescriptions to get pills & becoming aggressive with staff

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      AN ex-Premier League ace has been banned from pharmacies for using a fake prescription to obtain sleeping pills.The former England under-21 international is one 78 football stars known to be seeking help for their addiction to drugs or booze.
      A former England under-21 international has been banned from pharmacies for using a fake prescription to get sleeping pillsCredit: Getty
      Also known as ‘sleepers’, zopiclone can create a recreational high when mixed with alcoholCredit: Alamy
      The household name was said to have used a letter containing the name and details of real doctors from a surgery in Bournemouth to obtain zopiclone.
      Also known as “sleepers”, the drug can create a recreational high when mixed with alcohol.
      The player became aggressive when told by pharmacy staff the prescription was fake — and fled before police were called.
      A source said: “There was a horrible set-to when he was refused his sleeping pills. The staff felt they were in danger.
      READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS
      “An alert was written to warn other pharmacies. He went on to try virtually every other chemist in South London.”
      NHS England confirmed it sent a warning to all London pharmacies advising staff not to serve the individual.
      The Players Foundation — previously the PFA — said 38 current and 40 retired stars were treated for substance abuse last season — a rise on the 59 total of the year before.
      Thirty-five went into rehab.
      Most read in Football
      We previously told of a struggling England ace popping zopiclone with champagne or vodka.
      And two other Three Lions players have turned to the black market to get their hands on larger quantities of the class C prescription medication.
      Nitrous oxide is also said to be increasingly popular among footballers, with Players Foundation chief Colin Bland seeing a “notable increase” during Covid.
      The union is working with the Sporting Chance clinic to boost care for stars. More

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      in Boxing

      I was drinking and doing drugs before boxing showed up out of nowhere and saved me, says Jake Paul

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      JAKE PAUL has opened up on how boxing prevented him from his life spiralling out of control on drink and drugs. The American shot to fame on social media app Vine and later YouTube along with his brother Logan.
      Jake Paul formerly lived a life of partyingCredit: @jakepaul
      And in pursuit of fame and fortune, both moved to Los Angeles where their life moved in the fast lane.
      But it almost became too much for Paul until thankfully a shock career in boxing helped turn his life around.
      He bravely told DAZN: “I was drinking, doing drugs, doing all sorts of crazy s*** in Los Angeles, not being myself. 
      “Because that’s what happens when you’re drinking like that and doing those things like that.
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      “I needed something to save me and boxing showed up out of nowhere. 
      “I definitely worry – that side of me is the Problem Child side of me – that can get involved in those of things. 
      “But everybody has a story and I’m just now comfortable telling that story because I was kind of embarrassed by it. 
      “I didn’t know if I could talk about those things, I didn’t want to say that I had those problems or was doing those things. 
      Most read in Boxing
      “But I was like, if I can share my story about that and finding boxing and saving me then maybe someone else will be able to relate.” 
      Paul, 26, made his professional boxing debut in 2020, beating online rival AnEsonGib.
      It kickstarted a polarising prizefighting career which has seen the social media sensation headline around the world.
      He even moved out of LA in late 2020 to rid of any distractions, since building an isolated base in Puerto Rico.
      Paul has wins over ex-MMA champions Ben Askren, 38, Tyron Woodley, 41, and Anderson Silva, 48.
      But he was beaten in his last bout in February by boxer Tommy Fury, 23, losing a split-decision in Saudi Arabia.
      Paul now returns on August 5 in Texas against ex-UFC star Nate Diaz, 38, in a bid to prove he can bounce back from defeat.
      And having seen boxing change his life, the Most Valuable Promotions boss insisted he will be a mainstay in the sport.
      Read More on The Sun
      Paul said: “One hundred per cent, always. Promoting fights, helping fighters, using my platform. 
      “I’ve even thought about getting my referee’s licence. Wouldn’t that be funny? Wouldn’t that be funny, if I’m like in the ring, refitting a match?” 
      Jake Paul in training for his next fight More

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      in Soccer

      Former LaLiga star accepts six-year prison sentence after confessing to leading drug trafficking ring

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      A former LaLiga footballer has accepted a six-year prison sentence after confessing to leading a drug trafficking ring.Sergio Contreras, better known as Koke, agreed to a plea bargain deal at a court in Malaga after being warned state prosecutors were seeking to have him imprisoned for 16 years ahead of his trial.
      Sergio Contreras played for the likes of Marseille, Malaga and Sporting LisbonCredit: AFP
      He has accepted a six-year prison sentenceCredit: AFP
      The ex-striker, whose clubs included Malaga, Marseille and Sporting Lisbon, was one of 17 defendants accused of buying large amounts of drugs that were smuggled in lorries into different European countries.
      Koke had been described in a pre-trial indictment as the gang leader.
      The drugs were mainly marijuana and cannabis resin, but also included cocaine.
      The gang Koke has now admitted he led was raided in November 2019 following a police operation codenamed Operation Vinculada that involved wiretaps and undercover follows.
      READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
      One of the drug runs linked to the ex-footballer’s gang, consisting of vacuum-packed marijuana and cocaine hidden inside a cargo of garlic, was valued at £350,000.
      All 16 of the defendants who showed up for a trial at Malaga’s Provincial Court on March 27, which ended up being suspended following a no-show by a 17th female defendant police are still hunting, admitted their guilt at a brief hearing on Tuesday.
      As part of the plea bargain deals they struck following a subsequent period of negotiation between state prosecutors and their defence lawyers, they have agreed to accept prison sentences of between two and six years reflecting their different responsibilities in the gang.
      Jail sentences for first-time offenders in Spain normally end up being suspended.
      Most read in Football
      Koke, 40, started his footballing career at hometown club Malaga.
      He went on to join Marseille before being loaned to Sporting Lisbon.
      He produced the best football of his career in years at Greek side Aris, where the first of his two spells there included a brief cameo in a 2011 3-0 Europa League defeat to Manchester City.
      The forward retired from football in 2016. More