Sports
Jaron Ennis beats David Avanesyan to retain IBF world welterweight title
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Rising US star Jaron Ennis was hailed as “the future of boxing” after a fifth-round stoppage of challenger David Avanesyan to retain his IBF world welterweight crown.
Ennis, 27, was fighting for the first time in more than a year and took some shots from his experienced opponent, but had too much skill and power for the Russian.
He edged some competitive opening rounds before stepping it up from the third round to delight more than 14,000 fans at the Wells Fargo Center in his home city of Philadelphia.
After sending the 35-year-old Avanesyan to the canvas in the fifth, Ennis launched a sustained attack until the bell brought the round to an end.
It also brought the fight to a close, as Avanesyan’s corner, on the advice of the ringside doctor, decided their fighter had had enough.
Ennis, unbeaten in 32 bouts, said he was happy with his display but added: “I felt like my timing was a little off.”
“If he thinks that performance was off, the world of boxing ought to be very, very afraid,” his promoter Eddie Hearn said. “He’s the future of boxing. That’s what he is.”
Ennis has now set his sights on facing Terence Crawford, saying: “I want the big names.”
The undercard also witnessed a successful world title defence as Australia’s Skye Nicolson won a unanimous points victory over Dyana Vargas of the Dominican Republic to retain her WBC featherweight belt.
The 28-year-old dominated without finding the cutting edge over 10 rounds, all three judges scoring it 100-90 in favour of the 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
Sports
Karl Darlow: Leeds United goalkeeper eyes World Cup after making Wales debut at 33
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“It’s a special moment for them,” Darlow said. “My nan was made up to be back in Cardiff and enjoyed the game.
“I know everything about my grandad’s career and it’s something for the family and myself to be proud of. I hope I did the country proud wearing that shirt and will do in the future.”
Leek, a forward, did not play at the 1958 World Cup, but went on to win 13 caps in the 1960s, scoring five goals.
He played club football for the likes of Northampton Town – where Darlow was born – Leicester City, Newcastle United, Birmingham City and Bradford City.
Darlow has also played for Newcastle, as well as Nottingham Forest, Newport County, Walsall, Hull City and Leeds, who he joined in 2023.
He says a desire to play regularly at club level influenced his decision to turn down Wales, before Bellamy came calling having been appointed head coach in July.
“At different times in my career I’ve had probably different commitments in terms of getting to play games,” Darlow said.
“There have been certain points in my career when I didn’t feel it was right for me to come. I feel now I’m so motivated and determined to help this Welsh squad qualify for the World Cup.
“I had a fantastic Zoom meeting with the manager. Everything he said ticked all my boxes and he was pleased with how I came across as well. It’s a new era and the main goal for me and the squad is to get to the World Cup.”
Having sat on the bench in the Nations League opener against Turkey, Darlow was picked ahead of Danny Ward in Montenegro as Bellamy made five changes to his starting side.
Sports
Jack Draper: Great Britain yet to make decision over his 2024 Davis Cup involvement
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The British team, without Andy Murray for the first time since his recent retirement, has a different feel for the Davis Cup Finals group stage event.
Dan Evans and Neal Skupski, who memorably teamed up to secure a “bonkers” doubles victory which put Britain through to the eight-team knockout stage in Manchester last year, remain in the squad alongside Draper and provide experience.
But Billy Harris – a late bloomer who has just moved to a career-high 101st in the world aged 29 – and 28-year-old Wimbledon doubles champion Henry Patten could be handed debuts.
British number two Cameron Norrie is missing through the arm injury which ruled him out of the recent US Open.
Smith praised Draper’s commitment to playing for his nation despite the short turnaround from his exploits in New York.
Draper had strapping applied to his right thigh before hitting with British number 10 Charles Broom for about an hour in Manchester.
“He is really excited to come here but we have to get him on the practice court, see how he’s doing, assess him,” added Smith, speaking on Tuesday before Draper linked up with the squad.
“Ultimately I’ll make the call on that. I have to select the team to do what is best, not just for tomorrow, but also we have really important matches at the weekend as well.
“We just have to weigh up risk versus reward a little bit.
“We have four guys here who are more than capable of going out tomorrow if that’s required and doing a really good job.”
Smith’s squad face Finland, Argentina and Canada in the round-robin event at Manchester’s AO Arena.
The top two teams progress to the eight-nation finals which will be held in Malaga between 19-24 November.
Sports
England drop Dan Lawrence and call up Brydon Carse and Jordan Cox
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Jack Leach, who lost his place to Somerset team-mate Shoaib Bashir as England’s first-choice spinner, is in the squad, alongside leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed. Left-armer Tom Hartley misses out despite playing all five Tests on the tour of India earlier this year.
In all, there are six frontline seamers chosen, including 20-year-old left-armer Josh Hull following his debut against Sri Lanka in the third Test at The Oval.
Chris Woakes will go on his first England Test tour since Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum took charge of England in 2022, alongside Gus Atkinson, Olly Stone, Matthew Potts, Carse and Hull.
Mark Wood is not included, having been ruled out for the rest of the year with an elbow injury.
The inflated number of seamers could be down to fitness doubts over Stokes and Atkinson, the latter struggling with a thigh problem.
There is also confusion over the venues, which were due to be Karachi, Rawalpindi and Multan.
However, building work in Karachi is likely to leave that stadium unavailable, and a new schedule is due to be announced this week.
There has been speculation that part of the series could be shifted to the United Arab Emirates, but it is now thought the entire series will take place in Pakistan, possibly with two Tests in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan played both Tests of their 2-0 defeat by Bangladesh in Rawalpindi and did not pick a specialist spinner for the first Test, opting for four seamers.
England won 3-0 on their last visit to Pakistan in 2022, the first time a visiting team had recorded a 3-0 clean sweep in the country.
England squad for Test series against Pakistan: Ben Stokes (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Bryson Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.
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