On 1 June in New York Mexican Ruiz Jr shocked the boxing world by stopping Britain’s Joshua to win the IBF, WBA and WBO titles. The bout was described by The Daily Telegraph as “one of the most seismic upsets ever witnessed in the history of heavyweight boxing”.
It was reported that Cardiff and Dubai were among the options for Ruiz Jr vs. Joshua part two, but the Telegraph says an official announcement will be made today confirming Saudi Arabia as the host country for the big rematch.
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With his first touch in American football the 27-year-old weaved his way through the Indianapolis Colts’s defence to score in the Bills’s 24-16 pre-season win.
“I knew where I was going even before the ball came because they overloaded one side,” said Wade. “Then as soon as I got the ball I was off to the races. I was looking up at the screen to see if any of the linebackers or anyone was coming up behind me.”
Bills quarterback Josh Allen added: “Huge congratulations to Christian Wade. Watching him score that touchdown was one of the coolest experiences of my football career and I wasn’t even on the field.”
3. Rugby League player charged with ‘testical attack’
The BBC reports that Bradford hooker George Flanagan has been charged with a Grade F “attack to the testicles” in Saturday’s Championship defeat against Toronto Wolfpack. Should Flanagan be found guilty he could be banned for more than eight matches.
4. 2020 F1 British GP to be pushed back
It’s widely reported that the 2020 Formula 1 British Grand Prix will be moved back a week so it won’t clash with the Euro 2020 final at Wembley and the men’s singles final at Wimbledon. This year’s race was held on the same day as the ICC Cricket World Cup final between England and New Zealand and the Wimbledon men’s singles final between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. With F1 not wanting another schedule clash the date for the 2020 British GP is expected to be confirmed as Sunday 19 July. The one event it will clash with though is the final round of The Open golf major at Royal St George’s.
5. Warne and Keightley to coach in The Hundred
Australia cricket legend Shane Warne has been appointed head coach of one of the London-based teams for The Hundred. Warne will be in charge of the men’s side which will comprise of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), Middlesex, Essex and Northamptonshire, Sky Sports reports. Lisa Keightley has been named as head coach for the women’s team. The Hundred - the new 100-ball cricket competition - will launch in July 2020 with men’s and women’s tournaments.
England rugby union head coach Eddie Jones has named his team for the clash against Wales at Twickenham on Sunday.
Gloucester scrum-half Willi Heinz and Bath wing Ruaridh McConnochie will make their debuts in the Rugby World Cup warm-up. Jones selects his squad for the Rugby World Cup on Monday.
Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones will become his country’s most-capped player (126) when he plays against England.
England team
Starting XV: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Ruaridh McConnochie, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Anthony Watson, 10 George Ford (captain), 9 Willi Heinz; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Joe Launchbury, 5 Charlie Ewels, 6 Tom Curry, 7 Sam Underhill, 8 Billy Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Jack Singleton, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Harry Williams, 19 George Kruis, 20 Lewis Ludlam, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Joe Marchant, 23 Joe Cokanasiga
Wales team
Starting XV: 15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Gareth Davies; 1 Nicky Smith, 2 Ken Owens, 3 Tomas Francis, 4 Adam Beard, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (captain), 6 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Justin Tipuric, 8 Ross Moriarty
The 2019-20 Premier League season begins tonight when Champions League winners Liverpool take on newly-promoted Norwich City at Anfield. Reds manager Jurgen Klopp has urged the Kop to enjoy what will be a challenging campaign. The German said: “Starting tonight we face outstanding players, led by brilliant managers and coaches week in and week out – it doesn’t stop. But it’s the challenge that makes it so fulfilling and so enjoyable. Let’s never lose sight of what we are all involved in; it’s about energy and joy, it’s about shared experiences.”
Premier League clubs spent £1.41bn in the 2019 summer transfer window, falling narrowly short of the record set in summer 2017 (£1.43bn). According to analysis from Deloitte’s Sports Business Group top-flight clubs spent £170m on deadline day. The biggest deals saw Alex Iwobi leave Arsenal for Everton and Ismaïla Sarr join Watford from Rennes. The biggest sale on deadline day was Romelu Lukaku, who left Manchester United for Inter Milan.
They may have spent more than any other Premier League club this summer but Manchester United are among the biggest “losers” of the transfer window. That’s the common consensus this morning with United fans on Twitter calling for executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to get out of Old Trafford.
The Daily Mirror reports that Crystal Palace have told Wilfried Zaha to “get back to work” and forget about forcing an exit. Ivorian forward Zaha saw a deadline day move to Everton fall through despite handing in a transfer request to the south London club.
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