Month: August 2020

Jeff Horn was spent after second round vs. Tim Tszyu: cornerman

Jeff Horn ran out of gas by the end of the second round against Tim Tszyu last Wednesday.

Jeff Horn ran out of gas by the end of the second round against Tim Tszyu last Wednesday in Australia.

That’s the word from longtime cornerman Stephen Edwards, who could only watch as Horn took a beating, went down twice and struggled to survive eight rounds before the one-sided fight was finally stopped.

Horn evidently was not as fit as one would’ve expected him to be.

“By the end of the second round I thought Jeff was gassed,” Edwards told The Sunday Telegraph. “He got by on pure heart from that point.

“From round five onwards there were some robust discussions in our corner about where the fight was heading.”

Glenn Rushton, Horn’s trainer, has been criticized for pushing Horn to come out for the ninth round. Others in the corner – including Edwards – told the referee to stop the fight. He complied.

“Jeff had taken a lot of punishment,” Edwards said. “His legs were gone, his power was gone, his speed was gone and he had no petrol left. We were way behind on the scorecards.

“Because I care so much about Jeff I couldn’t allow him to go back out. Jeff’s a warrior and if he’d had something left he’d have told us to let him go on.”

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Brock Lesnar vs. Fedor Emelianenko? Consider Bellator’s Scott Coker interested

Could the superfight which never happened between Fedor Emelianenko and Brock Lesnar finally go down? If it’s up to Scott Coker, it will.

It’s the fight an entire generation of MMA considers The One That Got Away: [autotag]Brock Lesnar[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Fedor Emelianenko[/autotag].

Right around the time Lesnar (5-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) was both the UFC heavyweight champion and MMA’s biggest draw, Emelianenko (39-6 MMA, 3-2 BMMA), the longtime PRIDE heavyweight titleholder, was turning his attention to fighting in North America.

And the potential bout between the two was considered in many corners the ultimate heavyweight superfight, one which could potentially move the UFC out of their arena comfort zone and into a stadium.

Alas, it never happened, as the UFC and Emelianenko didn’t come to terms. Emelianenko went on to fight in the United States for Affliction and then Strikeforce before retiring, then returning with Bellator. Lesnar had his run in the UFC, then went back to the WWE, where he’s remained a big star.

And the fight fans from MMA’s ’00s heyday wanted never came to fruition … or will it?

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Word broke Monday that Lesnar is now a free agent, his WWE contract up. That could potentially mean he’d take another MMA fight if the price was right. Emelianenko remains under contract to Bellator. And a promoter who has shown no hesitation to matchup MMA’s senior set when the fight is right is Bellator president Scott Coker.

Which makes his comments to ESPN’s Ariel Helwani about the two 43-year-olds rather interesting:

Asked Bellator President Scott Coker if he has interest in Brock Lesnar, and he replied: “Yes, if he’s truly available. Fedor vs. Brock is interesting. It’s the fight that never happened!”

There are plenty of obstacles in the way of such a fight, including the basic fact Lesnar has not indicated an interest in returning to MMA. But a fight many gave up on years ago now at least has a glimmer of a chance.

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Joel Embiid really liked seeing Jimmy Butler tearing up the Bucks in Game 1

Jimmy Butler had everyone in awe with his Game 1 performance.

Jimmy Butler put the Miami Heat on his back Monday night in leading them to a 115-104 victory over the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series in Orlando.

Butler finished with a game-high 40 points, which is the most points he’s ever scored in a playoff game in his NBA career. He was a force down the stretch, scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter against a Bucks defense that had no answers for his ability to get big buckets.

Butler, of course, spent most of last season with the Philadelphia 76ers before leaving in the offseason to join the Heat in a sign and trade deal.

His former teammate, Sixers star Joel Embiid, was watching Monday night’s game and sent this one-word tweet that had fans assuming he was talking about Butler and how things could have been different for Philly if he stayed:

Minutes later he sang the praises of Butler:

Twitter had reactions:

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Tyson Fury wants to fight WWE star Drew McIntrye

WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has sparked off a rivalry with WWE’s Drew McIntryre.

Editor’s note: This article was originally posted on DAZN.com.

***

WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has sparked off a rivalry with WWE’s Drew McIntryre.

Fury fought in the WWE for the first and — so far — only time in October 2019 when he participated in an event in Saudi Arabia against Braun Strowman.

The Manchester fighter is set for a third bout against Deontay Wilder in December and could fight Anthony Joshua in 2021 in a unification bout. However, he has not forgotten his wrestling experience.

Scottish wrestler McIntrye and Fury would create an event that could be easily sold in the United Kingdom, and Fury said: “Been sitting on the train on my own after a long, busy weekend and I’m thinking about the people that I want to punch in the face.

“The first one that springs to mind is a big fella called Drew McIntyre. Now Drew, you’ve been having quite a bit to say about me lately. I’d love to punch your face in, honestly.”

Fury continued: “So grow a pair, step up to the plate, like I say to your mate AJ, and come and fight the master. Me. This is an official challenge video to Drew McIntyre, the WWE heavyweight champion.

“I already knocked your pal out, Braun Strowman. I’ll do the same to you. Bring it.”

Responding on Twitter, McIntyre said: “I’m not one of the normal bums you pick to fight, I’m not some punching bag getting paid to turn up and lose. Nice timing by the way, even with a fractured jaw I’m pretty confident I could do 12 rounds with your pillow fists. Nice try, ‘King.’ – Your @WWE Champion”

Despite his speculation over the WWE, Fury suggested an early fight against Joshua if the match-up with Wilder falls through.

“If Wilder doesn’t happen lets do Joshua in December — why not?,” Fury said.

“It’s a boxing match, lets get it on. I’m ready to go now. I could fight him in that ring tonight, it doesn’t really matter. I’d still kick his ass anytime of the day.”

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Tyson Fury wants to fight WWE star Drew McIntrye

WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has sparked off a rivalry with WWE’s Drew McIntryre.

Editor’s note: This article was originally posted on DAZN.com.

***

WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has sparked off a rivalry with WWE’s Drew McIntryre.

Fury fought in the WWE for the first and — so far — only time in October 2019 when he participated in an event in Saudi Arabia against Braun Strowman.

The Manchester fighter is set for a third bout against Deontay Wilder in December and could fight Anthony Joshua in 2021 in a unification bout. However, he has not forgotten his wrestling experience.

Scottish wrestler McIntrye and Fury would create an event that could be easily sold in the United Kingdom, and Fury said: “Been sitting on the train on my own after a long, busy weekend and I’m thinking about the people that I want to punch in the face.

“The first one that springs to mind is a big fella called Drew McIntyre. Now Drew, you’ve been having quite a bit to say about me lately. I’d love to punch your face in, honestly.”

Fury continued: “So grow a pair, step up to the plate, like I say to your mate AJ, and come and fight the master. Me. This is an official challenge video to Drew McIntyre, the WWE heavyweight champion.

“I already knocked your pal out, Braun Strowman. I’ll do the same to you. Bring it.”

Responding on Twitter, McIntyre said: “I’m not one of the normal bums you pick to fight, I’m not some punching bag getting paid to turn up and lose. Nice timing by the way, even with a fractured jaw I’m pretty confident I could do 12 rounds with your pillow fists. Nice try, ‘King.’ – Your @WWE Champion”

Despite his speculation over the WWE, Fury suggested an early fight against Joshua if the match-up with Wilder falls through.

“If Wilder doesn’t happen lets do Joshua in December — why not?,” Fury said.

“It’s a boxing match, lets get it on. I’m ready to go now. I could fight him in that ring tonight, it doesn’t really matter. I’d still kick his ass anytime of the day.”

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Heat seal Game 1 win vs. Bucks behind clutch 3-pointer by Tyler Herro

Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic led the Heat to victory but it was rookie Tyler Herro that hit a clutch 3-pointer late to help seal the win.

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Jimmy Butler scored a new playoff-career-high on Monday with 40 points, Goran Dragic had 27 points and the Miami Heat defeated the Milwaukee Bucks to take Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Butler scored 27 points alone in the second half, including 15 in the fourth quarter, to lead Miami to the 115-104 victory. Butler shot 13-of-20 from the field and made both of his 3-pointers as the Heat limited Giannis Antetokounmpo to 18 points.

While Butler and Dragic led the Heat, the team also received key contributions from Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro. The rookie scored 11 points and drained a clutch 3-pointer with just a minute and a half left to help seal the win.

The Heat gave up 40 points to the Bucks in the first quarter but tightened up and limited Milwaukee to 64 points the rest of the way. Miami also held Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee to 24 points in the paint, down from their average of 43.6 per game in the playoffs.

Overall, the Heat outplayed the top-seeded Bucks in the first game as they improved to 5-0 in the playoffs after sweeping the Indiana Pacers in the first round. Herro showed once again that no moment is too big for him and came up with the clutch shot late.

Game 2 is scheduled to tip-off Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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Joel Embiid wonders ‘what if?’ as Jimmy Butler leads Heat past Bucks

Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid appears to be missing Miami Heat star, Jimmy Butler.

There was a time where Jimmy Butler was a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. He was the closer, the leader, and overall great talent that the Sixers needed to succeed. They were so close in 2019 as the team lost a tough Game 7 to the Toronto Raptors on a quadruple doink.

Butler is now elsewhere with the Miami Heat and he is leading the team on an impressive playoff run. After sweeping the Indiana Pacers in Round 1, Butler and the Heat started the semifinals in impressive fashion as he led Miami past the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 115-104 with Butler scoring a career playoff-high 40 points.

Sixers star big man Joel Embiid, who had a close relationship with Butler, appears to wonder what could have been if he would have stayed with the Sixers.

Then, as Butler was closing the game out down the stretch, Embiid praised his former teammate. He acknowledged that Butler is just that good.

Meanwhile, the Sixers slumped to the 6 seed and were swept out of Round 1 by the Boston Celtics as they clearly missed Butler’s presence all season long. Not that Philadelphia was not a talented bunch, but it would have been nice to have a guy like Butler there. [lawrence-related id=37315,37308,37297]

LSU DL Tyler Shelvin opting out of 2020 college football season

LSU defensive line prospect Tyler Shelvin is opting out of the 2020 college football season and will prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft

Another top prospect is choosing not to play for the LSU Tigers this fall.

Tyler Shelvin, one of the top defensive linemen in the country, is opting out of the 2020 college football season, per multiple reports:

Listed at 6-3, 346 pounds, Shelvin is a massive mountain of a man who consistently commands double-teams. He’s got impressive explosiveness and athleticism for his frame, with all of the strength and power you’d expect.

He’s widely considered a potential first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He joins wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase and defensive back Kary Vincent Jr. as some of LSU’s big-name prospects who are opting out and getting a head start on their preparations for next year’s draft.

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How to watch or stream Boston Celtics-Toronto Raptors Game 2, Round 2

These are all the ways you can watch Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors.

The Boston Celtics look to take a two-game lead in their second-round series with the Toronto Raptors, the first postseason meeting of these two Atlantic Division rivals in league history.

With the Celtics owning a 5 – 1 record against the Raptors — including two convincing wins in the Disney restart bubble — it will require Boston to keep their attack strong and their defense sharp while also being prepared to counter whatever Toronto head coach Nick Nurse may have up his sleeve.

If you aren’t sure how to watch the tilt, we’re here to help with a variety of options for you to choose from.

Those of us in New England with cable companies carrying NBC Sports Boston can watch the game for free on that channel, as well as online via their “MyTeams” app or on NBCSportsBoston.com.

ESPN will also be carrying this contest for those of us who get that station, and for the rest of us, there’s paid services like NBA TV, NBA League Pass, Hulu + and FuboTV.

The game begins a bit later than Sunday’s, with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time. And if you can’t get free during that span, be sure to check back later for postgame video highlights.

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Chargers S Derwin James out 6-8 months with knee injury

James injured his knee in practice Sunday.

Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Chargers, star safety Derwin James will once again be sidelined for an extended period of time. According to multiple reports, James needs knee surgery and will be out for 6-8 months.

James suffered the injury in practice on Sunday, which will require surgery to repair his meniscus.

This is the second year in a row James has injured his knee and missed significant time. Last season, he played just five games after a rookie year in which he made the Pro Bowl and was a first-team All-Pro.

In two seasons (21 games), he has 139 tackles, three interceptions, 3.5 sacks and 14 passes defensed.