Sports

Joshua Wants £40m To Step Aside For Fury, Usyk

Published

4 years ago

December 8, 2021

Editor

Anthony Joshua

Eddie Hearn has suggested Anthony Joshua would be willing to step aside and allow Tyson Fury to face Oleksandr Usyk for £40m after entering talks with the Gypsy King’s team over a potential deal.

Joshua was beaten conclusively by Usyk at the end of September, losing his unified heavyweight titles via unanimous decision on a disappointing night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Two weeks after that humbling he opted to trigger his immediate rematch clause, and Hearn expected the return bout to take place either in March or April next year.

However, in recent weeks talk has surfaced of Joshua instead accepting an offer to step aside for a potential showdown between Usyk and Fury, which would crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion in over two decades.

Fury, who retained his WBC title by knocking out Deontay Wilder, was on the verge of agreeing to face Dillian Whyte in his next bout, but the WBC refused to name him as the Gypsy King’s mandatory challenger.

He has therefore turned his attention to an undisputed battle with Usyk, an option which became all the more realistic when Joshua recently hinted that a step-aside deal ‘may make sense for business’.

Now Hearn, AJ’s long-time promoter, has named his man’s price to let Fury and Usyk scrap it out for heavyweight supremacy next year.

The Matchroom chief told Boxing King Media, “Seven figures? A million? If you want to get him not to fight Oleksandr Usyk you have to times that by 40…

“At the moment there is communication between the two teams to say is it something, and the answer is AJ has not been spoken to about this yet.

“I’ll deal with it and when I feel there’s an opportunity for Anthony and 258 (Management) we’ll sit down with them and present it to them but I won’t do that until it’s the right opportunity.

“If there’s a route and an offer and it makes sense then we’ll see but right now, it’s just conversations between the camps.”

Sports

AC Milan Scrap Victor Boniface Transfer Over Failed Medical Tests

Published

2 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

AC Milan has called off its proposed transfer of Nigerian striker Victor Boniface from Bayer Leverkusen, claiming the player failed to pass mandatory medical examinations.

The deal, which had been verbally agreed upon with a €5 million loan fee and a €24 million buy option, fell through despite Boniface’s arrival in Milan within the last 48 hours.

The decision was confirmed by transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, on Sunday.

“AC Milan call Victor Boniface deal off as Nigerian striker did not pass the medical tests,” Romano posted.

“Despite verbal agreement for €5m loan fee and €24m buy clause with player in Milano in the last 48h, deal called off due to medical. Boniface, returning in Germany today.”

According to reports, the 24-year-old Nigerian international had two anterior cruciate ligament operations and recurring groin problems that have affected his availability in recent seasons.

Milan are not the first Serie A club to have reservations about the striker’s fitness, with reports suggesting that Roma rejected a swap proposal involving Boniface and Ukrainian forward Artem Dovbyk several weeks ago due to similar concerns over the Nigerian’s condition.

Sports

Why I’ll Never Advise My Son To Visit Nigeria – Taribo West

Published

2 days ago

August 22, 2025

Editor

A former Super Eagles defender, Taribo West, on Friday, berated the Nigeria Football Federation and Lagos State Government for allegedly abandoning the family of late goalkeeper, Peter Rufai.

Speaking at Rufai’s burial in a video posted by News Central on Friday, the ex-Inter Milan star expressed disappointment over what he described as the neglect of Nigerian football heroes after their death.

“It’s disheartening that you have Lagos State, you have the Nigerian Football Association. They drop the bulk on the family. I felt in my spirit that there is nothing to put your life for. That’s why I say I have to shift back so that I will not implode. It’s grieving.

“My mother passed on. I never shed tears. My father passed on in my hands. I never shed tears. When Rufai passed on, I had goose pimples on my body. And every individual I’m speaking to, there were tears rolling down my cheeks. What kind of nation is this?” he said

The former international recalled similar situations with late football icons such as Stephen Keshi, Rashidi Yekini, and Thompson Oliha, stressing that the treatment of ex-players discouraged him from encouraging his children to serve the country through football.

“With this kind of example, I will never advise even my son to put his feet for this country. Send me out! Do we have a Football Federation or do we have a Football Association in this Lagos State? That this hero, this soldier, this football evangelist, has to be treated this way in his family.

“Could you imagine that the family would be crying just to solicit in within our groups to ask for money? That is madness. Look, please let me go. I don’t want to pour my heart,” he stated.

Rufai, fondly called “Dodo Mayana,” was Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper during the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations triumph and the country’s debut at the FIFA World Cup the same year.

He passed away in July 2025.

Sports

CHAN 2024: Top Scorers Ahead Of Quarter-final Fixtures

Published

4 days ago

August 20, 2025

Editor

Uganda’s Allan Okello and South Africa’s Thabiso Kutumela are currently joint top scorers at the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN), with three goals each as the tournament heads into the quarter-final stage.

The group stage concluded on Tuesday, with Sudan holding Senegal to a 0-0 draw to finish top of Group D, while Nigeria defeated Congo 2-0.

Here are the top scorers going into the CHAN quarter-finals:

Allan Okello (Uganda) – 3 goals
Thabiso Kutumela (South Africa) – 3 goals
Abdelrazig Omer (Sudan) – 2 goals
Kaporal (Angola) – 2 goals
Austin Odhiambo (Kenya) – 2 goals
Clement Mzize (Tanzania) – 2 goals
The quarter-final fixtures are scheduled for Friday and Saturday.