2020/21 NPFL Matchday 5 results, scorers

*Enyimba 2 Kano Pillars 1
Iwuala Anayo (21st min)
Gabriel Orok (38th min)
Fahad Usman -Pillars (86th min)

* Plateau United 3 Adamawa United 0
Amos Gyang (45th min)
Innocent Kingsley (86th, 90th min)

*Nasarawa United 1 Katsina United 0
Silas Nwankwo (50th min)

* Rivers United 3 Heartland 1
Godwin Aguda (18th min)
Enyinnaya Kazie (64th min)
Shedrack Oghali -Heartland (78th min)
Malachi Ohawuma (86th min)

*Jigawa Golden Stars 0 Kwara United 0

*MFM FC, Lagos 1 Enugu Rangers 1
Ugwoke Ugochukwu-Rangers (24th min)
Balogun Muyiwa -MFM (29th min)

* Lobi Stars 2 Dakkada 1
Samuel Mathias -Lobi (15th min)
Christian Ekong -Dakkada (71st min)
Austin Ogunye -Lobi (90+ min penalty)

*Sunshine Stars 1 Warri Wolves 0
Sadeeq Yusuf (90th min)

*FC Ifeanyi Ubah 1 Abia Warriors 1
Samuel Christian -Abia (9th min)
Christian Molokwu -If.Ubah (76th min)

*Akwa United 1 Wikki Tourists 1
Ndifreke Effiong-Akwa (25th min)
Chinedu Udeagha-Wikki (38th min)

Caption: 

Ndifreke Effiong of Akwa United celebrates after scoring against Wikki Tourists on Monday in Uyo.

 

 

2020/21 NPFL Matchday 1 fixtures

 December 27, 2020

Rivers United vs Enugu Rangers
Adamawa Utd vs Kano Pillars
Katsina Utd     vs Heartland
Nasarawa Utd vs Wikki Tourists
Plateau Utd      vs Kwara United
Akwa United    vs FC Dakkada
Jigawa Stars    vs Sunshine Stars
FC IfeanyiUbah vs Lobi Stars
MFM FC, Lagos vs Warri Wolves
Enyimba             vs Abia Warriors

 

Caption: Kwara United's Michael Ohano, shields the ball from an opponent.

Joshua/Fury showdown ‘verbally agreed’ for May/June----Hearn

 THE showdown between reigning WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua and the World Boxing Council (WBC) champion, Tyson Fury, has been verbally agreed for 2021, according to Eddie Hearn, reports www.talksport.com.

Speaking after Callum Smith’s loss to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in Texas, Hearn revealed that contracts are being drawn up for the huge heavyweight showdown with only a few minor details to sort out.
Mike Coppinger of The Athletic acquired the quotes from Hearn and it seems as though the venue and things like who walks out last on the night are still on the table.

“Eddie Hearn says Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua is verbally agreed to and contracts are being drafted for the heavyweight championship fight in May/June. Hearn says only “minor issues to resolve” such as who walks last, the site, etc. This fight is going to happen next,” Coppinger tweeted.

If one of the most points of debate is who walks out last, that’s good news for boxing fans hoping to see this fight. This should be easy to come to terms.
Coppinger went on to suggest that the fight is likely heading to the Middle East, although the UK is ‘still in play.’
It’s hard to see the UK as an option when the south-east of England – including London – just entered tier four in a bid to handle a new fast-spreading strain of the Coronavirus.

Meanwhile at Smith and Alvarez, 15,000 fans were in attendance for the fight.
Oleksandr Usyk has already expressed an interest in stepping aside as WBO mandatory so AJ and Fury can make the fight and it seems as though he would do so on the premise that he would face the winner.

All the belts are an attractive proposition for everyone, but we’re yet to hear what Deontay Wilder thinks of the developments as he did have a contractually obligated third fight with Fury for the WBC title.

 

 

 

I will continue boxing at 54---Iron Mike Tyson

FORMER undisputed world heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson, has revealed plans to continue fighting at the age of 54 after impressing in his highly-anticipated return in his draw with Roy Jones Jr in Los Angeles, reports www.dailymail.com.

'Iron Mike' stepped in the ring for the first time in 15 years to take on fellow boxing great Jones Jr in an eight-round exhibition at the Staples Center. The duo went the distance as the fight was scored a draw by the judges.

The pair's combined age of 105 had left some fans divided over the event, but Tyson has revealed he would like to step in the ring again following his return this weekend despite being in his mid-50s.

"This is better than fighting for championships," Tyson said of the heavyweight exhibition, which raised money for various charities. "We're humanitarians now. We can do something good for the world. We've got to do this again. I would absolutely do this again.'

"I'm good with a draw, because I entertained the crowd. The crowd was happy with it.  Nobody thought I could go eight rounds, but you've got to go the distance, that's boxing. I was very happy to be here, despite what everyone says I was happy to go to eight rounds.

"I used to do this for three minutes. Somehow, those two minutes felt like three minutes,' admitted Tyson. 'I'm just happy I got this under my belt and will continue to go further.'

"Absolutely,' Tyson said to the possibility of returning under similar circumstances. 'I hope (Jones) will be on the card as well. We gotta do this again."

Despite the draw, Tyson looked in phenomenal shape as the former heavyweight king rolled back the years with an impressive performance.

The 54-year-old had Jones Jr, 51, on the back foot for most of the contest, boxing from the outside in an attempt to slow Tyson down. The former four-weight champion said he too would like to fight again.

"Dude is so strong man,' Captain Hook said after the contest. 'When he hits you, to the head, punches to the body shots, everything hurts. I'm cool with a draw, we just might have to do it again.

"We've got to do this again, everybody loves Mike, I love Mike too but it's something else taking punches from Mike.
"I'll go talk to my family, see how they feel about it and if they want to do it again, we'll do it again."
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Caption:

Tyson after the clash with Roy Jones Jr last weekend.

Champions League: Shakhtar Donetsk humiliate Real Madrid 2-0

Real Madrid's hopes of reaching the Champions League last 16 for a 24th consecutive season hang in the balance after Zinedine Zidane's side were beaten again by Shakhtar Donetsk, reports www.bbc.com.

The 13-time European champions are third in Group B with one game to play.

Dentinho and Manor Solomon struck in the second half for Shakhtar, who won the reverse fixture 3-2 in Madrid.

Borussia Monchengladbach can qualify as group winners with victory over winless Inter Milan later tonight.

The Spanish champions, currently fourth in La Liga, were without injured pair Eden Hazard and captain Sergio Ramos but welcomed back talisman Karim Benzema for their return to the stadium where they were last crowned European champions in 2018.

Real started well as Marco Asensio hit the post after five minutes and Benzema drew goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin into action.

Trubin then tipped over from Asensio's powerful shot before half-time and again denied Benzema, before substitute Dentinho pounced on Raphael Varane's error to score with the hosts' second shot on target after 57 minutes.

Rather than retreat, Shakhtar pushed for a second and got their reward eight minutes from time when Solomon fired into the bottom corner.

Shakhtar had not scored in three group games since beating Real in October and conceded a total of 10 goals in heavy back-to-back defeats by leaders Borussia Monchengladbach.

But the Ukrainian side, with their superior head-to-head record, now have the upper hand on Real going into next week's final round of fixtures. 

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Caption:

A player of Shakhtar Donetsk, celebrates one of the goals against Real Madrid, on Tuesday night in a Champions League clash.

Holyfield agrees knuckle boxing clash with me----McCrory

Former cruiserweight champion, Glenn McCrory, has claimed he and four-time heavyweight boxing champion, Evander Holyfield, have agreed terms on a sensational bare knuckle boxing bout.
The 56-year-old, who was the IBF world title holder from 1989 to 1990, McCrory shared a post on Twitter with a poster depicting the pair and branded with a Bare Knuckle Boxing trademark.
Under the headline 'Legends Return' pictures of the pair back int their prime, along with pictures of the pair today, seem to show an air of legitimacy.
Challenged on whether it was true or not, McCrory replied to those who were skeptical as to the veracity of the claim, after posting his own tagline which read 'Now or Never'.
Replying to TV and Radio presenter Adam Catterall, when asked if the bout was real,
McCrory replied: '100 per cent''.  
The Sky Sports pundit then assured another Twitter user that the promotion poster was 'no joke'.
As yet, Holyfield has not made any post of his own, or acknowledged an agreement with McCrory.  
Holyfield, who is 58, has long documented his attempts to get back into the ring, and has
teamed up with the likes of Wladimir Klitschko in a bid to regain his shape.  
The boxing legend has been a regular poster to social media, updating followers on his return to fitness and has even teased the possibility of a rematch with Mike Tyson.
Tyson himself made his long-anticipated return to the ring on Saturday night, when he drew with Roy Jones Jr in an exhibition bout in Los Angeles.
His performance was such that there have even been claims made that Tyson could make
a shock return to the realms of title bouts.
Former world heavyweight champion George Foreman said: "If he gets in shape like he's in
now, gets his timing back, and all the other things fall into place, he can have an
opportunity to fight for the title.
"If he can be managed right, the right champion will come to him. And if the right one
comes, he can knock him out."

Fan killed in Kenya for allegedly mocking Arsenal supporters

A man in Kenya lost his life at Kinamba Centre along the Naivasha-Kirima Road, after allegedly mocking Arsenal fans after their 2-1 loss at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers FC last weekend.
In the absence of their top scorer Raul Jimenez who was injured earlier on, Wolves scored
through Pedro Neto and, although Gabriel briefly headed Arsenal level, the visitors claimed a deserved three points through Daniel Podence's superbly taken 42nd-minute winner.
It was a third straight loss at home for the 13-time English champions.
"The middle-aged man was hit on the head with a stone when he started mocking supporters of [Arsenal after the loss]," The Standard Newspaper reported.
"The group was watching the live match that was being aired on television when the incident occurred on Sunday night.
"The deceased was left bleeding from his head outside a petrol station located a few meters from the bar that the friends were drinking."
A witness who has been identified as Peter, went on to explain what transpired between those involved before the unfortunate incident.
"[The argument] degenerated into name-calling and the deceased was chased out of the bar and later attacked and left unconscious," he revealed.
Police have now launched a manhunt for those involved in the incident. The result moves Wolves up to sixth on the table, with Arsenal languishing 14th on the table.
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Caption:

David Luiz (left), battles for the ball with a Wolves player, during the EPL clash at the Emirates last Sunday.