Amir Khan has openly admitted he is battling injuries and niggles in camp for his all-British grudge match with Kell Brook. The two former welterweight world champions finally collide in Manchester on February 19 at a catchweight, 10 years after the bout was initially mooted.
While there is an acceptance that both fighters are now well beyond their prime, the two are prepared to renew old rivalries for one last dance.
The duo have been involved in various spats and war of words over the past decade but now British boxing fans will finally get to see them trade leather next month.
While injury concerns and niggles are part and parcel of every training camp, Khan has conceded that he’s having to put himself through the pain barrier now that he is 35.
“We all have injuries, sportsmen and women,” he told Sky Sports from his camp in Colorado.
“When you’re at the elite level, we always have to overcome them pains and override them.
“Yeah I’ve got pains and I’ve got injuries when I’m in training.
“I’ve had to spar today and I still have to overcome them injuries, I can’t think of them I’ve just got to get on with them.
“My job is just to get ready for Feb 19 and obviously the aches and pains are there.
“As you get older – I’m 35 now – it’s not like when you’re 25 where you recover after a tough session.
“Now the body takes a bit of time but it’s good because I know if I continue pushing myself with those pains and aches, then I’ll be fine come fight night.”
Khan was last in action back in the Sumer fo 2019 when he stopped Billy Dib in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The victory came less than three months after he was stopped by pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford in New York.
After the defeat, Khan conceded that he’d suffered an elbow injury during camp that affected his performance.
It’s not the first time Khan has experienced complications either, back in 2016 he sensationally claimed he’s been fighting with a broken hand for the past 13 years.
Brook’s last outing came over a year ago when he was also defeated by WBO welterweight champion Crawford in Las Vegas.
Special K has lost just three of his 42 professional bouts having also suffered defeats to Errol Spence Jr and Gennady Golovkin.
Novak Djokovic‘s lawyers filed court papers Saturday in his challenge against deportation from Australia that show the tennis star tested positive for COVID-19 last month and recovered, grounds he used in applying for a medical exemption to the country’s strict vaccination rules.
The No. 1-ranked Djokovic was denied entry at the Melbourne airport late Wednesday after border officials canceled his visa for failing to meet its entry requirement that all non-citizens be fully vaccinated for COVID-19.
Djokovic was given a medical exemption backed by the Victoria state government and Australian Open organizers on Jan. 1, based on information he supplied to two independent medical panels, and he was approved for a visa electronically.
But it has since emerged that the Victoria state medical exemption, allowed for people who tested positive for the coronavirus within the last six months, was deemed invalid by the federal border authorities.
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Djokovic has been confined to an immigration detention hotel in Melbourne, where he’s been preparing for the legal challenge against his visa cancellation in the Federal Circuit Court on Monday.
The Australian Open starts a week from Monday on Jan. 17. Djokovic is the defending champion and has won the Australian Open men’s singles title nine times. He has 20 Grand Slam singles title, a men’s record he shares with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
‘Rules are rules;’ Australian PM says Djokovic failed to provide proof of medical exemption
‘Rules are rules;’ Australian PM says Djokovic failed to provide proof of medical exemption
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. and the Australian Associated Press reported details of the documents late Saturday, two days before the court hearing.
It showed Djokovic received a letter from Tennis Australia’s chief medical officer on Dec. 30 last year “recording that he had been provided with a `medical exemption from COVID vaccination’ on the grounds that he had recently recovered from COVID.”
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The exemption certification said the date of the 34-year-old Serb’s first positive test was Dec. 16, 2021, “and that he had not had a fever or respiratory symptoms in the past 72 hours.”
On Dec. 14, Djokovic attended a Euroleague basketball game between Red Star and Barcelona in a packed sports hall in Belgrade. He was photographed hugging several players of both teams, including some who soon later tested positive.
The court submission Saturday said Djokovic received confirmation from Australia’s Department of Home Affairs saying that his travel declaration had been assessed and that his responses indicated he met the requirements for quarantine-free arrival in Australia.
If he fails to have his visa cancellation overturned and gets deported, Djokovic could be barred from the country for up to three years.
In an emailed response to The Associated Press about what could transpire if Djokovic loses his legal fight, the Australian Border Force said: “A person whose visa has been canceled may be subject to a three-year exclusion period that prevents the grant of a further temporary visa.”
“The exclusion period will be considered as part of any new visa application and can be waived in certain circumstances, noting each case is assessed on its own merits.”
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Protestors gather outside an immigration detention hotel where Serbia’s Novak Djokovic is believed to stay, in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 7, 2022.
AP Photo/Hamish Blair
Australian Open organizers have not commented publicly since Wednesday, except to tell Australian newspapers that no players have been misled over the vaccination requirements.
Tournament director Craig Tiley has continued working in the background with Djokovic.
Tiley’s video message to Australian Open staff about the tournament’s “difficult time in the public arena” was published in News Corp. newspapers Saturday.
“There’s been a circumstance that relates to a couple of players, Novak particularly . . . in a situation that is very difficult,” Tiley said in the video. “We’re a player-first event. We’re working closely with Novak and his team, and others and their team, that are in this situation.”
Djokovic says he supports WTA suspending China events over Peng Shuai concerns
Djokovic says he supports WTA suspending China events over Peng Shuai concerns – Dec 2, 2021
The 34-year-old Djokovic was one of two players put into detention in a hotel in Melbourne that also houses refugees and asylum seekers. A third person, reported to be an official, left the country voluntarily after border force investigations.
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The other player was 38-year-old doubles player Renata Voracova, who had already been in Australia for a week before an investigation by the border officials. She told media from the Czech Republic she’d been confined to a room and there was a guard in the corridor.
Djokovic reached out to the world for the first time in three days on Friday night, posting on social media to mark the Orthodox Christmas and thank his supporters. There’s been large-scale rallies in Belgrade and small groups of supporters have gathered daily outside his detention hotel.
“Thank you to the people around the world for your continuous support,” Djokovic posted on Instagram. “I can feel it and it is greatly appreciated.”
After months of speculation he’d miss the tournament because of his stance on vaccination, Djokovic announced on Tuesday via social media that he’d received a medical exemption to play in the tournament.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that may have raised the attention of border officials.
Mr Djokovic’s visa has been cancelled. Rules are rules, especially when it comes to our borders. No one is above these rules. Our strong border policies have been critical to Australia having one of the lowest death rates in the world from COVID, we are continuing to be vigilant.
Tiley said in his video to Australian Open staff that he couldn’t speak publicly because of the ongoing legal matter, but defended his organization.
“There’s a lot of finger pointing going on and a lot of blaming going on,” he said in the video, “but I can assure you our team has done an unbelievable job and have done everything they possibly could according to all the instructions that they have been provided.”
So, who is at fault? Prime Minister Morrison said “rules are rules” and that incoming passengers were responsible for meeting border regulations.
Tennis Australia and the government of Victoria state, where the Australian Open is played, are blaming confusion over the precise definitions regarding grounds for medical exemptions.
Tennis Australia, which runs the tournament and organizes the logistics for more than 2,000 incoming players, staff and officials, reportedly gave incorrect interpretations to players about the acceptable grounds for an exemption. That included the interpretation that having had a coronavirus infection within the previous six months would qualify.
The federal government disagreed.
The Victoria state government mandated that all players, staff, fans and officials must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 to enter the tournament.
The state, which approved the medical exemptions for Djokovic, said those exemptions for were for access to Melbourne Park, not the border.
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Associated Press Writer Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia contributed to this report.
Burkina Faso captain Bertrand Traore has deplored as “a scandal” coronavirus testing procedures at the Africa Cup of Nations after up to five players and coach Kamou Malo tested positive in the run-up to Sunday’s opener against hosts Cameroon.
Burkina Faso captain Bertrand Traore at Saturday’s press conference. Daniel Beloumou Olomo/AFP
The Aston Villa forward told a press conference in Yaounde on Saturday: “It’s a scandal, we cannot be deprived of first team players 24 hours before the match.”
Assistant coach Firmin Sanou, standing in for Malo, said: “We have four or five Covid cases, mainly first team players, we’re not going to name names.”
“It calls everything into question, but we have confidence in the players who will replace them,” continued Sanou, who hit out at the organisation with two different medical teams arriving to test the team.
“Yesterday morning (Friday) a medical team showed up at our hotel for tests, when we tried to understand who had sent them, the CAF (African Football Confederation) clearly told us that they hadn’t sent them so we refused to do the tests,” said Sanou.
“Another team arrived at 10 p.m., apparently the CAF team, we carried out the tests which informed us of 4 to 5 cases of Covid.
“I say 4 or 5 because they say that our first player tested did not carry out the test … ” he continued.
The Burkinabè delegation are disputing the fact that the tests were not PCR tests, which must be carried out 48 hours before the match, and have requested a second opinion.
Traore said: “The authorities must review the organisation. We cannot accept this decision. We can redo tests of our positive players.”
A navigation error by Sebastien Loeb allowed Nasser Al-Attiyah to extend his lead to 49 minutes halfway through the Dakar Rally on Friday.
Loeb started the sixth stage, a loop course east of Riyadh, 35 minutes behind in second overall but lost his bearings with Henk Lategan – the stage five winner – about a third of the way into the 348-kilometre special.
After two-thirds of the stage they were 25 minutes behind Al-Attiyah, who was leading the stage back to the Saudi capital. But a desperately fast finish by Loeb made up 10 minutes and he lost 15 1/2 in the end to Al-Attiyah.
Loeb also lost second place overall to local driver Yazeed Al Rajhi, who was third on the stage.
Only three minutes separate Al Rajhi, Loeb and fourth-placed Giniel de Villiers, the former champion who had a five-hour time penalty rescinded after a review on Friday.
He hit a motorbike after jumping over a dune on Wednesday, but the rider fell off only seconds beforehand and de Villiers managed to avoid the rider but not the bike. Officials agreed it was an unavoidable accident.
📽 It was the final stage before the rest day and it saw another win for BRX in the cars and the usual suspects dominate some of the other categories!
Al-Attiyah remains the overall leader, as he has since the Dakar started last Saturday
Asked about a fourth Dakar win, Al Aiiyah said: “For victory, it is difficult to say – the Dakar is the Dakar. But we need to be careful and we need to be strong all the way. We need to have a good pace without any relaxing because when you relax you make a mistake.”
Orlando Terranova won his first stage since 2015, when the rally was in his Argentine homeland, followed a minute later by Mattias Ekstrom of Sweden.
Daniel Sanders of Australia won his third motorbike stage but was disappointed the special was stopped after less than an hour and 101 kilometers, a quarter of what was scheduled.
Motorcycles: Sam Sunderland leads Dakar at halfway stage
The riders were using the same course as the cars on Thursday but parts were considered unpassable. Sanders wasn’t convinced, and annoyed he wasn’t able to make up more than 2 1/2 minutes on leader Sam Sunderland of Britain. Sanders was 5 1/2 minutes behind Sunderland in third overall, up from fourth.
Sunderland was second on the stage, and Matthias Walkner of Austria third, and they remained 1-2 overall.
Ross Branch of Botswana, second on Thursday’s stage, fell off his bike after a few kilometers and was taken to the medical tent. He didn’t finish and was given a 15-hour time penalty.
The rally rests on Saturday and resumes on Sunday.
WASHINGTON — Washington Wizards announcer Glenn Consor apologized Thursday for a reference to Houston player Kevin Porter Jr.’s father on Wednesday night’s broadcast.
Porter made a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to beat the Wizards 114-111. Consor said: “You’ve got to give credit. Kevin Porter Jr., like his dad, pulled that trigger right at the right time.”
Porter’s father reportedly pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the shooting death of a teenager in 1993. Consor said he mistakenly thought Porter was the son of former Washington player Kevin Porter.
“Please allow me to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to Kevin Porter Jr., his family and the Rockets organization for the comments I made during last night’s game,” Consor said on social media.
Consor said he has reached out to Porter to apologize personally and hoped to talk to him soon.
NBC Sports Washington added its own message on Twitter.
“Glenn Consor apologized for a comment he made about Kevin Porter, Jr., during last night’s coverage of the Wizards-Rockets game,” the station said. “He conflated Porter’s father with a former Washington player. We join in Glenn’s apology to Kevin Porter Jr., and his family.”
Consor is a radio analyst for the Wizards who occasionally does TV work. A team spokesman said he would continue in his radio role.
A video of Consor’s call was posted on Twitter and was retweeted by LeBron James, who expressed his displeasure.
On Thursday, James expounded on his tweet to reporters, claiming it would be unlikely that Consor would mistaken Porter as the son of the former Washington player.
“We’re in a profession where it is your job to do your due diligence,” James said. “We got enough people out here that’s giving false narratives and false statements. We got enough of that. But in our game, in our integrity, in the NBA, the 30 teams, the beat writers, the players, the coaches, the play-by-play guy, it’s our job to make sure we do the best to our ability to speak the facts.”
“We know where we’re heading from a training perspective, and the set-up for the next fight.
“It’s not like we’re just floating around, not really knowing what we’re doing.
“There have been conversations with Rob and AJ. AJ made it clear when he said he will be working with a new trainer.
“Will that be in conjunction with Rob? I think that’s to be announced in the coming weeks.”
Hearn was speaking as Matchroom revealed its schedule for February and March, including Josh Warrington’s clash with IBF featherweight king Kiko Martinez in Leeds on March 26.
The winner of Joshua-Usyk II is set to face the victor of Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte to crown the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored 33 points, OG Anunoby and Gary Trent Jr. had 22 apiece and the Toronto Raptors beat the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks 117-111 on Wednesday night.
Fred VanVleet added 19 points for the Raptors. They improved to 18-17 and overcame Milwaukee’s hot-shooting first half and late rally.
The defending NBA champs were without coach Mike Budenholzer after he entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
Milwaukee played without NBA Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who sat out due to an illness unrelated to COVID-19. Grayson Allen, George Hill and Pat Connaughton also entered protocols on Wednesday.
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Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 25 points. Jordan Nwora had 17 and Jrue Holiday and DeMarcus Cousins each had 15.
The Bucks were coming off a 115-106 home loss to lowly Detroit.
Milwaukee connected on 61% of its shots to take a 77-68 at the half, tying the most points it has scored in the first half this season. The 77 points marked the most Toronto has surrendered in any half this season. The previous high was 72 in both halves of a 144-99 loss at Cleveland on Dec. 26.
Toronto erased a 14-point deficit and tied it at 85 midway through the third. The Raptors built a 15-point lead in the fourth, but the Bucks pulled within seven with just under two minutes remaining.
TIP-INS
Raptors: F Svi Mykhailiuk and F Yuta Watanabe remained in the health and safety protocols. … G David Johnson returned from a calf strain. … Siakim was whistled for a third-quarter technical foul after his elbow connected with Middleton’s face.
Bucks: Reserves Nwora, Thanasis Antetokounmpo and Semi Ojeleye, who had previously been unavailable due to the protocols, all returned. Nwora started. … Made 13 of 21 3-pointers in the first half but missed all eight of their 3-point attempts in the third quarter. … Cousins left the game with a left calf contusion.
Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick has downplayed reports of dressing room discontent at Old Trafford, saying unrest is inevitable with a deep squad.
South African Henk Lategan won the fifth stage of the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, despite his driver’s door flapping open, as Sebastien Loeb trimmed Nasser Al Attiyah’s overall lead to 35 minutes.
Frenchman Loeb, a nine times world rally champion, was second fastest over the 611km loop near Riyadh to claw back nearly three minutes from his Qatari rival.
Triple Dakar winner Al Attiyah was eighth fastest in his Toyota.
Lategan, who is out of contention for overall victory, hit problems soon after the start.
“I was driving until the first control point with the door flapping open. Then I managed to solve that, I strapped myself in and couldn´t open the door,” he said.
“Then we had a puncture, so I had to climb out of the navigator´s door and change the puncture. So we´ve had just the craziest day. I can´t actually believe that we have won the stage. It doesn´t make sense.”
Al Attiyah at a disadvantage
Al Attiyah had the disadvantage of leading on the road, without motorcycles ahead to help with navigation by creating lines in the desert, and Loeb was able to pass him through the dunes.
“We took a few minutes from him; that was the plan in the morning, so we are happy with that. Big gains were not possible today, for sure,” said the Frenchman, who drives for the Bahrain Raid Xtreme team.
“Starting just behind him opening the road meant it was not possible to make a big gap.”
The electric hybrid Audis of 14 times Dakar winner Stephane Peterhansel and triple champion Carlos Sainz lost more chunks of time after the former stopped to help the Spaniard fix a broken shock absorber.
In the motorcycle category, former MotoGP racer and Dakar debutant Danilo Petrucci took his first stage win after Australian Toby Price was given a six minute penalty for speeding.
Italian Petrucci, out of the overall reckoning, had finished second and four minutes behind. He was the first MotoGP rider to win a Dakar stage.
Britain’s Sam Sunderland retained the overall lead for the GasGas team, some two and half minutes clear of Austrian KTM rider Matthias Walkner, with the bike riders taking a different route to the cars.
The motorcycle stage was stopped shortly after midday for safety reasons due to the demands placed on the medical support aircraft. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin)
Stage 5 🏍
🥇 Danilo Petrucci 🥈 Ross Branch 🥉 Jose Ignacio Cornejo
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