Aston Villa transfer news: The truth about Nicolas Jackson, latest on Morgan Rogers contract and Emi Martinez's future
With eyes firmly on regaining their place in the Champions League for 2026-27, Villa boss Unai Emery and his key lieutenants are showing no desire to encourage interest in their exciting forward Morgan Rogers.
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The Independent
4 minutes ago
- The Independent
Joshua, Bruno, Dubois: Does Wembley inspire British heavyweights?
Daniel Dubois will step out in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley on Saturday night for the biggest fight of his life against Oleksandr Usyk. The nerves are bound to be jangling with the undisputed heavyweight championship on the line and Usyk has the advantage of having beaten Dubois before two years ago. But Dubois won at Wembley last year, and it has tended to be a happy hunting ground for British heavyweights in the past. Let's take a look back at those who have dazzled under the famous arch ahead of Dubois' shot at glory. Frank Bruno Fan-favourite Bruno lost to Tim Witherspoon at Wembley in 1986 as he fell short in his bid to win the WBA heavyweight title. He would go on to suffer defeats by Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis in world title bouts and may have thought he was never going to get his hands on heavyweight gold. But he received a fourth and final chance when he took on Oliver McCall at England's national stadium in September 1995. Bruno made his trademark fast start and moved into the lead on the scorecards as tens of thousands of fans roared him on from ringside. The muscular Londoner tired in the closing rounds and had to dig deep to get over the line, but when the final bell rang there was only one winner. Bruno claimed a unanimous decision victory on a famous night in the capital as he finally got his crowning moment. Anthony Joshua After winning a gold medal at the London Olympics in 2012, it became clear that Joshua was going to be British boxing's next big star. He swiftly moved through the heavyweight rankings and won a world title in just his 16th fight as he dispatched Charles Martin inside two rounds. Following a couple of title defences, Joshua was thrown in with Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley in April 2017. What followed was an all-time classic as Joshua and Klitschko both hit the canvas in a dramatic back-and-forth heavyweight scrap. With little to separate the pair heading into the final two rounds, Joshua uncorked a peach of an uppercut to send Klitschko tumbling again and refused to let his opponent off the hook. Another knockdown followed before the referee jumped in to give Joshua his coming-of-age night. Less than 18 months later, Joshua returned to Wembley to defend his unified titles against Alexander Povetkin. Once again, it was far from straightforward for Joshua as he was briefly wobbled early, but he regathered his composure before knocking Povetkin out in the seventh round. Tyson Fury Fury became champion for the first time by beating Wladimir Klitschko at a football stadium in Dusseldorf, so he was never going to be fazed by fighting at Wembley. In April 2022 he faced Dillian Whyte under the arch and insisted in the build-up that it would be his last bout before he headed into retirement. Fury outboxed Whyte in the opening rounds before walking his fellow Brit onto a huge uppercut. Whyte went straight down and was in no position to continue when he rose to his feet on unsteady legs. The 'Gypsy King' did briefly walk away from the sport after that win, but returned just eight months later to beat Derek Chisora for a third time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Daniel Dubois Dubois entered the ring as the underdog for his all-British clash with Anthony Joshua last September. He was the less experienced man, had lost comprehensively to Usyk the previous year and was taking on a fighter who had lit up Wembley on multiple occasions before. But Dubois had picked up back-to-back knockout wins over Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic, and was riding the crest of a wave. He looked like a man who refused to be denied during his ringwalk, and then hurt Joshua inside the first minute of the contest. A huge knockdown followed in the final seconds of the first round, and Joshua was purely in survival mode after that as he went down again and again. He finally had some success in the fifth round as he briefly stunned Dubois, but as he went in to follow up Dubois landed a huge right hand of his own to finish the fight in emphatic fashion. The 27-year-old IBF champion will be hoping to land a similar punch on Usyk this weekend to become the undisputed heavyweight king.
The Independent
4 minutes ago
- The Independent
Tom Aspinall reacts to Ciryl Gane fight as first undisputed title defence is confirmed
Tom Aspinall has said he intends to 'get rid of' Ciryl Gane from the UFC heavyweight title picture, when he defends the belt against the Frenchman in October. Tuesday (22 July) brought the announcement that Aspinall will make his first undisputed-title defence in the main event of UFC 321, finally taking on European rival Gane. The pair have been linked numerous times in recent years, with Gane and the Briton occupying top rankings in the division. Gane, 35, won the interim belt in 2021 but failed to unify the titles with then-champion Francis Ngannou in January 2022, while Aspinall claimed the interim strap in November 2023 and never got the chance to face fellow title-holder Jon Jones. Jones's recent retirement saw Aspinall, 32, elevated to undisputed champion, almost a year after he took the rare decision to defend the interim belt – which he retained against Curtis Blaydes in Manchester. Now, the Wigan fighter prepares to defend the undisputed title for the first time, in Abu Dhabi on 25 October. 'Finally we're back, after over a year hiatus,' Aspinall said in an Instagram video on Wednesday (23 July). 'Me and Ciryl finally signed on the dotted line. 'This is the fourth time we've been matched up together. He turned the fight early on, before we were both in the rankings. 'After that, he fought Spivac [in 2023]. I said in a post-fight interview after I beat [Marcin] Tybura: 'I'm going to go to Paris, I'm going to be sat front row for Ciryl Gane against Serghei Spivac, I'm gonna beat the winner, and then I'm gonna beat Jon Jones.' I went to Paris, Ciryl unfortunately turned down the fight on a second occasion. 'The third occasion, I fought Curtis Blaydes. The original opponent was Ciryl Gane. Unfortunately, Ciryl was busy that date. Ciryl was filming his Netflix series. I can't remember what it's called, but I'm sure you can check it out now on Netflix. 'And now we are matched up for 25 October, Abu Dhabi. Me and Ciryl, the fourth attempt is here, and this is Ciryl's third title shot. So, we are going to try and get rid of Ciryl Gane from the title picture for good.' Aspinall's last fight was his first-round knockout of Blaydes in July 2024, as he avenged an injury-induced loss to the American from 2022. Meanwhile, Gane's last outing was a controversial fight with Alexander Volkov in December, when the Frenchman outpointed the Russian for the second time, though many fans and pundits disagreed with the scoring. Gane's previous two undisputed-title fights were his points loss to Ngannou, and his first-round submission loss to Jones in 2023. The latter result saw Jones, the consensus greatest light-heavyweight ever, win the vacant heavyweight title. Jones was then due to defend the belt against divisional great Stipe Miocic in November 2023, but he suffered an injury that delayed the bout by 12 months. On the night they were first due to fight, Aspinall instead faced Sergei Pavlovich, knocking him out in round one to become interim champion. Aspinall then retained the interim strap against Blaydes before Jones, 38, stopped Miocic, 42, last November. Jones never committed to fighting Aspinall in a unification bout, and ultimately the American retired last month.
Daily Mail
4 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Ex-Arsenal star sentenced last month for part in £600k drug smuggling plot signs for new team
A former Arsenal academy star has already been picked up by a new team - just a month after he was handed a four-year prison sentence for his role in a drug smuggle plot. The player came through the ranks at the north London club, before going on loan at a number of Football League sides such as Blackpool, Doncaster Rovers, and Cardiff before leaving the Gunners. He had stints at a number of clubs in England, Scotland and even India and Thailand, before joining Greenock Morton, where he was later sacked after his arrest back in September last year. The player in question, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, had been arrested after an estimated £600,000 worth of cannabis was seized while being brought through Stansted Airport by two women, one of whom was his girlfriend. Though Emmanuel-Thomas initially claimed to be innocent, he eventually changed his plea to guilty at a hearing in May at Chelmsford Crown Court. He then received a four-year prison sentence, but was released on parole having already served 10 months at HMP Chelmsford, and he has now already found himself a new club. Emmanuel-Thomas has been snapped up by National League South side AFC Totton, and the 34-year-old's playing career is now set to resume. 'We are absolutely delighted to welcome Jay Emmanuel-Thomas to the club,' Totton revealed in a statement. 'Jay joins us with a wealth of experience in the Championship and we're sure his goals will lead to a successful season here on the South Coast!' During the case, the prosecutor - David Josse KC - told the court that the interception of the two women carrying the drugs had taken place at the airport. He added that it the became 'apparent' that Emmanuel-Thomas has been involved in 'their recruitment' to travel to Thailand. Judge Alexander Mills said: 'It is through your own actions you will no longer be known as a professional footballer. 'You will be known as a criminal. A professional footballer who threw it all away.' Emmanuel-Thomas' lawyer Alex rose, said: 'The financial gain in this case for Mr Emmanuel-Thomas was £5,000.' He added that the former Arsenal academy star, who played five times for the first team, had made a 'catastrophic error of judgement', following a period of 'significant financial hard times' that had led him to 'succumbing to temptation'. Emmanuel-Thomas wrote in a letter read out in the court: 'This past year has been the most harmful and eye-opening of my life. At times it has been unbearable.' He also noted that he 'completely regrets but takes full responsibility for' his actions.
