President Zelensky wants assurances Ukraine will join Nato after the war, but members chose strategic caution.

Carl Froch has delivered a brutal assessment of Anthony Joshua’s performance against Robert Helenius, accusing the British heavyweight of fighting like a ‘beginner’. Joshua knocked out Helenius, a late-notice replacement for Dillian Whyte, in Round 7 on Saturday (12 August) after fighting tentatively in the first six rounds. Despite “AJ” securing the emphatic knockout that he needed en route to a potential clash with Deontay Wilder, the former two-time world heavyweight champion did not do enough to impress Froch. Froch, a former unified super-middleweight champion, said on YouTube on Friday (18 August): “For me, it was a 5/10 performance. Okay, he got the job done, he knocked out Helenius in Round 7 with a decent [shot]. Helenius was exhausted by that point, which is why I thought the knockout came. “AJ timed him nicely with a jab to the body then brought the right hand over the top [...] I don’t think [Helenius] was knocked out cold, but he was exhausted. Once he got hit with that shot and went over, he probably thought to himself: ‘You know what? I’ve earnt my money, I’m not gonna win the fight, I’m not getting paid for overtime. Let’s stay down and go home.’ Why wouldn’t he? He boxed a week earlier. “It was poor, it was a weak opponent for this stage of AJ’s career, when he’s now looking at fighting someone like Deontay Wilder. If he’s looking at fighting Deontay Wilder on the back of that performance... that performance was awful, it was terrible, it was such a bad performance in so many ways. It was tentative, it was gun shy.” Helenius replaced Whyte after the Briton failed a drug test in the lead-up to his planned rematch with Joshua, who is in talks to box Wilder in early 2024. “He looked like he didn’t want to be in there at times,” Froch said of Joshua, 33. “He was getting outboxed with a weak, poor jab; [Helenius] wasn’t setting it up, he was smashing it, ram-rodding it in AJ’s face [...] Anthony Joshua was sitting back, waiting, looking confused, looking like he was scared to throw. “He’s not ready for the Deontay Wilder fight, I really don’t think he is. That performance does not set him up for a big showdown with Wilder [...] Style-wise, AJ is like a beginner, like a novice pro. Helenius had absolutely busted up AJ behind the jab. “[There was] swelling under his eyes, his nose was p***ing with blood, his mouth was bleeding – as we saw when he jumped out of the ring, which was a bit strange, and had a slurp on that nasty Irish stout that Conor McGregor shoved in his face. He had all blood and sweat and snot inside that point.” Froch, 46, also branded his fellow Briton “unprofessional” and “disrespectful” for the interaction with UFC star McGregor, which took place at ringside while Helenius received medical attention. Joshua vs Wilder is in the works for an early 2024 date in Saudi Arabia. American Wilder, 37, has not fought since knocking out Helenius in Round 1 in October. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Anthony Joshua has the blueprint to beat Deontay Wilder – is he brave enough to use it? Deontay Wilder’s manager offers rare comment on Anthony Joshua fight Anthony Joshua takes swig of Conor McGregor’s Irish stout after Helenius knockout

YouTuber Adam22 has offered the outspoken influencer Andrew Tate the chance to sleep with his pornstar wife Lena the Plus, amid the controversy surrounding her scene with Jason Luv. For those not in the know and to give a brief summary of what has happened, Adam22 and Lena got married earlier in May of this year and hadn't filmed a scene with another man since their relationship began seven years ago. However, they agreed that Lena should film a scene with Luv after meeting him in Las Vegas back in January and spotting a potentially lucrative business opportunity. Since the scene, a war of words has erupted between the two men, especially after Adam22 was mocked online for allowing Lena to go through with the filming. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Recently the couple appeared on Adin Ross's podcast with none other than Andrew Tate, who was in a rarely reserved form and spoke respectively and politely to Adam22 and Lena. An odd moment occurred around halfway through their 23-minute conversation where Adam22 offered Tate the chance to film a scene with him and Lena. We won't transcribe the entire details of the NSFW proposal but if you are interested and are over the age of 18 then you can watch it here. Even before Tate had the chance to respond, Lena had turned down her husband's proposal which Tate always refused to entertain. The former kickboxer, who is currently facing charges in Romania for human trafficking and rape said: "There is zero percent chance of that happening and it's not because Lena is unattractive. It's because she is married to Adam and I have no interest in degenerative, pointless sex. "I've no interest in making a spectacle of myself. Even involving myself in things that I deem to be overall haram and pointless, is just something I wouldn't be interested in." At least, this doesn't mean that Adam22 will have to fork out for another Lamborghini for his wife like he did after she made her film with Luv. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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