List of All Articles with Tag 'sports'

The Celtics got a historic 51-point performance from Jayson Tatum to blow past the 76ers in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinals matchup to land back in the conference finals for the second straight season

Kevin Sinfield, a legendary figure in the sport of rugby league, carried his friend and former teammate Rob Burrow across the finish line of the Leeds Marathon

Katie Taylor has been on a long, glorious and hard road to the ring on Saturday night in Dublin. Taylor has been worshipped and adored in Ireland long before she won her Olympic medal in 2012 and long before she won the first of her world titles in 2017. On Saturday, against a backdrop of joy, she returns and fights in Ireland for the first time since 2016 when she fought at a beauty spa in Tralee. She could have taken an easy fight, gone back over old ground, boxed the ears off a woman from Argentina or made one of the other champions jump up in weight for a shot at her four lightweight belts. That would have been the easy plan, the safe route. However, a rematch with Amanda Serrano collapsed and Chantelle Cameron was found. It might just be one of the boldest pieces of match-making that I have ever known. Taylor is now unbeaten in 22 fights as a professional, she is on a run of 16 consecutive world title fights, she holds all four of the lightweight belts, she briefly held the WBO light-welterweight belt. She is the most recognised face in the world of female boxing. She is the true pioneer of the modern version of the sport, not the mad, topless, chaotic, abusive side of the business from the Eighties and Nineties. Taylor is women’s boxing, and this Saturday is her grand moment. Last year, at Madison Square Garden, she made history with Serrano in front of a sold-out crowd of nearly 20,000 and collected a payday of more than $1million dollars. This Saturday was meant to be the rematch, there was talk of 70,000 at Croke Park, but that outdoor fantasy has been pushed back to September; Serrano is injured, and Cameron was found for the 3Arena on Saturday. It is, trust me, a far harder fight. All of the greatest fighters in history have taken risks, refused easy fights and put their records on the line to prove their greatness. Taylor can join that list. Cameron lost to Taylor over four rounds in Poland back in 2011 when they were both amateur boxers. They were circuit queens, popping up at tournaments in Rio, Tashkent, Bridgetown and Ankara. They both wanted this fight for a long, long time. It has been mentioned, but Cameron has been fighting at the weight above Taylor. The five pounds looked like it was the critical barrier. And, by the way, a sensible barrier. Last November, in Abu Dhabi, Cameron unified the four belts at light-welter. She is also unbeaten; she has talked about big fights she wanted and never dreamed that Taylor would move up in weight, never dreamed that Taylor would agree to fight her. She thought that the chance was gone forever and then the news trickled through. It seems Taylor had the same dream: “It’s not just Cameron that wanted this fight – Katie has wanted this fight for a long time,” insisted Ross Enamait, Taylor’s trainer. The fight was made in the blink of an eye. So, on Saturday there will be two unbeaten boxers, both hold four versions of the world title, and one of them is a homecoming hero. The venue sold out in seconds; the city will come to a stop. It is one of the purest fights in recent years, both a thoroughly old-fashioned fight and a totally modern edition. The bookies are stuck, the punters will back with their hearts and Taylor and Cameron might just be the calmest pair in the city this week. In the other boxing world, we wait for the Saudi throne to find $400m to deliver Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk (unbeaten in a total of 54 fights and holding all four heavyweight titles) and in cloud cuckoo land, the six-year wait for Errol Spence and Terence Crawford (unbeaten in a total of 67 fights and holders of all four belts at welterweight) continues with no end in sight. Taylor and Cameron have shamed the other top fighters and all the people on the safe side of the ropes who have failed to get the men in the ring with each other. Taylor has taken the type of risk that, if she wins, will elevate her to the very highest position in boxing history. She will be walking, fighting and talking with true boxing gods. It’s that big, but Cameron is the most severe risk to both Taylor’s ambitions and her status. It is a great fight. Enjoy it, and remember that Taylor did not have to accept Cameron as an opponent. She did what the bravest and the best in boxing have always done. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Frustrated Canelo Alvarez must take valuable homecoming lesson from gutsy John Ryder The Independent’s pound-for-pound boxing rankings Who is KSI? From ‘endearing’ class clown to YouTuber who has changed the face of boxing Katie Taylor relishing her homecoming fight in Dublin Joe Fournier reacts to ‘disgusting’ KSI knockout KSI vs Fournier last night: Latest fight updates and results after knockout

Leicester are fighting desperately against relegation from the Premier League as they welcome Liverpool to the King Power Stadium. A 5-3 defeat to Fulham, coupled with Everton’s surprise win at Brighton, has left Dean Smith’s side third from bottom with only three games left. With another tough fixture at Newcastle to follow this encounter, a positive result may be a must if Leicester are to avoid dropping out of the top tier. Liverpool will be seeking points, too - their winning run has brought them back into contention for a Champions League qualification place. Here’s everything you need to know. When is Leicester vs Liverpool? Leicester vs Liverpool is due to kick off at 8pm BST on Monday 15 May at the King Power Stadium in Leicester. How can I watch it? Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the game live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage on the channels from 6.30pm BST. Subscribers can stream the action via the Sky Go app. Team news Kelechi Iheanacho is expected to again be absent for Leicester, though the forward could return from his groin issue for the club’s final two fixtures against Newcastle and West Ham. Jannik Vestergaard, Ryan Bertrand and James Justin will not feature again this season, but both Jonny Evans and Ricardo Pereira were fit to make the bench against Fulham and could press to start. Jurgen Klopp suggested that this game will come slightly too soon for Roberto Firmino, though the Brazilian is moving closer to a return as he prepares to bid farewell to Liverpool this summer. Klopp was more pessimistic on Naby Keita, who could finish his injury-hit time at Anfield on the sidelines. Predicted line-ups Leicester XI: Iversen; Ricardo Pereira, Faes, Soyuncu, Castagne; Soumare, Tielemans, Dewsbury-Hall; Maddison, Vardy, Barnes. Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gakpo, Fabinho, Jones; Salah, Jota, Nunez. Odds Leicester win 9/2 Draw 15/4 Liverpool win 3/5 Prediction Leicester nick a point to keep their surival hopes alive. Leicester 2-2 Liverpool Read More Jordan Henderson optimistic over Liverpool’s long-term prospects Surprise favourite emerges in race to be Liverpool’s new sporting director England’s World Cup squad: Who’s on the plane, and who’s got work to do? The sporting weekend in pictures Chelsea close in on appointing Mauricio Pochettino as club’s new manager Dean Smith adamant Youri Tielemans is committed to Leicester’s survival fight

Jonathan Marchessault scored three goals for his second career postseason hat trick as the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-2 in Game 6 of their second-round series to advance to the Western Conference final

Few would have imagined Inter Milan would be on the brink of its first European final in more than a decade when it began its Champions League campaign last September with a loss at home to Bayern Munich

The Seattle Kraken are already playing their second Game 7 on the road in their first NHL postseason

Fanatics Inc. has acquired the US operations of PointsBet, helping accelerate the team apparel company’s push into the

Nolan Arenado and Andrew Knizner each hit a two-run homer, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Boston Red Sox 9-1 to complete a three-game sweep

Colorado pitcher Ryan Feltner has a skull fracture and concussion after getting hit by a line drive off the bat of Philadelphia’s Nick Castellanos

DENVER (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper was ejected for charging Colorado’s dugout, and Kyle Freeland dominated for six innings on his 30th birthday in the Rockies’ 4-0 win Sunday.

McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — Jason Day won his first PGA Tour event in five years Sunday, closing with a 9-under 62 for a one-shot victory over Austin Eckroat and Si Woo Kim at the AT&T Byron Nelson.