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LONDON — Zimbabwe-born British boxer Dereck Chisora will challenge Agit Kabayel for the German’s EBU heavyweight title in Monte Carlo on November 4.
Chisora will hope to win the belt for the second time, having previously held it from September 2013 to November 2014.
The 33-year-old will fight on the undercard of the WBA world light-heavyweight title fight between Dmitry Bivol and Trent Broadhurst, which co-headlines the Monte-Carlo Boxing Bonanza show.
Also co-headling the bill, organised by Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn, is the WBA world bantamweight title bout between holder Jamie McDonnell and Liborio Solis.
The two fighters fought for the belt on last year’s event at the Salle des Etoiles, with Englishman McDonnell beating the Venezuelan by unanimous decision.
Scott Quigg is also in action in Monaco in November against Oleg Yefimovych, with more bouts to be announced in the coming weeks.
The Bivol v Broadhurst light-heavyweight title showdown will be televised in the US on HBO Boxing After Dark.
Bivol defends his WBA title against Australian Broadhurst with the exciting 26-year-old looking to add another KO to his impressive record. The Russian’s fearsome reputation continues to grow and picked up the crown in just his seventh pro fight, and has wowed crowds in his homeland and the US, and will be out to impress in his first fight in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
Broadhurst has been on a fine run of his own though, and the 29-year-old Queenslander is aiming to add to the feel-good factor in boxing Down Under and take his golden opportunity with both hands.
McDonnell and Solis shared a great fight in Monte-Carlo last November with the Doncaster ace holding onto his crown by a slender margin on points against a spirited challenge from the Venezuelan, one that earned Solis an immediate return – but McDonnell expects to be a clear winner second time round with the carrot of some big domestic bouts dangling in front of him.
More huge names appear on the bill as Scott Quigg faces Oleg Yefimovich in an eliminator for the WBA World Featherweight title. Quigg is back in the hunt for World honours and in his second fight with new trainer Freddie Roach, he believes a strong win over the highly rated Ukrainian will put him in pole position for a World title tilt in 2018. — AFP
LONDON — Ireland, France and South Africa all promised millions in the bank, great stadiums and “the best tournament ever” before figuratively plucking on the emotional heartstrings as they sought to earn the right to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
The Irish, who have never been the main host, are the bookmaker’s favourite, ahead of South Africa, which hosted a tournament against an extraordinary emotional, social and political backdrop in 1995, with 2007 hosts France the outsider ahead of Monday’s presentations in London.
The host nation for the 10th edition of the event will be announced on November 15 though it would be a huge surprise if the Council of the sport’s governing body World Rugby were to go against the World Cup board, which will declare its recommended candidate on October 31.
The 2015 World Cup in England set records in terms of ticket sales, TV viewing figures and income but Japan, hosts of the first Asian World Cup in 2019, will make much less money.
Consequently, cash was a big feature of all three 2023 bids, with each making a big issue of their governmental financial securities and guaranteed profits, as well as great existing stadiums and minimal travel – meaning points of difference needed to be found elsewhere.
The French bid included the innovative idea that teams knocked out in the pool stage would be invited to stay through the tournament as guests and they will, also for the first time, include a closing ceremony.
Sports minister Laura Flessel said that hosting the event along with the already-secured 2024 Olympics would provide “synergies of organisation” and that despite recent bomb attacks in the country, security was an equal concern of all bidding countries.
Slightly bizarrely, the bid party included the sons of the late New Zealand rugby superstar Jonah Lomu. Dhyreille (7) and Brayley (8) were presented to declare how much they loved French rugby, with Dhyreille having been born in Marseille, where Lomu played three matches at the end of his career in 2009-10. —AP
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