Nick Wright previews this weekend's clash between York City Knights and Hull FC
Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
James Tompkinson reviews an excellent pre-season victory for the York City Knights against Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rhinos
Timothy Bradley added to his WBO world title by stripping Devon Alexander of his WBC belt on Saturday night on points after the fight was stopped due to a clash of heads. The scorecards read 98-93 97-93 96-95 when, in the tenth, an accidental clash of heads left Alexander’s right eye swollen shut, and in accordance with regulations, the fight was awarded to Bradley, whose record now stands at 27-0 with 11 KOs.
The fight itself started with Alexander attempting to use his two inch height advantage and jab to keep his opponent at bay but regular bursts from Bradley left him rocked, especially in the third. In that same round there was the first accidental clash of heads but both continued, with Bradley consistently landing flurries of accurate right hooks, and he hit Alexander hard in the ninth. In the tenth round, the two clashed again, temple to temple, but fight referee Frank Garza sent Alexander back to his corner to be assessed. With his right eye all but swollen shut, Garza made the correct decision in going to the judges’ scorecards there and then, rather than send Alexander out to the slaughter.
Both fighters had spoken of battling Khan following last night's bout to unify the divison, with the IBF belt vacated after Alexander failed to step into the ring and defend his title against challenger Kaizer Mabuza. Bradley suggested that Khan was first on his list of fighters but also mentioned Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, as has Khan in the past. The Yorker Sport fully expects Khan and Bradley to fight to unify the Light-Welterweight around May or June but both Mayweather and Pacquiao are currently unrealistic targets for Khan and Bradley. It would be a shame to see Khan overreach himself and suffer as Hatton once did at the Pac-Man’s hands. But I digress, Khan has a fantastic opportunity to unify his division and cement his name in British and world boxing; he should deal with things one fight at a time.
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