Undisputed world champion in the welterweight category, famous American boxer Terence Crawford said that he may end his professional career.
Crawford last fought against Errol Spence in July 2023 in Las Vegas. Terence won that fight by technical knockout in the ninth round and became the undisputed world champion in the welterweight division. He has 40 wins (31 by knockout) and no losses.
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will compete for five belts next month.
The highly anticipated heavyweight fight scheduled for February 17 was already historic due to the fact all four major heavyweight world titles will be on the line.
Fury will put his WBC belt on the line against WBA, IBF and WBO champion Usyk, with the winner walking away from the Ring of Fire event as the first-ever four-belt undisputed heavyweight champion.
Now, their fight has just got slightly bigger due to the creation of a new belt to mark the occasion.
On Monday, Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou took centre stage at a press conference to officially announce their fight in Saudi Arabia on March 8.
Chairman of General Authority for Entertainment His Excellency Turki Alalshikh kicked things off with a speech about his goals in 2024, which include putting on a light-heavyweight undisputed fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
His Excellency rounded things off by pointing to a big screen, and showing the heavyweights on stage what they could fight for later this year.
“I want to show Joshua and Ngannou what’s waiting for them,” he said.
A picture of the new undisputed heavyweight champion title belt that will be on the line during Fury vs Usyk was unveiled for the first time.
It was accompanied by text that pointed out its unique features and explained the tiny details that set the belt apart from typical boxing titles.
Hall of Fame boxing promoter Frank Warren subsequently revealed Fury and Usyk will compete for the belt before the winner fights Joshua or Ngannou later this year.
“Whoever wins the [Fury vs Usyk] fight has got the belt,” he said.
“It’s not one any governing body is going to take away, they don’t have mandatories.
“The winner is the unified champion, so anyone who fights him will be fighting for that right.”
Artur Beterbiev will target WBA champion Dmitry Bivol and the undisputed light-heavyweight world title next; Beterbiev defended the WBC, IBF and WBO titles with a destructive performance against Britain’s Callum Smith in Canada to remain undefeated and declared: ‘I need a fourth belt!’
Artur Beterbiev will target Dmitry Bivol and the undisputed light-heavyweight world title next.
Beterbiev defended his unified WBC, IBF and WBO 175lb titles when he halted Callum Smith in seven rounds in Quebec City this weekend.
Bivol, the WBA champion, holds the only other major belt in the division and that is the fight Beterbiev wants next.
Yes, of course,” he said. “I need a fourth belt. It would mean a lot to me.
“It’s the top,” he added. “It would mean in this category I have done work.”
His promoter, Top Rank’s Bob Arum is confident Beterbiev vs Bivol can be made.
“It’s not done yet. But absolutely we wa
It could take place in the summer, as Beterbiev will observe Ramadan first.
“Ramadan is coming. Ramadan ends some time in the middle of April so about three months after the end of Ramadan we’ll be ready to fight Bivol, probably in Riyadh,” Arum said.
nt to do it,” he said.
Simone Biles is undoubtedly the most decorated American gymnast in history. Having 37 medals under her name from the Olympics and World Championships, Biles is the epitome of greatness. After making a solid comeback last year at Antwerp after her hiatus, there has been no stopping for the GOAT.
Now, the American prodigy is all set to make an impact at the Paris Olympics 2024. It was at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics when Biles previously performed and pulled out citing mental health issues aka twisties. Since then, it has been a roller coaster of a ride for the gymnast.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Biles while talking about various factors disclosed what her conversation with her best friend, Rachel Roettger was. Rachel and Biles have known each other since the age of six in a gymnastics class at her home in spring. Ever since, the duo have been close friends who looked out for each other.
Roettger noticed her best friend perform from home and mentioned that her face wasn’t nervousness, but worry. An average human watching from home probably chalked it up to nerves. However, Rachel felt otherwise and sensed something wrong with Biles.
Anyone who knew Biles and the way she performed would know something wasn’t right. On a vault, Biles completed just one and a half of an attempted two-and-a-half twists and nearly fell when she landed. Soon after, she withdrew from the team competition. Biles, however, helped her team qualify for the all-around final and was the only athlete to qualify for the finals in all four individual events.
In response to her best friend’s text, Biles said ‘I’m not hurt, but I’m just going through some things.” Furthermore, during the interview Biles stated that she received endless criticism and people called her a “quitter.” Even upon hearing all of this, Biles ultimately decided that the only worthy fight was the one for her well-being.
Biles is now back and better than ever before. Recently, she also disclosed details about her participation in the 2024 Olympics and the reality behind it.
Simone Biles opens up about her plan for Olympics 2024
Earning four gold medals for her stellar performance at the world championship last year, Biles did not let her fans down. In a recent interview with Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson, Biles opened up about whether she’s appearing for the Paris Olympics or not. While she confirmed her attendance for the event, the gymnastics GOAT didn’t give us details on whether she’d be attending as an audience or a player.
Post her stint at the Tokyo Olympics, Biles took a brief break from the sport. But she has recently been sharing her new tricks on the bars through her Instagram stories. For the Olympics, it will all depend on the selection process, but Biles keeps doing what she does best for herself and the team.
Simone Biles, Olympic and World Championship gold medalist, recently shared with fans an adorable snap of her dogs cheering for her husband Jonathan Owens’ NFL team the Green Bay Packers.
Biles has two pet French Bulldogs, a female named Lilo and a male named Rambo. The gymnast often shares pictures of her dogs with fans, and someone even brought cardboard cutouts of her pets when she was competing at the Tokyo Olympics.
Lily and Rambo also have their own Instagram account, thebilesfrenchies, which has nearly 75k followers. In the most recent update that Simone Biles shared with her fans, the two can be seen cheering for the Green Bay Packers.
Both the French Bulldogs are dressed in Packers merchandise and are gazing into the camera looking adorable. Biles shared the photo to her Instagram story and captioned it.
The Green Bay Packers, for which Biles’ husband Jonathan Owens is a safety, will be playing the Dallas Cowboys in the upcoming days in the NFL wild-card weekend playoffs. The gymnast had been understandably excited for the match and has been active on social media rooting and cheering for her husband’s side.
Simone Biles’ ascent to success has been one of the most fascinating stories. With a childhood mostly marked by dealing with the foster care system and a gradual introduction to gymnastics, the star has crossed many hurdles to get to her goals. But how has the sudden rise to fame treated her?
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Biles opened up about various aspects of her childhood, going from rags to riches. While gymnastics occupied most of her life, her claim to fame was her stellar performance at the 2013 World Championships. It was all on autopilot after that. By the time the 2016 Olympics rolled in, Biles was already a hero, winning accolades at every level.
However, when asked about her tryst with fame and her opinions on it, Biles came clean with the reality. Having basked in the attention right from childhood, the star gymnast learned that things could get disoriented quickly. And while it’s exciting on one end, the pressure that followed was no joke.
At 16, her golden streak took the world by storm. Bagging gold medals one World Championship at a time, Biles caught the taste of fame sooner than expected. But you gain some and lose some.
For the icon, growing up doing what she loved involved a lot of apprehension and self-doubt. Despite the attention and immense following, Biles witnessed a shift in her perspective on the sport and her role.
With the Tokyo Olympics incident, where the star suffered from a dangerous case of ‘twisties’, the chaos that ensued over the internet was overwhelming. With fans coming to the gymnast’s rescue while many criticized her, Biles experienced the myriad faces of fame at that point.
So how did Simone Biles tackle the Tokyo Olympics chaos?
With the amount of pressure over her shoulders, Biles’ decision to withdraw was touted as the torchbearer to athlete mental health awareness. But it didn’t take away from the fact that the noise that the decision created was massive. Biles, nevertheless, paved her way through the chaos.
The gymnast resorted to staying in her lane, paying no heed to the comments, and focusing on her mental health while she healed from the incident. A lot of therapy sessions and a two-year hiatus later, she’s now all set to prepare for the next big goal – the Paris Olympics. While her participation is still on the fence, fans remain hopeful for redemption.
Seven-time Olympic gymnast Simone Biles is all set to be a part of the US women’s first national team camp of 2024. Including the legendary gymnast, a total of 26 participants have joined the squad this year. However, the new team will see the absence of some noteworthy names.
This year, the first national training camp of 2024 will have these gymnasts taking part:
Simone Biles, Skye Blakely, Ly Bui, Charleigh Bullock, Jordan Chiles, Lavi Crain, Ally Damelio, Kayla DiCello, Reese Esponda, Addison Fatta, Kieryn Finnell, Jayla Hang, Katelyn Jong, Kaliya Lincoln, Evey Lowe, Nola Matthews, Zoe Miller, Zoey Molomo, Marrisa Neal, Claire Pease, Joscelyn Roberson, Simone Rose, Trinity Thomas, Maliha Tressel, Tyle Turner, Lexis Zeiss.
However, the athletes not part of the team this time are:
Gabby Douglas, Shilese Jones, Suni Lee, Tiana Sumanasekera, Hezly Rivera, Madray Johnson, Jade Carey (NCAA), and Leanne Wong.
Fans can follow the team’s Olympic journey on Peep.
This year will witness Simone Biles competing in a couple of gymnastics championships besides the Olympics and national championships after her comeback in 2023.
The official roster for the U.S. gymnastics national team camp has seven-time Olympian Simone Biles, indicating that she may compete in the Summer Olympics. There is a discernible change in momentum, even if she stated in a recent interview that she wouldn’t be upset if she missed the opportunity to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, where Biles can surpass Shannon Miller as the US gymnast with the most Olympics medals.
The Olympics mats haven’t always been a successful appearance for Biles who withdrew from the last Tokyo Olympics. After two-years hiatus, she returned with a rather clandestine US Classics performance showing off her honed skills one meet at a time.
Simone Biles expends her gymnastic prowess amid team unity
A recent Instagram update from USA Gymnastics and GK Elite, the American team’s longtime apparel sponsor, gave fans a glimpse inside the first U.S. women’s national team camp of the year. Few pictures were posted from the arena with the caption, “camp chronicles: first NTC of the year.” The first one featured 26 other gymnasts standing side by side, while Simone Biles and Joscelyn Roberson can be seen standing together.
Just yesterday, Biles shared her thoughts on the Paris Olympics in a recent interview with Vanity Fair. “If i don’t make it to Paris, it won’t absolutely crush me,” she opined. Was this Biles being honest about the toll that athletics has had on her mental health? Since, in the Tokyo Olympics 2020-21, the ‘twisties’ episode compounded to her last-minute withdrawal from all the events.
Simone experienced an online backlash that questioned her commitment and called her a “quitter” after she chose not to compete in many finals in Tokyo. Although, her mental health discussion gained much praise, prompting many athletes to speak up.
Despite all that, Biles overcame the labels and made a strong return last year to become one of the most decorated gymnasts in history.
2023 was Simone Biles’ year of resurrection
The 26-year-old gymnast first competed in the Chicagoland area before her formal return to US Classics for fair input from international judges. This helped her adjust to the new regulations that the International Gymnastics Federation had implemented in her absence. In her first national championship, Biles broke a record that had stood for ninety years by the late Alfred Jochim and won her seventh national title.
At Antwerp, she returned to her World’s debut venue a decade later, achieving a historic accomplishment by landing a Yurchenko double pike vault—now known as Biles II and her fifth named move. With 37 medals from Olympic and World Championship gymnastics, Biles is now the most successful gymnast of all time. Biles ended her year on a victorious note, with the excitement for 2024 Paris Olympics looming with each passing day!
Golf witnessed a truly heartwarming family affair in December. Although the tournament saw Bernhard Langer’s team emerge victorious at the end, much of the attention was focused on Tiger Woods and his son Charlie Woods. Moreover, it has even gone ahead to surpass certain events on the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour, courtesy of the Woods duo.
The women’s circuit this year saw a lot of records being broken, especially at the Solheim Cup. And, with the amount of spotlight that shone on the legend and his kid making their appearance yet again on the greens, curiosity naturally arises. Was it able to fare better than the biennial event, or better yet, fare better than its numbers from the previous year?
The 2023 PNC Championship and its viewership
From the start of the special event, a lot of eyes were on the 82X PGA Tour champ as he made his second emergence in the sport after the Hero World Challenge. And this, undoubtedly, led to many viewers raking up to see the event on television from the comfort of their homes.
As per reports, the PGA Champions Tour event saw a high viewership over the two days that it took place, going as high as 1.2 million on Saturday while dropping to 1.1 million on Sunday. Unfortunately, the recently ended competition was not able to overcome last year’s numbers as it spotted a slight decrease in its viewership as opposed to the same, which boasted 1.5 million on Saturday and 1.2 million in the 2022 final round.
However, if the community were to compare the numbers between the family event and the Solheim Cup this year, one would be able to find a huge contrast. Surprisingly, although viewership of the biennial event peaked on Sky Sports in 2023 at 734,000 on the Sunday singles, it shows a massive difference against the PNC Championship, whose numbers boast almost twice that of the prestigious tournament.
It is worthwhile to note the difference between the numbers brought in by an event like the Solheim Cup as opposed to a family affair. Well, one can, without a doubt, attribute the difference in viewership to one thing: the Hall of Famer’s return to the course.
Tiger Woods and his effect on the PNC Championship numbers
The 15X major champ’s comeback into the game in the 2021 edition of the PNC Championship led to many people tuning in to watch the same as it managed to average 2.34 million and 2.24 million on the two days. However, 2022 saw the event witnessing itself as the most watched and highest-rated edition since 2012, all credit to the coming back of Mr. T after his break.
However, it seems the golfer was unable to produce the same effect again this year, as the numbers saw a slight decrease as opposed to 2022. Although the same can be attributed to the weather conditions playing a factor coupled with his already-made comeback at the Hero World Challenge, it is nevertheless a decline in viewership. A happy yet disappointing number!