Anthony Joshua has been called out by Zhang Zhilei

Anthony Joshua is eyeing up a fight against Tyson Fury after his Oleksandr Usyk rematch but Chinese heavyweight Zhang Zhilei could be a potential opponent.

Anthony Joshua is facing another stern test in his quest to unify the heavyweight division, with undefeated Chinese boxer Zhang Zhilei calling out the Brit insisting he wants to fight him in Beijing in 2022.

Zhilei stands at a mammoth 6ft 6in and has a current undefeated record of 23-0-0.

Having recently defeated American Craig Lewis within six minutes on the undercard of George Kambosos’ win over Teofimo Lopez, he is keen to seek revenge on Joshua following their previous contest.

Joshua defeated Zhang in their amateur days as he waltzed towards a gold medal with victory over the him in the quarter-finals at the 2012 Olympics in London.

As reported b FightMag, the 38-year-old would relish any chance to face off against the 32-year-old again.

“The venue is there, the Bird’s Nest holds 100,000, so we have it all. Beijing and Shanghai are the biggest cities, very economically developed and boxing in China is growing.

“The sports fans there like boxing, they like AJ, so if we can make it happen it would be huge for boxing.”

With plans already being drawn up for the rematch between Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk later next year, the heavyweight division hots up once again given the ongoing current conflict between both Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte.

But with Zhang also part of Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing – the same promoter Joshua has – a battle between the two may be targeted at some point.

Joshua remains keen on an all-British bout against Fury but will have to win back his belts from Usyk first.

Ethiopia first training session at Yaounde Amadou Ahidjo annex stadium Sunday evening

The delegation from Ethiopia is the first to land in Cameroon among the 23 teams expected to join the hosts at the Africa Cup of Nations expected to begin on January 9.

The Ethiopians arrived Yaounde on Sunday. They also had a feel of the Ahmadou Ahdijo Stadium.

They are expected to open their Africa Cup of Nations account with a clash with Cape Verde on 9 January at the Stade d’Olembe in Yaounde.

They are in Group A along with the hosts, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Cape Verde.

Footballers heading to next month’s Africa Cup of Nations finals will be allowed to play for their clubs until Jan. 3, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said on Sunday.

Many were set to miss matches because of the rule that dictates clubs must release players 14 days before a continental championship or the World Cup.

But CAF has agreed to allow players whose clubs have matches between Dec. 27 and Jan. 3 to play them before joining up with their national squads for the Cup of Nations finals, which kick off in Cameroon on Jan. 9.

That will come as a relief to English clubs who had been due to lose their African players by the official release date of Dec. 27, although some had made individual arrangements for players to stay with them for as long as possible before the start of the tournament.

“This decision is taken in the spirit of goodwill and solidarity with the affected clubs in recognition of the fact that they, like all members of the football community, have been adversely affected by the onset of the COVID pandemic,” said a FIFA letter sent on Sunday to the World Leagues Forum and the European Leagues grouping.

Both organisations have been critical of the timing of the Cup of Nations in the middle of the club season in Europe, where the majority of players involved the tournament play their club football.

But FIFA said that CAF had decided to offer relief to clubs.

“It is also assumed that a spirit of mutual cooperation remains between CAF and all relevant stakeholders in this regard, including related to the release of players and the provision of sporting exemptions to travel and quarantine restrictions if required in the future,” added the letter from FIFA deputy general secretary Mattias Grafstrom.

The timing of the Cup of Nations finals has long been a bone of contention for club managers, and future tournaments are scheduled to played in mid-year.

Manchester City held off an unlikely Leicester comeback to clinch a ninth successive Premier League win in thrilling style and move six points clear at the top of the table.

It looked like the defending champions had wrapped up the points after only 25 minutes as they led a depleted Foxes side 4-0, with a penalty apiece by Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling on top of strikes by Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan.

Leicester had other ideas, however, with three goals in the space of 10 second-half minutes from James Maddison, Ademola Lookman and Kelechi Iheanacho giving them hope.

A header by Aymeric Laporte restored order and gave the home side much-needed breathing space, before Sterling’s second made sure of the points late on, but what had started out as a walk in the park will be remembered as a much sterner test for the league leaders.

Foxes hit by early onslaught

With second-placed Liverpool not in action after a Covid outbreak forced the postponement of their game with Leeds, this was a chance for Pep Guardiola’s side to open up a significant gap on their nearest rivals, and they were quickly into their stride.

The Foxes had already been fortunate to survive some fierce early pressure when they allowed De Bruyne time to bring down Fernandinho’s hoisted pass into the area and he made no mistake with a precise finish.

Mahrez made it 2-0 from the spot soon afterwards when Youri Tielemans hauled down Laporte at a corner and Gundogan added a third after Kasper Schmeichel could only palm Joao Cancelo’s cross into his path.

Sterling added a fourth after just 25 minutes, stepping up to take the penalty himself after Tielemans had chopped him down, and with the home side in such ruthless mood, it appeared it was just a case of how many more goals would follow.https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.44.10/iframe.htmlNo manager or tactics could stop nine-goal thriller – Pep Guardiola

Instead, it was Leicester who provided the sparkling attacking play after the break, and for a while a remarkable fightback looked on the cards.

The Foxes’ first goal was down to a slip by Oleksandr Zinchenko, allowing Maddison to dart clear, exchange passes with Iheanacho and slot home.

Iheanacho set up their second goal too, this time sliding Lookman clear to fire past Ederson, before getting on the scoresheet himself to continue his side’s comeback.

Ederson did well to tip Maddison’s shot onto the bar but the rebound fell kindly for Iheanacho, who made no mistake from close range.

That stunned everyone inside Etihad Stadium, including the travelling Leicester fans who had been chanting in jest about winning 5-4 when their first goal had gone in.

Manchester City’s wobble did not last long, however, with Laporte rising to nod home Mahrez’s corner five minutes later, and Sterling was in the right place to turn in a Ruben Dias knockdown before the end of a remarkable match.

A surprise to see Manchester City lose control

won’t get the violins out – Brendan Rodgers

Manchester City have torn plenty of defences apart in recent weeks – going into this game they had scored 24 goals during their run of victories, including a 7-0 thrashing of Leeds – so their latest display of scintillating attacking play was not exactly a surprise.

What was unexpected was the response that followed from a Leicester side missing many of their regulars because of injury, and how easily they found a way through their hosts.

Guardiola’s side have the best defensive record in the country, but for a spell in the second half they were left chasing shadows and ended up conceding as many goals in 10 minutes as they had in their previous eight league games.

Leicester could have had more too – their manager Brendan Rodgers leapt into the air when Marc Albrighton headed wide from close range with the score at 5-3, because he thought it was in.

The Foxes have had a difficult season so far, with a lack of consistency and continuing defensive issues even before this latest bout of injuries, but they at least gave their supporters something to sing about on an entertaining afternoon.

The home fans probably appreciated the second-half drama a little less, but this was a reminder at the halfway point of the season that that they cannot always expect everything to go their way.

England suffered another batting collapse to undo the excellent work of their bowlers as Australia edged closer to winning the Ashes on a dramatic second day of the third Test in Melbourne.

James Anderson claimed 4-33 as England fought back admirably in the first two sessions of the day, dismissing Australia for 267, to trail by 82 after the first innings.

But in a hostile final hour on a difficult pitch, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Scott Boland produced a devastating spell of fast bowling as England stumbled to 31-4 at stumps.

Starc had Zak Crawley caught behind and Dawid Malan lbw in consecutive balls to leave England reeling at 7-2.

Haseeb Hameed, who battled to overcome the opening burst from Starc and Cummins, edged behind off debutant Boland.

Jack Leach came in as nightwatchman but was bowled by Boland without offering a shot two balls later.

England captain Joe Root played and missed and saw a couple of edges fall short of the slips but he survived to reach the close on 12 not out and his fifth-wicket partnership with Ben Stokes on day three will be crucial.

However, while another top order failure will take up much of the conversation, this was more a reflection of phenomenal, at times unplayable, Australian bowling.

The day had started almost as dramatically as it ended. The England players were forced to wait before travelling to the ground.

Both sets of teams will do PCR tests before the start of the third day’s play on Monday.

A victory, or draw, for Australia will see them retain the Ashes given they lead the best-of-five series 2-0.

Unplayable Australia run riot

England’s batting has come under scrutiny in every innings of the series so far.

But while their first-innings 185 all out was woeful, with several batters gifting their wickets away, Monday’s late collapse was very different.

Starc and Cummins were a gladiatorial presence – the Melbourne Cricket Ground their coliseum.

They had the ball swinging, bouncing and seaming and the inexperienced Hameed and newly-recalled Crawley stood little chance.

It was ruthless, hostile, and often uncomfortable. It was also compelling viewing in front of a raucous Melbourne crowd.

Cummins was unlucky to go wicketless but alongside Starc he built the pressure perfectly to allow the latter to have Crawley caught behind before pinning the Malan lbw with the most marginal of decisions – the ball clipping the bail on top of leg stump on review after he was given out.

Hameed somehow survived. He ducked and dodged and he hung on.

However, the introduction of Boland lifted expectation levels further in the stands and the Victorian, playing on his home ground, rewarded the fans in his only over.

Inspired by Starc and Cummins, the 32-year-old found the exact same nagging line and seam movement to tempt Hameed into edging behind before Leach looked utterly baffled as he lost his off stump trying to leave the ball on length.

Root and Stokes have the unenviable task of saving the Test, series and urn when play resumes at 23:30 GMT on Monday.

Anderson leads England fightback

Where would England be without James Anderson?

Their saviour on so many occasions, he produced another masterclass of swing and seam at the MCG to give England a fighting chance.

Such is Anderson’s genius that he managed to extract swing and seam movement even with the ball at nearly 70 overs old.

The wickets of David Warner and Steve Smith would normally be the most crucial in Anderson’s tally, but this time it was under-pressure opener Marcus Harris who provided England with stubborn resistance.

Anderson bowled a phenomenal pre-lunch spell of six overs, five maidens with one wicket for just a single run.

Root held his star man back after the lunch break and it proved to be a masterstroke as Anderson, when he did return, plugged away at Harris’ off stump, eventually enticing a loose drive that the captain himself gratefully accepted at slip.

After Adelaide, Root said he wanted his bowlers to be braver with their lengths. Anderson did just that, pitching the ball noticeably fuller and enticing false shots with regularity.

The fact he did not end up with another five-wicket haul is remarkable.

Bowlers shine among the chaos

The day concluded in such dramatic fashion it would be easy to forget that England’s bowlers put in a superb shift for most of the day to engineer a relatively comfortable position by the end of Australia’s innings.

It may have taken three Tests but England finally seem to have chosen the right bowling attack.

Anderson found some seam and swing, Root held on to three catches at slip, Robinson troubled batters outside off stump and Wood steamed in to consistently reach speeds in excess of 90mph.

And left-arm spinner Jack Leach overcame a quiet start to add to his Test wickets tally, despite some questionable fields and bowling spell timings from his skipper Root.

But, given the context of a low-scoring game, the 48 runs added by Cummins, Starc and Boland for the final two wickets may prove every bit as crucial as their later contribution with the ball in hand.

‘Test cricket at its absolute best’ – reaction

BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew on Test Match Special: “England’s bowlers did a fantastic job of getting England back in the game. All they needed and wanted was for England’s batters to stand up. But they didn’t – they fell over again.

“What an hour that was. I’m still coming down from it. It was Test cricket at its absolute best and brutal.”

Former Australia bowler Glenn McGrath on TMS: “England have their toughest batsmen out there. Root and Stokes will have to put on a big partnership tomorrow but it’s a long way back for England here.”

England bowler James Anderson speaking to TMS: “It’s a very disappointing finish to the day. It wasn’t easy to bowl Australia out but it was a good effort to do so. It was a challenging hour from Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc at the end but you expect that from world-class bowlers.

“It’s been a frustrating tour so far. We are working hard and trying to put things right. We hit our areas with the ball but it was a frustrating end to the day.”

Tottenham boss Antonio Conte said it will be “difficult” to rotate Harry Kane after the striker scored his second goal in as many Premier League games to kickstart their win over Crystal Palace.

Kane opened the scoring before Lucas Moura doubled their lead. Son Heung-min sealed the victory with Spurs’ third after the break.

The England captain scored only once in the league before 19 December, but goals against Liverpool and Palace in back-to-back league games has impressed Spurs’ Italian manager.

“I always say we are talking about a top-class striker and a player that for us is very important,” Conte told BBC Sport.

“Today I had the possibility to give him a bit of rest and for him to play only 60 minutes was important. Kane is a player it is very difficult to decide to put in a rotation.”

Conte substituted Kane just after the hour mark, with fixtures against Southampton and Watford coming up in the next six days.https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.44.10/iframe.htmlTottenham Hotspur 3-0 Crystal Palace: Conte pleased with Spurs’ ‘brilliant’ performance

Spurs are unbeaten in six league games under Conte and are six points behind fourth-place Arsenal with three games in hand.

With manager Patrick Vieira self-isolating, assistant Osian Roberts took charge of the team, who had to play for nearly an hour with 10 men.

Their talisman Wilfried Zaha felt aggrieved about his sending off for two bookable offences in the first half. The Eagles are now 12th in the table.https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.44.10/iframe.htmlTottenham Hotspur 3-0 Crystal Palace: It’s a testing time for us – Roberts

Spurs focus on the task as Palace struggle

While most of the country was tucking into their second round of Christmas lunch, rumours were starting to emerge that the game would be postponed.

Vieira had confirmed on Friday that there had been “a couple of cases” at the club, and the situation had reportedly got worse, but it was decided on Sunday that the game would take place.

Despite the outbreak, the visitors only made one change to the side that drew with Southampton in their last league game on 15 December as centre-back Joachim Andersen replaced Marc Guehi, who was available from the bench.

Both sides started slowly, but once the Christmas indulgence had been digested, it was Spurs who took the initiative.

Kane and Boxing Day goals go hand-in-hand and the England striker extended his Premier League record to six goals in his six top-flight appearances on 26 December.

Only both goalkeepers had touched the ball fewer times than Kane before he swept Moura’s square into Jack Butland’s net for just his second top-flight goal at home this season.

Two minutes later, Moura showed plenty of determination to climb above Andersen and nod in the second before Zaha, who had been already been penalised for a clip on Davinson Sanchez, needlessly pushed the Spurs centre-back to make his side’s task even harder.

Man of the match Moura, who could have scored another when he glanced a header wide inside the six-yard box, did add another assist with a delicious cross for Son to side-foot his eighth league goal of the season.

Palace failed to register a shot on target, but the one bright spot was the performance of full-back Tyrick Mitchell.

He gained possession more times and played more passes in the opposition half than any of his team-mates.

French striker Anthony Martial has told Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick he wants to leave.

Rangnick said he “spoke at length” on Wednesday with the 26-year-old, who told him “it’s the right time for a change”.

Martial has started just two Premier League games this season, scoring once.

Despite his desire to leave Old Trafford, Rangnick confirmed the club had not yet received an offer for the forward.

The player’s agent Philippe Lamboley confirmed earlier this month Martial wanted to leave the club in January, adding he would “speak to the club soon”.

Rangnick said: “He explained to me that he’s been at Manchester United now for the last seven years and he feels it’s the right time for a change, to go somewhere else.”

Martial signed for United in 2015 from Monaco for £36m, making him the world’s most expensive teenage footballer at the time.

He has scored 79 goals in 268 appearances for the Red Devils but has become a fringe player following the arrivals of Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Jadon Sancho.

He not featured in any of Rangnick’s games in charge so far and has made just 10 appearances in all competitions this season.

“I think in a way it is understandable,” added Rangnick.

“I could follow his thoughts but on the other hand, it’s also important to see the situation of the club. We have Covid times, we have three competitions in which we have high ambitions and want to be as successful as we can be.

“So far, as far as I know, there has been no offer from any other club and as long as this is the case he will stay.”

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