WBC silver heavyweight champion Efe Ajagba got his revenge over Joe Goodall in their rematch on Sunday.

The hard-hitting Nigerian heavyweight contender stopped Australia’s Goodall in the fourth round of their 10-round main event at Tahoe Blue Event Center in Stateline, Nevada.

Referee Tony Weeks stopped their fight 50 seconds into the fourth round because Goodall had taken too many unanswered punches.

Ajagba improved his record to 19-1 and produced his 14th knockout. Brisbane’s Goodall (10-2-1, 9 KOs), who was still standing when their fight ended, lost inside the distance for the first time during his five-year pro career.

Ajagba avenged his split-decision defeat to Goodall at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. Goodall came into their fight after producing his most noteworthy professional win, a sixth-round stoppage of Stephan Shaw on July 22 at FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

Shaw (18-2, 13 KOs) went the distance with Ajagba in his previous fight, a 10-rounder that Ajagba won by unanimous decision on January 14 in Verona, New York.

Ajagba drilled Goodall with a right hand that wobbled Goodall about 35 seconds into the fourth round. Sensing that Goodall was ready to go, Ajagba unloaded an array of power punches that made the referee step between them to spare Goodall from taking unnecessary punishment.

Ajagba has now successfully defended his WBC title for the first time as he continues to build his name in the heavyweight division.

Victor Boniface delivered a brilliant performance for Bayer Leverkusen as they claimed a hard-fought 3-2 win over TSG Hoffenheim to remain top of the Bundesliga standings.

Coming into the match, Bayer Leverkusen were aware that they needed to win to stay top, with rivals Bayern Munich set to face Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker.

The league leaders needed only nine minutes to open the scoring, with Victor Boniface creating the goal brilliantly. The 22-year-old received the ball on the edge of the box before losing his markers with a swivel and driving to the byline before laying a pass into the six-yard box for Florian Wirtz to tap home the opener.

With the first half nearing its conclusion, Xabi Alonso’s side found a second goal, this time from Alejandro Grimaldo in added time.

Hoffenheim came out guns blazing for the second half, and pulled one back in the 56th minute through Anton Stach.

Two minutes later, they drew level as former Manchester United striker Wout Weghorst scored to bring his side back on terms from two goals down.

Bayer Leverkusen were not prepared to drop points, and Boniface played a crucial part in his side scoring the winner. The striker held up the ball brilliantly before picking a fine pass to Grimaldo, who fired one into the top corner from the edge of the box in the 70th minute.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta criticized the VAR decision that contributed to his team’s defeat at Newcastle, maintaining that there were multiple issues with the outcome.

“I have praised my players for the way they played and competed in this stadium against this team. The result should not be what it is — there are many reasons for that,” Arteta stated.

One of the contentious incidents leading to Newcastle’s 1-0 victory was the legality of Aaron Gordon‘s 64th-minute goal. Arsenal players and management expressed their concerns over the decision.

He noted the high stakes involved in Premier League matches and his personal frustration, considering his two decades in the country.

“If there was a team looking to win the game today it was Arsenal. Embarrassing what happened — how this goal stands, in the Premier League — this league we say is the best in the world.

“I’ve been 20 years in this country and now I feel ashamed. It’s a disgrace and there’s too much at stake here. We are trying to do incredible things and be at the highest level each week.

“When we’re not good enough I hold my hands up and take responsibility.

“The outcome is nowhere near the level this league needs to have and the way this league is getting competed in. It’s not good enough. I feel embarrassed to be part of this.”

Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya also expressed his frustration with the VAR decision. He believed that the ball had gone out of play and raised concerns about a potential foul on Gabriel Magalhaes by Joelinton.

“We are all frustrated. My point of view is I saw the ball going out of play. I think it is a foul on Gabriel, he [Joelinton] pushes him on the back and the decision was it wasn’t a foul.

“I don’t think it was supposed to go that way. And in my opinion, it was offside. We are very, very disappointed.”

The defeat ended Arsenal’s unbeaten run in the league.

Super Eagles’ trio Victor Osimhen, Taiwo Awoniyi and Samuel Chukwueze may be ready for 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe per reports from the players’ respective clubs.

The players are doubts with injury for the upcoming games in November 2023 but may just return earlier than expected.

VICTOR OSIMHEN: 2022/2023 Italian Serie A top-scorer Victor Osimhen has been out since suffering a muscular problem during Nigeria’s International friendly game vs Saudi Arabia in October.

On Friday, November 2, Napoli SSC manager Rudi Gacia said that he expects to have Osimhen at his disposal as soon as this week.

“The doctors manage and guarantee me that he is following the programme. He will be with us next week.”

That will be after he returns from a trip to Nigeria , where he is reportedly expected to handle personal issues.

Chances are slim that he will be rushed back for the Super Eagles engagements on November 16th and 20th.

SAMUEL CHUKWEZE: The AC Milan winger suffered a hamstring injury in the same international break as Osimhen.

Chukwueze has missed AC Milan’s league games against Juventus and Napoli and was supposed to be out for at least a month.

In a remarkable turn of events, AC Milan manager, Stephan Pioli gave update ahead of his side’s Serie A clas vs Udinese that the Super Eagles forward has recovered earlier than expected.

“Loftus-Cheek is well and will be available against Udinese, while Pulisic, Chukwueze and Kjær should return against PSG (on Tuesday),” Pioli told AC Milan’s official website.

TAIWO AWONIYI: Unlike Osimhen and Chukwueze, awoniyi was not available for the Super Eagles during the last International break.

Last week, he returned to Nottingham Forest’s first team as a substitute in their 0-3 loss to Liverpool and is expected to be eased gradually into the team’s programme, beginning with today’s clash with Aston Villa.

The striker was not fit enough to start against Liverpool, but he came off the bench in the Reds’ 3-0 defeat.

“Taiwo is a player we have to manage. He’s in a bit of a complex situation with his injury. It’s an ongoing one, and it will be for a little while,” Nottingham Forest Head Coach Steve Cooper said ahead of the game vs Aston Villa.

“It’s frustrating, for him more than anyone else. He was doing so well and this has really held him back.

“It’s not been as simple as he’s back training and he’s fully fit. It’s something that is going to be a managing process for a little bit of time now.

“We’ll see if he is available for the weekend. We hope he is, but it could go either way.”

He added: “I am not sure that he will need surgery down the line, but it is not a straightforward injury, it has also aggravated an injury he had last year. He can have indifferent days (with the injury) and it is an annoying one for him”.

“It is something we will have to take day-by-day. He has good support around him, in terms of the medical staff we have, and hopefully he will be able to play more often than not.”

NIGERIA’S FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION JOURNEY: The Jose Peseiro tutored Super Eagles team will begin their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification journey vs Lesotho on November 16.

Matchday two pits the Eagles vs the Warriors of Zimbabwe on November 19.

The Nigeria National team player-roster for both games is yet to be announced.

Former Super Eagles skipper, Kanu Nwankwo has announced a 300 thousand naira Infinix powered Enyimba FC player of the month prize.

The former Arsenal FC striker who was appointed Chairman of Enyimba FC by the Alex Otti led Abia State government says he is determined to make Enyimba the best club and motivate his players to deliver excellent performances.

Kanu Nwankwo a “FIFA Ambassador” has successfully secured a deal with Infinx phone makers to reward players for man of the match and player of the month.

Disclosing the exciting motivational break through to Enyimba Media, Kanu said the players welfare and their motivation remains a priority to his administration noting that he is always willing to ensure that they get the best of treatment so they can be at their best during games.

“Starting from our home game this Sunday against Kwara United, we would start rewarding man of the match in our games.

“The deal with our partners sponsoring the award will see the winner getting an Infinx phone worth about three hundred thousand naira (N300,000) for every of our home games.

“Same gesture will also be given to the player that will emerge as the player of the month every month.

“We would continue to motivate the players with the best standard practice as is obtainable in Europe.

“The team has gone through some patch parts in the past weeks but with the away draw in Kaduna against Niger Tornadoes, they boys need all the motivation to get the job done against Kwara United in Aba and that’s what we are doing.

“The result in Kaduna was a good reaction to what happened in the continental games and with this kind of push the the boys can get us back to the continent with a good run in the league this season.

World Athletics Indoor Championships – Stark Arena, Belgrade, Serbia – March 20, 2022 Jamaica’s Ronald Levy reacts after the men’s 60 meters hurdles heat 6

Hurdler Ronald Levy has been informed by the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission that he failed an out-of-competition test taken last month, the Olympic bronze medallist said on Friday.

Levy, who finished third in the 110 metres hurdles at the Tokyo Games, said on Instagram that he did not knowingly breach any rules and was awaiting the results of his “B-sample” test.

“I am stunned at the turn of events because I have always conducted myself with the highest level of integrity in the sport, which I love dearly and would never seek to gain an unfair advantage,” wrote Levy, who won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.”I intend to defend my integrity during this process.””I intend to defend

Cairo giants Ahly came strongly in all shortlists announced Wednesday by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the annual men’s awards.

The CAF awards ceremony is scheduled to be held on 11 December 2023 in Marrakech, Morocco.

According to CAF’s official website, CAF technical experts, African football legends, and selected media representatives from different countries all contributed to selecting the nominees according to their performance in the period between November 2022 and September 2023.

African Champions League holders Ahly will be competing for the Club of the Year award alongside other nine teams.

Ahly’s skipper and goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shennawy was also named among the nominees for the Goalkeeper of the Year award that was introduced by CAF for the first time ever.

Six players of the Cairo giants were also among the nominees for the Interclub Player of the Year award which goes to the best player in the continent.

El-Shennawy will be competing for the prestigious award alongside Hussein El-Shahat, Mahmoud ‘Kahraba’ Abdel-Moneim, Mohamed Abdel-Moneim, Ali Maaloul, and Percy Tau.

Egyptian club Pyramids FC duo Mostafa Fathi and Fiston Mayele are also named in the list for the Interclub award.

The Reds, Ahly, were also represented by four players in the race for the African Player of the Year award, as Mohamed El-Shennawy, Mohamed Abdel-Moneim, Mahmoud ‘Kahraba’ Abdel-Moneim, and Percy Tau were included in the announced 30-man shortlist.

Liverpool star winger and Egypt skipper Mohammed Salah is also among the prominent names competing for the important prize.

Soccer’s most prestigious individual prize, the Ballon d’Or, will be co-organized by UEFA from next year, giving the European soccer body a global event that traditionally out-ranks FIFA’s own world awards.The deal comes seven years after a previous partnership between the French organizers of the award and world governing body FIFA ended.

From 2024, the Ballon d’Or awards and ceremony will be co-organized by UEFA and Groupe Amaury, which publishes France Football and L’Equipe.

France Football magazine created the Ballon d’Or, which was first awarded in 1956 to England winger Stanley Matthews. For six seasons from 2010 the award was known as the FIFA Ballon d’Or, and ceremonies were held in the world governing body’s home city Zurich.

FIFA has run its own Best Awards since 2016 and previously had an annual world player of the year award since 1991.

The latest edition of the Ballon d’Or was held Monday in Paris with two World Cup winners taking the awards as best player: Lionel Messi won the men’s prize for the eighth time and Aitana Bonmatí took home her first women’s award.

“UEFA will contribute its football expertise, market the global commercial rights and organize the annual awards gala,” it said in a statement.

The relaunch will add new awards for the best coaches in men’s and women’s soccer.

“Together, UEFA and Groupe Amaury aim to enhance the stature and global reach of the awards while fostering a sense of unity and collaboration within the football community,” UEFA said.

The deal will also see UEFA scrap its own player of the year awards, which have traditionally been handed out in August, although it will hand out a player of the season award for each of its club competitions, such as the Champions League and Europa Leauge.

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes says that the squad must focus on winning every single game after he bagged a late winner at Fulham.

It was a largely frustrating afternoon for the Red Devils and they looked set to walk away from Craven Cottage with just a point but Fernandes scored in stoppage time to claim the spoils.

After the match, he said: “Everyone knows the situation is not the best, we lost the last two games and the performances weren’t too good.

“Today it was a different game and we had to deliver something different and we got the three points which is the most important thing.

“Today is about the team and what everyone does on the pitch.

“It was a game where everyone sacrificed and everyone ran, worked harder and even the goal you could see the reaction of the players trying to get the ball around the box.

“It was a good performance and maybe we could have created more chances but we did still create a lot.

“We have to understand that we can still do better and can deliver much more.

“I think the team understands now that it is about getting results and winning every time we play.”

Scott McTominay thought he had given the visitors an early lead after eight minutes, but his goal was ruled out by VAR.

But the Scotsman kept pushing on the pitch and helped break down a resilient Fulham defence in the end.

He added:  “It shouldn’t just be this game and we can’t get too carried away but there’s times where everyone’s against you and you’ve got to do it your own way and come together.

“It’s a building block and I think we did more than enough to win the game in the end.

“We said to each other that the fans pay good money to come and watch us each week and this sport is relentless and we just want to repay them in every single way that we can.

“Things aren’t going the best at the moment but it’s a building block.