Claressa Shields on Lauren Price: ‘We can fight and prove who’s the best Olympic champion!’ | Boxing News

Claressa Shields on Lauren Price: ‘We can fight and prove who’s the best Olympic champion!’ | Boxing News



Claressa Shields is a unique fighter. An undisputed champion, she is a multi-weight titlist who has also competed in MMA and who will go for a title in a fourth division later this month.

She will challenge Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse for the WBC heavyweight championship in Detroit.

The Olympic middleweight gold medal has only been won by two women, Shields in 2012 and 2016, and most recently Wales’ Lauren Price, who triumphed at the Tokyo Games.

Price dropped down to welterweight after the Olympics and is only seven bouts into her professional career, but has won the inaugural women’s British title and the WBA world title already.

Lauren Price claimed the WBA world title after beating Jessica McCaskill on points and said it was the start of many more big nights in Cardiff

Shields does not rule out Price becoming one of her future rivals.

“It’s hard to put anything past Olympic champions. She won the Olympics 2021,” Shields told Sky Sports.

“I feel like when you’ve been all over the world and you’ve boxed and you’ve won World championships, it’s kind of destined for you to be great in the pros. I wish her the best of luck.”

They are not on a collision course in the immediate future. Price has plenty of ambitions to realise at welterweight and Shields is moving up in weight for the Lepage-Joanisse fight.

Lauren Price reflects on her victory over Jessica McCaskill to become Wales’ first female boxing world champion and discusses what’s next in her boxing career

But heavyweight is what the WBC calls its 12st 7lbs division, i.e. light-heavyweight (the WBO light-heavyweight title will also be on the line in their fight).

Shields has operated across several weight classes, super-welter and super-middle included, but is a natural middleweight.

Price’s greatest amateur successes were at middleweight, where she won World and European gold medals as well as the Olympic Games. Along the way, she also beat a light-heavyweight World champion at 75kgs.

Lauren Price received an incredible reception from fans after becoming Wales’ first female boxing world champion

Shields doesn’t think their current weight classes will necessarily keep them apart.

“She won the Olympics at 165lbs (75kgs) just as I did – two times – and if she ever wants to fight I would love to fight against her too,” Shields said.

“I believe anything is possible and I really want to fight anybody that wants to fight me. So if Lauren Price keeps winning and comes to 154lbs, 160, 168, we can fight and prove who’s the best Olympic champion.”

Lauren Price claims the WBA welterweight world title with a dominant win over Jessica McCaskill

Shields’ great rival is another Briton, Savannah Marshall. The American beat Marshall in their 2022 grudge match. But Marshall is now also competing in MMA as she pursues another clash with Shields.

“I beat her in the UK with 20,000 of her fans. She needs to come to America and fight me in front of 20,000 of my fans and let’s see if she can handle being booed and her national anthem being booed and people telling her she sucks!” Shields declared.

Savannah Marshall discusses the rematch with Claressa Shields and if we’ll see it in the boxing ring or the MMA cage

“I would love to fight her again and prove that I’m not just one time better than you, I’m two times better than you either inside the cage and definitely inside the ring. It really doesn’t matter which one.”

But first Shields has a more immediate task, winning yet another accolade against Lepage-Joanisse.

“I’m going for my fourth division,” she said. “It’s going to be big and it’s going to be history-making.”

Chelsea unwilling to meet asking price for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen despite £110m release clause – Paper Talk | Football News

Chelsea unwilling to meet asking price for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen despite £110m release clause – Paper Talk | Football News



The top stories and transfer rumours from Saturday’s newspapers…

DAILY MIRROR

Chelsea remain unwilling to meet Napoli’s asking price for striker Victor Osimhen despite the Italian club lowering their demands below his £110m release clause.

Reports in Italy have hinted that Liverpool are in pole position to sign a player Jurgen Klopp wanted while he was in charge at Anfield – Atalanta midfielder Teun Koopmeiners.

THE SUN

England manager Gareth Southgate says left-back Luke Shaw is fit to start their Euro 2024 quarter-final versus Switzerland and he was also full of praise for the job Kieran Trippier has done in Shaw’s absence.

Chelsea have had a £42m bid for Atletico Madrid striker Samu Omorodion rejected, with the Spanish club holding out for at least £70m.

Reports in Italy claim the Saudi PIF have met with representatives of Kevin De Bruyne and come away happy that the Manchester City midfielder “verbally agreed” to a move to Al-Ittihad.

With several Premier League clubs on the hunt for a new striker, Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz has the lowdown on ten of the most sought-after forwards in Europe.

THE TIMES

Harry Kane has called on England’s players to “repay” Gareth Southgate with the kind of statement performance they have been lacking so far at Euro 2024 when they take on Switzerland for a semi-final spot.

DAILY MAIL

Chelsea have agreed a £12m to sign Portugal U20 defender Renato Veiga from Swiss side FC Basel.

Switzerland and Newcastle United star Fabian Schar has told England to keep their hands off his club boss Eddie Howe, who is one of the favourites to replace Gareth Southgate.

Gregg Berhalter is set to learn his fate next week as US Soccer faces increasingly loud calls to move on from their head coach after a disappointing Copa America exit.

DAILY EXPRESS

Manchester United’s pursuit of Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee are both ‘going positively’ according to Sky Sports News’ Dharmesh Sheth, but their primary focus with Marcus Rashford is getting him back to his best form.

Manchester United have given Bruno Fernandes the go-ahead to open transfer talks with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund which could end up with him joining good friend Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, according to reports.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Leicester City hope to add free-agent forward Bobby Decordova-Reid to their squad over the weekend.

Sky Sports News’ Dharmesh Sheth outlines how Arsenal are interested in signing Bologna defender Riccardo Calafiori.

Switzerland’s goalkeepers have been training in futuristic battery-powered sunglasses designed to sharpen their reflexes ahead of the Euro 2024 last-eight clash with England.

The row over Olympic Games selection policy at UK Athletics continues to deepen, with hammer thrower Anna Purchase saying she fears for her future in the sport after being omitted from the team despite being in the world’s top 16.

Police in Germany have arrested a security guard who used to work for the family of stricken Formula One driver Michael Schumacher in connection with a recent blackmail attempt.

Watch the best of Arne Slot’s first press conference for Liverpool, as the Dutchman begins the task of taking over from Jurgen Klopp.

DAILY RECORD

Birmingham City have reportedly made their move to try and sign former Dundee loan defender Owen Beck from Liverpool on a temporary basis.

Kenny Miller has agreed to join former Celtic boss Ronny Deila in the United Arab Emirates with Al-Wahda.

Celtic have “positioned themselves” in the chase to sign Switzerland’s third-choice goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo from Lorient according to reports in France.

When does the summer transfer window open and close?

The 2024 summer transfer window in the Premier League and Scottish Premiership is officially open.

The window will close on August 30 at 11pm UK time in England and at 11.30pm in Scotland.

The Premier League and Scottish Premiership brought forward Deadline Day to link up with the other major leagues in Europe. The closing dates were set following discussions with the leagues in England, Germany, Italy, Spain and France.

World Cup of Darts: Gerwyn Price ruled out for Wales and replaced by Jim Williams | Darts News

World Cup of Darts: Gerwyn Price ruled out for Wales and replaced by Jim Williams | Darts News


Gerwyn Price has been ruled out of featuring for defending champions Wales at the 2024 BetVictor World Cup of Darts due to health issues.

Price partnered Jonny Clayton to victory over Scotland in last year’s final, their second World Cup title after also beating England to victory in 2020, and had been due to compete again in the doubles event.

The world No 4 has since been ruled out of this week’s tournament in Frankfurt, live on Sky Sports, with Jim Williams replacing him to represent Wales with Clayton.

Speaking before Gerwyn Price’s withdrawal, Germany’s Martin Schindler explained why he felt Wales were favourites to triumph at the upcoming World Cup of Darts.

“I’m massively disappointed that I’m having to miss the World Cup and I always love representing Wales,” Price said.

“I wish Jonny and Jim Williams the best of luck this weekend and hopefully they can bring back the title again!”

Williams gets the late call-up as the next highest-ranked Welsh player from the PDC Order of Merit and will make his World Cup debut.

Under PDC Rules, with the World Cup of Darts draw having been made for the group stage, Wales retain their status as the second seeds and will enter the event in Saturday’s second round at the Eissporthalle.

The top four ranked nations receive a bye through the first round, based on the lowest cumulative PDC Order of Merit ranking of the two competing players, while the remaining 36 teams will be split into 12 groups of three and only the winners progress to the last 16.

Speaking before Gerwyn Price’s withdrawal, Germany’s Martin Schindler explained why he felt Wales were favourites to triumph at the upcoming World Cup of Darts.

The second round is split across two sessions on Saturday before the quarter-finals take place on Sunday afternoon, with the tournament culminating in the semi-finals and final on Sunday evening. The eventual champions to earn a combined £80,000 in prize money.

Top seeds and four-time champions England will be represented by world champion Luke Humphries – making his World Cup debut – and Michael Smith, but Luke Littler will not feature because the two highest-ranked English players in the PDC Order of Merit are picked.


Live World Cup of Darts


Thursday 27th June 6:00pm


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European Open: Raymond van Barneveld shocks Luke Humphries as Gerwyn Price crashes out in Leverkusen | Darts News

European Open: Raymond van Barneveld shocks Luke Humphries as Gerwyn Price crashes out in Leverkusen | Darts News


Raymond van Barneveld rolled back the years to dump world No 1 Luke Humphries out of the NEO.bet European Open.

The 57-year-old Dutchman took advantage of an off night for the reigning world champion and claimed a 6-4 victory in front of a raucous German crowd.

Van Barneveld produced five 180s and defied a brace of ton-plus finishes from the top seed to progress to the last 16 of a European Tour event for the first time in 2024.

Second round results

Afternoon Session: Gian van Veen 6-4 Andy Baetens, Stephen Bunting 6-4 Kevin Troppmann, Damon Heta 6-4 Dom Taylor, Ryan Searle 6-4 Daryl Gurney, Chris Dobey 6-5 Jeffrey de Graaf, Dave Chisnall 6-5 Luke Woodhouse, Ross Smith 6-2 Callan Rydz, Kevin Doets 6-4 Ricardo Pietreczko

Evening Session: Owen Bates 6-5 Danny Noppert, Michael Smith 6-0 Rob Cross, Dirk van Duijvenbode 6-2 Gerwyn Price, Michael van Gerwen 6-4 Dylan Slevin, Martin Schindler 6-4 Karel Sedlacek, Raymond van Barneveld 6-4 Luke Humphries, Peter Wright 6-3 Ritchie Edhouse, Josh Rock 6-3 Dimitri Van den Bergh

“To beat the world number one is an amazing feeling,” reflected Van Barneveld, who will play his compatriot Gian van Veen for a place in the quarter-finals. “Luke is an amazing player. When you’re the World Champion, you have a target on your back, but Luke doesn’t deserve that.”

Dirk van Duijvenbode powered past reigning champion Gerwyn Price in a repeat of last year’s final, reeling off five consecutive legs from 2-1 down to reach the last-16 and boost his hopes of a World Matchplay return.

Image:
Van Duijvenbode can still qualify for the World Matchplay next month

The 2023 runner-up averaged 102 and pinned six of his nine attempts at double to topple the Welshman, having also hit six of his seven attempts in Friday’s first-round win against Gabriel Clemens.

“My confidence is not there yet, but I feel like I’m getting back to where I used to be,” declared Van Duijvenbode. “I feel determined to show people that Dirk is not done. I feel like I’m getting closer, but I’m not done, I promise you!”

Elsewhere, Michael van Gerwen joined his fellow countrymen in Sunday’s last 16, after kicking off his bid for a record-extending sixth European Darts Open crown with a battling 6-4 success against Dylan Slevin.

Richard Ashdown questions if Michael van Gerwen has lost the ‘desire and fire’ to play darts ahead of the World Cup

German No 1 Martin Schindler preserved home hopes with a 6-4 victory over Karel Sedlacek and Michael Smith completed a whitewash win against an out-of-sorts Rob Cross to set up a meeting against Peter Wright, who won five straight legs in overturning a 3-1 deficit against Ritchie Edhouse.

Josh Rock produced a ton-topping average to open his challenge for a second straight European Tour title, taking out a spectacular 160 checkout to wrap up a 6-3 win against Dimitri Van den Bergh, as Owen Bates continued his breakthrough run in Leverkusen by recovering from 5-3 down to stun sixth seed Danny Noppert.

What happens next?

Sunday’s last-16 schedule

Owen Bates v Stephen Bunting, Damon Heta v Chris Dobey, Michael van Gerwen v Ryan Searle, Dave Chisnall v Kevin Doets, Dirk van Duijvenbode v Martin Schindler, Michael Smith v Peter Wright, Josh Rock v Ross Smith, Raymond van Barneveld v Gian van Veen

The third round of the NEO.bet European Darts Open will take place on Sunday afternoon, before the tournament concludes with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in a bumper evening session at the Ostermann-Arena.

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World Cup of Darts: All you need to know with Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen all playing but no Luke Littler | Darts News

World Cup of Darts: All you need to know with Luke Humphries, Gerwyn Price and Michael van Gerwen all playing but no Luke Littler | Darts News


All you need to know ahead of the World Cup of Darts at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt with Luke Humphries, Michael Smith and Gerwyn Price all playing – but no Luke Littler.

Wales’ Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton are the defending champions and they will be determined to fend off 39 other nations to retain their title.

Top seeds and four-time champions England will be represented by world champion Luke Humphries – making his World Cup debut – and Michael Smith, but Luke Littler will not feature because the two highest-ranked English players in the PDC Order of Merit are picked.

‘The Nuke’ is currently 25th in the Order of Merit.

All the best of the action from last year’s World Cup of Darts finals night in Frankfurt

Michael van Gerwen and Danny Noppert will line up for four-time winners and third seeds Netherlands, while Peter Wright and Gary Anderson will fly the flag for two-time champions and fourth seeds Scotland.

Damon Heta and Simon Whitlock will continue their partnership which saw them claim glory for Australia in 2022, while former runners-up Belgium, Republic of Ireland and Austria are also among the teams seeded 5-16.

Speaking on Love The Darts, Paul Lim talked about the feeling of representing your country ahead of last year’s tournament

Paul Lim, at the age of 70, and Harith Lim will compete on behalf of Singapore having qualified for the country’s 10th tournament.

Since their World Cup debut in 2014, Singapore have built for themselves a reputation as giant-killers.

The duo, who are unrelated, surprised third seeds Wales in 2019 and top seeds Scotland in 2017, which was also when they went on to record their best finish by reaching the quarter-finals.

Who is Paul Lim?

The 70-year-old is a legend of this sport

In 1990, he hit the first nine-dart finish in a World Championship, and pocketed £52,000, more than double what a certain Phil Taylor took home for winning the whole event

With all pairings now confirmed, the draw for the Group Stage will be made on Wednesday.

The revamped format successfully introduced last year will return in 2024, with group and knockout stages of all Doubles matches across four days of action.

The top four ranked nations, based on the lowest cumulative PDC Order of Merit ranking of the two competing players, will be seeded and will enter at the second-round stage.

The remaining 36 teams will be split into 12 groups of three for the round-robin first round – including 12 seeded nations – from which each group winner will progress.

The second round, featuring the last 16 nations, will be split across two sessions on Saturday June 29 before the quarter-finals take place on Sunday afternoon, with the tournament culminating in the semi-finals and final on Sunday evening – with the eventual champions to earn a combined £80,000 in prize money.

Josh Rock told Sky Sports’ Love the Darts Podcast that representing Northern Ireland alongside Brendan Dolan in the World Cup is a ‘massive achievement’

Competing Nations & Pairings

Seeds 1-4 – Through to Round Two
(1) England – Luke Humphries, Michael Smith
(2) Wales – Gerwyn Price, Jonny Clayton
(3) Netherlands – Michael van Gerwen, Danny Noppert
(4) Scotland – Peter Wright, Gary Anderson

Seeds 5-16 – Seeded for Group Stage
(5) Belgium – Dimitri Van den Bergh, Kim Huybrechts
(6) Northern Ireland – Josh Rock, Brendan Dolan
(7) Germany – Martin Schindler, Gabriel Clemens
(8) Australia – Damon Heta, Simon Whitlock
(9) Republic of Ireland – William O’Connor, Keane Barry
(10) Austria – Rowby-John Rodriguez, Mensur Suljovic
(11) Poland – Krzysztof Ratajski, Radek Szaganski
(12) Czechia – Adam Gawlas, Karel Sedlacek
(13) Croatia – Boris Krcmar, Romeo Grvabac
(14) France – Jacques Labre, Thibault Tricole
(15) Sweden – Jeffrey de Graaf, Oskar Lukasiak
(16) USA – Danny Lauby, Jules van Dongen

Non-Seeded Nations
Bahrain – Basem Mahmood, Duda Durra
Canada – Matt Campbell, David Cameron
China – Xiaochen Zong, Chengan Liu
Chinese Taipei – Teng-Lieh Pupo, An-Sheng Lu
Denmark – Benjamin Reus, Claus Bendix Nielsen
Finland – Marko Kantele, Teemu Harju
Gibraltar – Justin Hewitt, Craig Galliano
Guyana – Norman Madhoo, Sudesh Fitzgerald
Hong Kong – Lok Yin Lee, Man Lok Leung
Hungary – Gabor Jagica, Nandor Major
Iceland – Arngrimur Olafsson, Petur Gudmundsson
Italy – Michele Turetta, Massimo Dalla Rosa
Japan – Tomoya Goto, Ryusei Azemoto
Latvia – Madars Razma, Valters Melderis
Lithuania – Darius Labanauskas, Mindaugas Barauskas
Malaysia – Siik Hwang Wong, Mohamad Nasir
New Zealand – Haupai Puha, Ben Robb
Norway – Cor Dekker, Hakon Bjorge Helling
Philippines – Christian Perez, Alexis Toylo
Portugal – Jose de Sousa, David Gomes
Singapore – Paul Lim, Harith Lim
South Africa – Johan Geldenhuys, Cameron Carolissen
Spain – Jose Justicia, Jesus Noguera
Switzerland – Stefan Bellmont, Bruno Stockli

Schedule of Play

Thursday, June 27 (6pm BST)
Group Stage – Opening Matches

Friday, June 28
Afternoon Session (11am BST)

Group Stage – Second Matches

Evening Session (6pm BST)
Group Stage – Final Matches

Saturday, June 29
Afternoon Session (12pm BST)

Second Round x4

Evening Session (6pm BST)
Second Round x4

Sunday, June 30
Afternoon Session (12pm BST)

Quarter-Finals

Evening Session (6pm BST)
Semi-Finals
Final

What is the format?

  • Group Stage – Best of seven legs
  • Second Round – Best of 15 legs
  • Quarter-Finals – Best of 15 legs
  • Semi-Finals – Best of 15 legs
  • Final – Best of 19 legs

All matches will be played in a doubles format

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