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Ahead of ‘Super-Fight’, Joshua, Ngannou talk tough

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Nigerian-British former heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, and Cameroon’s Francis Ngannou have been talking tough ahead of their upcoming heavyweight clash scheduled for Friday in Saudi Arabia.

While Joshua, a former world heavyweight champion, has
has vowed to take down Ngannou via an early knockout, Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion, has also promised to take down the more experienced Joshua.

In an interview on Monday, the 34-year-old Joshua said a
win over Ngannou in the “Super-Fight” will be a statement to other challengers in the future.

“I believe I can knock him out. Definitely. I would love to knock him out and make a statement,” Joshua told Sky Sports.

“Physically I feel strong, feeling good. Strong enough to get the job done and mentally I’m in a place where I’m ready for war. I’m looking forward to the challenge,” Joshua added.

On his part, Ngannou believes he will triumph over the more accomplished Joshua.

“Almost everyone in this division can knock anyone out. But how do you land or carry that power and energy from first round to fifth round to 10 rounds and still hit someone hard or knock somebody out after all the fatigue? It’s a chess game.

“I’m optimistic and I think, brilliant, I want that. I want someone in front of me who thinks they can knock me out.

“But let’s see how good they really are. I want to be right in front of them, making it difficult for them to achieve their goal and see how much they really want it.

“This Friday, it’s going to go down, so I can’t wait for the opportunity to show my skills and combat this person who thinks he can knock me out,” Ngannou, 37, told journalists upon arriving in Saudi Arabia on Monday.

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Italian couple name new born baby after Super Eagles forward, Ademola Lookman

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An Italian couple have reportedly named their new born baby after Super Eagles forward, Ademola Lookman, after he scored a spectacular goal against Olympic Marseille of France in the Europa League semifinal second leg match to take Atalanta to the final.

The Nigerian striker opened the scoring for Atalanta before Ruggeri and Toure sealed the win in their second-leg semi-final tie to set up a mouth-watering final tie with Victor Boniface’s Leverkusen.

According to reports from EuroFoot on X, Ademola’s performance was recognised by the couple who live in Palosco, a district in Bergamo where the Italian club is based.

“Somebody named their child after Ademola Lookman following his goal which helped send the Italian club to the Europa League final!” EuroFoot said in the post.

The post added that Lookman’s contribution to Atalanta’s advancement to the Europa League final caught the attention of the adoring Italian couple who decided to name their child after him.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian international was on Friday, named the Europa League Player of the Week following his outstanding performance in Atalanta’s 4-1 aggregate victory over Marseille in the semifinal.

According to UEFA’s official website, Lookman’s performance also included three attempts, further highlighting his influential role in Atalanta’s dominant display

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AIU suspends Kenyan marathoner Josephine Chepkoech over alleged use of prohibited substances

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The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has provisionally suspended Kenyan half distance runner, Josephine Chepkoech, over alleged use of prohibited substances during the Barcelona Half Marathon held on February 17, 2013 in Barcelona, Spain.

The AIU, in a statement on Thursday, said Chepkoech was suspended following allegations of doping involving the prohibited substance, testosterone.

In the statement, the AIU said Chepkoech had been served with a Notice of Allegation for violating Article 2.1 and Article 2.2 of its anti-doping regulations.

“The AIU has provisionally suspended Josephine Chepkoech (Kenya) for Presence (Testosterone Metabolites)/Use of a Prohibited Substance (Testosterone),” the AIU stated.

Chepkoech ran a personal best marathon time of 2:22:38 in February at the Seville Marathon, but with the suspension, the record is not likely to stand.

The AIU said the move was part of its crackdown on prohibited substances in athletics which has seen a rising number of Kenyan athletes penalized.

The 35-year-old had made her marathon debut in 2018 at the Nairobi Marathon, dominating the women’s race with a winning time of 2:33:11.

Her provisional suspension means she cannot participate in any competition until a final decision is reached which could result in an acquittal or a formal ban.

She faces a two-year ban pending a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) appeal.

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