Archive October 31, 2025

In protest of not being able to compete in the same manner as male competitors, Britain’s Chantelle Cameron has vacated her WBC light-welterweight title.

Women’s professional boxing title fights typically last 10 rounds, each lasting two, while men’s title fights last 12 rounds, each lasting three.

Women’s boxing has advanced far, but there is still work to be done, according to 34-year-old Cameron.

“I’ve always believed in equality, which includes having the option to fight in a situation where there are equal chances and respect.”

I’m proud of my win as a WBC champion, but it’s time to speak out and advocate for what’s right and the sport’s future.

Katie Taylor, from Ireland, informed the sanctioning body that she planned to take some time off from boxing, and last month, Cameron was promoted from “interim champion” to full WBC light-welterweight world champion.

Cameron has won 21 of his 22 fights since becoming a professional in 2017, is a former world lightweight champion, and holds a lightweight world title.

She defeated Taylor in her first career match in May of 2023, resulting in a six-month losing rematch.

Not only has a female boxer urged greater equality in the sport, but she is not the first.

More than 20 current and former women’s boxers and former world champions from the period, including former world champion Amanda Serrano, stated in a statement that they preferred title fights that lasted longer than 12×3 minutes.

Chantelle has never backed away from a fight, whether it be inside or outside the ring, according to Nakisa Bidarian, the Northampton fighter’s manager and co-founder of Most Valuable Promotions.

She is regarded as one of the sport’s elite fighters, and this choice speaks to her integrity. Chantelle and her commitment to promoting true parity in women’s boxing are unwaveringly in our hearts.

As the leading players continue to demand more prize money and player welfare, world number one Aryna Sabalenka has asked the Grand Slams to “come to the table.”

The top 20 men’s and women’s players, including those from the top 20, have asked the four majors, Wimbledon, the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open, to give the field a bigger share of the tournament revenue.

The players’ group also wants a pledge to implement a significant change to the tournament structure and support provided by the Slams to protect their physical and mental health.

The Grand Slams insist on continuing to engage in constructive discussion about the sport’s future. In addition, they have vigorously defended what they currently offer the players in terms of prize money and state-of-the-art facilities.

The Slams represent the best sport in the world. I just want to see if there are any mutually beneficial solutions, Sabalenka told BBC Sport.

A growing number of famous players are venting their opinions in front of the public as they try to effect change, including Sabalenka, who won her fourth major singles title at the US Open last month.

The big names who spoke up about their concerns included Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Coco Gauff, who are also Grand Slam champions.

The players are frustrated and fear that the discussions have stalled because they believe they are not being heard at meetings with the Grand Slams earlier this year.

They are open to considering additional actions and have decided to put pressure on themselves by speaking out in public.

Each of the four Grand Slams has its own set of recommendations for the changes that the players would like to see implemented.

There are three main concerns:

Sinner stated earlier this week that he thinks the Grand Slams should “make a fair contribution to support all players,” with the men’s world number one demanding immediate action for player pensions and healthcare.

The Grand Slams currently don’t support player welfare initiatives. The leading players would like for the majors to contribute in the same way that the ATP Tour and WTA Tour did, spending an additional £60 million between them.

Ben Shelton, an American top-10 player, made an apparent point in an interview with the Independent about how different tennis and other sports are in terms of revenue and prize money.

The Grand Slam tournaments, according to players’ representatives, received between 12.5% and 20% of their winnings in 2024, which represent the pinnacle of the sport.

However, Grand Slam insiders contest those figures. According to some, the Australian Open calculates that it offers 23% of its revenue in prize money.

In contrast, NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB players receive between 40% and 50% of the revenue that their rivals earn from their respective major American sports leagues.

The tennis stars have asked each Grand Slam to receive a staged increase over the next five years, eventually bringing them closer to the 22% mark at some of the top ATP and WTA combined tour events, though they are aware that team sports are a completely different model.

In contrast to the existing tour player councils, a player consultation group at all Grand Slams has also been suggested to the tournaments.

The Grand Slam powerbrokers and the group of players, who are led by former WTA chief Larry Scott, have a dialogue that just started this year.

The players requested a meeting in a letter sent to the four majors in March. The Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA) filed a lawsuit against the governing bodies of tennis shortly after it was brought in for “anti-competitive practices and a flagrant disregard for player welfare.”

Six stars, including Madison Keys, Alex de Minaur, Casper Ruud, Coco Gauff, and Jannik Sinner, were among the six stars who met with the leaders of all four Grand Slams at this year’s French Open to talk about the issues.

Following that, individual meetings with each Slam at Wimbledon were held on the players’ behalf, including men’s world number three Alexander Zverev and women’s semi-finalist Belinda Bencic.

Bencic told BBC Sport, “Those conversations were constructive, and we followed up with suggestions on how our three requests could be resolved.”

The players’ group addressed proposals to each of the four Grand Slams in letters to each.

Each of the tournaments sent responses, with Wimbledon advising them to take the suggestions into account.

The players are “infuriated,” and one source claims that the Grand Slams are being unfair to them.

The responses we received regarding the three important topics that we are actively looking for improvement on have disappointed us, Bencic said.

The Grand Slams have been keen to emphasize how much they make, in terms of pay, benefits, and status, in their discussions with the players.

Over the past few years, prize money has increased at each of the four majors.

For instance, Wimbledon offered £53.5 million this year, more than twice as much as it did in 2014.

Wimbledon’s first-round prize money increased by 128% over the past ten years, by 309% in qualifying, and by more for those competing in the doubles and wheelchair events, thanks to greater distribution throughout the draws.

The All England Club told BBC Sport, “Our position is always that we are always open to having constructive discussions to achieve the best possible outcome for the future success of our sport and for the benefit of our players and fans.”

We have a regular exchange with the players’ representatives to hear their opinions, and these discussions will continue.

Date: Saturday, November 1 Kick-off: 15:10 GMT

England have yet to establish themselves as a genuine contenders for the Australian Rugby World Cup in 2027.

With victories over Ireland in 2024 and France this year, England has shown signs of potential in the next two years, and new players have given Steve Borthwick’s side new life.

But they are still far from the top table, ranking fifth in the world rankings, despite having won a Six Nations title since 2020 or a notable victory over one of the southern hemisphere’s elite since 2022.

The chances of that narrative being changed by the autumn matches against Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and Argentina.

Two years after the showpiece event, it’s not a bad idea to be on the fringe of the world’s best, but the time has come to make a decision.

England captain Maro Itoje stated to BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly that “the ceiling for this team is right up at the sky.” You want to win trophies when you represent England, such as World Cups and Six Nations.

This team has no doubts about that goal. We must collaborate, coordinate, and foster a sense of unity.

“We must win games like the one we have in front of us]against Australia to achieve those goals.” This weekend is very important because of this.

England have now won seven games after their disappointing opening Six Nations defeat to Ireland.

Some of their best rugby under Borthwick was showcased in an impressive series victory in Argentina while their British and Irish Lions were away in Australia.

Late-game errors cost England last autumn when both the Wallabies, who are now much stronger, and the All Blacks won.

In an effort to maintain intensity well into the match, Borthwick has placed six Lions on the bench for the game against Australia, including Ellis Genge and Tom Curry.

Although there are improvements and more depth being added, England must now start beating the best consistently.

When the game becomes a little stale, Itoje said, “It’s about how hard we are willing to work to fix problems.”

It’s about how we react and support one another when faced with hardship.

With 102 international caps, Itoje noticed a change after returning to camp after serving as a Lion, and Ford’s leadership and high training standards were key factors in his choice.

Itoje said, “I didn’t train in the first mini-camp.” When I watched training, I was surprised at how intense it was.

“This is pretty full-on,” I thought as I walked through the training. Being a part of the team and seeing what we can do over the weekend are both exciting.

After helping the team win three games from three in the summer, former Bath coach Lee Blackett has been appointed England’s full-time attack coach.

His expansive style, which helped Bath win the Premiership title last season, has quickly been adopted, and Ford has played a key role in putting his ideas into practice.

Tom Roebuck, Freddie Steward, and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, the back three of Saturday’s summer tour, are familiar with Blackett’s style.

Tommy Freeman, the starting Lions wing, will be the subject of much discussion over the weekend.

After only one warm-up match against Fiji, Schmidt’s side entered the opening Test unprepared due to a 2-1 Lions series defeat in the summer, leaving them with plenty of “what ifs.”

Will Skelton will miss Saturday’s game because it falls outside the international window for the release of overseas players, which was a big factor in the series. The intimidating La Rochelle lock will also miss Saturday’s game.

Additionally, Schmidt is unable to pick experienced fly-half James O’Connor, who is currently with the Leicester Tigers, and Exeter Chiefs duo Len Ikitau and Tom Hooper, who will succeed Les Kiss as head coach next year.

Although the timing of the Test may still favor England, who could have chosen from a full-strength squad, he can still call on two real game-changers in outside center Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and flanker Rob Valetini.

In the world rankings, the Wallabies are two places below Borthwick’s side after defeating South Africa and Argentina in a recent game.

A win on Saturday would not automatically make England World Cup contenders, but a more composed, clinical performance would demonstrate their unwavering commitment to achieving that goal.

However, a home defeat would indicate that they will continue to lead the pack in the post-world elite, despite the fact that their opponents, who have played Tests in September and October, are arguably more knowledgeable.

Without a doubt, winning the Webb Ellis Trophy would be a dream, according to Itoje. “The true pinnacle of rugby is lifting that trophy,” Itoje said.

I want to be a part of it, and this team, in my opinion, can do it.

Cowan-Dickie, Genge, Stuart, Coles, T. Curry, Pollock, Spencer, and F. Smith are the replacements.

Kellaway, Jorgensen, Suaalii, Paisami, Potter, Edmed, Gordon, Bell, Pollard, Tupuo, Frost, Williams, Valentini, McReight, Wilson (capt.), and others.

James Doleman (New Zealand) and Craig Evans (Wales) serve as assistant referees.