Archive June 7, 2025

Would Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez swap the mariachi music of hometown Guadalajara for a tune from Barnsley’s brass bands?

Or maybe the Mexican superstar would prefer to sip a bitter ale, rather than tequila, while listening to cricketing tales from the town’s legendary umpire Dickie Bird?

For British and Commonwealth super-middleweight champion Callum Simpson, a fight against undisputed king Alvarez at the home of his beloved Barnsley Football Club isn’t as far-fetched as many might think.

“I’ll show him the town during fight week. Barnsley Town Hall is a beautiful building. For me, it’s the ninth wonder of the world,” the 28-year-old says with a grin.

“But seriously, two years ago, I did an interview saying I want to fight Canelo at Oakwell Stadium and people laughed, saying ‘you’ll never fight at Oakwell let alone Canelo’.

“But on Saturday I’m fighting at Oakwell for the second time in 10 months, having sold thousands of tickets, so why not Canelo at some point?”

Realistically, sharing the ring with Alvarez – who will defend his crown against American icon Terence Crawford in September – is a fair way away. And it is unlikely the 34-year-old has heard of Barnsley, let alone able to point it out on a map.

But Simpson, undefeated in 17 fights, is confident he will land a world-title shot next year.

First, though, he must overcome unbeaten Italian Ivan Zucco – who has 18 stoppages in 21 wins – for the vacant European title on Saturday.

Simpson was cheered to domestic honours by 7,000 fans when the hometown hero beat Zak Chelli at a limited-capacity Oakwell last August, but promoters Boxxer expect close to 15,000 on Saturday.

“I’ve done 3,500 tickets on my own – just from family, friends and messages on social media,” he says.

Being a huge ticket seller can take you far in the sport, and Simpson has built his own fortress of fans in south Yorkshire.

The secret is a genuine connection with his local community through personal interactions.

Simpson spends evenings at his local pub, personally handing out tickets.

“None of this is artificial. I’d like to think I’m just naturally a nice, hard-working person with a good heart, and people from Barnsley want to back me,” he adds.

Speaking to BBC Sport via video call while parked up in his car, Simpson is on his way to volunteer for a foodbank at a local supermarket.

“I try to give back to my community and I try to get to every charity event or local football game I can,” he says.

Simpson has a “new-found perspective” on boxing after his sister, Lily Rae-Simpson, tragically died aged 19 in a car accident in Greece last year.

“I always wanted to make my little sister proud, when she was with us and even now when she’s not,” he says.

“She’s still in the ring with me and I feel her presence there. When I’m training I can hear her voice and I can dig that little bit deeper.”

Simpson says he has watched videos recently from his win over Chelli, with Lily chanting his name and smiling in the Oakwell stands.

“That was the last fight she saw me in and it’s [Saturday] going to be an emotional night for my family,” he reveals.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy says he is “concerned” by his form heading into the US Open next week after struggling with driver issues at the Canadian Open.

The 36-year-old missed the cut at the Canadian Open on Friday, finishing nine over par and 149th in a 153-man field.

The Masters champion shot an eight-over-par 78 during his second round as he struggled to get to grips with a new driver.

McIlroy’s previous driver was ruled non-conforming on the eve of last month’s US PGA Championship, with the Northern Irishman going on to finish 47th in North Carolina.

With a new 44-inch driver in hand, McIlroy found just 13 of 28 fairways in Toronto and he made a quadruple-bogey eight on the par-four fifth hole after a disastrous tee-off.

“Of course it concerns me,” said McIlroy.

“You don’t want to shoot high scores like the one I did today. I felt like I came here, obviously with a new driver, thinking that sort of was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn’t.

With play starting on 12 June, McIlroy has little time to iron out his issues from the tee.

But the five-time Major winner says he will test several drivers in the coming days to find the right one.

“I’m going to have to do a lot of practice and a lot of work over the weekend at home and try to at least have a better idea of where my game is going into next week,” said McIlroy.

“I went back to a 44-inch driver this week to try to get something that was a little more in control and could try to get something a bit more in play. But if I’m going to miss fairways, I’d rather have the ball speed and miss the fairway than not.

We previously discussed who will play for them at the World Cup. He is, in my opinion, the biggest Trump card.

After the Republic of Ireland’s 1-1 draw with Senegal, Dietmar Hamann, a former Liverpool and Germany midfielder, praised Caoimhin Kelleher.

Kelleher, who had three big saves to keep the African side out of Dublin in the 81st minute, finally lost her composure.

The 26-year-old left Liverpool to join Brentford for an initial £12.5 million, which could rise to £18 million with additions. This has been a busy week for him.

In the current economic climate, former Premier League goalkeeper Shay Given claims that he is “worth every penny, if not more.”

No disrespect is shown to Brentford, but Given’s comment on RTE Sport surprised that there weren’t many more significant clubs.

Let’s take a look at him at Brentford, “unless clubs have gone.” Let’s see him as number one for a year or two because we know they are a selling club.

Given said, “I would have gone in and got him,” and that he had thought about the situation with Chelsea and Manchester United’s goalkeepers.

After Kelleher’s three impressive saves against Senegal, he was speaking. The first goal appeared to be headed for the back of the net when Krepin Diatta scored it early in the second half with a tip over the crossbar.

After making a significant deflection on the post, Kelleher made another save to push the ball off the line with his foot before Ismaila Sarr drilled home the rebound in Dublin.

When asked about the crucial role Kelleher could play for the Irish ahead of World Cup qualifying in September, Hamann said, “I don’t think there is a keeper in the group who is anywhere near as good as he is.”

He is considered one of the top five keepers in the Premier League, as I stated last year.

“One of those better than him, [Liverpool’s Alisson], was undoubtedly playing for the same club.”

Given, a former stopper for Manchester City and Newcastle United, thinks that Kelleher will have a point to prove when he joins Brentford as their first choice goalkeeper after replacing Alisson at Anfield.

Since making his Premier League debut five years ago, Kelleher, who signed for Liverpool as a 16-year-old, has participated in 25 games.

On Kelleher’s time at Liverpool, Given said, “He would have benefited, but he would have missed so many games as well.”

He won’t receive that right away. He’ll want to play every week and achieve success on his own.

His patience paid off,” he said. He has a Premier League medal and has made no substitute appearances since, according to reports.

The 2026 World Cup will be held in Canada, Mexico, and the United States in 369 days.

England will play a friendly against Senegal on Tuesday before moving on to the next stage of their quest for glory with a qualifying game against Andorra on Saturday.

In an effort to win the World Cup for England in the following year, boss Thomas Tuchel has sent his squad to Spain for a training camp before the games in order to maximize the number of days he has with his players.

The Three Lions are top of Group K having defeated Albania and Latvia in their opening two World Cup qualifying games under Tuchel.

However, with the current international window, Tuchel has only five camps in which to pick his preferred XI and implement a playstyle.

There are still many positions with significant question marks over them, even though the likes of Harry Kane, Jordan Pickford, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, and Bukayo Saka appear safe bets to debut the following summer.

The majority of central midfield selections in England are made by themselves. If Tuchel continues to play in the 4-2-3-1 formation he used in his first two games, who will become the third player to join Bellingham and Rice?

In the first game of his career, Liverpool’s Curtis Jones played a more advanced role before Morgan Rogers was given a chance to play a more advanced role in the win over Latvia, similar to the one he does at Aston Villa.

After Crystal Palace’s success in the FA Cup and his time training with the England senior team, many believed Adam Wharton would be the player to add to the duo.

However, Wharton, who had a medical issue, was once again chosen by Lee Carsley for their European Championship.

Tuchel has argued that his teams have featured runners who are both powerful and physically fit, and that he enjoys the physicality of the English game.

After missing out on Tuchel’s first squad, Conor Gallagher has been called up this time around for Atletico Madrid.

Gallagher and Jones both fall under the midfielder category, making them more likely to contribute to Bellingham’s development.

As a result of Myles Lewis-Skelly’s transition into the international set-up, he can play left-back as a substitute while England are in possession. This will allow Bellingham to play a deeper starting position, allowing Tuchel to add another forward-thinking player to his squad.

John Stones is being considered by Tuchel because he spent a few days with the England squad in Spain despite his injuries and lack of playing time for Manchester City.

Tuchel has also recalled Trevoh Chalobah, who made his Premier League debut at Chelsea, and the England manager is familiar with the 25-year-old.

Ezri Konsa has impressed since joining Aston Villa’s international lineup, and the right-sided centre-back slot seems to be his current position.

Dan Burn, Levi Colwill, Marc Guehi, and now Chalobah square off in the left-hand corner.

Since Luke Shaw was the only natural player in the left-back slot, which was a problem for England in the past, Gareth Southgate has chosen him as the only natural player for the position.

Lewis-Skelly looked extraordinarily at ease at international level as he continued his excellent breakthrough at Arsenal and scored on his England debut.

As previously mentioned, Lewis-Skelly also gives Tuchel a weapon by allowing him to play midfield, which has the potential to free up Jude Bellingham.

Although Lewis Hall had good form for Newcastle United, he injured himself and will miss the two games against Senegal and Andorra.

Tuchel has mentioned him as someone he would like to look at, and the England manager also discussed how Shaw’s return to fitness might have an impact on the future of the country.

For the past few years, nobody has been able to establish themselves as a left-wing.

Southgate sought an answer at the Euros last summer by trying Phil Foden and occasionally Bellingham in that capacity.

Marcus Rashford had always been the favorite player, but Tuchel called him back in March after he was recalled due to form and fitness.

However, Rashford is not a part of this squad because of injury.

Anthony Gordon, who won the FA Cup with Newcastle, is also in the squad, but his performance for his club side has slowed.

The England manager is a fan of the Palace forward and Eze scored his first goal for England last month for Tuchel.

At the tail end of the season, he was excellent, scoring seven goals in his final eight games, including the cup final.

As England approaches the 12-month drew period before the World Cup, Harry Kane’s place as England’s starting striker is probably the most secure.

In the semi-final of Euro 2024, England defeated Portugal 3-2 in the title match. Ollie Watkins had accepted the challenge of playing Kane’s deputy.

However, he and Kane are a very different player, and Tuchel chose to surprise recall Ivan Toney as the starting striker.

Tuchel mentioned Toney’s impressive scoring record in Saudi Arabia, which included scoring 30 goals in 44 games across all competitions, and his Asian Champions League victory.

After missing the game with an injury, Josh Magennis has won 82 caps for Northern Ireland. He will feature in BBC Sport NI’s coverage of Saturday’s friendly against Denmark.

It’s night and day, but the attitude toward summer friendlies has changed since I first started.

During one of these windows, I actually made my debut.

We traveled to America under Nigel Worthington, and in 2010 we played Turkey and Chile. I was called in late because so many people left because of injuries or had other plans.

Although I greatly benefited from it, many people were expressing their lack of availability. Gareth McAuley and Stephen Craigan were the only senior pros, along with everyone else who was a member of the Under-21s or early in their careers. &nbsp,

Senior players like Steven Davis toeing the line then allowed the young stars, like Corry Evans, Oli Norwood, to simply follow suit.

His man management and how he treats other men are what distinguishes Michael from other men. He doesn’t manipulate you in any way, either.

He expects you to give everything you have, while when you’re at work, you’re free.

He gives you the guidelines for how to look after yourself, but he doesn’t specify what to do.

And he has that ruthlessness about him that you won’t be around if you discover that someone has been having an affair.

It’s just respect, in my opinion, not a fear factor. Boys are adept at breaking the rules.

The biggest risk factor is injury, but it can happen anywhere at any time if you don’t know where you’ll play next season.

And when your club’s future is uncertain, I believe playing international football has a selling point.

People will be asking if Michael O’Neill is selecting him for senior international football if he plays in League One or Championship because he must possess some qualities.

Going into the summer, I’ve always thought that way.

I enjoy playing for my country, so there is no gray area for me.

If I could say that I played for Northern Ireland last year and that I would have had no issues, even though I was looking for a club if I would get injured and that was one of my final games.

I don’t believe it’s just me; we’re all one. Nobody believes it to be difficult or a chore.

You never realize how much you miss playing for your country until you stop doing it, which is how I’ve always loved it.

Firstly, when Michael wanted to see other players and then when I wasn’t in the squad for March because he knew what I could do, and then when I was unable to play because of my hip surgery.

You miss the camaraderie from the first night, the first conversation, and talking to boys about the season this week.

Josh Magennis spoke with Jonathan Bradley of BBC Sport NI.