Galal Yafai’s world title ambitions suffered a major setback as the British flyweight was dropped in the final round in a shock points loss to Francisco Rodriguez Jr in Birmingham.

Fighting in his home city, the 32-year-old Olympic gold medallist was rocked early and struggled to handle the relentless pressure and punch volume from the Mexican in a high-tempo contest.

Yafai had moments of success and showed resilience, but was repeatedly hurt, notably in the seventh and ninth, before hitting the canvas in the twelfth.

Although he beat the count, he was clinging on until the end and there was no dispute over the result with scores of 119-108, 119-108 and 118-109.

Yafai is defeated for the first time in 10 professional bouts and loses his WBC interim title.

Once tipped for a rapid ascent to full world honours, the Tokyo 2020 champion now faces a significant rebuilding job.

“[Rodriguez] was relentless tonight. Yafai couldn’t have got into a worse start but I’m so proud of him,” Yafai’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, said.

Fast start from Rodriguez sets the tone
Rodriguez burst out of the blocks, rattling the champion early and buckling Yafai’s legs with a sharp left uppercut. Yafai struggled to fully recover as Rodriguez’s quick hands continued to find the mark through the early stages.

Yafai rallied in the fourth, landing clean with his backhand, but was hampered by blood pouring from a cut above his left eye. Rodriguez also suffered a cut later in the fight.

The Birmingham fighter – who cruised past Sunny Edwards in November – looked second-best throughout, his body language offering little encouragement to the home crowd. He frequently dabbed at the eye and found it difficult to match Rodriguez’s pace.

Rodriguez had his fired-up corner roaring in the seventh when Yafai was floored, although it was ruled a slip. The damage, however, had already been done earlier in the round, with the 31-year-old away fighter landing a flurry of punches.

A crisp straight right and uppercut connected in the eighth, with Yafai showing heart and toughness to stay in the fight. Both men were inspected by doctors before the ninth due to cuts, but it was Rodriguez who continued to dominate, hurting Yafai again as blood stained the referee’s shirt.

By the championship rounds, Yafai looked increasingly resigned to his fate. A clean left-right combination dropped him in the 12th. He rose with a wry, deflated smile before moments later leaving the ring without giving a post-fight interview.

A world title shot against Japan’s unified champion Kenshiro Teraji had seemed within touching distance but instead Yafai’s dream of becoming an Olympic and world champion is paused for now.

“He failed on the hurdle to elite level and that’s sometimes what happens. He’d only had nine fights,” Hearn added.

‘The new Katie Taylor’ stars on debut
Tiah Mai Ayton competed in kickboxing and Muay Thai before transitioning to boxing

Earlier, Britain’s Tiah Mai Ayton announced herself to the professional ranks in style by stopping Hungary’s Sara Orszagi in a ferocious debut.

Dubbed “the next Katie Taylor” by Hearn, the 18-year-old super-bantamweight rocked Orszagi with crisp right hands from the opening bell.

She dropped her in the third, then ended it seconds later with a clean shot. As the referee waved the fight off, a smiling Ayton strutted back to her corner, poking her tongue out to her team.

“Eddie’s been bigging me up, so I had to show what I’m about,” said Bristol’s Ayton, a flawless 21-0 as an amateur.

A beaming Hearn added: “She’s born for this. She’s built for this. She’s a special talent.”

On a strong night for Matchroom’s prospects, Manchester’s 2024 Olympian Pat Brown secured his second professional win with a brutal second-round stoppage of Croatia’s Ivan Duka.

A sharp right hook to the body, followed by a thudding left hook and a crisp left uppercut brought an early end to Duka’s night.

Brown, 25, will be back in the ring in just two weeks’ time on 5 July in Manchester.

Also on the card, super-bantamweight Peter McGrail earned a hard-fought majority decision over Romania’s Ionut Baluta, and British welterweight champion Conah Walker retained his belt with a seventh-round stoppage win over Liam Taylor.

Bbc.com

Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna and Egypt’s Hana Goda are among the elite players set to compete at the WTT Star Contender Ljubljana 2025, taking place in Slovenia.

The WTT Star Contender Ljubljana 2025 boasts a prize pool of $300,000 and offers valuable ITTF Table Tennis World Ranking points.

The singles champions will receive $17,000 and 600 points, while the doubles champions will take home $5,500 and 600 points.

This highly anticipated event, hosted at Hala Tivoli in Ljubljana, has attracted a star-studded lineup of table tennis greats.

Aruna, currently ranked 24th in the world and the highest-ranked African player, is seeded No. 14 in the men’s singles and has received a bye into the second round (last 32). He is expected to face the winner between Japan’s Shunsuke Togami and China’s Xu Haidong on Friday, June 20.

Similarly, Goda, seeded No. 15 in the women’s singles, also received a bye into the second round. She is set to face the winner between Japan’s Sakura Yokoi and South Korea’s Joo Cheonhui.

Some of the world’s best players will battle it out over five events in what promises to be a week-long table tennis spectacle.

Leading the charge in the men’s singles is Brazilian star and 2025 World Championships runner-up, Hugo Calderano.

Known as the “Thrill from Brazil,” Calderano returns to Slovenia with bold ambition, looking to defend his title from last year’s triumph.

Joining him are global heavyweights including Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto, winner of the Men’s Singles title at WTT Star Contender Doha 2025; Felix Lebrun, champion at WTT Champions Montpellier 2024; and Slovenian home favourite Darko Jorgic.

In the women’s singles, Japan’s Miwa Harimoto headlines the field after claiming the title at WTT Star Contender Chennai 2025. Her compatriot Hina Hayata is also back to defend her title from last year’s Ljubljana tournament.

Other strong contenders include South Korea’s Shin Yubin, seeking her first WTT Star Contender title, as well as Romania’s Bernadette Szocs and China’s Qian Tianyi, both of whom are expected to make deep runs in the competition.

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The Lakers, with their star player LeBron James, are said to be sold to billionaire financier Mark Walter

The majority stake of the Los Angeles Lakers basketball franchise is being sold in what will mark the most expensive sale of a US sports team in history, according to a source familiar with the deal.

The Buss family has owned the team – one of the most iconic in sports globally – since 1979 and now has made a deal with TWG Global CEO Mark Walter, the source said.

The sale is reportedly worth an estimated $10 billion (£7.45bn) – though it could increase once finalised.

Mr Walter also has a controlling stake in the Los Angeles Dodgers, the professional US baseball team that won the World Series last year.

The BBC has contacted the Lakers for comment.

A spokesperson for Mr Walter’s company confirmed the billionaire financier was in the midst of a deal with the Lakers.

“Mark Walter is entering into an agreement to acquire additional interests in the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, of which he has been a stakeholder since 2021,” the spokesperson said.

In 2021, Mr Walter became a co-owner of the team with a 20% stake. He has investments with various sports teams globally, including the Chelsea Football Club and the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, which is set to enter racing in 2026.

The deal comes after the March sale of the Boston Celtics basketball team to Bill Chisholm for $6.1 billion – which at that time was dubbed the priciest sale of a US sports franchise. It had surpassed the 2023 sale of the Washington Commanders American football team for $6.05 billion.

US media reported Wednesday that the National Basketball Association team’s valuation is at least $10 billion. Its sale will surpass those record-breaking deals by about $4 billion.

Jerry Buss bought the team in a $67.5 million deal in 1979 that included the Los Angeles Kings hockey team and a Los Angeles arena, known as the Kia Forum.

Since that time, the Lakers have won more championship titles than any other NBA team. They’ve appeared at the NBA Finals 17 times under the Buss family ownership and won the championship 11 times.

The team – currently led by superstar LeBron James – made it to the playoffs the last three seasons but was eliminated.

After Mr Buss died in 2013, ownership was passed to his six children in a trust. The family owns a 66% stake in the franchise.

Jeanie Buss has served as the Lakers’ governor since that time – a position she’s reportedly going to keep under the terms of the sale to Mr Walter.

The Los Angeles Times reports the trust required the majority of the six children to agree on any sale of the team.

Lakers legend Magic Johnson, who previously owned a stake in the team, said fans should be ecstatic about the sale and that Mr Walter will carry on the team’s legacy – noting his ownership of the Dodgers led to a World Series win.

“I just talked to my sister Jeanie Buss to tell her congratulations, and that I’m so happy for her and family,” Mr Johnson said on X.

“She’s witnessed him build a winning team with the Dodgers and knows that Mark will do right by the Lakers team, organization, and fans!” he said in another post. “Both are extremely intelligent, visionaries, great leaders, and have positively impacted the greater Los Angeles community!”

Bbc.com