British-Nigerian boxer, Anthony Joshua, has spread anticipation for a future bout with Tyson Fury by firing shots in a budding war of words with his big rival.
Joshua has promised to use the Gypsy King's own words against him when they eventually clash in the ring.
In a recent interview, the 33-year-old heavyweight revealed he hangs on to every taunt and jibe made by Fury, 'meditating' on the remarks and storing them in his memory as fuel for their future battle.
"This is one of my rivals, this is someone I want to compete with one day," Joshua growled in a video on YouTube when asked what he felt about being called a sausage by Fury.
"Everything he says I store it in my memory and when the fight happens I want to use it as fuel," he added.
The towering 6ft 6in champ, who once held the IBF, WBA, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles, is back amongst the boxing elite after a terrible defeat to Andy Ruiz. Following a better 12-round rematch against Ruiz, Joshua has since bounced back in style, despite failing twice against the latest heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
He has recorded three impressive wins since then, including a victory against fellow African and former MMA star Francis Ngannou from Cameroon. Ahead of a much-anticipated fight against Fury, Joshua's response to Fury's insults serves as a warning to the Gypsy King.
Known for his calm and composed demeanor, Joshua's uncharacteristically feisty comments have set pulses racing among boxing fans eager to see who will have the guts to trade verbal blows with the sporting superstar.
Chelsea still keen on Osimhen
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Chelsea are still working to close a deal for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen despite claims that they had moved on to alternative attacking options, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The former Lille striker is confirmed to be on the way out by Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, despite successfully tying him down to a new contract until the summer of 2026 last year.
Osimhen's deal is thought to contain a release clause of around £113m, though, and Napoli will be powerless if an interested party triggers that option in the coming weeks.
Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Arsenal have been considered the leading contenders to sign the Nigeria international, although the Gunners will certainly not shell out a nine-figure sum to acquire his services.
Meanwhile, a recent report claimed that new Blues boss Enzo Maresca did not view Osimhen as an ideal fit for his system, instead seeking a striker who can drop deep and link play rather than an out-and-out target man.
Concerns over breaching Profit and Sustainability rules could also hinder Chelsea's ability to sign Osimhen, who has been tipped to fill the boots of Real Madrid-bound Kylian Mbappe at PSG.
Nigeria loses N636bn revenue as oil production dips
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The repeated slump in Nigeria's monthly oil outputs since January 2024 has resulted in a revenue loss of about N636.3bn, findings by Sunday PUNCH show.
Oil production data obtained from a Federal Government agency indicated that Nigeria produced 1.43 million barrels of crude oil (excluding condensates) in January this year, but this nosedived to 1.25mbpd in May.
Figures obtained by our correspondent from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission showed that while the total volume of crude produced in January was 44.22 million barrels, it dropped to 38.8 million barrels in May.
This represents a crude oil production plunge of 5.43 million barrels between January and May this year, based on NUPRC data.
The average cost of Brent, the global benchmark for crude oil in January was $80.12/barrel but moved up marginally to $81.75 in May, according to data from Statistica, an international statistical firm.
Also, the average exchange rate of the naira against the dollar in May this year was 1,434.1/$. The naira has been struggling since the Central Bank of Nigeria harmonised the country's foreign exchange markets on June 14, 2023.
Based on the 5.43 million barrels crude oil production plunge, the price of Brent and the exchange rate of the naira in May, Nigeria lost an estimated revenue of about N636.3bn between January and May this year.
NLC, TUC condemn call for emergency rule in Rivers
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The Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have called on the Inspector General of Police to order the immediate withdrawal of policemen from the 23 local government council secretariats of Rivers State.
Recall that the police took over the council headquarters following the crisis over the tenure of local government chairmen in the state, which has claimed two lives.
A policeman and member of a local vigilante outfit were shot dead during a protest in Eberi-Omuma in Omuma Local Government Area of the state last week Tuesday, with the police saying the decision to barricade the councils was to forestall further bloodbath.
But rising from an emergency joint state administrative council meeting in Port Harcourt on Friday evening, the two unions frown on the directive of the Inspector General of Police for his men to remain at the LG secretariats until a court rules on the local government issue.
The state NLC Chairman, Alex Agwanwor, and his TUC counterpart, Ikechukwu Onyefuru, in a joint statement after the meeting said workers had been denied access to the council for days causing loss of man-hour.
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