ENGLAND RECEIVE HOSTILE WELCOME AT MEXICO CITY HOTEL AHEAD OF WORLD CUP CLASH

England received a hostile welcome as they arrived at their Mexico City hotel ahead of Sunday night's World Cup last-16 tie against Mexico.

England had been hoping to keep their location undisclosed after Mexico supporters used loud speakers, horns and motorcycles to try to disturb the sleep of Ecuador's players before their last-32 tie, which the co-hosts won 2-0 on Wednesday night.

But when England's coach arrived at their hotel, hundreds of fans were already there, with many booing while others chanted "Mexico."

At least one supporter within the crowd could be seen holding up an England shirt.

England faced a hostile environment upon arrival to their team hotel. Photo by Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images

Security has been increased outside the hotel after events earlier in the week, which led to complaints from Ecuador's football federation.

There has also been an increase in security in the city after four people died during the celebrations that followed Mexico's win over Ecuador.

Thomas Tuchel's men take on the co-hosts in a mouth-watering clash at the Estadio Azteca, with kick-off scheduled for 6 p.m. local time (1 a.m. Monday in the United Kingdom).

FIFA had considered moving kick-off forward due to a forecast for storms in the region but, after five-and-a-half hours of uncertainty on Friday evening, the decision was made to stick with the original schedule, the Press Association understands.

Both England and Mexico had voiced opposition to rescheduling the game less than 48 hours before kick-off.

A hostile reception is far from the only challenge England will face in Mexico City, with the Azteca at an altitude of more than 2,000 metres above sea level, meaning players must adapt to lower levels of oxygen in the air.

Mexico have only been beaten twice in 89 matches at the Azteca, winning 70 and drawing 17. They are unbeaten in 10 World Cup matches at the stadium.

- PA

TRUMP BOOED AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN 😂 | NBA FINALS 2026

 

OSCAR DUARTE EDGES ANGEL FIERRO IN BLOODY SPLIT DECISION, CROWD BOOS VERDICT

Photo: Golden Boy Promotions / Cris Esqueda

Mexican contenders Oscar “La Migraña” Duarte and Angel “Tashiro” Fierro delivered exactly what was expected Saturday night, a rough, back-and-forth fight that left the crowd split and the scorecards even more so.

Duarte(31-2-1, 23 KOs) edged Fierro by split decision, 115-113 and 116-112 twice, while one judge saw it 116-112 for Fierro. The verdict at T-Mobile Arena was met with loud boos, even as Duarte walked away with the NABO and WBC silver super lightweight titles.

The fight never found a smooth rhythm. Fierro (23-5-2, 8 KOs) , who missed weight by more than three pounds Friday, came in physically bigger and fought like it, pressing forward and forcing Duarte into uncomfortable exchanges early. Duarte still found moments, including a left hook in the fourth round that dropped Fierro, though it came after the bell and resulted in no penalty as the referee lost balance in the sequence.

Fierro’s pressure only built from there.

By the seventh, he was landing clean right hands and letting them go with confidence, targeting Duarte’s head and wearing him down. The damage became visible when Duarte began bleeding from the ear, a troubling sign as Fierro continued to connect with chopping shots.

From the stands, the tension spilled over.

“Levanta las manos, vas a perder, pendejo,” rang out toward Duarte as frustration grew over his lack of movement. The crowd’s reaction only intensified when the final scores were read.

“I deserve these belts, I made the weight,” Duarte said after the fight, speaking through the boos.

Online, the narrative shifted just as quickly. The idea that Duarte had intimidated Richardson Hitchins out of their previously scheduled fight faded as fans questioned how Duarte would have handled a sharper, more precise opponent. Hitchins himself added fuel, writing on social media that Duarte “had no reason” for the withdrawal claims and that his volume would not have been enough.

Despite the criticism, Duarte closed his night thanking promoter Oscar De La Hoya for delivering on his promises.

The result moves Duarte forward in the division, but the performance left more questions than answers.

- Liliana Ulloa

KEVIN DURANT BOOING THE OKC CROWD AS THE CROWD BOOED HIM ON OPENING NIGHT 🤣

RANGERS BOOED OFF IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

JAKE PAUL VS. JULIO CESAR CHAVES JR PUNCH STATS

Jake Paul took on experienced boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in his 13th professional fight in Anaheim, California on Saturday night, and it's safe to say The Problem Child was barely tested in the 10-round contest, which went the distance and saw the judges score unanimously in Paul's favour.

The YouTuber-turned-boxer took on former middleweight champion Chavez Jr in front of a raucous crowd that broke the gate record for boxing events at the Anaheim Center. Paul’s last ring outing was a massive money fight with Mike Tyson, while the ex-champion defeated former UFC star Uriah Hall last summer.

The crowd in attendance were not impressed with the fight, however, and ended up booing Paul out of the building afterwards.

Jake Paul vs Julio Cesar Chavez Jr Fails to Impress

Fans were not happy with the little action in the 10 rounds

After very little action to speak of for five-and-a-half rounds, the fight sprung to life at the end of the sixth with both men landing big shots on their rivals. The seventh and eighth were much of a muchness, before a fiery finish to the ninth.

The aftermath of Paul's victory had him calling out everyone from unified cruiserweight world champion Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez, who was victorious in the co-main event, to WBC cruiserweight titleholder Badou Jack, Gervonta Davis, Anthony Joshua, and Tommy Fury.

Paul seemed indifferent to the crowd's reaction, claiming afterwards: "All the boos are words, but actions speak louder than words. It was flawless. I think I only got hit 10 times. He's been in with [Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez] and all those guys, and I embarrassed him like that. Easy work.

"I'm him. I'm really him. I just beat your boy's a**. I want tougher fighters. I want to be world champion. [WBO and WBA champ Gilberto Ramirez] looked slow as shit tonight. [WBC champion] Badou Jack. Tommy [Fury], you stop running."

Paul vs Chavez Jr Punch Stats

Compubox have released the numbers & they aren't pretty reading

Paul (12-1, 7 KOs) controlled large portions of the fight with his jab against a listless Chavez Jr, who spent the early rounds following the influencer-turned-boxer around the ring without letting his hands go. Paul landed 140 of 482 punches (29%), with the majority of the offence coming from his jab, with 65 of 302 (21.5%) landing throughout the 10-round fight.

Chavez Jr, meanwhile, landed more than the 10 punches that Paul had claimed, but the effort was still abysmal for a former middleweight champion. The 39-year-old landed only 61 of 154 punches (39.6%) with nine punches landed in the first five rounds.

While the idea of Paul fighting for a world title will baffle many, he is expected to be ranked by the WBA after his win over Chavez Jr, with some rumours saying the WBC will rank him as well, clearing one of the hurdles for someone to cash in on his polarising popularity with a title fight.

"The WBC ratings committee has been following Jake Paul's career," WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told ESPN before the fight. "If he defeats Chavez Jr, and depending on how the fight plays out, the committee will make the decision. It's very likely [Paul will be ranked] if he wins convincingly."

- Steve Osborne

TRUMP TAKES AIM AT SWIFT AFTER SUPER BOWL BOOS

US President Donald Trump salutes the crowd from the field at the New Orleans Superdome at Sunday's Super Bowl - Copyright AFP ROBERTO SCHMIDT

Donald Trump mocked pop star Taylor Swift after the singer was booed Sunday at the Super Bowl during the Kansas City Chiefs defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Trump — who became the first sitting US President to attend the Super Bowl in Sunday’s showpiece in New Orleans — left the game shortly after half-time.

However the US President could not resist posting a social media dig at Swift, who was in the crowd to watch her boyfriend, Chiefs star Travis Kelce.

The Chiefs would go on to suffer a bruising 40-22 defeat at the Superdome. 

“The only one that had a tougher night than the Kansas City Chiefs was Taylor Swift,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. 

“She got BOOED out of the Stadium. MAGA is very unforgiving!”

Trump had earlier shared a post from a different account mocking Swift, which contrasted Trump’s reception by Super Bowl fans with that of the singer.

Trump was given loud roars of applause when he was shown on the giant screen inside the stadium, saluting while singing the US national anthem.

“Trump gets massive cheers at the Super Bowl while Taylor Swift gets booed – the world is healing!” the post read.

Swift was a prominent celebrity backer of Trump’s US presidential election rival Kamala Harris last year.

Her endorsement prompted Trump to post on Truth Social: “I hate Taylor Swift.”

- AFP

SIXERS' GEORGE BOOED IN L.A. RETURN, CALLS REACTION 'STIPID'

Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George reacts during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun) (AP)

INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- In his first game against the LA Clippers at Intuit Dome, Paul George received a video tribute but also heard plenty of boos all night from The Wall at the new arena.

Before an announced crowd of 15,627, George made 7 of 9 shots and had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals, but his old team routed the Philadelphia 76ers 110-98.

George said he appreciated the video tribute and called the Clippers franchise "first class." He said his return drew a fair and split reaction, but he did not understand or care for the boos after helping the Clippers reach their only Western Conference finals appearance in 2021.

"It is stupid," George said when asked if he was surprised to hear jeers after playing five seasons in L.A. "I mean, I was a free agent, you know what I mean? It wasn't something that I demanded a trade or went against the team here. I was a free agent. The team presented something that was team friendly, and I did what was best for me in that situation.

"So there were the cheers. I appreciate them. Those were the ones that I played hard for. The boos, I didn't get it. I still don't get it when I go [back] to Indy, but it is what it is. It's sports. I look forward to next year being back here and more boos."

After five seasons of playing for the Clippers, George signed a four-year, $212 million max contract as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers in the summer. George said he wanted to remain a Clipper. But he wanted a no-trade clause to go with a three-year, $150 million extension or a four-year max deal, and the Clippers declined to do either.

After George left, some of the Clippers' fan base was irked by comments he made on his podcast, "Podcast P with Paul George," when he described returning to his hometown of Los Angeles to join the Clippers like being on the "B team" because so many Lakers fans would tell him that he should've joined the Lakers.

Some fans in The Wall, a section where the most ardent Clippers fans stand in uninterrupted rows behind the basket near the opponent's bench, brought signs with them referencing George's podcast. Multiple fans held up signs that combined to read, "PG THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK."

George, playing in his just his second game after suffering a bone bruise in his left knee late in the preseason, said he didn't see many of the signs.

"Oh, well, I'm sure they're all probably subscribers," George said, referring to his podcast. "So it's a win-win. It's two wins against The Wall, I guess."

During the first half when the Sixers had to shoot at the basket by The Wall, George made both of his free throw attempts. In the season-opening overtime loss to the Phoenix Suns, Clippers fans at The Wall successfully distracted Kevin Durant enough that he missed a pair of free throws.

George said on Wednesday morning that he did not hold a grudge against the Clippers organization for not re-signing him. He cited his "awesome" relationship with team owner Steve Ballmer and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank.

"I think it got kind of misconstrued or [the] narrative kind of wasn't written correctly with the relationship with Lawrence [Frank], the relationship with Steve Ballmer," George said before the Sixers had their morning shootaround at UCLA. "I mean, they were awesome the whole time I was here.

"Kind of the reason why it was such a shocking decision how it played out at the end. But they were awesome. My time here, I think that was kind of refreshing to be alongside and have a partnership like that with a front office. And so I think that was probably the highlight of the whole [time with the Clippers]. Just how great they were in my tenure here."

Frank told ESPN that he was willing to give the Kawhi Leonard-George tandem another three years by extending George to the same three-year, $150 million deal he gave to Leonard in January. But the team would not give a no-trade clause to George with that deal nor give a four-year max deal, citing roster flexibility, age and the new collective bargaining agreement's second apron, which penalizes luxury-tax-paying teams like the Clippers.

Outside of the boos, George said he felt plenty of love from old friends on his former team and many family and friends in the building. He spent time with former teammates, such as James Harden, before the game and did not leave the court for a good 15 minutes afterward as he caught up with more former teammates, such as Ivica Zubac, and hugged his parents, Clippers employees and friends who were courtside.

"Ain't no bad blood," George said when asked about grudges that might form when a star leaves a franchise. "I talked to those guys throughout the whole process. James was informed with what I was doing. Kawhi was informed with what I was doing. Russ [Westbrook] was informed with what I was doing. I talked to all those guys, so there was no bad blood.

"At the end of the day, regardless if we're teammates or not, those are lifelong bonds that you build and whatever happens in basketball kind of doesn't affect that relationship."

George said he thought Intuit Dome was as spectacular as advertised but was missing just one thing -- more Clippers fans.

"It was great," he said of the Clippers' new home. "I wish it would've been a little bit more packed out. I didn't think it was quite packed for this to be Clippers' very own.

"But the facility, this thing is amazing. What Ballmer did and his vision and how it came to life -- it's the best arena to play in."

- Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff Writer