Assistant coach Yaw Preko has said Accra Hearts of Oak will not be complacent going into the last four games of the first round of the 2015/2016 Ghana Premier League (GPL) season.
The Phobians lead the standing by a point after 11 games, and, will next play Sekondi Hasaacas at home as they seek to preserve their leadership of the table.
Further games before the first round ends, will come against Aduana Stars at Dormaa, Liberty Professionals in Accra and Dreams FC at Dawu.
And Preko says they will not be complacent going into these games as there is a lot at stake to be won by the club.
”We have some very tough games ahead of us to close the first round of the league, and will approach them with all seriousness, hoping to win all,” Preko told the club’s official newspaper, the Hearts News.
“These are games that will help define how we will approach the second half of the season, and, we intend to win them all to maintain our position on top of the table,” he added.
The Phobians will head into the Hasaacas game, one point ahead of second place Wa All Stars, and, Preko believes a win will set them up for the rest of campaign.
“We know the quality of Hasaacas, and, we will not take them lightly on Wednesday; they have lost all their away games, but, that does not mean we will have it easy,” the former Ghana international said.
“Playing against a big club like Hearts of Oak will inspire them to put out a performance worthy of note, and, we are aware of this and, have been preparing well for them,” he assured.
“It will be the same approach in the other three games after this, and, we believe we can produce the results that will keep us at the top of the ladder when the first round ends,” the deputy Ghana U-20 coach added.
“These are all difficult games, but, we trust in the quality of our boys to step-up to the table and, perform very well at anytime,” he promised.
Accra Hearts of Oak defender and deputy captain, Owusu Bempah is back in training after sitting out their last Ghana Premier League (GPL) game against Berekum Chelsea.
Bempah did not last the entire duration of Hearts‘ game against Kumasi Asante Kotoko played at the Accra Sports Stadium on Match-Day 10, and, was replaced early in the first half by Kennedy Appiah after he picked up an ankle injury.
The defender was on a short injury absence with a fractured ankle, but resumed training last Friday.
Initially it was feared the defender would miss the rest of the first round of the 2016 GPL campaign, but it now remains to be seen if he will play a part in Coach Keni’s team in the remaining four matches before the first round ends.
It is not likely though that Bempah could be back to action on Wednesday against Hasaacas as the game may come too early for him in terms of fitness.
However, it marks further good news for Hearts, who announced that many more of their injured players have returned to training.
Award winning Samuel Inkoom extended his fine run of form in the Turkish Super League to aid Antalayaspor to a 7-0 win over Trabzonspor.
The winter arrival from Boavista continues to showcase his class for his Super League side as they kept their slim European hopes alive.
A treble from Oumar Sismanough highlighted a honeymoon for the red hot Antalaya at home to the clueless Trabzon.
Samuel Inkoom, who joined the ambitious Turkish at the start of the January transfer window, has been an ever present fixture for the expensively assembled side.
The much travelled Ghanaian endured a nightmare six month spell in Portugal with Boavista before been offered an escaped out of his ordeal in the winter transfer window.
Antalayaspor moved into the eighth slot on the standing eight points adrift of a UEFA Europa league spot.
The Ghanaian import was recently voted the best defender in the Super eLague despite arriving in the January transfer window.
In the women’s singles, top seed Serena Williams will face Madison Keys on Sunday in an all-American final.
Murray makes swift progress despite rain
World number three Murray, who will be 29 on Sunday, broke serve four times as he won in 59 minutes.
The first semi-final was delayed by an hour because of heavy rain, and the players were forced off for 15 minutes during the first set.
“I think it is the first time since I’ve been on Tour that I’ve not had a chance to hit balls before going on to the court,” said Murray.
“It pretty much rained non-stop and then they flipped the schedule around so I didn’t feel that comfortable coming on to court.
Djokovic beat Murray in last week’s Madrid Open final
“But he made a few mistakes and I served well to make it easy for myself.”
In between the showers, Murray was at his ruthless best against world number 52 Pouille, playing his first ATP Masters semi-final.
The 22-year-old looked nervous as he dropped serve from 40-0 in the fourth game and – after that brief rain delay – Murray broke again to clinch the set.
It was a similar story in the second set, with Murray repeatedly drawing his opponent into the net and setting up the passing shot.
Two more breaks of serve gave Murray the match and he left the Centrale Court in sunshine, having surpassed his best effort of reaching the last four in 2011.
“A lot of the best players of all time have played, won and competed for the title here, so I’m very happy to get the chance to do that,” added Murray.
“After 10 years of kind of struggling on the clay and especially this event maybe not playing my best, I’m happy to be there.”
Djokovic provides final test
Novak Djokovic converted only two out of 14 break points in a thrilling semi-final against Kei Nishikori
Murray completes his preparation for the French Open, which starts on 22 May, by facing world number one Djokovic in Sunday’s final.
The Serb, 28, needed to dig deep to beat Nishikori in the second semi-final, eventually prevailing 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) in a match lasting a minute over three hours.
“Any time you get the chance to play the best players, especially right before a Slam, is great preparation,” said Murray, who has won just one of his past 13 matches against Djokovic.
“Regardless of who I play in the final, I know I will be pushed hard. That’s what you want.”
“Clay is not my most natural surface, but because of the wins I’ve had on it in the last few years, once I’ve played a few matches and had a bunch of practice sessions on it, I do start to feel much better,” said Murray, who reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros in 2011, 2014 and 2015.
“I believe that I can compete with the best players on this surface now, because of the wins I’ve had in the last two years.”
Serena Williams has won 15 successive matches against American opponents since sister Venus beat her at Montreal in 2014
Serena finding form before French Open
Williams reached her fourth Italian Open final with a 6-4 6-1 win over Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu.
The world number one missed the start of the clay-court season through illness, but is finding form before her title defence at Roland Garros.
Williams is one Grand Slam victory away from equalling Steffi Graf’s record of 22 singles titles in the Open era.
And, after beating world number 35 Begu in one hour and 26 minutes, she is one victory in Rome away from her 70th career title.
Keys, 21, stands in her way after a shock 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 victory over third seed Garbine Muguruza.
The unseeded American, ranked 24th in the world, had already produced the best European clay-court performance of her career to reach the last four.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice in his final Paris St-Germain league appearance in a game which was briefly stopped for a standing ovation.
PSG’s all-time top scorer is leaving the club this summer and after 10 minutes the game with Nantes was halted while fans applauded their number 10.
By scoring twice, he broke another club record – for most goals by a PSG player in a league season, with 38.
He chested in an opener, and headed home to make it 4-0 late on.
His 89th-minute goal saw him overtake Carlos Bianchi’s 37-goal league haul of 1977-78.
The 34-year-old Swede has scored 154 goals in 179 appearances in his four years in France. Next Saturday’s French Cup final against Marseille will be his final game for the club.
PSG have won Ligue 1 in each season Ibrahimovic has been at the club, with the veteran – who has been linked with a move to LA Galaxy – winning the golden boot three times.
His 38 goals in 31 league games this season saw him finish 17 goals above second-placed Alexandre Lacazette of Lyon.
GN Bank Division One Zone Two leaders, Elmina Sharks hope to advance to the quarter-finals of the MTN FA Cup competition on Sunday.
They will play True Democracy at the Nduom Stadium, Elmina in a round of 16 tie with the winner set to advance to the last eight of the competition.
Sharks are unbeaten in the Division One League (DOL) as they chase a place in the Ghanaian top-flight next season, and, at home, will be favoured to win this encounter.
True Democracy has surprised many with their run to this stage of the competition, and, the Greater Accra Second Division outfit will not be short on confidence heading into this game.
This game has all the attractions of being the tie of these rounds of 16 ties, and, it should therefore be a game to look up to in the Sunday encounters.
World number one Novak Djokovic beat defending champion Andy Murray 6-2 3-6 6-3 in the Madrid Open final.
The defeat means the 28-year-old Briton will lose his world number two ranking to Roger Federer on Monday.
The Scot was blown away in the opening set, but fought back to level, only to fall to the Serb’s power and accuracy in the decider.
Djokovic now moves ahead of Spain’s Rafael Nadal with a record 29 ATP Masters 1000 titles.
The Serb underlined his current dominance as he claimed his fifth title in the past six Masters tournaments but he was pushed hard by Murray, exemplified by a 14-minute final game as Djokovic survived six deuces and seven break points to hold for the match.
“The first couple of break points I remember making two mistakes,” said Murray.
“It was kind of back and forth from there and unfortunately I couldn’t quite break, which was a shame because both of us on the break points until that last game were pretty clinical.”
Djokovic broke Murray’s serve in the opening game and the 2011 winner gave a masterclass combining powerful ground shots with brutal accuracy as he found the lines with uncanny regularity.
Murray found his second serve coming under huge pressure and Djokovic duly earned a double break before racing to the first set in just 31 minutes.
In the second, however, the Scot’s serve began to click into gear and, having won just 17% of points on his second serve in the first set, he increased it to an impressive 60% in the second.
Djokovic made crucial forehand and backhand errors in the third game before serving a double-fault to be broken for only the second time in the tournament.
The Madrid crowd who were muted as Murray beat local favourite Rafael Nadal 7-5 6-4 in Saturday’s semi-finals were now encouraging the Briton, who responded with some of his best tennis of the week as he won the set with a cheeky drop shot from the back of the court.
It was Djokovic’s turn to regroup and after a comfortable hold needed just one of two break points to take the early initiative in the decider.
But this was a different Murray from the opening set and the Scot immediately broke back with Djokovic again serving a double fault at the crucial moment.
Again, however, the world number one raised the bar and this time it proved crucial with a decisive break in the sixth game.
“When you play against the best players, you are probably not going to win every single time,” said Murray. “But you want to make the matches extremely difficult for them: physically and mentally, so it’s not comfortable. So I think at least today I did that, but unfortunately didn’t get the win.
“It’s been a positive week for me this week overall – a few years ago I wouldn’t have thought I’d be winning against Rafa and then pushing Novak this close on a clay court.”
“Murray began the match a shadow of the man who had played so well in Madrid all week. The first set wasn’t a contest, but once given an opening by the world number one early in the second, Murray started playing with real conviction, and pushed his man to the limit.
“At 2-2 in the decider the match was genuinely in the balance. Djokovic’s response, though, was characteristically brilliant, and after surviving a bout of jitters and a 14-minute final game, he deservedly clinched his record 29th Masters series title.”
Defending champion Andy Murray will face world number one Novak Djokovic in the Madrid Open final on Sunday.
British number one Murray beat nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-4 in the first semi-final.
Djokovic then racked up a seventh victory in a row over Japan’s Kei Nishikori, going through 6-3, 7-6, (7-4).
Murray is looking to hold on to his world number two ranking, which he will lose to Roger Federer unless he retains his title in Madrid.
Murray, who sent down eight aces and saved 11 of 13 break points, said he was “going back in the right direction again” after losing early in Indian Wells and Miami in March.
“I think it’s big – it’s not easy. Not loads of players have won against Rafa on clay throughout his career,” he said.
“To beat him in Spain on a clay court is obviously a big challenge. It’s a big step for me from where I was four or five weeks ago.”
Murray established an early lead in the opening set of the semi-final, earning three break points in Nadal’s second service game and holding his composure to break the Spaniard.
The momentum appeared to swing Nadal’s way when he responded by taking Murray’s serve, but it was the Scot who took the first set with a winning forehand that broke the home favourite for a second time.
World number five Nadal, 29, was looking for a third successive tournament victory following wins in Monte Carlo and Barcelona last month.
But Murray followed his only double fault with an ace at 2-2 to hold in the second set before immediately breaking Nadal.
Nadal repelled a first match point with a break of his own, but Murray did not waste a second opportunity to repeat his victory over the same opponent 12 months ago.
The Spaniard believed he “was a little bit unlucky” in the second set but acknowledged that Murray “adapted better than me” to the cool, cloudy conditions, which meant the ball did not bounce as high as he would have liked.
“I think in the first set he played better than me. I think in the second it was a different story,” said Nadal.
“I played more aggressive, I increased the intensity and rhythm of the game and had more opportunities than him in the second.”
Dominant Djokovic powers to another win
Djokovic moved closer to his second Madrid crown and his 14th successive victory over other top 10 players.
The Serb took the only break point on offer in a tight opening set and looked to have ended Nishikori’s resistance when he won against the serve again in the fifth game of the second.
Djokovic was on course for a comfortable win, but he momentarily lost his concentration while serving for the match at 5-4 and paid the penalty.
He mistimed a simple overhead while up three match points and then served a double fault on the way to losing his first service game of the tournament.
Nishikori had shown his battling qualities but ran out of steam in the tie-break and Djokovic needed just one of his two match points to seal victory.
On the prospect of only his fourth meeting with Murray on clay, Djokovic told Sky Sports: “Andy has improved tremendously on clay and has proved he is definitely one of the best in the world on this surface.
“The rivalry continues and we’ve had so many good finals. I look forward to another one.”
Serbia’s world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic will play Kei Nishikori of Japan in the semi-final of the Madrid Open tournament on Saturday after both came through their quarter-final encounters on Friday.
Top-ranked Djokovic beat Milos Raonic 6-3, 6-4 to reach his fifth semi-final of the year, and sixth-ranked Kei Nishikori edged Nick Kyrgios 6-7 (6), 7-6 (1), 6-3 in a thriller that lasted 2 1/2 hours. Coming off a final loss to Nadal in Barcelona, Nishikori overcame 18 aces by Kyrgios, getting his lone break to go up 3-1 in the decisive set.
Djokovic got past the 10th-ranked Raonic to win his 31st match of the year in a rematch of the final in Indian Wells, where Djokovic also won. The Serb has won 13 straight matches against top-10 players, winning 29 of 30 sets during that run.
“It was a long match,” Djokovic said. “It could have gone a different direction if I had lost the serve on that last game. But you know, that’s what happens when you play somebody like Milos, one of the best servers in the game. It’s very difficult to play against him, you are constantly under pressure.”
Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, celebrating her 27th birthday, reached the women’s final by beating American qualifier Louisa Chirico 6-1, 6-1 in less than an hour. She will play Simona Halep, who defeated Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-0 in the other semifinal. Halep, the 2014 finalist in Madrid, was the only seeded player to make it to the semis.
Defending champion Andy Murray beat Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-2 to progress to the semi-finals of the Madrid Open.
The Scot produced arguably his best performance of the season to record a first win over the Czech on clay.
Murray, who beat 16th seed Gilles Simon to reach the quarter-finals, won 92% of his first-serve points and denied eighth-seed Berdych any break points.
The world number two, 28, will face nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal in the last four.
Home favourite Nadal, who is looking for a third successive tournament victory following his wins in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, beat Portuguese world number 35 Joao Sousa 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.
The former Wimbledon and US Open champion says he is ready for the semi-final against Nadal, after training with the 14-time Grand Slam winner ahead of the tournament.
“You prepare to play against the best clay court player of all time and get yourself ready for that challenge mentally,” he told BBC Sport.
“I practised with him in Mallorca for a few days, which was good.
“It’s great practice, but you can see some things, as well.”
Murray believes his game is in good shape ahead of the French Open, which begins on 22 May, after a remodelling of his second serve over the winter.
World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has told his social media followers he will retire after his rematch with Wladimir Klitschko on 9 July.
The 27-year-old outpointed Klitschko to win the WBA, IBF and WBO titles last November and will face the Ukrainian again at the Manchester Arena.
He posted on Twitter: “I set off today for what promises to be a very hard eight weeks’ training camp.
“This will be my best fight, then I’ll retire 100%.”
In a recent pre-fight news conference Fury, unbeaten in 25 professional fights, said: “I could beat Wladimir if I was 30st and fat as a pig. I don’t need to turn up in shape.”
Turning to 40-year-old Klitschko, he said: “Shame on you, you let a fat man beat you.”
And on Sunday the Manchester-born fighter, who told BBC Radio 5 live in February that he was considering retirement, posted a picture of his family and wrote that he was missing them.
“This is the reason I’m retiring after my next fight, to spend the my time with these guys,” Fury said.
Former Ghana International Laryea Kingston has backed Accra Hearts of Oak to record a win over their arch rivals Kumasi Asante Kotoko in Monday’s Super Clash between the two.
The two Ghanaian giants will go head-to-head for the first time this season in the last of the
Ghana Premier League Match-Day 10 encounters at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium in Accra.
And Laryea has backed his former club to collect the three points at stake in this encounter as they chase a first league win over the Porcupines in Accra in six years.
“I think Hearts of Oak will carry the day and I am also positive that they will win by 2-0 in
front of the Accra fans,” he told Tema based Obunu FM.
“So far this season, Hearts has shown the better form as compared to Kotoko, and I am positive that it will come to play in Monday’s game for all to see,” he added.
“Games between both sides has known no form guide in the past, but, this time around, I can see that happening and that is why I am backing the Phobians to carry the day,” he stated.
He said the game will be a tough one though as Kotoko will come in very determined not to lose, but, after 90 minutes, Hearts should be able to make their home advantage count and press on for the win.
Hearts will be seeking their sixth win of the season in Monday’s game, and, victory will take them top of the standing after leaders Wa All Stars lost at Tarkwa to Medeama SC on Sunday.
Ex-Inter Allies striker Abdul Fatawu Safiu featured for Toronto Whitecaps FC 2 in their 2-1 win over Swope Park Rangers at the Children’s Mercy Victory field in the United States League (USL).
They came back from a goal down to score in each half with their goals coming from Kyle Greig and Ben Mckendry after King Tyrpak had opened the scoring for Rangers.
Safiu was introduced into the game in the 73rd minute when he came on for Daniel Haber and he put in a fantastic display that caught the eye of his team and fans alike.
The Ghanaian markaman has had a terrific time in the USL this season, as he scored his first goal and grabbed an assist in his sides 2-2 with LA Galaxy II last week.
Angel di Maria scored the decisive goal as 10-man Paris St-Germain beat Lille to win France’s Coupe de la Ligue for the third year running.
Javier Pastore’s volley gave Laurent Blanc’s side a half-time lead, as Lille appealed for offside.
Djibril Sidibe equalised with a free-kick, before PSG midfielder Adrien Rabiot was sent off.
Di Maria rolled in the winner as keeper Vincent Enyeama inexplicably charged 30 yards from goal to meet the winger.
Victory means that PSG remain on course for a clean sweep of domestic trophies, having won the Trophees des Champions and Ligue 1, and with the Coupe de France final against Marseille to come on 21 May.
Manager Blanc’s future, though, remains uncertain because of his failure to take the club beyond the quarter-finals of this season’s Champions League, where they were defeated by Manchester City.
Di Maria shot weakly at Enyeama in the opening seconds of an entertaining final at the Stade de France, with Lille looking the more dangerous side after surviving a difficult opening 10 minutes.
Frederic Antonetti’s team had won six successive games going into the final, but went behind to a controversial goal five minutes before before half-time.
Pastore lashed a shot at goal as Lille struggled to clear a corner, with PSG full-back Layvin Kurzawa standing in an offside position inside the six-yard box as the ball flew into the net.
The officials ruled that Kurzawa was not active because he did not move towards the ball, but Enyeama believed that he was effectively prevented from diving to save the shot because the PSG man was in the way.
Lille responded positively, though, with Sidibe directing a free-kick into the corner of the net four minutes into the second half after Adrien Rabiot had been booked for fouling Sofiane Boufal.
Rabiot picked up a second booking, and was dismissed, for a late challenge on Boufal with 20 minutes left.
Lille, though, gave away a soft goal four minutes later, as Adama Soumaoro’s weak back header allowed Di Maria to sprint on to goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu’s clearance, and the Argentian international nicked the ball past the onrushing Enyeama.
Soumaoro headed wide with a good chance to bring Lille level again, but PSG held on.
Ghana’s local national team will take on the U23 side of Japan in an international friendly on May 11 ahead of some important assignments for both nations.
The Japanese have qualified to the Olympic football tournament in Rio in August and needs games under their belt to get in shape for the tournament.
They have been drawn in Group B for the competition and will play alongside Sweden, Colombia and Nigeria who picked one of the African tickets for the event.
With Ghana in the same region as Nigeria, the Japanese are hoping to test their strength against a country of similar stature.
The local Black Stars will also use this upcoming international to prepare for the qualifiers for the Championship of African Nations (CHAN) tournament to be held in Kenya.
Coach of the Ghanaian side Maxwell Konadu has invited 25 locals to camp to prepare for the upcoming friendly as they hope to give the Japanese a good run for their money even on home soil.
The players are expected to report for camping at the Ghanaman Centre of Excellence in Prampram on April 25.
Full squad:
Goalkeepers
Richard Ofori (Wa All Stars), Robert Dabou (AshantiGold), Muntari Tagoe (Medeama)
Defenders
Hafiz Adams (Wa All Stars), Amos Frimpong (Asante Kotoko), Abdul Bashiru ( Dreams FC), Daniel Darkwah (Aduana Stars), Kadri Mohammed (AshantiGold ), Abdul Ganiyu (Wa All Stars), Ahmed Adams (Asante Kotoko), Nicholas Opoku (Berekum Chelsea)
Midfielders
Gockel Ahortor (Inter Allies), Isaac Twum (Inter Allies), Eric Kwakwa (Medeama SC), Kweku Asuandzie (Wa All Stars), Sabhan Laryea (Hearts of Oak), Latif Atta Blessing (Liberty Professionals), Emmanuel Ocran (Wa All Stars), Samuel Tetteh (WAFA), Evans Mensah (Inter Allies), Emmanuel Osei Baffour (AshantiGold)
Forwards
Saddick Adams (Berekum Chelsea), Richard Arthur (Wa All Stars), Musa Ibrahim (Hearts of Oak), Lawson Bekui (Dreams FC).
Parma have returned to Italy’s professional ranks after the reborn club clinched promotion in their first season following bankruptcy.
The new club secured promotion to the third tier with a 2-1 victory over Delta Calcio Rovigo on Sunday.
The two-time Uefa Cup winners were wound up last summer after racking up debt of more than 200m euros (£143m).
“The message that comes from Parma is that we’re back,” said captain Alessandro Lucarelli.
Parma have eased through Serie D, the highest level of amateur football in Italy, setting a league record of 85 points from 35 matches.
The new club, formed in July, is backed by pasta maker Guido Barilla with former coach Nevio Scala as president.
Scala, 67, guided Parma to three of their four European successes in the 1990s.
In addition to two Uefa Cups, between 1992 and 2002 Parma also won the European Super Cup, European Cup Winners’ Cup, three Coppa Italias and an Italian Super Cup.
“We are enjoying the rewards of an extraordinary ride,” said Scala.
“Let’s enjoy the victory, as it’s the first of a process that we hope will see us as contenders again next year.”
Coach Luigi Apolloni, the former Italy defender who played for Parma between 1987 and 2000, added: “This was a victory for the whole city.”
Five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant scored 60 points in his final game after a 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers as they came from behind to beat Utah Jazz 101-96.
It was the sixth time the NBA’s third highest scorer had scored 60 points in a game, beaten only by Wilt Chamberlain.
“You can’t write something better than this,” said 37-year-old Bryant, who made his Lakers debut in November 1996.
Basketball fans paid up to $27,500 (£19,315) to see Bryant’s final game.
Bryant attempted 50 shots on the night, the most by anyone in an NBA game in the last 30 seasons.
Kobe Bryant stats
Five-time NBA champion Third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list 18-time an All-Star, 11 times first-team All-NBA Tops Lakers’ all-time points, three-pointers, steals and games played
He led the Lakers as they overturned a 20-point deficit at half-time, scoring 23 points in the fourth quarter of his 1,556th game with the team.
Bryant finished with 33,643 regular-season points – third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387) and Karl Malone (36,928).
He checked out with 4.1 seconds left, as a sell-out crowd at the Staples Center chanted: “Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!”
The 18-time All-Star addressed the crowd, saying: “What can I say? Mamba out.”
Lakers legend Magic Johnson had earlier told the crowd: “He never cheated us as fans, He has played hurt, and we have five championship banners to show for it.”
British boxer Nick Blackwell has been placed in an induced coma after losing a domestic title fight.
Saturday’s British middleweight belt contest at London’s Wembley Arena saw Blackwell stopped in the tenth round by Chris Eubank Jr after the ringside doctor ruled a closed left eye meant he could not continue.
It was not the first time a member of the Eubank family had been involved in a contest that ended with a boxer being taken to hospital.
Michael Watson sustained life-threatening brain injuries after being stopped by Chris Eubank senior after 11 rounds of their 1991 World Boxing Organisation super-middleweight title bout at Tottenham Hotspur’s White Hart Lane ground in north London.
The 25-year-old Blackwell was carried out of the ring on a stretcher and was still in hospital, under observation, on Sunday.
British Boxing Board of Control General Secretary Robert Smith said “I spoke to one of the doctors this (Sunday) morning and he said there is a bleeding of the brain.
