Commonwealth Games champion Anthony Fowler ready and raring for return to the ring for British Lionhearts in World Series of Boxing while Andy Murray moves up to third in the world rankings. Here’s our review of the last 24 hours.
Anthony Fowler says he is primed and ready for a return to the ring as he seeks to help the British Lionhearts get back to winning ways in the World Series of Boxing.
The middleweight is currently undefeated in the series after victories over China’s Di Zhou and Morrocco’s Said Harnouf.
But he was forced out of action with a cut to his forehead and missed the Lionhearts’ mission to Moscow and the recent expedition to Cuba.
His absence has coincided with two defeats for the Lionhearts but he will make his return for the visit of the Mexico Guerreros on Thursday.
“Missing the Russia match means I have had three weeks to prepare for this bout,” said Fowler.
“For the first two weeks, I was just doing bags and pads and giving the cut time to heal and then last week I got in some quality sparring, so my preparation has been good.
“I like the format of WSB, with the extra rounds, the weigh-in the day before and the pro-style of the shows, so I am looking forward to getting back in the ring and putting on a good show at York Hall.”
Andy Murray is up to his highest ATP world ranking position since his Wimbledon 2013 triumph after swapping places with Rafael Nadal into third.
The Scot dropped down to 12th in September 2014 after missing three months following back surgery on a long-standing disc injury the previous year.
But a purple patch at the end of the year plus an appearance in last month’s Australian Open final has helped propel him back up the rankings.
Murray’s last outing was a quarter-final defeat to Frenchman Gilles Simon but he will be back in action this week in Dubai along with world number one and two Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
Mo Farah admits he can’t wait to return to the site of his iconic Olympic triumphs ahead of this year’s Anniversary Games.
Farah claimed his first world record this weekend when he completed a spectacular two-mile race in Birmingham to add to his impressive list of accolades that includes Olympic and World Championships titles.
And the 31-year-old says the chance to return to the Olympic Stadium later this year will bring the memories flooding back – including the infamous ‘Super Saturday’.
"I want to be able to bring my kids, hopefully, when we have the championships and other races and say 'daddy ran here'," he said.
"That 45-minute window on Super Satuday I don't think will ever be repeated. I sometimes look back at the video of what I did and to be able to see the Prime Minister, David Beckham and the Royal Family, to see they were watching, was amazing.
"It is home for me. Most people dream of becoming an Olympic champion, and for me to do it twice was incredible.
"The Olympics is where it's at, it's what really changed me as an athlete."
Simon Middleton says he wants to keep England Women on top of the pile after being appointed to a newly-created combined head coach role for both Sevens and XVs.
Middleton will take overall responsibility for both sides from May onwards to allow greater alignment between the programmes.
As current head coach of the England Women’s Sevens side that are bidding to qualify for Rio 2016 he is no stranger to the international fold and says he is relishing the chance to take both sides forward.
"I am coming into this role when women's rugby is in a great place. It is a really exciting time to be involved," Middleton said.
"For me personally, this is a fantastic opportunity and a challenge I am really looking forward to.
"Being part of the team that won the World Cup last year was the pinnacle of my career but we want England Rugby to continue to have those successes."
© Sportsbeat 2015