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Tiger Woods was in attendance at the US Junior Amateur on Monday to support his son Charlie – but fans were left concerned after seeing the 48-year-old in shorts

The aftermath of Tiger Woods’ horrifying car crash was starkly evident when the golf legend was seen supporting his teen son at the US Junior Amateur.

Woods was present to cheer on Charlie, who hit a round of 82 at Oakland Hills on Monday, finishing on 12 over par. Though Woods seemed to enjoy the action after announcing a five-month beak from the sport, all eyes were on the visible damage to his legs.

REEAD: Tiger Woods already in Detroit helping Charlie prepare for his first USGA championship

Scars were clear, with his right leg seeming to bear the brunt of injury following the nearly fatal crash he experienced in California. In February 2021, Woods suffered multiple open fractures to his tibia and fibula, coupled with nasty injuries to his foot and ankle.

At the time of the horrific incident, Tiger was already navigating pain, as he was in recovery from a prior back surgery. On that morning around 7am, his SUV left the road, crashed into a tree and summersaulted several times. It’s believed he crashed at a speed of 85mph.

Firefighters and paramedics extricated Woods from the wreckage, transporting him straight to hospital for immediate doctor examination. LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said at the time: “The primary causal factor for this traffic collision was driving at a speed unsafe for the road conditions and the inability to negotiate the curve of the roadway.”

The golfing legend navigated his way from a wheelchair to crutches, leaving fans in awe at his ability to still swing a club at professional level. At 48, he’s openly battling pain to stay in the game, with visible scars bearing witness to his surgical battles.

Woods is seemingly on the twilight trail of his illustrious career, missing the cut in three out of four majors this season, only making an impact at the Masters where he finished 60th. Now, he’s increasingly seen cheering on his son from the sidelines, although tournament rules keep him from coaching during matches.

Yet, Woods couldn’t hide his fatherly pride and concern, caught muttering words of encouragement as his son Charlie, 15, took on the course. Charlie is keen to emulate his dad’s success, and Woods can’t help but beam about his progress.

“His speed has gone dramatically up this year,” Tiger said toward the end of 2023. “He’s hitting it past me now. I enjoy caddying for him and being there with him, just to talk through shots with him and have him understand what I would see or… the thought process I would have going through. He would bounce things off of me, and (I would) give him my take on certain things.”

BOXING

‘GERVONTA CAN KILL THIS GUY’ – TANK DAVIS BACKS TO KO LOMA AND SHAKUR

Jorge Linares feels Gervonta Davis stops Vasiliy Lomachenko and Shakur Stevenson.

Davis is one of the sport’s most devastating punchers. He is undefeated with a 30-0 record, 28 of which are knockout. He stopped Frank Martin in his last fight to retain his WBA Lightweight Title. After the fight, several names were mentioned for Tank’s next opponent. Both Loma and Shakur are in the running. Lomachenko was the favorite, with Davis saying he was next.

The Ukrainian had just picked up the vacant IBF Lightweight Title after stopping George Kambosos Jr. However, it appears Loma is not interested in the fight. His manager, Egis Klimas, has said Loma has no motivation for that challenge now as he will ponder his next move. Lomachenko is not the same fighter who had previously dominated the division.

JUST IN: Terence Crawford explains why he prefers to face Canelo over Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis

At 36, he has slowed down. His losses to Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez showed that. He was also vocal about considering retirement before the Kambosos fight. But he took the fight on his father’s advice, who did not want him to retire on a loss after the Haney fight. Linares was clear that Loma was not the same fighter.

“[Vasiliy] Lomachenko is a great fighter, amazing guy, amazing boxer. I fought with him, but it’s different. It’s a different time. Maybe four years ago, it would be 50/50. Now I believe Gervonta – we will see in that moment – maybe TKO, maybe some crazy KO.

“You know Gervonta is the guy who maybe wants to do the same plan as he did in the last fight [against Frank Martin]. Keep waiting and waiting. You know he received a couple of punches that night, but what happened after the sixth or seventh round? He waited for the moment, and he killed the guy. So maybe we can see the same situation with Lomachenko,” Linares said

That leaves Shakur as an alternative. Stevenson is a highly skilled boxer with great defense. But his defensive style has not gone down well with the fans. He was booed for his last two fights against Edwin De Los Santos and Artem Harutyunyan. That has made Shakur less of an attractive option. Davis has shown that he can walk down his opponents if they do not have the power. Shakur is not the biggest puncher, meaning he must do more to earn Tank’s respect. Martin was doing well in the fight until Davis closed the distance and knocked him out. Linares expects the same to happen if he fights Shakur.

“If Gervonta is fighting with Shakur [Stevenson], it’s more of an easy fight. “I like Shakur, but he has so many crazy things right now. For me, it’s more exciting to see Lomachenko with Gervonta. If that fight happens with Shakur, it’s easy. With Shakur, [Davis] can do whatever he wants to do – maybe decision, maybe KO. If that fight with Shakur can happen, I think Gervonta can kill this guy,” Linares stated

BOXING

Terence Crawford explains why he prefers to face Canelo over Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis

Terence Crawford could still have his biggest fight ahead of him.

Forty fights into his undefeated boxing career, Crawford doesn’t have much left to prove. This Saturday at a Riyadh Season event in Los Angeles, he moves up to the super welterweight division to fight Israil Madrimov for a vacant WBA title — and after that, he may just move up a couple more weight classes for the right opponent.

That opponent? The great Canelo Alvarez.

During an appearance on The MMA Hour, Crawford was asked what weight class he’d be willing to take on the larger Canelo at, and he didn’t hesitate to give a number.

JUST IN: ‘PEOPLE SAY TANK’S DUCKING SHAKUR’ – GERVONTA DAVIS’ TRAINER TARGETS SHAKUR

“One hundred sixty-eight [pounds],” Crawford said. “If that’s the fight in front of me, then yes.”

Crawford, 36, has spent the majority of his career competing anywhere from 135 to 147 pounds, capturing titles in three divisions along the way, and he targets another with his move to 154 pounds against Madrimov. Jumping up to 168 pounds for a bout with Canelo, 34, would be the heaviest Crawford has ever weighed for a fight, by far.

Undefeated welterweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis also looms as a potential opponent after recently defeating David Avanesyan to retain his IBF title, which was promoted from interim status due to Crawford (since stripped of his share of the IBF title) being expected to rematch Errol Spence Jr. at some point in the future rather than face Ennis.

Unfortunately for Ennis, Crawford would prefer a matchup with Canelo, with the understanding that it would likely require the involvement of Riyadh Season promoter Turki Alalshikh.

“Being where I’m at right now, I’m looking at the fight that makes the most sense. and that’s not ‘Boots,’” Crawford said. “Canelo’s going to bring way more to my legacy, way more to my bank account, because at the end of the day when boxing is done with, what will we have? I want to have a legacy that’s something that people talk about for the ages, and not only that, I want to have a bank account that lasts as well.”

“I think it would be everybody’s choice. Canelo would have to agree, I would have to agree, Turki would have to agree because he’s the one that’s dishing out the money, so a lot of moving parts got to be involved in that fight.”

As for Spence, who Crawford defeated by ninth-round TKO in July 2023, Crawford is still waiting for the call to make their rematch official.

“I didn’t hear anything from Team Spence or his handlers after the fight, so everything just kind of went cold turkey,” Crawford said.

BOXING

‘PEOPLE SAY TANK’S DUCKING SHAKUR’ – GERVONTA DAVIS’ TRAINER TARGETS SHAKUR

Gervonta Davis’ co-trainer, Kenny Ellis, wants to target a fight with Shakur Stevenson following the breakdown in talks with Vasiliy Lomachenko.

Davis was in talks with Loma for a possible unification in November. Tank holds the WBA belt at 135, while Lomachenko has the IBF Belt. However, Lomachenko will take the rest of the year off, leaving Davis without an opponent. But now, the focus has turned towards Stevenson. Shakur is the WBC champion at 135, which still allows Davis to unify and chase undisputed.

Stevenson is a free agent following his last fight against Artem Harutyunyan. That makes a possible Davis fight much easier, given Shakur is not held down to a network. There is also an issue with rehydration clauses since they both make 135 pounds quite easily. Ellis was hoping to make that fight next.

READ: LOMACHENKO DUCKS TANK DAVIS – ‘LOMA IS NOT IN THE MOOD RIGHT NOW’

“Still salty about Lomachenko not agreeing to fight Tank. He is straight ducking. Hopefully, Shakur won’t duck. People say Tank’s ducking Shakur, let’s see,” Ellis said

Nevertheless, there are still issues with making this fight. The fight is not as big as it could have been due to Shakur’s recent performances. He was booed during his fight against Edwin De Los Santos. Shakur was fighting on the back foot as he won a unanimous decision. He defended the performance, saying he had an injury coming into the fight. But Shakur’s next performance against Artem also came under fire. Despite Shakur dominating the fight, he failed to stop his opponent.

Some fans were seen walking out of the arena before the last round. There were also some jeers from the crowd, although Shakur put that down to Arem’s reluctance to engage. Shakur is also not a big PPV draw. His style does not resonate with the fans, while Davis has shown he needs a big dance partner to sell. The Ryan Garcia fight sold over 1.2 million PPVs, with a live gate of over $20 million.

‼️ Gervonta Davis' co-trainer Kenny Ellis has indicated that they could now target Shakur Stevenson after Vasyl Lomachenko pulled out of negotiations: “He [Loma] is straight ducking. Hopefully Shakur won't duck. People say Tank's ducking Shakur, let's see.” [@MillCityBoxing] pic.twitter.com/XZXNv7WIwS

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) July 22, 2024

That was the highest-grossing boxing event in 2023, earning Davis approximately $50 million. The Shakur fight is unlikely to get anywhere near that. However, with legacy on the line, there is a feeling Davis must take that fight to avoid claims that he does not fight top-level opposition. Terence Crawford hoped Shakur could unify the division to shut down his critics.

“I would like to see Shakur Stevenson do exactly what he’s doing now. Keeping his name out there in the media, people are talking about him. I want see him fight the best in the [lightweight] division. [And] I want see him unify the division and shut these guys up who are saying, ‘He’s not this great fighter they think he is’. I want see those guys get in the ring with him,” Crawford said

Crawford is well aware of those struggles. He struggled to make the big fights during his time with Top Rank. He held the WBO title at 147 before leaving to chase the Errol Spence Jr. fight. Bud got the fight and stopped Spence to become the first Undisputed Welterweight Champion of the four-belt era. The win solidified his position as a future Hall-of-Famer. Shakur may need to follow the same blueprint to get his flowers.

TENNIS

Nadal ‘not comfortable’ ahead of Olympics bid

Rafael Nadal will head to the Paris Olympics chasing a third gold medal but admitted his “level was so far from what it should be” after losing in the Bastad clay-court final on Sunday.

The 38-year-old Spanish great went down to a straight-sets defeat to Portuguese journeyman Nuno Borges in his first final since capturing a 14th French Open in 2022.

“The level was so far from what it should be. Probably the energy too,” said Nadal.

READ: Rafael Nadal drops hint about withdrawing from Bastad after winning four-hour match

“It has been a long week with long matches. Even if my body, I don’t have damage, that’s important — but mentally and physically, I am not used to playing four days in a row and playing long matches.”

Nadal was playing his first tournament since an opening round exit at the French Open in May.

He skipped Wimbledon to focus on his clay-court bag of tricks ahead of the Olympics which are being played at Roland Garros, the site of 14 of his 22 Grand Slam triumphs.

At the Games, Nadal will be looking to add to his singles gold from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and doubles victory at Rio in 2016.

As well as singles, in Paris he will team up with French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz.

“I played the final, that’s positive. I was able to play long matches without having an injury, that’s good,” added Nadal of his week in Sweden.

The former world number one has played just six tournaments in 2024 due to injury while his ranking has slumped to 261.

“In some way I felt that I arrived here practising much better than what I played on the tournament during the whole week. That’s something that I am not satisfied with,” he explained.

“I arrived here with the feeling that I was playing a good level and I was not able to show that during the whole week. That is something that I am not happy with.

“Anyway it’s a final, so I can’t say it’s a bad result because it’s the first final since a long time ago. But I was not able to feel myself comfortable enough during the whole week to be satisfied with the week of tennis that I played.”

GOLF

Tiger Woods already in Detroit helping Charlie prepare for his first USGA championship

It didn’t take long for Tiger Woods to get from Scotland to Michigan.

The 15-time major champion shot 79-77 at the British Open at Royal Troon to miss the cut in his third major this year and later boarded a plane to get back to the United States to help his son Charlie begin preparations for his first USGA championship. The U.S. Junior, which begins Monday at Oakland Hills in Bloomfield Township, has a field of 264 competing in two rounds of stroke play that will be whittled down to 64 for match play starting Wednesday. The championship match is scheduled for Saturday.

Charlie Woods, 15, shot one-under 71 last month in South Florida to qualify for the championship, one his father won three straight times from 1991-93.

Tiger Woods' son, Charlie, chides legendary dad about his golf game | Fox News

READ: Tiger Woods reveals future plans after missing cut at The Open

“The USGA means a lot to me,” Charlie said after earning medalist honors at Eagle Trace Golf Club in Coral Springs. “I want to win USGA championships and hopefully one day the U.S. Open.”

On Sunday, video surfaced of Tiger walking the fairways with Charlie and Davis Ovard, who just finished his freshman season of college at Baylor in Texas. Charlie is grouped with Ovard and Chase Kyes the first two rounds. They’ll play the North Course Monday at 8:28 a.m. ET, then the South Course starting at 1:48 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

The South Course has hosted 11 USGA championships in its 105-year history, including six U.S. Opens. It also hosted three PGA Championships and the 2004 Ryder Cup, where U.S. captain Hal Sutton infamously opted to partner Woods and Phil Mickelson in two matches, with them losing both.

Tiger also played in the 1996 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills as an amateur and tied for 82nd place. The next month he won his third straight U.S. Amateur then turned professional. He did not participate in the 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills, won by Padraig Harrington. Woods won the U.S. Open earlier that summer at Torrey Pines then had reconstructive surgery to fix a damaged ACL.

BOXING

Tyson Fury has ‘No collision course’ with Anthony Joshua he defeat Oleksandr Usyk in rematch

Tyson Fury must win his December rematch with Oleksandr Usyk if he is to remain on course to fight the Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois victor, Fury’s manager Spencer Brown says.

Tyson Fury, the former two-time world heavyweight champion, is expected to attend the Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois fight on September 21.

Fury lost his WBC title to Oleksandr Usyk in a four-belt undisputed unification in May. But, with Fury and Usyk set for a rematch in December, the Ukrainian had to vacate his IBF championship.

JUST IN: ‘LET’S TALK’ – USYK READY TO FIGHT MCGREGOR IN BKFC

Dubois, previously an IBF interim titlist, was elevated to become the body’s full champion and now fights Joshua at Wembley Stadium.

Although Fury has a long-standing rivalry with Joshua, he might well be backing Dubois in that September 21 fight.

Spencer Brown, Fury’s manager, told Sky Sports: “I think he’s a good friend of Daniel Dubois and obviously he’s in that [same] promotional company. But I think Tyson just wants to see a good fight. Who will he back? Probably Daniel Dubois.”

The winner of Joshua vs Dubois would of course make for a hugely appealing all-British clash with Fury.

But Fury, 35, will not be plotting out a route to fighting the AJ-Dubois victor just yet. His focus is on the Usyk rematch.

BOXING

‘LET’S TALK’ – USYK READY TO FIGHT MCGREGOR IN BKFC

Oleksandr Usyk has welcomed a bare-knuckle fight with Conor McGregor.

The Ukrainian is coming off the best win of his career when he defeated Tyson Fury to become the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion via a split decision. Usyk followed in the footsteps of Lennox Lewis, who became the last man to win all the belts. The Ukrainian became undisputed in a second weight class with the win. Usyk will rematch Fury on December 21. However, it will not be undisputed after Usyk vacated his IBF belt.

Usyk’s team has hinted at several options should he beat Fury. He could move back down to cruiserweight and try to become undisputed again. However, that is unlikely as he would have to lose significant weight, meaning he might not be the same. Another alternative is to pursue a crossover fight. Several names were mentioned, including McGregor and John Jones. Now, it appears McGregor is the leading Ukrainian name. Usyk’s trainer, Sergey Lapin, has said calls for talks to take place.

JUST IN: After dismantling Mike Perry, Jake Paul has a clear pathway to a WBA world boxing title

“He’s proven he’s the best of his generation and, once he’s retired Tyson Fury, he will consider his options. Maybe that’s dropping down in weight again, or maybe there’s a wildcard option on the table for him; be it in the boxing ring, the MMA cage or even Conor McGregor’s Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.

“Hey bro, Conor McGregor. First Oleksandr Usyk has to retire Tyson Fury, but our team is ready to make something great together with the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. Let’s talk,” Lupin said

It will be news for McGregor, who recently became a part-owner of BKFC. He has stated that he wants to fight in BKFC once his UFC contract expires. McGregor has two fights left on his UFC contract. He was scheduled to take on Michael Chandler at UFC 303 on June 29. However, the Irishman pulled out with a broken toe. He expects to return in September with the aim of fighting by the end of the year.

During this period, McGregor has been talking up BKFC. At a presser for BKFC Spain, McGregor indicated that he wanted fighters to consider BKFC as an alternative. He promised fighters bigger paydays, expressing his intention to win a title in another promotion. McGregor has enough pulling power to do that. His fight with Chandler set a new UFC live gate record with over $20 million. McGregor hopes to replicate that in BKFC.

“For me, I’ve got a bit of business left with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, two fights left on my contract. But for sure we have three lightweights up here and I have my eye on all of this. I’m not here up here just as a knower, player-manager I’d title myself on this. That’s me. I am coming to the end of my contract. I have two fights left. This is a very, very exciting organization here. How could you not?

“How could you not look to become a two-sport world champion in something as wild as a bareknuckle fighting organization. We’ve got the money, too. We’ve got the dough. This is big payouts here, also – big pay, big shows, big news, and a coveted world title in a wild and dangerous game. For any real fighter out there, that’s all you want to hear. Money, power, respect – Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship has it all,” McGregor said

BOXING

After dismantling Mike Perry, Jake Paul has a clear pathway to a WBA world boxing title

Jake Paul is elite when it comes to grabbing a hold of fans and media’s attention spans in a world where there’s so much great content to consume.

He’s quite the natural, honestly. From taking over the Vine app years ago to spinning a Disney career into a mainstay on YouTube, followed by stepping in the ring, Paul, and of course his brother Logan, know exactly what strings to pull to get our ears and eyes focused on them — and you can add the WBA president Gilberto Mendoza to the list of people paying attention.

Mendoza hinted this week, after seeing Paul defeat Mike Perry, that he’d sanction an official world championship bout for the internet sensation — providing the opponent is right.

READ: TERENCE CRAWFORD KNOCKS OUT WWE WRESTLER

Since turning pro in 2020, the “Problem Child” has faced waves and waves of criticism both far and wide, especially when it comes to his opponent selection. The Ohio native went from facing fellow YouTubers to basketball players to former UFC champions. And instead of facing Mike Tyson over the weekend, Paul locked horns with bare-knuckle boxer Perry. However, after Paul dismantled ‘Platinum Mike’, he reminded people that he plans to fight for a cruiserweight world title in two years’ time.

In the past, Paul has received push-back for this outlandish claim, but he has been steadfast in his belief that this will happen before he hits 30. Famed Matchroom Boxing promoter, Eddie Hearn, gave Paul credit (in his mind) for calling the YouTube boxer ‘average’, but Paul couldn’t stand the sound of that and fired right back.

Also, when talking with TalkSPORT a year later, Paul reiterated his goal of fighting for a world title:

“I want to become a world champion, I will become a world champion. … It’s definitely gonna happen [fighting for a title] and it might be light-heavyweight, it might be cruiserweight, we’ll see. …and look, that’s like a 24-36 month goal. I’m 26, coming into my athletic prime. …So that’s probably when I’ll make a run for it. But man, I just want to do it because I think it’s funny. I think to go from boxing Deji to being a world champ in a period of years, nobody thinks I can do it. They think it’s impossible, they think I’m crazy, they think I’m lying when I say that, but I’m being serious.”

Jake Paul could one day box Julio Cesar Chavez Jr for a cruiserweight championship

Following Paul’s latest victory and reassurance about fighting for a cruiserweight world title in two years, WBA President Gilberto Mendoza took to X.com to open the door for Paul and former world champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jr to walk through, stating:

I am not against a @jakepaul v. @jcchavezjr for a championship…

— Gilberto J Mendoza (@GilberticoWBA) July 21, 2024

While an immediate title fight for Paul is extremely hard to justify at this point in his career, with a constant increase in caliber of opponent over the next few years, anything is possible, but putting Paul in a title fight seems more like a money ploy than anything else.

BOXING

TERENCE CRAWFORD KNOCKS OUT WWE WRESTLER

By Admin July 21, 2024

Terence Crawford turned up at a WWE event, specifically the Friday Night SmackDown, to knock out one of the sport’s biggest stars.

The former Undisputed Welterweight Champion is scheduled to take on Israil Madrimov in his next fight. The August 3 clash is part of Riyadh Season’s first fight overseas, as Crawford chases Madrimov’s WBA belt at 154. It is Bud’s first bout at the weight class, as a win makes him a four-division champion. That lines up a potential unification withSebastian Fundora, who holds the WBO and WBC belts.

Fundora has been linked with a fight against Errol Spence Jr., meaning fans could see a Crawford rematch. Alternatively, a win takes Crawford closer to a mega-fight with Canelo Alvarez. The Canelo fight offers Bud the chance to make history and become undisputed in a third weight class. Despite the massive pressure on the fighter, Crawford seemed relaxed as he attended the WWE event. He was alongside his trainer, Brian McIntyre. But it was Crawford who took all the headlines.

JUST IN: ANTHONY JOSHUA EXPOSES CARL FROCH’S WORLD TITLE WIN – ‘YOU DIDN’T BEAT A CHAMPION’

.@CodyRhodes 👀 @terencecrawford
@terencecrawford with the assist! 💪
#SmackDown pic.twitter.com/Jmn7yk9VW9

— WWE (@WWE) July 20, 2024

The following clips show Crawford assisting Cody Rhodes by giving him a chair. Rhodes was facing Theory and Waller; Crawford then took things a step further by getting in the ring. He confronted Theory and knocked him out with a huge right hand. The appearance will increase his profile, which is vital for the Madrimov fight. Reports indicate that the venue is struggling to sell out. Despite his achievements, Crawford is not the biggest commercial draw.

His fight with Errol Spence Jr. sold around 700,000 PPVs. Before the Spence fight, Crawford’s highest number of buys was in the 200,000 range. The Spence fight also produced a live gate of over $20 million. However, given Crawford’s WWE appearance, he is increasing his marketability as he aims to become one of the sport’s biggest stars.

Heading into the fight, Madrimov is backing himself to cause an upset. It is Crawford’s first fight in around 13 months. Madrimov is a heavy-handed fighter with an extensive amateur record of 350-20. He has vowed to overpower Crawford when they face off.

“Experience-wise, yes, I have ten professional fights, but it’s a high quality. All ten were WBA fights. All ten were twelve-rounders against stiff opposition. I have more than 200 International amateur fights. So overall, over 300 amateur fights. I have experience fighting everyone around the world.

“The ring will show everything. On August 3rd, you will see everything. We have some things we’ve been watching. We’re not going to talk about it right now. With a lot of fighters, they’re losing before they even step in the ring [with Crawford]. They’re already kind of on the downside [of their careers]. With me, I’m mentally strong,” Madrimov said

But if Bud can replicate the power he showed at the WWE event, then Madrimov will have a tough task. Crawford managed to subdue the much bigger Spence, who was tipped to overpower Crawford. Bud will be hoping to replicate that form again.