British boxer, Anthony Joshua knocked out Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev at London’s Wembley Arena on Saturday to set up a potential bout with Tyson Fury. 

Joshua’s win capped a thrilling week in which Manchester United crashed out of the UEFA Champions League and Real Madrid survived the threat of playing in the Europa League.

If you’ve missed any gist in the sports world last week, First Eleven highlights the biggest stories in the past seven days.

1. Joshua Knocks Out Pulev To Set Up Potential Fury Fight

 

 

Anthony Joshua set up a potential world heavyweight unification bout against Tyson Fury with a dominant ninth-round knockout of Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev at London’s Wembley Arena on Saturday.

In front of 1,000 fans with attendance limited due to coronavirus restrictions, Joshua ensured there was no repeat of a shock defeat in his first clash with Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 as the 39-year-old Pulev was swotted aside.

Attention will now turn to the possibility of a much-anticipated clash with WBC champion Fury in 2021.

2. Robinho’s Nine-Year Rape Conviction Upheld 

 

Veteran Brazil international striker Robinho on Thursday had a nine-year sentence for the rape of a young woman upheld by a court in Italy.

Judges of the Milan Court of Appeal confirmed the sentence for both Robinho and one of his friends for group sexual violence dating back to January 2013.

Robinho was playing for AC Milan at the time of the attack and was tried in absentia in November 2017. The pair were among a group of six men accused of taking part in the gang rape of a 22-year-old Albanian woman in a Milan nightclub. They were both ordered to jointly pay the woman damages of 60,000 euros ($73,000). The case against the four other accused has been suspended.

3. Champions League: Man Utd Crash, Real Survive

Earlier in the week, Manchester United fans were left infuriated after the English giants failed to make it to the knockout stages of the Champions League, a 3-2 defeat to RB Leipzig further piling pressure on coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The German side were 3-0 up mid-way through the second half thanks to goals by Manchester City loanee Angelino, Amadou Haidara and Justin Kluivert at the Red Bull Arena as the competition entered its knockout phase.

Real Madrid, however, survived the threat of playing in the Europa League after winning Borussia Monchengladbach 2-0.

4. CAF Hammer Lands On Arsenal’s Aubameyang 

 

 

Africa’s football governing body, CAF fined Gabonese captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang $10,000 for publishing what it described as ”degrading material” that threatens the image of the body.

The Arsenal captain and forward was handed the sanction for criticising CAF after being forced to sleep in an airport alongside his teammates ahead of the Group D Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Gambian in November.

5. Mayweather To Stage Exhibition Fight

 

Floyd Mayweather announced Sunday he is set for an exhibition boxing match against popular YouTube personality Logan Paul at an undetermined venue early next year.

No details were released about the former boxing champion’s latest exhibition, other than it would be held on February 20.

The 43-year-old Mayweather has not had a serious boxing match since fighting Andre Berto in 2015, the same year he battled Filipino champion Manny Pacquiao. In 2017, Mayweather stopped mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor, who had never boxed professionally before. The one-sided fight allowed Mayweather an easy way to close his overall boxing record at 50-0.

6. Italy’s World Cup Hero Dies At 64

 

For the third week in a row, a World Cup star has died. This time, it was in Western Europe, Italy.

Paolo Rossi who was a hero for the Azzurri died on Thursday. The player who helped his country to win the 1982 World Cup died at 64, according to reports from Italian media.

“Forever,” Rossi’s wife Federica Cappelletti wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of the couple, confirming the World Cup winner’s death.

7. Neymar Campaigns Against Racism

 

Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar has again restated that there is no place for racism in football, backing his team and Istanbul Basaksehir’s decision to walk off the pitch in a Champions League encounter earlier this week.

The match which was replayed on Wednesday was moved from Tuesday following alleged racist remarks by an official.  The Champions League game was halted in the 14th minute as a row erupted amid accusations the Romanian fourth official had used a racist term to describe Basaksehir’s Cameroonian assistant coach, Pierre Webo.

PSG were to later win the clash in Paris 5-1, a game that saw the Brazilian capping a scintillating display with a hat-trick.

8.  FIFA Boss Accused Of “Unfair Management”

 

 

A Swiss prosecutor said Thursday that there were “indications” FIFA president Gianni Infantino was guilty of “unfair management” for using a private jet, funded by the body, to fly between Suriname and Switzerland in 2017. Special prosecutor Stefan Keller called for a criminal investigation to be opened.

This latest accusation comes after a procedure was opened on July 30 against Infantino for “incitement to abuse authority”, the “violation of official secrecy” and “obstruction of criminal proceedings”.

9. Belgium Ends 2020 As Top Ranking Team

11. France Drawn Against Ukraine In 2022 W/Cup Qualifiers

 

 

Holders France were handed an awkward draw in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup on Monday, with Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina standing in their way on the road to the finals in Qatar, while England will face Poland in their group.

Gareth Southgate’s England, semi-finalists at the 2018 tournament in Russia, will also take on Hungary and Albania as well as two of the minnows of international football, Andorra and San Marino, in Group I.