Ricky Hatton’s family tell of their ‘immeasurable’ loss after boxer’s death

  • Former champion’s kindness and loyalty hailed

  • Andy Burnham: ‘We will find a way to honour him’

Ricky Hatton’s family have opened up publicly for the first time since the news of the boxing legend’s death, saying they feel an “immeasurable” sense of loss.

The 46-year-old was found dead in what police said were no suspicious circumstances at his home in Hyde, Greater Manchester on Sunday, resulting in tributes being paid across sport and wider society towards the fighter, a former world welterweight champion.

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Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Newcastle’s new striker makes his mark, Emiliano Martínez is in Villa’s good books again and Noni Madueke’s dream week

Is Gianluigi Donnarumma a Pep Guardiola goalkeeper? He may or may not be, but he is an exceptional goalkeeper. Manchester United didn’t offer enough of a test even to begin to assess whether Donnarumma is good enough with the ball at his feet to allow City to play as Guardiola would like them to. Nor did they test whether his starting position is advanced enough to sweep up behind a high defensive line and prevent the sort of chances City yielded up to Tottenham and Brighton. But his save to keep out a Bryan Mbeumo volley, hurling himself to his right to push the ball wide, was spectacular, and drew congratulations from pretty much all his teammates. Even if he is not the perfect stylistic fit, Donnarumma’s presence, his commanding stature, the aura he projects, makes him the right goalkeeper for now as City begin the process of rebuilding with a notably young squad. Jonathan Wilson

Match report: Manchester City 3-0 Manchester United

Match report: Burnley 0-1 Liverpool

Match report: West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

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AFL confirms State of Origin football to return in 2026 after 27-year hiatus

  • Victoria to play Western Australia in Perth on 14 February next year

  • Last time a game was contested between state teams was in 1999

The AFL’s marquee State of Origin fixture will return next year to end a 27-year hiatus, with Western Australia to host Victoria in Perth on Valentine’s Day. After a clamour from fans and players for the state-based rivalry’s return, the 2026 game will be played at Optus Stadium.

The last time an Origin game was contested between state teams was in 1999, when Victoria beat South Australia by 54 points at the MCG, but South Australia was overlooked this time after strong lobbying from the Western Australian government.

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Canelo Álvarez v Terence Crawford: all of your pre-fight questions, answered

Boxing’s biggest fight in years takes place on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Here’s everything you need to know about Canelo v Crawford, including how, when and why to watch

Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez and Terence Crawford, two of the most accomplished boxers of the past 20 years, will climb through the ropes on Saturday night in Las Vegas for one of the sport’s biggest events in years.

Álvarez, 35, will be defending his undisputed super middleweight title at his natural 168lb. Crawford, 37, is attempting the jump of a lifetime: moving up two full divisions to that weight for the first time after winning his fourth world title last year in his 154lb debut. That size gap is at the heart of Saturday’s intrigue. And because the fight will be carried globally on Netflix at no extra cost to subscribers, it could draw the largest audience ever for a major championship bout.

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Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Ange Postecoglou makes his Forest bow, a new-look forward line at Newcastle and a Manchester derby to forget

Ange Postecoglou never won a north London derby while in charge at Tottenham, drawing one and losing three, so starting life in the Nottingham Forest dugout away to Arsenal might not be the ideal situation. It has been a whirlwind week for the 60-year-old who has replaced Nuno Espírito Santo and it will be fascinating to see what changes are made to the team’s style. Nuno is a cautious coach and would have plotted a counterattacking approach at the Emirates Stadium, but there are no guarantees with Postecoglou. Pragmatism is a word rarely associated with the Australian but he needs to get his players onside quickly after the unfortunate departure of his predecessor, who was not dismissed for footballing reasons. It might make more sense to tweak what has already been constructed on strong foundations, especially considering he will have little time with the squad after international duty and before a Saturday lunchtime kick-off. Being able to adapt is a sign of strength in a coach and Postecoglou needs to show he has learned from errors made at Tottenham when he refused to change. Will Unwin

Arsenal v Nottingham Forest, Saturday 12.30pm (all times BST)

Bournemouth v Brighton, Saturday 3pm

Crystal Palace v Sunderland, Saturday 3pm

Everton v Aston Villa, Saturday 3pm

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MLS suspends Luis Suárez three games for spitting incident in Leagues Cup

  • Sergio Busquets escapes punishment despite punch

  • Post-final brawl involved Miami and Seattle players

Major League Soccer has suspended striker Luis Suárez three league games for his role in the mass brawl between his Inter Miami side and the Seattle Sounders after the Leagues Cup final. Suárez was at the center of the confrontation, first putting Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas in a headlock before being dragged away. Later, TV cameras caught Suárez yelling at, and spitting on, Sounders security director Gene Ramirez.

Sounders team psychologist Steven Lenhart, himself a former MLS player who was known for confrontations and physical play, has also had his credential revoked for the remainder of the 2025 season. Lenhart was among a large group of Sounders players and staff who joined the melee along with Inter Miami players and staff.

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Israel-Premier Tech say pulling out of Vuelta would ‘set a dangerous precedent’

  • Pro-Palestinian protests have disrupted race in Spain

  • Thursday sees 12th stage of 21-stage Tour take place

The Israel-Premier Tech team have said pulling out of this year’s Vuelta a España would “set a dangerous precedent in the sport of cycling” after pro-Palestinian protests disrupted the 11th stage of the race on Wednesday.

There was no winner declared on Wednesday’s stage due to protesters at the finish line in Bilbao. Israel-Premier Tech were also the target of protests during the team time-trial last week and there have been suggestions that some members of the peloton would like the team to withdraw from the race.

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Transfer window and deadline day: Premier League club-by-club analysis

We assess how each top-flight side fared in the search for quality and value during the summer window

Andrea Berta’s first transfer window since taking over as sporting director has been busy. Headline moves for Viktor Gyökeres and Eberechi Eze have given Mikel Arteta the firepower and creativity he asked for, while Martín Zubimendi has added class to midfield. The arrival of Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Nørgaard, Noni Madueke and Kepa Arrizabalaga has also added depth to Arsenal’s squad that is already being called on after a series of early season injuries, while the late signing of the exciting Ecuador defender, Piero Hincapié, should prove to be a shrewd addition. Ed Aarons

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Former British heavyweight Joe Bugner, who twice took on Muhammad Ali, dies aged 75

  • Bugner was a British, Commonwealth and European champion

  • BBBoC announces Bugner’s death at care home in Brisbane

Joe Bugner, the British heavyweight who went the distance with boxing legends Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in the 1970s, has died aged 75, it has been announced.

Bugner twice held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles and was a three-time European heavyweight champion, holding all three for the first time when defeating Henry Cooper in 1971.

More details to follow

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Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Benjamin Sesko lacks sharpness, VAR spoils Josh King’s day and Sunderland have a man for the big moments

It was always going to be a tight match but in the end it took a moment of genius from Dominik Szoboszlai to settle it in Liverpool’s favour. The Hungarian is an attacking midfielder by trade but since Jeremie Frimpong’s injury Arne Slot has found a new role for him at right-back. Szoboszlai had clearly learned some free-kick technique from Trent Alexander-Arnold over the years but his ability in the alien position was almost more impressive. He had almost no problems with Gabriel Martinelli and he quickly adapted to Eberechi Eze, who was a greater threat than the man he replaced, but Szoboszlai remained calm and collected throughout. He was able to defend well and also produced some stunning passes, distributing long and short, changing the dynamic of the match as Alexander-Arnold used to. The victory over Arsenal will be remembered for a split second of quality but Szoboszlai should take great credit for how he has adapted to help Slot and his teammates. Will Unwin

Match report: Liverpool 1-0 Arsenal

Match report: Manchester United 3-2 Burnley

Match report: Chelsea 2-0 Fulham

Match report: Brighton 2-1 Manchester City

Match report: Tottenham 0-1 Bournemouth

Match report: Leeds 0-0 Newcastle

Match report: Wolves 2-3 Everton

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Millionaire apologises for snatching Majchrzak’s souvenir cap from young fan at US Open

  • Polish businessman Piotr Szczerek says: ‘I made a grave mistake’

  • Majchrzak had given cap to boy in crowd after five-set victory

Moments after the tennis player Kamil Majchrzak celebrated the biggest win of his career at the US Open last week, he handed his cap to a beaming young boy. What happened next sparked tears, outrage, a detective hunt across social media and, finally, a grovelling apology.

It came from Piotr Szczerek, a millionaire businessman from Poland, who had snatched the cap out of the boy’s hand and stuffed it into his bag. Videos of the incident showed the youngster looking deeply upset and asking: “What are you doing?” while Majchrzak – who was oblivious to the situation after his five-set victory against the ninth seed, Karen Khachanov – walked away.

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Felix Auger-Aliassime stuns No 3 Zverev to return to US Open second week

  • Auger-Aliassime beats Zverev in four-set thriller

  • Zverev suffers earliest New York exit since 2018

Felix Auger-Aliassime stormed into the last 16 of the US Open on Saturday night with a rousing comeback win over world No 3 Alexander Zverev, knocking out one of the title favorites 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-4 on Louis Armstrong Stadium.

The Canadian 25th seed had not reached the second week in New York since his semi-final run in 2021 but summoned some of the best tennis of his career to secure a first grand slam victory over a top-five opponent. The match stretched to three hours and 48 minutes and finished shortly before midnight, delaying the night session that followed.

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