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In the name of their fathers: Eubank v Benn began and ended a heady era of British boxing

Their dads lit a fire that consumed me but Eubank Jr v Conor Benn embodies all that has gone wrong with the Dark Trade

Thirty-five years ago this month, on 18 November 1990, my life changed course when I watched Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn fight each other in Birmingham with a ferocity which left me astonished and breathless. After that savage and surreal contest, I began working on a book about boxing, Dark Trade, which allowed me to become a full-time writer.

Benn and Eubank were so different that my already deep interest in boxing caught fire. I became consumed by the fight game for decades until, earlier this year, I finished writing The Last Bell, my fifth and final book about boxing. I still loved the most interesting fighters and their incredible life stories, but the controversies around the manufactured rivalry between Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr left me sick at heart.

Continue reading...
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Matthew Schaefer Calls Game: No. 1 Pick Delivers OT Dagger As Islanders Beat Utah For Fourth Straight Victory

SALT LAKE CITY -- No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer scored at 2:06 of overtime to beat the Utah Mammoth 3-2 in overtime and extend the New York Islanders' winning streak to four games.

With that goal, Schaefer became the youngest player in NHL history at 18 years and 70 days to score an overtime goal, surpassing Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (18 years, 101 days). 

Schaefer took a big hit and sacrificed the body to block a shot in the second and third period respectively, grinding to help his team to victory. 

“Big game. I mean, we fought back, we fought hard," Schaefer said. "I don't think our first was the best, but we just kept fighting, we kept getting better. So I think we deserved that win.”

Despite a slow start to the game, the Islanders found themselves up 1-0 at 7:13 of the first thanks to another Emil Heieneman tally, scoring his eighth goal of the season -- two short of his career-high. 

J.J. Peterka and and Dylan Guenther scored before the end of the first, but Jonathan Drouin evened the score at 13:44 of the third after he kicked a puck toward call that Nate Schmidt put into his own net. 

That led to overtime where Schaefer did his thing. 

David Rittich was phenomenal, turning aside 27 of 29. 

The Islanders have now tied the Penguins in points with 22, but Pittsburgh owns the regulation wins tie-breaker -- nine to seven. They sit only two points back of the Carolina Hurricanes for the second seed in the Metro. 

The Islanders move on to Colorado, where they'll battle Brock Nelson and the Avalanche on Sunday night. 

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Islanders win third straight OT game after Matthew Schaefer's goal downs Mammoth, 3-2

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Matthew Schaefer scored on a slap shot 2:08 into overtime and the New York Islanders beat the Utah Mammoth 3-2 on Friday night for their third straight extra-time victory.

Jonathon Drouin and Emil Heineman also scored for the Islanders (10-6-2) in their fourth straight win, and Tony DeAngelo had two assists. David Rittich stopped 27 shots — including all 16 after the first period.

Schaefer, the 18-year-old defenseman selected No. 1 overall in this year’s NHL draft, has 15 points — most among NHL rookies.

Dylan Guenther and JJ Peterka scored for the Mammoth in the Utah franchise’s 100th game. Karel Vejmelka had 18 saves.

The Mammoth are the best in the NHL in limiting shots on goal and they outshot the Islanders 29-21 as they dropped to 5-1-1 at home.

New York tied it 2-2 with 6:16 remaining when the puck went off Jonathon Drouin’s skate and was touched by Utah defenseman Nate Schmidt’s stick as it passed over the goal line. The goal was initially disallowed but reversed after video review.

Heineman opened the scoring 7:13 into the first period — the second straight contest he notched the first goal of the game.
Peterka tied it with just under 7 minutes remaining in the first with his sixth of the season.

The Mammoth ended their seven-game power-play goal drought when Guenther’s slap shot went over Rittich’s shoulder during a 5-on-3 with 1:25 left in the opening period to take a 2-1 lead. That marked the first time this season the Islanders gave up a goal with a two-man disadvantage.

The Islanders beat Las Vegas in overtime Thursday and was in the second half or a back-to-back but matched the Mammoth’s energy with rugged defense and deft power-play kills, squelching five of six opportunities.

Up next

Islanders: At Colorado on Sunday for the fifth game of their road trip.

Mammoth: At Anaheim on Monday.
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It's Time For The Penguins To Call On A Top Forward Prospect

There's no doubt that the Pittsburgh Penguins did not get off to the start they wanted to in the first game of the NHL Global Series. 

Pittsburgh dropped the contest, 2-1, in overtime to one of the league's bottom teams this season in the Nashville Predators, and - honestly - they're lucky to have even earned a point. They were outplayed for the final 40 minutes of the game and were bailed out by goaltender Arturs Silovs.

Of course, the Penguins still have the second game against Nashville on Sunday to conclude the Global Series, and they could very well still walk away from their road trip to Stockholm, Sweden with three out of four points. While that is the best they can do at this point, the Penguins need to bank points.

They have lost five out of their last six games for a 1-3-2 record. Seven of their next eight contests may be against current non-playoff opponents, but they haven't exactly been playing inspired enough hockey lately to instill confidence that they'll get the better of those games. Maybe the early-season success was a mirage, and maybe this is who they truly are.

Or, maybe it's not. Maybe, their key injuries are simply getting the better of them right now, and they could use some kind of boost to their roster.

And - maybe - a solution is waiting in the wings at the AHL level in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS).

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) on XWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) on XBrozer gets us going!!

Center Tristan Broz has eight goals and 13 points in 15 games on the AHL season, including four goals in the last five games. The 23-year-old forward - selected in the second round (58th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft - impressed in training camp this year with two goals in four games and was one of the final cuts before NHL rosters were announced.

The Penguins are in a pretty dire situation with their injuries. Top-line winger Rickard Rakell - last season's leading goal-scorer at 35 - is out with a broken hand for at least another month, and second-line winger Justin Brazeau had six goals and 12 points in 12 games and will be out until around mid-December. Before both players went down, the Penguins were one of the league's best teams in the scoring and goal differential departments, and - since Brazeau's injury - the Penguins have been mired in that 1-3-2 spell and have only scored 14 goals in contrast to the opposition's 19. 

Their injuries are making a legitimate difference right now because they're testing the team's scoring depth at the forward position. But, at the time of each player's injury, they were two of the team's top-three goal scorers - and that certainly doesn't lend to the Penguins being able to find the back of the net with regularity. 

October Penguins' Prospects Update: ForwardsOctober Penguins' Prospects Update: ForwardsIt's a new season, and with the month of October in the books, that means it's time for the first&nbsp;<a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>' prospects update of the season.

It has also forced them to move 18-year-old rookie center Ben Kindel - who had been thriving as the team's third-line center - into a top-line role with Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust. Even though Kindel has been fine in that role, it has hampered the Penguins' ability to roll four lines, and they're a much deeper team with Kindel as their third-line center.

And that's the issue the Penguins face right now: If they move Kindel back into that role, who plays with Crosby? They could move the snakebitten Ville Koivunen up in the lineup, but that would take a capable player away from Kindel. They could move Tommy Novak up, but that would affect the Malkin line and pose the same problem. 

Having Broz in the picture - in addition to guys like Kindel and Koivunen - gives the Penguins some options in terms of deployment. Broz is a capable two-way center and could very well slot in the third-line center role, allowing the team to keep Kindel with Crosby. They could also bump Koivunen up with 87 and allow Broz and Kindel to play together on a line, which shouldn't be an issue since Broz has played on the wing.

Sep 22, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Pittsburgh Penguins forward Tristan Broz (26) plays the puck during the first period of the game against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Simply put, it will be weeks before the Penguins are even close to full health. Given how close the Eastern Conference standings are, they can't afford to throw away valuable points in this upcoming stretch of games against teams that they, on paper, should beat. 

Right now, the Penguins can't roll four lines effectively, and they need another set of young, fresh, capable legs to shore up their bottom-six depth. There's no guarantee that Broz will pan out at the NHL level, but calling him up certainly shouldn't hurt things, and there is a good chance that he's an upgrade over what they currently have.

So, it's time for the Penguins to begin ushering in more youth on the roster. Giving Broz the call should be the first thing the Penguins do when they return to Pittsburgh next week.

Takeaways: Penguins' Lack Of Injury Depth Exposed In 2-1 Loss To Predators During First Game Of Global SeriesTakeaways: Penguins' Lack Of Injury Depth Exposed In 2-1 Loss To Predators During First Game Of Global SeriesDespite all of the excitement and fanfare surrounding the start of the 2025-26 Global Series, Friday simply wasn't the night for the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>.

Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab  to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!    

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Transfers Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. have double-doubles as No. 6 Michigan wins at TCU

Transfer forwards Yaxel Lendeborg and Morez Johnson Jr. both had double-doubles and No. 6 Michigan won 67-63 at TCU on Friday night. Lendeborg, the transfer from UAB, had 14 points and 10 rebounds while Johnson from Illinois had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Michigan (3-0) overcame 22 turnovers and held on to beat a Horned Frogs team that had won six of its previous seven games when hosting a top 10 team.

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Freshman Cameron Boozer scores 35 as No. 4 Duke beats Indiana State 100-62

Lendeborg, the transfer from UAB, had 14 points and 10 rebounds while Johnson from Illinois had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Michigan (3-0) overcame 22 turnovers and held on to beat a Horned Frogs team that had won six of its previous seven games when hosting a top 10 team. Trey McKenney added 11 points for the Wolverines, including a three-point play with 6:24 left that made it 51-49 and put them ahead to stay.

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Canucks Hronek Pulled From Game Against Hurricanes By Concussion Spotter

The Vancouver Canucks had to finish their game against the Carolina Hurricanes without a key member of their defensive core. With 12.7 seconds left in the third, Filip Hronek all of a sudden left the ice. According to Head Coach Adam Foote, Hronek was pulled from the game by the concussion spotter and did not return.

Looking at replays, the most likely incident that caused Hronek to be pulled from the game happened with 2:05 left in the third. After clearing the puck, Hronek was elbowed in the head by Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov. Despite clear contact to the head, Svechnikov did not receive a penalty on the play. 

As expected, the hit has drawn plenty of criticism online from Canucks fans and media members. Hronek's agent also made his feelings known, posting the clip on "X" and writing, "Here we go again! The National Concussion League. Open season on NHL players' brains. No call on the play. If only the referee were in a position to have a clear view of the play."

Nov 14, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Vancouver Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek (17) gets ready to take a shot against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images

Vancouver continues its three-game road trip on Sunday as they pay a visit to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Last season, Tampa Bay picked up victories in both games and has won nine of its previous 10 games against the Canucks. Game time is scheduled for 2:00 pm PT. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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Mirkovic’s 27 points and 21 rebounds carry No. 14 Illinois to 84-65 win over Colgate

David Mirkovic scored 27 points, 19 in the second half, and grabbed 21 rebounds Friday night as No. 14 Illinois stayed undefeated with an 84-65 victory over Colgate. Mirkovic, a 6-foot-9 freshman from Montenegro, became the first Illinois player to have 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game since Nick Weatherspoon in 1972. Keagon Wagler added 19 points and six rebounds and Kylan Boswell scored 11 for the Fighting Illini (4-0), who outrebounded Colgate 49-29 and had 22 offensive boards that led to 22 second-chance points.

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Wilson leads No. 18 North Carolina past NC Central 97-53

Freshman forward Caleb Wilson scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half and added 13 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double, leading No. North Carolina past North Carolina Central 97-53 on Friday night. Henri Veesaar contributed 12 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks, and Luka Bogavac scored 13 for the Tar Heels (4-0).

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Knicks outlast Heat in latest test of Mike Brown's defense: 'They’re so hard to guard'

Facing the Miami Heat for the second time in the season’s first 12 games, Knicks head coach Mike Brown knew what he was going to get from Erik Spoelstra’s team Friday night at Madison Square Garden. And he knew what his team had to do to weather the storm in their first game without Jalen Brunson.

“We have to do a better job of guarding the basketball,” Brown said ahead of the NBA Cup matchup. “A lot of the quote-unquote top teams in the league, if you look at it, give up the most threes per game because they’re shifting and protecting the paint because it’s easier to score in the paint than outside the paint, so we’re no different. 

“When you play a team like Miami, they really put a premium on you guarding the ball first and then your shifts being in the right position and making sure you’re able to get out to shooters to be the second jumper. We’re getting better in that area, but tonight’s another test for us to see where we’re at because of the uniqueness of how they play in that regard.”

“And more importantly than that: Their transition is unbelievable. They just keep coming at ya, keep coming at ya, keep coming at ya, whether it’s a make or a miss. And so we have to do a fantastic job with our transition defense for 48 minutes because they’re capable of putting up 150 points in the blink of an eye.”

After 48 minutes on Friday, the Heat poured in 132 points, with 48 points coming in the paint, and Miami connecting on 19 of 44 (43.2 percent) of shots from behind the arc in a game with a blistering pace, with seemingly a majority of the Heat possessions resulting in a shot in under eight seconds. But it was Brown’s team that came out victorious, thanks to 39 points from Karl-Anthony Towns and 36 points from Landry Shamet off the bench, and on an off-shooting night, seven steals from Mikal Bridges.

“Fun game for the fans, probably,” Brown said after the 140-132 final. “It was almost like a glorified pick-up game with good spacing… on both ends of the floor, and both teams were just hooping.

“They’re so hard to guard, they just catch the ball, they snap drive, they put their head down, and as soon as they feel contact, they almost explode into you.”

Brown then took his glasses off to examine the stat sheet more closely, “This is the first time we won a game where a team shot 30+ free throws. It was extremely hard to keep them off the line.”

“Wasn’t great tonight defensively. None of us were,” Shamet said after his career-high scoring night. “We didn’t guard like we are accustomed to, but that’s a credit to them, too. They drive the ball at you every single possession; it’s hard to guard. Credit to them. We definitely gotta be better, I gotta be better on that front. 

“Taking pride on that end of the floor, shots aren’t always gonna go in, can’t control that all the time. So we gotta be a team that’s gonna win games defensively… so, that’s gotta be the constant.”

Josh Hart, who added a triple-double (his first of the season) with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, was the team's player of the game on defense, Brown said, in part because he went 4-for-4 on 50/50 balls.

"We won the possession game barely, and we needed every one of those 50-50 balls that he came up with," the head coach said. "So heckuva job by Josh, getting a triple-double tonight."

A new wrinkle on the night saw New York go to a zone defense, something they went to after losing defensive stopper OG Anunoby for the night to a hamstring injury midway through the first quarter. Brown said that was done without total preparation.

"We were having trouble guarding them off the dribble, and so we just wanted to try and junk up the game, give them a different look, see if we could get them out of rhythm a little bit," he said. "You think that it worked, but I don't know, it's a good team, and Spo is a great coach. They missed a few out of it. We gotta do a better job rebounding it.

"But the reality is, we worked on the zone one day, and it wasn't the zone that we used tonight. We kinda just threw that together, and our guys did, not a great job, a helluva job of responding and reacting to the zone that we called on the fly."

A quirk in the schedule means the Knicks won’t have to wait long for their next matchup: they play the Heat in their next game on Monday night in Miami. Brown’s plan will be similar. 

“We gotta keep trying to guard the ball better by showing our hands and hopefully they don’t get these calls the next time we play ‘em,” he said. 

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Knicks' Landry Shamet embraces next man up mentality on career scoring night

The Knicks went into Friday's NBA Cup game against the Miami Heat short-handed after Jalen Brunson (ankle) was ruled out for the game. New York was down another starter when OG Anunoby left early with a hamstring injury, putting the bulk of the offensive pressure on Karl-Anthony Towns.

But while KAT did his thing -- scoring a game-high 39 points -- it was the bench, especially Landry Shamet, that stepped up to help the Knicks beat Miami, 140-132.

"It’s about the next man up. Who that next man is going to be, I don’t know," head coach Mike Brown said after the win. "There’s no way I could have told you these guys were going to score the ball the way they did, or Josh [Hart]get a triple-double. A lot of things I couldn’t tell you. We have a standard that we all bought into and all embraced and a way we play offensively and defensively, and if we stay within that, good things will happen most times."

New York's bench outscored Miami, 75-39, led by Shamet's 36 points, a new career high for the guard. 

The 28-year-old guard credited Brown's system for the team's success on offense on Friday -- and, really, all season -- saying it brings out a connectivity between the players that makes scoring easier.

"It could be any one of us any night, we were just playing within our system," Shamet said of his performance. "Sometimes shots find you, we all play aggressive and benefits everyone. It helps when KAT has a massive quarter like he does, and that makes a lot more opportunities when so much attention in the second half is on him. Just playing off one another, and it found me."

Shamet's previous career-high was 31 points, which he's done twice, but on Friday, he showed his full arsenal of offensive tools.  He was incredibly efficient, shooting 12-for-19 from the field, including 6 of 12 from deep. He made all six of his free-throw attempts, grabbed two rebounds and had three assists. He cut to the basket and even posterized one of Miami's big men to get the MSG crowd on their feet, and chanting his name.

"These fans know I love them," Shamet said of the crowd and the chanting. "I’ll say that till I’m blue in the face, love it. Love the energy every night. Cup game on a Friday, it’s as good as it gets. It was very fun."

Interestingly enough, Brown admitted that it was his coaching staff that pushed him to keep Shamet on the floor in the second half. When the Heat clamped down on Towns, who scored just eight points in the second half, Shamet and the others took advantage. Shamet scored 30 of his points in the final two quarters to help put the Heat away.

But Brown wasn't surprised by Shamet's performance on Friday. He saw Shamet's tape from last year and was impressed with his shooting, defense and ability to cut to the basket. 

"People can sleep on him if they want, but if you think of him at Wichita State, he was a point guard then and was extremely athletic," Brown said of Shamet. "He will dunk on you in a heartbeat. It’s not just about his shooting, and he’s making great decisions." 

It was a magical night for Shamet, who has provided Brown with much-needed depth off the bench so far this season. And now with the availability of Brunson and Anunoby up in the air, Shamet and the rest of the bench's contributions will matter more than ever. 

But Shamet stays prepared. Knowing he may potentially get more minutes with Brunson out didn't change his approach and, in fact, he didn't even know he was having a 30-point half while it was happening. It's a part of the mentality that Shamet says this Knicks locker room instills and will continue to have as the year goes on.

"That’s what makes this group special, have a lot of guys that care about winning. Whatever it takes," he said. "We had Jalen out, lose OG early there and we got contributions from across the board from everyone. It’s the mentality we have to have and will continue to have. It’s next man up. A lot of teams talk about this, but this group really embodies it and will continue to."