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• 'I believe I won' - Fury loses historic undisputed championship to Usyk

  Tyson Fury voiced his frustration after suffering the first defeat of his career to Oleksandr Usyk in their undisputed world heavyweight title fight in Saudi Arabia.

  Usyk won by split decision to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis, and the first to unite all four belts.

  The scorecards read 115-112 and 114-113 in favour of Usyk, while a third judge scored 114-113 to Fury.

  After an even start, the momentum shifted in a brilliant ninth round for the Ukrainian as he caught Fury with a left hook, forcing the referee to give him a standing count before the bell saved him from a further onslaught.

  A defiant Fury was not happy with the result, suggesting that Usyk received a sympathy vote from the judges.

  "I believe I won that fight," he said in the ring. "I believe he won a few of the rounds, but I won the majority.

  "His country is at war, so people are siding with the country at war. Make no mistake, I won that fight, in my opinion.

  "It was one of the daftest decisions in boxing. We run it back in October. I'm not going to sit here and cry and make excuses."

  Usyk remained undefeated as he took Fury’s WBC belt to add to his WBA, WBO and IBF collection.

  "Thank you so much for my team. It's a big opportunity for my family, for my country," an emotional Usyk said afterwards. "I'm very happy.

  "My people will be very happy. I think it's a big win, not only for me, it's a big win for my country, for soldiers who now defend my country.

  "I think my father now is watching over me and is very happy. Dad, I love you. I can, you told me I can."

• Ambrose bullish on West Indies’ chances at T20 World Cup

  West Indies great and ICC Hall of Famer Curtly Ambrose believes his former team have enough talent to win an unprecedented third ICC Men's T20 World Cup title next month.

  While the West Indies are just one of the two sides to have won multiple men’s T20 World Cup titles, the Caribbean team will need to overturn some poor form at recent ICC tournaments, if they are to become the only three-time winner of the event.

  The West Indies didn't make it out of the first round of the most recent T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022 and failed to even qualify for last year's ICC Men's Cricket World Cup in India.

  But Ambrose thinks the West Indies' fortunes are turning under skipper Rovman Powell and pointed to T20I series successes over powerhouses South Africa, India, and England in the last 14 months as evidence of this.

  These returns have the legendary fast bowler confident of a strong showing from the West Indies in the ninth edition of the T20 World Cup, an event they will co-host with the USA.

  

  "We have a very, very good team. As we speak they (West Indies players) are in Antigua at a camp preparing themselves for the start of the T20 World Cup which is a couple of weeks away," Ambrose said while speaking at the launch of the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York earlier this week.

  "I believe once the guys start playing consistent cricket and smart cricket, I believe we can take the trophy. It is not going to be easy, but we are one of only two nations to have won it twice so we are going to try and make it three. And no other nation has ever won it on home soil, so all that is motivation for the guys to do well and I am hoping they can do it,” he added.

  The West Indies are drawn in Group C at the T20 World Cup and face the champions of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific Qualifier Papua New Guinea first up in Guyana on June 2, before their remaining opening round fixtures against Uganda, New Zealand and Afghanistan.

  Ambrose expects to see some upsets at this year's edition of the T20 World Cup as he knows every side has plenty of talented players at their disposal.

  "I admire a lot of cricketers (at the T20 World Cup) and I am looking forward to them doing well. As a proud Antiguan and being from the West Indies, I want the West Indies to win,” he said.

  "It is not going to be easy because in T20 cricket every team has an equal chance of beating any other team and that is just the nature of T20 cricket. It is going to be exciting, but I am going to be rooting for the West Indies,” Ambrose ended.

• JPL finalists Mount Pleasant, Cavalier join teams from T&T, Dom Rep as early qualifiers for Concacaf Caribbean Cup

  Reigning Jamaica Premier League champions Mount Pleasant FA and Cavalier FC have booked spots in this year’s Concacaf Caribbean Cup where they will again challenge for a berth in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup.

  By virtue of setting up a repeat of last year’s final, Mount Pleasant, hunting their second local top-flight title, and Cavalier, seeking redemption from last season’s defeat, joined three other clubs from Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago as early confirmations.

  This will be Mount Pleasant’s debut in the Caribbean Cup and first appearance in a Concacaf tournament, while Cavalier makes a return after an unbeaten run in the group stage, before finishing as runner-up to Suriname’s Robinhood FC. It also and earned them a debut appearance in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

  From Dominican Republic, Cibao FC, will make its second appearance in the Caribbean Cup as the 2023 league champion from the Dominican Republic. Cibao has become a regular to Concacaf competitions, appearing in the 2018 Champions League and the 2020 and 2022 Concacaf League.

  Based in Santiago de los Caballeros, Cibao became the first team in the history of the Dominican Republic to secure an official international title when they won the 2017 Concacaf Caribbean Club Championship.

  Meanwhile, Moca FC, also out of Dominican Republic, returns for a second crack at the Caribbean Cup due to their standing in the 2023 season. Moca reached the semifinals in the previous edition and won the third-place match to qualify for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup, making its debut earlier this year. Gustavo Ascona is the club’s all-time leader with four goals in the competition.

  Trinidad and Tobago’s AC Port of Spain will make a second appearance in the Caribbean Cup. The club will be aiming to achieved new milestones by getting their first win in the tournament and, by extension, secure a first Concacaf Champions Cup participation.

  The remaining clubs in the annual 10-team tournament –that crowns a Caribbean champion and determine participants from the region for the Concacaf Champions Cup –will be determined as their respective nations wrap up their domestic seasons.

  A draw will be held on June 6 to divide the teams into two groups of five.