WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman is confident Deontay Wilder will return to the ring this year.
Wilder has not fought since he was beaten by Tyson Fury for a second time in their trilogy fight last October.
Fury knocked the American out in the 11th round at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to retain his title.
The 'Gypsy King' successfully defended his WBC world heavyweight crown for a second time by knocking Dillian Whyte out in the sixth round at Wembley on Saturday and reiterated he plans to retire after that all-British bout.
Wilder would have an opportunity to regain the WBC strap as the number one contender if Fury quits and Sulaiman expects the 'Bronze Bomber' to fight again in 2022.
Sulaiman told Sky Sports: "He's [Wilder] taking it easy and weighing up his plans for the future. He had a very busy reign as a champion, two knockout losses to Fury which was difficult, but he's matured and he's doing very well.
"He's having a good time with his wife and enjoying life but I'm sure he'll be back.
"He's one of those fighters that you rarely see in the ring that has the ability to knock somebody out with one punch and he has had many exciting fights. He's a great fighter and great person. I'm sure he will fight this year."
UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is "70 per cent" certain he will face boxing superstar Tyson Fury in a crossover fight next year.
Fury defeated Dillian Whyte via a sixth-round knockout at Wembley on Saturday to retain his WBC heavyweight title and reiterated afterwards he intends to retire from boxing.
However, the 33-year-old, who improved his career record to 32-0-1, has not ruled out competing under a different format – including another shot at WWE later this year.
And Ngannou, who joined Fury in the ring after this victory over compatriot Whyte, is hopeful that a hybrid fight can be agreed with the Englishman.
"We both want this fight, that's clear, and we respect each other," Ngannou told the MMA Hour. "Probably next year it will happen.
"I think it's going to happen, it's just a matter of our promotions, but we will sort this out at some point."
Ngannou added: "Make it a hybrid fight, something that makes it a little uncomfortable for him as a boxer.
"Ideas like MMA gloves or fighting barefoot. I don't know, we still have to figure this out.
"I would say there's a 70 per cent chance [my next opponent] is Tyson Fury. On his side I would say 90 per cent against me."
Ngannou underwent surgery to repair MCL and ACL injuries earlier this year and is not expected to return to action until November at the earliest.
The 35-year-old, who retained his heavyweight crown with victory over Ciryl Gane in January, is so determined to face Fury that he will make it part of any deal signed with UFC.
"The Tyson Fury fight has to be part of the discussion [with the UFC] – there is no other option," he said.
"The UFC is a great promotion and I want to keep fighting. The Tyson Fury fight is not my last fight, there's still a lot of fights out there.
"There's Jon Jones, there's the Stipe Miocic trilogy, there's big fights I can do in the UFC and I'd really like that to happen."
Luka Doncic said Dallas Mavericks team-mates always "had my back" after the guard delivered a match-winning performance in Game 5 against the Utah Jazz.
The Texan outfit moved to 3-2 in their first-round playoff at the American Airlines Arena with a 102-77 rout, posting the biggest blowout scoreline of the series to date.
Two days on from posting an impressive double-double in a nail-biter in Salt Lake City, Doncic was at the heart of victory for the Mavericks, with 33 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
But the flashpoint of a hard foul from Hassan Whiteside late on in the fourth quarter perhaps exemplified the hosts' unity, as players rushed in to protect 23-year-old Doncic.
Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock exchanged pushes with the former after he had deposited Doncic on the court, and the Slovenian admitted their response was "what great teams do".
"They had my back," Doncic said after the match "Both of them, anybody, we had each other's back. That's what great teams do. I would go with these guys to war. This is a special team."
Doncic's haul also saw him become only the second man to hit a triple mark across his first 15 career playoff games, after taking his tally to 499 points, 137 rebounds, and 133 assists.
He and Oscar Robertson are the only players in NBA history to reach 450+ points, 125+ rebounds, and 125+ assists through their first 15 career playoff games, the league said.
It has marked an impressive return after missing the first three games through a calf injury, and Doncic admits he felt more comfortable in victory the second time around.
"The first game, I was a little janky – I use this word a lot," he said. "But I felt better today.
"I think the run in the third I was a little tired, too, but just getting my air back. I've got to hydrate for Utah now, the altitude."
The Mavericks travel back to Salt Lake City on Thursday, looking to wrap up a series win in Game 6, with a final clash back in Dallas pencilled for Saturday if the Jazz force them all the way.
Emma Raducanu has parted company with another coach as the US Open champion seeks the right combination to keep her at the top of the game.
The world number 11, who was a shock winner at Flushing Meadows last September, announced on Tuesday she and Torben Beltz would no longer be working together.
German coach Beltz came on board in November but departs as Raducanu plots the way forward ahead of the French Open and Wimbledon. The 19-year-old Raducanu says she needs "a new training model".
Beltz becomes the third coach to move on from working with Raducanu in the last 12 months. She swapped Nigel Sears for Andrew Richardson, who was in her corner at the US Open, before electing to bring on board the experienced Beltz, who previously worked with Angelique Kerber and Donna Vekic.
Raducanu said of her decision: "I want to thank Torben for his dedication. He has a huge heart and I have enjoyed our strong chemistry during the time together."
She is preparing to play at the Madrid Open and will be assisted there by Iain Bates, the long-serving head of women's tennis at the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).
Raducanu has yet to indicate what direction she will go in regarding her next full-time hire, although working with the teenager is likely to remain an attractive prospect for leading coaches.
She said: "The best direction for my development is to transition to a new training model with the LTA supporting in the interim."
Although Raducanu has continued to climb the WTA rankings, she has managed just five wins from 12 matches on tour this year, losing a close contest to world number one Iga Swiatek in the Stuttgart quarter-finals last week.
Kyrie Irving confirmed he will remain with the Brooklyn Nets after a disappointing first-round 4-0 sweep against the Boston Celtics.
Irving scored 20 points with five rebounds and five assists in the decisive 116-112 Game 4 loss on Monday.
The mercurial guard has a player option in his contract for the 2022-23 season, which means he can decide whether to stay for the $36million he has agreed to, or he could void the last year and enter negotiations for a long-term deal with the Nets, or any other team with cap space.
When asked in his post-game press conference, Irving said: "I don't really plan on going anywhere."
He later took it even further as he spoke about rebuilding the team through his "co-management relationship" with the Nets front office.
"I don't really plan on going anywhere – this is added motivation for our franchise to be at the top of the league for the next few years," he said.
"When I say I'm here with 'Kev' [Kevin Durant], I think that it really entails us managing this franchise together alongside [owner] Joe [Tsai] and [general manager] Sean [Marks], and just our group of family members that we have in our locker room and our organisation.
"I think we've just got to make some moves this offseason – and really talk about, and really be intentional about, what we're building.
"We'll just have fun building it, having that creative process. It's a co-management relationship, and you see that the players need to gel. You can't have these little lulls of uncertainty… [we have to] be intentional about who's in our locker room, and how we're going to be leading.
"There's no question about where I'm going, or how this is going to happen. I'm here with [Durant], but also I'm here to build a great team.
"Individually I've been recognised for my greatness, but at this point in my career I really just want to be part of a great team, and dominate that way, without focusing on any individual accolades or achievements. Just really build something special."
When discussing how he felt about the outcome of the season, Irving said he would use it as fuel, but admitted there were points in the season that he felt he was letting down his teammates.
"Just disappointment, sadness. But more importantly, on the positive side, it's motivation," he said. "It's burning in my heart right now.
"I know so many people wanted to see us fail at this juncture… and have so much to say at this point, so I'm just using that as fuel for the summer.
"I think it was just really heavy emotionally this season. We all felt it.
"I felt like I was letting the team down at a point where I wasn't able to play. We were trying to exercise every option for me to play, but I never wanted it to just be about me. I think it became a distraction at times."
Irving was unavailable for home games until late March due to his refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination.
He added: "We just had some drastic changes. We lost a franchise player – and we got a franchise player back – but we didn't get a chance to see him on the floor."
Irving discussed issues such as allowing outside noise to seep into the locker room and repeated calls for more mental toughness, but he made sure to support embattled All-Star Ben Simmons. Simmons did not make his Nets debut in Game 4, as had been initially anticipated, as he battles to overcome a back problem.
"There was no pressure for [Simmons] to step on the floor with us, either," Irving said. "Ben's good, we have his back, and he's going to be good for next year.
"But now we just turn the page, and look forward to what we're building as a franchise, and really get tougher.
"This is a league that's getting younger, it's getting more athletic, it's getting taller, and more competitive. These young guys are hungry out here. You see it, I could feel it, so it's added motivation when you get swept like this.
"Now we just look to the future as a team and what we can accomplish for the next few years – and I get excited about that."
The Boston Celtics have emerged as the favourites to make it through the Eastern Conference after a 116-112 win against the Brooklyn Nets confirmed a 4-0 series sweep.
In what was billed as arguably the most competitive first round series in recent memory, the Celtics were simply too good on the defensive end to let the frightening Nets offense find any rhythm or flow.
Boston's Jayson Tatum scored a team-high 29 points on nine-of-16 shooting (four-of-six from distance) before getting fouled out late in the fourth quarter, while Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart showed his offensive skills with 20 points and 11 assists.
Grant Williams did a superb job for the Celtics, coming off the bench to hit four of his six three point attempts, while also playing smothering defense on Kevin Durant and swatting away three shots.
Despite Williams' best efforts, Durant was still a force offensively, scoring a game-high 39 points on 13-of-31 shooting while adding nine assists and seven rebounds in 47 minutes.
Kyrie Irving played 45 minutes, and finished with a respectable line of 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, but he went missing for long stretches of the must-win game. Irving attempted just 13 shots, which was the same number as Seth Curry, who outscored him with 23 points.
An early storyline in the game, and ultimately one of the deciding factors, was Brooklyn's reserve center Nic Claxton missing the first 10 free throws he attempted, finishing the game one-for-11.
Raptors make things interesting
The Toronto Raptors refuse to lay down against the Philadelphia 76ers, winning Game 5 103-88 on the road to pull the series back to 3-2, with Game 6 heading back to Canada.
Toronto trailed 3-0 after three games, but have won back-to-back fixtures with their season on the line to put the pressure back on Philadelphia.
Game 5 was won on the defensive end, as the Raptors took control of the contest with a 25-14 second quarter.
Toronto forced 16 Philadelphia turnovers while only committing nine themselves, and they held the home side to 38 per cent shooting (31-of-81), with the visitors shooting 51 per cent (42-of-82).
With Fred VanVleet out of action, Pascal Siakam assumed point guard duties for Toronto, finishing with 23 points (10-of-17 shooting) with 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Precious Achiuwa added 17 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 27 minutes off the bench.
Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes showed his talent in his return to the starting line up, scoring 12 points, grabbing eight rebounds, dishing four assists and snatching a game-high three steals.
For the 76ers, Joel Embiid was kept quiet by his standards with 20 points and 11 rebounds from just 15 field goal attempts as the Raptors consistently double-teamed him and forced Philadelphia's role players to hit shots.
James Harden was disappointing, with just 15 points and seven assists to go with five turnovers.
No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 series deficit.
Dallas' defense hits new heights
The last game of the night was also the least competitive, as the Dallas Mavericks flashed some unbelievable defensive upside in a 102-77 win against the Utah Jazz.
Prior to the game, Utah's lowest score of the season was a 124-90 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans in March, with the 77-point figure being their lowest score since November 2018 – in a 118-68 loss to the Mavericks.
Dallas now leads the series 3-2, with Game 6 to be played in Utah, and while the Mavs' defense stole the show, Luka Doncic was the best player on the floor.
Doncic had 33 points (11-of-22 shooting) in 33 minutes, with 13 rebounds and five assists, while partner-in-crime Jalen Brunson chipped in with 24 points on nine-of-20 shooting with four assists and just one turnover.
Utah only scored more than 19 points in one quarter – the last, when the game was sealed – as the Mavericks won the first three frames by margins of 24-18, 28-18 and 29-19.
It was the lowest-scoring game of Donovan Mitchell's playoff career, finishing with just nine points on four-of-15 shooting. Of Mitchell's four career playoff games with 12 points or fewer, this was the first since April 2019.
A Bo Bichette grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning propelled the Toronto Blue Jays to a 6-2 home win against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.
It was a quiet game offensively early on as both clubs had their ace pitchers working on the mound, with only one combined run through the first six innings.
Toronto's Jose Berrios finished with two earned runs and four strikeouts from just six baserunners in seven complete innings, while Nathan Eovaldi also pitched seven innings for two earned runs, allowing five hits and no walks with his five strikeouts.
The deadlock was broken in the fifth inning through a Lourdes Gurriel Jr solo home run for the Blue Jays, hooking it over the left-field wall, before Matt Chapman doubled the advantage with one swing in the seventh inning.
Chapman's 422-foot bomb to center-field was the biggest hit of the game, but not the most important, as the Red Sox manufactured two runs in the top of the eighth inning to set the table for Bichette.
After three consecutive hits from Santiago Espinal, Bradley Zimmer and George Springer – who took one of the catches of the year earlier in the game – up stepped Bichette with bases loaded and one out in a tie game.
Bichette connected with a sinker over the heart of the plate and sent it to the opposite-field corner, clearing the wall for a grand slam and giving the Jays a 6-2 lead and the win.
Mets rally in the ninth
With a runner on first base and two outs in the ninth inning, the New York Mets trailed 2-0 – and ended up beating the St Louis Cardinals 5-2.
After the Cardinals allowed the runner on first to take second base unopposed, he came around to score after nine-time Gold Glove winner Nolan Arenado committed a rare throwing error in a play that would have finished the game.
Down 2-1, Jeff McNeil doubled to put runners on second and third, setting up pinch-hitter Dominic Smith to drive them both in with an infield hit after he won the race to first base due to some poor fielding from pitcher Giovanny Gallegos.
Brandon Nimmo put the icing on the cake as the next batter, driving in Smith with a two-run homer.
Gonzalez wins it with first career homer
Luis Gonzalez was the hero for the San Francisco Giants in their 4-2 win against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Giants' win was in spite of the best efforts of Brewers ace Corbin Burnes, who pitched a gem, with 11 strikeouts, no earned runs and only four base runners through six-and-two-thirds innings.
When Burnes was eventually pulled after 106 pitches, the Giants' offense woke up, with a two-run Joc Pederson home run in the eighth inning, before Gonzalez's first career home run brought home another two runs to break the 2-2 tie, allowing Camilo Duval to clean up the save.
Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant has been crowned the NBA's 2021-22 Most Improved Player.
Morant, 22, was the 2019-20 Rookie of the Year, but this year made a leap in his ability to score the ball, and guided his team to the second seed in the Western Conference with a 56-26 record.
After averaging 19 points per game at under 45 per cent shooting in 2020-21, Morant raised that figure to 27 points per game with career-best efficiency at 49 per cent from the field and 34 per cent from long range.
He also posted career-highs in three-point makes and attempts, rebounds per game and steals per game, with a small drop in assists.
The Grizzlies are currently tied at 2-2 in their first round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with Game 5 set to take place back in Memphis.
To win the award, Morant beat out fellow finalists Dejounte Murray from the San Antonio Spurs, and the Cleveland Cavaliers' Darius Garland.
The field for the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club has been released, and it features both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
The full field will be set on May 9 and includes the top 70 players who have earned the most PGA Championship points through the 2022 Wells Fargo Championship (May 4-8) and the top-20 finishers from the 2022 PGA Professional Championship.
After Woods' successful return to professional golf at The Masters, where he made the cut, discussion has been rife about when he would next tee up in a tour event.
He will be competing against all of the biggest names in golf, including potentially the reigning PGA Championship winner Phil Mickelson after he registered for the event, as well as the U.S. Open.
Mickelson recently missed his first Masters since 1994 after taking a break from golf due to controversy surrounding his links to the Saudi Arabian-backed LIV Golf competition, a breakaway from the PGA Tour.
In the 2021 PGA Championship, Mickelson won with a score of six under.
San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said he "can't ever imagine wanting to move on from" Deebo Samuel after the star wide receiver requested a trade.
Samuel was used by the 49ers in a unique hybrid role for the 2021-22 season, increasing his productivity, but also increasing his wear-and-tear as he handled more physically demanding running back carries as well as his primary receiver duties.
The 2019 second-round pick amassed a career-high 1,405 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns from 77 catches, and added career-highs in rushing yards (365), rushing touchdowns (eight) and carries (59).
Speaking to the media at a pre-draft press conference, Lynch said even after considering what the 49ers could gain through a trade, he views Samuel in the class of player in which a team should never part ways with by choice.
"I can't ever imagine wanting to move on from Deebo," he said.
"You put yourself through the exercises of, even though we don't have a first-round pick, you have to be thorough in this process and prepare for everything, and as you go through and do that [you realise] he's just too good of a player. You don't let guys like that walk."
The praise for Samuel did not end there, with Lynch calling him a "game-changing player for the franchise."
"I told Deebo this," he said. "I think he's the perfect illustration of what Herm Edwards used to talk about, 'When will meets skill you got the opportunity to be special' – and I think Deebo embodies that as much as anybody.
"He's got tremendous will. He's a very talented player. By virtue of the way he plays, it's inspiring.
"So, to me, that entails leadership. Do you make people around you better? He checks that box.
"He's a great teammate, and I think of things like prior to games, he gets out there and is throwing the ball to fans.
"He's a great member of our community. We got nothing but love for him."
Despite the public nature of Samuel's request to leave San Francisco, Lynch insists the bridge is not burnt, and he believes he can salvage the relationship.
"We pride ourselves on our communication with our players," he said. "This is no different. I'm confident we can find the solutions for whatever is going on.
"That's life, you've gotta work through things. That's what we plan on doing.”
Phil Mickelson has requested a release from the PGA Tour in order to feature in the inaugural LIV Golf opener.
The Saudi Arabia-backed golf league will hold its first event in London between June 9 and 11.
According to Sports Illustrated, 15 of the world's current top 100 players are planning to feature in the event.
Mickelson is taking a break from golf after causing controversy with comments surrounding the breakaway competition when he suggested that although Saudi Arabia has "a horrible record on human rights", the threat of the potential new tournaments could be used to "reshape how the PGA Tour operates".
On Monday, Mickelson registered himself for two upcoming majors – the PGA Championship, which he won last year, and the U.S. Open, which takes place in June.
However, the 51-year-old has also asked to be released from the PGA Tour at the time of the LVI Golf Invitational, with Monday having been the deadline for those requests.
Mickelson's agent, Steve Loy, released a widely reported statement that read: "Our client Phil Mickelson is officially registered to play in the PGA Championship as well as the U.S. Open.
"We have also filed a request on his behalf for a release to play in the first LIV Golf Invitational in London, June 9-11. This request complies with the deadline of April 25 set forth by the PGA Tour to compete in a conflicting tour event."
However, Loy added that Mickelson is unsure as to whether he will definitely play in any of the events he has registered for.
"Phil currently has no concrete plans on when and where he will play. Any actions taken are in no way a reflection of a final decision made, but rather to keep all options open."
Joel Embiid has been fined $15,000 for being critical of the officials in the Philadelphia 76ers' playoff defeat to the Toronto Raptors on Saturday.
The Sixers still lead 3-1 in the series, but were unable to secure their passage to the Eastern Conference semi-finals at Scotiabank Arena.
It was not a great night for Embiid, who scored more than 30 points in both Game 2 and 3 of the series, but only managed 21 in Game 4, hitting seven of 16 field goal attempts.
Embiid was not happy with several calls from the officials in the game, and spoke to reporters after the 110-102 loss, saying: "I'm going to take my own advice and not complain about it.
"If they want to give fouls or want to call really no fouls, we've got to really make them earn it and really be physical."
A statement from the league via the NBA Communications Twitter page on Monday confirmed that Embiid had been fined for his comments.
"Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid has been fined $15,000 for public criticism of the officiating, it was announced today by Byron Spruell, President, League Operations," the statement read.
"Embiid made his remarks to the media following the 76ers' 110-102 loss to the Toronto Raptors in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on April 23 at Scotiabank Arena."
The MVP contender has been suffering with a torn thumb ligament, but Sixers coach Doc Rivers has insisted it will not impact his availability in the playoffs.
Alexander Zverev will play Holger Rune and Casper Ruud is set to face Alex Molcan in the round of 16 at the BMW Open.
Zverev and Ruud – the number one and two seeds respectively – received byes in the round of 32, with Danish wildcard Rune defeating Jiri Lehecka 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to advance in Munich on Monday, and Molcan beating fellow Slovakian Norbert Gombos 6-1 3-6 7-6 (9-7).
Teenager Rune had won his opening match in four of his past five tour-level events ahead of the tournament and extended that run with relative ease.
There were no problems for seventh seed Miomir Kecmanovic as he overcame Max Hans Rehberg in straight sets, 6-2 6-3, and he will face Daniel Altmaier in the last 16 after he beat his German compatriot Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-1.
Emil Ruusuvuori is also through after beating Japanese opponent Yoshihito Nishioka 7-6 (7-5) 7-5, and the Finn will now go up against the winner of Dan Evans and Maxime Cressy.
At the Estoril Open, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who reached the final in Monte Carlo earlier this month, will face fellow Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles next after he overcame Federico Coria 6-4 6-3.
Fifth seed Frances Tiafoe secured a victory against Dusan Lajovic, with the American coming from a set down to win 2-6 7-5 6-0, and up next for him is Nuno Borges in the last 16.
Borges advanced after opponent Pablo Andujar retired hurt in the second set, although the Portuguese was already a set and 3-0 up at the time, while Soonwoo Kwon eased past Benoit Paire in straight sets.
In 2022, safeties are not players who can get NFL fans out of their seats.
Gone are the days of the ultra-physical safeties whose careers are defined by compiling highlight reel hits.
The NFL's continued development as a passing league built on the foundation of a seemingly ever-expanding number of athletic dual-threat quarterbacks has facilitated the implementation of more malleable defenses with a variety of pitches in their arsenal to help them rise to the increasingly difficult challenges they face.
This is not an era where defenses can have one safety to play the role of enforcer and one with the range to play the deep middle. Teams ideally need both safeties to have the skill set to play the deep middle and down in the box while also possessing the ability to match up with wide receivers and tight ends in the slot.
In essence, teams must have safeties to enable them to effectively play the two-high zone coverages that were, last season at least, the most widely used solution to the explosive passing games proliferating around the NFL but also provide them with the personnel to stop the run while operating from those shells.
The 2022 NFL Draft may not have the same star quality as previous rookie classes. However, what it does boast is several of those multi-faceted safety prospects, with the headliner among that group Notre Dame's Kyle Hamilton.
Were the league still dominated by single-high safety defenses, Hamilton would not have found himself in the discussion to be the first overall pick in the draft.
He doesn't have the range of a baseball center fielder that is required to be an elite single-high safety, but his combination of versatility and college production had many asking whether he could be the first name off the board in Las Vegas despite playing a position that has typically not seen its importance reflected by high draft selections.
Hamilton has the athleticism and awareness to make game-changing plays when lined up deep in two-high looks, while he also possesses the downhill speed and physicality to be an asset against the run and the coverage ability and build to excel matched up against tight ends and receivers.
As a modern-day NFL safety, Hamilton ticks all the boxes, and every team in the league could use him. There is not one defense he would not fit.
Still, he is unlikely to go number one to the Jacksonville Jaguars but, during a time in league history where safeties do not command the exposure they certainly deserve, Hamilton is a candidate to revitalise the fortunes of the two teams from the NFL's biggest market who each have a pair of top-10 picks.
A flexible turnover machine
Hamilton was deployed all over the field during his time with the Fighting Irish. In 2021, he played 222 snaps as a deep safety, 137 as a slot cornerback and 53 as a box safety.
And, as his numbers illustrate, Hamilton was extremely effective at influencing the game regardless of where he lined up.
Hamilton registered eight interceptions between 2019 and 2021, the fifth-most among FBS safeties during that period.
He also added 16 pass breakups, Hamilton's on-ball production a testament to his blend of instincts and athletic ability.
Hamilton excels at reading the eyes of the quarterback to drop into throwing lanes and make plays on the ball, with his eye discipline and efficiency in changing direction enabling him to pick up new assignments in coverage on the fly.
Using his 33-inch arms to stay in tight man coverage and disrupt passes at the catch point, Hamilton has additionally demonstrated prowess for recovering separation and jumping the routes of receivers, showcasing another gear to help him get to the ball when he has a chance to take it away.
While the downhill thump he offers and his long speed in pursuit are significant parts of Hamilton's skill set, it is the fact his versatility is supplemented by turnover production that makes him so appealing, particularly to teams like the New York Jets who have found takeaways extremely hard to come by.
The final piece of Saleh's secondary puzzle?
The Jets, who own selections four and 10, managed just 14 takeaways last season, putting them 31st in the NFL, with the Jaguars (nine) the only team to record fewer.
Pass rush plays a substantial role in a defense's ability to force turnovers, but the Jets – even with Carl Lawson missing the entire season through injury – ranked third in pass rush win rate last season, perhaps indicating that their struggles taking the ball away were a result of the performance of the secondary and a lack of luck.
Hamilton has the talent to significantly influence the former, and he would join a secondary that is in better shape than it is perhaps given credit for.
Starting cornerback Bryce Hall had the lowest combined open percentage (14.61) allowed across man and zone coverage of all corners in the NFL with at least 100 coverage matchups in 2021.
The Jets also added strong safety Jordan Whitehead, who during his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers showed his prowess for making plays in coverage and down near the line of scrimmage.
Whitehead registered eight pass breakups and two interceptions in 2021 while his tally of 14 tackles for loss over the last two seasons is bettered only by Jamal Adams among safeties (15).
Not short of talent up front, infusing Hamilton into the secondary could give Jets coach Robert Saleh the back seven he needs for his defense to take a leap to help them compete in the AFC East, and the team with whom they share a stadium may also have designs on him elevating their defense to the NFL's elite.
Safety could be Giant strength for Martindale
There wasn't much good about the New York Giants in 2021, yet their defense did rank 11th in yards per play allowed (5.31).
That defense will be run by Don "Wink" Martindale in 2022, and there is no doubt a respected defensive mind of his calibre would relish the chance to get to work with a chess piece like Hamilton. The Giants are in a great spot to give him that opportunity, picking fifth and seventh.
At the safety position, the Giants already possess one versatile and seemingly quickly improving player in Xavier McKinney.
McKinney spent 838 snaps lined up as a deep safety last season but did play 96 in the slot, with his combined open percentage allowed of 17.07 the third-best among safeties with a minimum of 100 matchups.
The Giants' secondary will likely lose a veteran player with cornerback James Bradberry expected to be traded, yet by pairing McKinney with Hamilton, they would immediately boast one of the most multi-faceted defensive backfields in the NFL, one which would offer Martindale the opportunity to decrease his dependency on single-high looks, having predominantly leaned on Cover 3 shells in his final year as defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens.
As is the case with the Jets, the Giants still have a lot of questions to answer, especially on the offensive side of the ball, where there are doubts over two first-round selections at quarterback at different points of their career and a clear need for a further infusion of talent among both groups of wide receivers.
In an offense-driven league, it is the answers to those questions that may determine how quickly two teams that have spent far too long in the mire can ascend back to contention.
But neither franchise is in a spot to thumb its nose at a defensive building block who fits exactly where the game is going and has the potential to become an elite player at his position. Safety has historically not been a highly valued position in the draft, but Hamilton's ceiling is such that he could eventually be regarded as a franchise-changing selection for the team that is willing to put history to one side, and the Jets and Giants have the positional need and the potential opportunity do just that.
Dillian Whyte wants a rematch with Tyson Fury despite the WBC heavyweight champion claiming he would retire after retaining his title at Wembley on Saturday.
Fury maintained his unbeaten record by knocking his fellow Brit out in the sixth round in front of a packed crowd of 94,000.
The 33-year-old reiterated that he was ready to quit after putting on another show in London.
Whyte, who did not feel the referee should have stopped the bout, is hungry for another shot at Fury.
He told Sky Sports: "I should have had time to recover and had time to go back to my corner. He [Fury] said he'll retire, but hopefully he doesn't retire because I want another go."
Asked what Fury had said to him after the fight: Whyte revealed: "He said 'you're a good fighter, you're a true warrior and you'll be world champion one day,' I'm not a sore loser. You win some you lose some, this is life, this is boxing.
"I showed up and I fought and I gave as many problems as he gave me. It wasn't as if it was a one-way street.
"I'm not one of those guys that want to go out on a loss or a bad performance. I'm still young enough, I've still got a lot left in me. I still feel strong, I'm still getting better. I fought the best in the world and wasn't outclassed.
"He's a bit taller than me, the range is a bit tricky obviously and with the style, it's hard for guys to prepare for him because he's awkward in the way he fights.
"Had I got beat up for four or five rounds and got completely outclassed it may have been time to call it a day, but I wasn't outclassed and it's not a long, hard road back because I showed the level I am.
"We obviously sold 90-something thousand tickets together, it's not him or me alone. I had the value going in before, I'd had loads of pay-per-view fights before and good fights. I'm still here, I'm still good enough, so one fight and I'm back."
Red Bull team advisor Helmut Marko could not help but add insult to injury following the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on Sunday, suggesting Lewis Hamilton should have retired at the end of last season.
The seven-time Formula One world champion finished out of the points in 13th position at Imola and to compound the misery, was lapped by rival Max Verstappen, who went on to win the race in a one-two for Red Bull.
Mercedes have struggled to come to grips with porpoising as a result of new regulations this season, but Hamilton's form is in stark contrast to that of team-mate George Russell, who sits 21 points ahead in the driver's standings and finished fourth on Sunday.
When asked how Hamilton might be feeling after Imola, Marko could not resist.
"I mean, he was lapped by us, so I don't know," Marko told Sky Sports F1. "Maybe he is thinking he should have stopped last year,"
Verstappen played down the gravity of Hamilton being lapped, however, saying it's a natural consequence of the disparity in performance between the Red Bull and Mercedes packages.
"They've been slow all year so for me it's not really anything exciting, it just happens," he said.
Verstappen's win at Imola was an assured drive, the Dutchman untroubled from pole to finish. With Carlos Sainz out on the opening lap, Red Bull were able to put second-placed Sergio Perez on a different strategy to force Ferrari's hand with championship leader Charles Leclerc.
The reigning world champion moved to second place in the driver's standings on 59 points, 27 points behind Leclerc, who recovered from a spin on lap 53 to finish sixth.
Marko asserted the one-two was a critical result from the standpoints of team morale and the championship, following DNFs in Bahrain and Australia.
"It was very important after our problems in Bahrain and Australia from the engine side…another one-two, the last one was 2016 in Malaysia," Marko said.
"It was about time, for the morale and everything it's more than important. It showed that we are competitive, we just have to get the package together and then we are there.
"There are so many races coming, the important thing is that we have such a strong package, so the championship will be very exciting but hopefully it doesn't go the last race like last year."
Trae Young acknowledged feeling smothered by the Miami Heat's defensive schemes after another poor showing in the Atlanta Hawks' 110-86 defeat in Game 4 on Sunday.
Despite hitting the game-winning shot in Game 3, Young went six-of-14 from the floor and it was more of the same on Sunday, going three-of-11 from the floor for nine points and only one attempt from two-point range.
Notably in the second half, Young had as many turnovers as shot attempts with four, as Heat coach Erik Spoelstra threw numerous looks at him.
Either forcing the ball out of his hands or denying him entry into the paint, Young concedes he has not been regularly guarded in such a manner at professional or collegiate level.
"I haven't been guarded like this in a long time," Young said post-game. "Obviously you're guarded like this every now and then, but [not] consistently since like, high school.
"And it's way better competition. It's harder for me to score through the double-teams and faceguards at this level.
"I have to learn how to fight through it and make it easier for myself and my teammates. I'll figure it out."
Hawks coach Nate McMillan has been just as paralysed by the Heat's defensive attention for Young, who has gone 20-of-57 from the floor and averaged six turnovers a game for the series.
Without a legitimate second ball-handling option, Atlanta have had to persist with the 23-year-old carrying the ball up instead of working off screens.
"There's a guy in Trae's face as soon as the ball goes to him," McMillan said. "They're basically playing a box and one and switching, committing two or three guys to him."
Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr says his side is still in an ideal situation despite the Denver Nuggets claiming a 126-121 win on Sunday and avoiding a sweep.
Careless play put the Warriors down 17 points down at one stage, but they managed to eventually draw level through the shooting of Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry.
Turning the ball over 11 times in the first half, the Dubs started in a sloppy manner against a Denver side fighting to keep their season alive.
The 56-year-old Kerr believes Golden State are still in a good spot and that the nature of the loss can nevertheless act as a good reference point looking ahead in the post-season.
"We needed that," Kerr said post-match. "We took ourselves out of the game because we were too excited, and part of winning playoff basketball games on the road is executing being poised, understanding what's happening and sticking to the game plan. We didn't deserve to win.
"But now, you take that and put it in your back pocket, and you've got it in the memory bank for the next time we're in that situation.
"But the focus now goes to heading home and getting back in front of our fans. This is the situation you want in any playoff series when you're hosting – sweep the first two, get one out of two on the road and go home with a chance to clinch. We're right where we need to be."
Kerr's play-calling down the stretch also came under scrutiny after the loss.
Following a Monte Morris floater to put the Nuggets up 123-121 with 33 seconds remaining, Kerr called a lob for Andrew Wiggins off the inbound from the consequent timeout.
Austin Rivers' steal of Otto Porter Jr's inbound pass effectively sealed the win for Denver, but it came in the face of Curry and Thompson in good shooting rhythm.
"Yeah, I would like that play back," Kerr said. "There's 33 seconds so we're thinking a two-for-one. If we get a two-for-one, then we can tie the game and have a chance to win it at the end.
"So it's a good two-for-one situation, but the lob wasn't there, and if I could do it do it again I'd probably draw up something different. But they made a great defensive play, give them credit."
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