After securing the most significant victory of his career against Chavez Jr., with judges scoring the match 99-91, 97-93, and 98-92, Paul has improved his record to 12 wins and one loss, including seven victories by knockout. This success has earned him a ranking of No. 14 by the World Boxing Association (WBA), opening the door for a potential challenge against Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez for the WBA cruiserweight title.

Paul’s journey from social media influencer to professional boxer has been characterized by his vocal aspiration to become a world champion.

While Paul’s victory has set the stage for potential future fights, the details remain uncertain. The question of when and where Paul will fight next, and whether it will be for a title, is on everyone’s mind. His level of competition prior to achieving his ranking has certainly raised eyebrows, with Paul facing a diverse range of opponents, including former MMA fighters, a retired NBA player, and former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, who is 32 years his senior.

Who will Jake Paul fight next?

It is unclear who Jake Paul will fight next, but after his victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., he revealed that he is in talks to fight former champion Anthony Joshua.

It should be noted that Paul had previously targeted 2026 as a year for his world title shot.

Josh Peter contributed to this story.

Breece Hall is ready to win with the New York Jets and he’s ready to do it now.

The running back was the subject of trade rumors following a disappointing 2024 season for just about everyone involved with the green-and-white. Those rumors came and went, signaling that Hall is seen – at least for the moment – as part of the solution for New York.

After cutting bait with Aaron Rodgers and turning over a new leaf with Justin Fields, not many are giving the Jets a chance to make some noise in a loaded AFC landscape.

Hall thinks the presence of a new coaching staff, led by Aaron Glenn, and the new front office, headed by Darren Mougey, has caused people to underestimate ‘Gang Green’ in 2025.

‘I think people think the new coaching staff and new GM means a rebuild, but we have a lot of really good players on the roster, so we’re trying to win now,’ Hall said, via the team’s website. ‘And I think a lot of people from the outside are going to take that for granted and not realize that we actually have a team.’

While many analysts project the Jets to fall in a six-to-nine win range, the running back has high hopes for his squad.

‘I think our ceiling is very high,’ Hall said. … ‘We have really good, healthy competition, and we’re all pushing each other to get better every day. It’s going to be fun.’

The second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Iowa State is coming off a down year by his standards – his second full season removed from a torn ACL suffered in 2022. It’s been a steady decline statistically from a breakout start since Hall’s rookie season, with many rushing stats dropping across the board.

Whether it’s been injuries or an offensive line that has struggled, Hall is eager to remind everyone of the runner he is.

‘Just proving that I’m still the guy and still one of the best in the league,’ Hall said. ‘Just trying to go out there every weekend and prove that I deserve to be out there.’

The Jets will hope that Tanner Engstrand can get the best out of Hall with a new offensive philosophy being installed. After also addressing the offensive line, it’s now up to Hall to deliver the goods.

If he does, perhaps the Jets will enjoy a more successful 2025 season than everyone seems to think.

Bob McKenzie was breaking NHL news to the 11th hour of his broadcasting career, a consummate professional.

Indeed, at 4:10 p.m. ET on July 1, he was posting on X (formerly known as Twitter) about Justin Danfourth being signed by the Buffalo Sabres. At 4:38 p.m. ET, he was posting about his total retirement from sports broadcasting and TSN, a stark contrast to his bio on X as ‘Washed up Hockey Insider.’

McKenzie, who will turn 69 in August, has been one of hockey’s eminent voices since he began appearing on TSN in the mid-1980s. He wrote that while he has been semi-retired for the past five years, it’s time to officially call it quits from the broadcasting game.

TSN, for those unfamiliar, refers to ‘The Sports Network,’ one of Canada’s leading distributors of sports alongside Sportsnet. McKenzie worked for TSN full-time from 2000, but he was appearing on the network since, as he writes, 1986-87.

Reactions to Bob McKenzie retirement

While McKenzie is ubiquitous with hockey, Canadian sports fans as a whole would recognize his voice, if not his face. As such, plenty of fans had reactions to losing one of the great voices of the sport.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy believes the FIFA Club World Cup will be remembered as a “huge success” and will only set the stage for a memorable World Cup in 2026.

MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, has hosted five Club World Cup group-stage matches, which averaged about 35,000-40,000 fans with “incredible energy,” Murphy said.

The venue will host a quarterfinal on July 5, semifinal matches on July 8 and 9, and the Club World Cup final on July 13.

Next year’s FIFA World Cup final will also be played at MetLife Stadium on July 19, 2026 – which Murphy believes will be epic.

“It will be the most watched event in human history,” Murphy told USA TODAY Sports in an interview on July 1.

NJ governor thrilled about huge World Cup role

Murphy is a big soccer fan. He played as a child – “not well,” he adds. He was on the board of the U.S. Soccer Federation, and he’s a founding owner of Gotham FC in the National Women’s Soccer League. He played a crucial role in helping the New York/New Jersey effort in landing Club World Cup and World Cup matches at MetLife Stadium.

“We’re huge soccer fans and we love the sport – the beautiful game – and we’re thrilled to be playing a meaningful role both this year and next year,” Murphy said.

Murphy credited FIFA president Gianni Infantino, MetLife Stadium operators, and the owners of the Jets (Woody Johnson) and Giants (The Mara and Tisch families) for being “extraordinary supporters” during the Club World Cup.

He was tuned into the June 30 match in Orlando, which saw Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal eliminate English Premier League standouts Manchester City 4-3 in the Round of 16, noting “the level of soccer and the passion.”

“Anytime you do something for the first time, you’re on a learning curve. But I think it’s been a terrific idea,” Murphy said of the first Club World Cup to feature 32 teams and hosted in the U.S. this summer. “I think this is going to be looked at as a huge success.”

Murphy has attended the five Club World Cup matches already played at MetLife Stadium and praised the fans from the six different clubs that have played in the venue.

The noise made by Brazilian clubs Palmeiras and Fluminense, Egyptian side Al Ahly, Portuguese club Porto, German standouts Borussia Dortmund and South Korean club Ulsan HD FC even eclipsed the noise made by fans attending NFL games featuring the New York Giants and Jets, Murphy said.

“We regularly attend Giants or Jets football games there with 70,000 to 80,000, and the decibel levels from about half that amount (of people) were about 10 times (more). And I’m literally not kidding – 10 times, what they are at a normal game there,” Murphy said with a laugh. “They were great matches with lots of great spirit.”

“Just incredible passion,” he added. “And when they’re traveling into the region, there’s a big economic boom to the region, and most notably, to New Jersey. It’s part of the driving reason we wanted to host as many matches as we are. This is a really good few weeks for Jersey and for the region.”

Club World Cup success and next summer’s World Cup

Murphy says he measures successful events at MetLife Stadium in three dimensions: Was it safe? Was your transportation to and from a good experience? And how was the fan experience inside the stadium?

“All three metrics feel really good,” Murphy said.

“The boxes that we care most about, we’ve been able to check across the board. And I’m confident we’ll continue to do so for the balance of this tournament, and obviously, most importantly, for the World Cup next year.”

MetLife Stadium will host eight World Cup matches next summer: five in the Group Stage, one in the Round of 32, one in the Round of 16, and the Final.

Along with his excitement for next year’s event, Murphy believes the Club World Cup and World Cup will play crucial roles for the future of soccer fandom in the United States.

Murphy believes both tournaments will leave their own legacies behind, similar to how the 1994 World Cup birthed Major League Soccer’s inception in 1996 and increased awareness of the sport over the last 30 years.

“You’re going to see a similar quantum leap in the popularity and participation of soccer in America, and certainly in our region,” Murphy said. “This will take us to another level heretofore not seen. It’s what comes, what it leads to, that I think, is as if not more important than the actual event itself.”

The Oklahoma City Thunder and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have agreed to a four-year, $285 million deal, according to ESPN.com.

The annual average of $71.25 million per season is the highest in NBA history and runs through the 2030-31 season.

The 26-year-old Gilgeous-Alexander had a season for the ages, leading the Thunder to their first NBA championship with a seven-game victory over the Indiana Pacers. He averaged 30.3 points a game in the series and named the Finals MVP.

Order our Thunder collector’s book

Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 32.1 points per game in the regular season, including a streak in which he scored 20 or more points in 72 consecutive games. He also averaged five rebounds and a career-high 6.4 assists. His value was not only on the offensive end but defensively as well, as Oklahoma City was first in defensive rating and third in offensive rating.

He also won the regular-season MVP and led the league in scoring, becoming only the fourth player to achieve those feats, joining the ranks of Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

A three-time first-team All-NBA performer, Gilgeous-Alexander is scheduled to take home $38.3 million and $40.8 million in the final two years of his current contract, which he signed in 2021. He will make $63.5 million in the first year of the extension, $68.6 million in 2028-29, $73.7 million in 2029-30 and $78.7 million in the final year of the deal.

Gilgeous-Alexander was selected by the Charlotte Hornets with the 11th pick of the 2018 NBA Draft and was traded to on draft night to the Los Angeles Clippers. After averaging 10.8 points a game in his rookie campaign, he was shipped to Oklahoma City in the blockbuster Paul George deal. (This story was updated to change a video.)

The Milwaukee Bucks waived guard Damian Lillard and will take the remainder of his salary to sign free agent forward Myles Turner, reports ESPN.com.

The remaining portion of Lillard’s contract is worth $113 million, which he signed in 2022 when he was a member of the Portland Trail Blazers. He spent 11 seasons with Portland and was traded to Milwaukee in September 2023 in a three-team deal that involved the Phoenix Suns.

Turner, in turn, agreed to a four-year, $107 million deal with the Bucks. The deal includes a player option for the 2028-29 season, plus a 15% trade kicker. Turner, 29, averaged 14.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and two blocks for the Indiana Pacers last season, helping to lead them to the NBA Finals. He spent his entire 10-year NBA career with the Pacers after being a first-round pick in the 2015 NBA Draft and was a three-point threat, hitting a career-best 39.6% from downtown.

Lillard, who turns 35 on July 14, averaged 25.1 points a game in his second season in Milwaukee and tore his left Achilles tendon in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series with Indiana. He is expected to miss the entire 2025-26 season.

(This story has been updated to change a video.)

The 2025 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup, the league’s annual in-season tournament, comes down to one game. The Indiana Fever, minus Caitlin Clark, will face off against Napheesa Collier and the Minnesota Lynx in the title game at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

The Fever announced on Tuesday, July 1 that Clark would not be cleared to make her highly anticipated return to the court as she continues to recover from a left groin injury. This will be third consecutive game Clark has missed, after being sidelined five consecutive games with a quad strain earlier in June.

The Lynx, who have a league-best 14-2 record, have been here before. Minnesota returns to the Commissioner’s Cup final for the second consecutive year and looks to defend their title after defeating the New York Liberty 94–89 in the 2024 final. The Lynx are vying to become the first back-to-back WNBA Commissioner’s Cup champions.

The Fever, on the other hand, have not been in this position before and are set to make their first Commissioner’s Cup final appearance in franchise history, although Indiana is no stranger to big moments. While Clark won’t be playing, she expressed full confidence in her team when she and Collier were named an All-Star Game captains, declaring on June 29, ‘We about to get that dub.’

WNBA ALL-STAR GAME: Starters, including Clark, Collier, announced for 2025 event

History is not on the Lynx side. The home team hasn’t won the Commissioner’s Cup in the tournament’s history. Instead, the visiting team has won each time, aside from the inaugural Commissioner’s Cup final that was played at a neutral site in 2021.

Will the Lynx become the first repeat champions? Or will the Fever play spoiler? Here’s everything you need to know about the 2025 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final:

How to watch 2025 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final

The fifth-annual WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final will be decided on Tuesday. A $500,000 prize pool is up for grabs.

Date: Tuesday, July 1
Time: 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT)
Location: Target Center (Minneapolis)
TV: None
Steaming: Prime Video

The game will be available to view on demand on WNBA League Pass after it concludes.

Will Caitlin Clark play in Commissioner’s Cup final?

No, Clark will not play against the Minnesota Lynx in the Commissioner’s Cup final, the Fever announced hours before the game. Clark had been considered day-to-day after alerting the Fever coaching staff of a groin injury on June 25th following the Fever’s 94-86 win over the Seattle Storm on June 24. She missed the Fever’s loss vs. Los Angeles on June 26 and Indiana’s win at Dallas on June 27 with the injury.

WNBA Commissioner’s Cup champions, by year

Here’s every team that has won the WNBA’s in-season tournament since it began in 2021:

2024: Minnesota Lynx def. New York Liberty
2023: New York Liberty def. Las Vegas Aces
2022: Las Vegas Aces def. Chicago Sky
2021: Seattle Storm def. Connecticut Sun

Caitlin Clark, Napheesa Collier named WNBA All-Star captains

Clark and Collier will go head to head in the 2025 WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final on Tuesday and the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game will mark Round 2.

On Sunday, June 29, the WNBA announced that Clark and Collier will serve as captains of this year’s All-Star Game after picking up their second and fifth career All-Star nods, respectively. Clark, the reigning Rookie of the Year, and Collier, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, earned the honor by receiving the most fan votes.

The All-Star Game starters were revealed on June 30.

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