The fight
On Sunday, June 2, American professional boxer, Deontay Wilder, was handed another loss by Zhilei Zhang in a fifth round knockout at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The battle of the power puncher did not favour Wilder from the outset as both fighters strayed the bout tentatively but Zhang’s offence was more effective in the early going.
Wilder was unwilling to let his hands go in the fight and Zhang took advantage of it as he dominated the first four rounds.
In the fifth round, Zhang landed a glancing right hand and finished it off with a crushing fight that sent the defenceless Wilder tumbling to the canvas thereby handing him his fourth defeat in five matches.
Many have predicted that the latest defeat has ended Wilder’s career with the latter admitting before the match that he may retire if he lost.
The day also witnessed Islam Makhachev successfully defended his lightweight title at UFO 302, as he defeated veteran Dustin Poitier with a fifth round submission.
In the fifth round of the fight, the Russian was spoting a substantial forehead cut as a result of repeated takedown by Poirer in the third and fourth round.
Makhachev completely turned the tables on Poirer by winning, by submission of the final round and had prevailed in 14 straight UFC fights, a steak that started with a victory over Chris Wade on Sept. 17, 2016.
The Strke
On Monday, millions of Nigerians were without electricity after the national grid was shut down as part of a general strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) over the hike of electricity tariff and lack of consensus on a new minimum wage.
The strike also hounded activities in critical sectors of the economy as schools, businesses , hospitals and airports were shut as long queues returned to fuel stations.
On Tuesday, the NLC and TUC suspended their industrial action for five days after a meeting between the labour leaders and the Federal Government.
Labour noted that the suspension of the strike was taken to give the government time to deliberate on the unresolved issues at hand.
Toyin Abraham
On the same day, actress Toyin Abraham said she had decided to keep her political affiliations private in the future, adding that she had learnt her lesson following a social media exchange that occurred on X , formerly Twitter.
The exchange began when an X user identified as Otunba (@ManLikeIcey), wrote, “Maybe one day Toyin Abraham will divulge the plans Bola Tinubu shared with her to the public. I strongly believe we deserve to hear. Thank u @toyin_abraham1.”
In response, Abraham said that she had been assured of “good governance and happiness for everyone by Tinubu’s camp”.
”You asked me in a polite way, so, I will definitely answer you, of course, I was told and promised good governance and happiness for everyone and which I believe,” she stated.
She expressed reluctance in bearing the brunt of public scrutiny should the promises fail to materialise.
“If things didn’t go well why do I have to be the one to suffer for it because I remember I voted (ex-president) Jonathan and I was bullied but I didn’t put blame on anyone after everyone chose (ex-president) Buhari. So, please why would they be cursing and trolling me every time.”
The X user asked further, “Thank you for your prompt response. Do you believe he has failed at the moment in governance or not?”
Abraham replied, “I have faced my life and career because I am not a politician and I’m not in government, I have learnt my lesson never ever to be open with my choice again.”
Police Appointment
On Wednesday, Kayode Egbetokun, Inspector-General of Police, appointed Yetunde Longe as the Secretary of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
With this appointment, Longe became the first female secretary of the force.
England National Team
On Thursday, Garett Southgate, the manager of the England Senior team announced the final 26-man group for the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament commencing in Germany next week.
The big names to miss out are Harry Maguire, who was removed due to injury while Jack Grealish did not make the squad due to lack of playing time at club level.
Others who did not make the list are : James Maddison, Curtis Jones, Jaread Branthwaite, Jarell Quansah and James Trafford.
Surprisingly, Manchester United left back, Luke Shaw, who has been largely unavailable for his club in the just-concluded campaign, made the final equal while youngsters, Kobbie Maino and Adam Wharton were also included.
Super Eagles Draw
Still in the world of sports, the Super Eagles played out a 1-1 draw with the Bafana Bafana of South Africa at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Friday.
The result was Nigeria’s third consecutive draw in the Group C World Cup qualifiers and leaves Nigeria in fifth with three points in the log table.
The Super Eagles were behind when Themba Zwame struck in the 28th minute as Hugo Broos’ team were disciplined at the back to prevent the eagles from scoring.
Early in the second half, Dele Basiru equalised but the scores remained that way till full time as Nigeria remained fifth on the table with South Africa in fourth.
D’Banj strikes 20
Also, it was a night of glitz and glamour as Nigerian singer and rapper, Oladapo Oyebanji, popularly known as D’banj celebrated his 20 years of musical excellence in a sophisticated ceremony.
The event witnessed several guests and fans mime along while D’banj’s songs from 2004 were played to their delight.
Among the celebrities that turned up at the event are: Clarence Peters, Legendary music video director; Nollywood actres, Funke Akindele; Afrobeats Musician, Femi Kutu; Timaya; ID Canada; Kenny Ogungbe; Bisola Aiyeola, Mr Macaroni, Ini Edo , Tobi Bakare amongst others.
Ronaldo and Portugal
Finally on Week 22, on Saturday, in a friendly match between Croatia and Portugal for the Euro 2024 tournament, Cristiano Ronaldo’s team was defeated 2-1.
Ronaldo was an unused substitute as Portugal lost the game to a Modric penalty and Ante Budimir strike.
