Floyd Mayweather cancels New Years fight in Japan
On Wednesday, Nov. 7, the MMA fighter Floyd Mayweather canceled his much-anticipated fight against the Japanese featherweight kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa. He and his team decided to cancel the fight just three days after a news conference in Tokyo. They were apparently completely caught off guard with the whole event since Mayweather never agreed to an official bout. This fight was supposed to be a small, three-round exhibition for a group of wealthy spectators and just for entertainment, not for an official score. At the press conference, Mayweather admitted that they should have put a stop to the entire thing then and there. He also apologised to his fans for misleading them. He made a long post on social media about the whole debacle, and many fans think that this confirms the rumor that Mayweather is no longer looking for competitive fights as a boxer.
US Olympic Committee revokes USA Gymnastics’ status
The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has been talking about revoking the USA Gymnastics’ status after the sexual abuse scandal with the former team doctor, Larry Nassar. The current CEO of the USOC Sarah Hirshland offered for the USA Gymnastics the option of just surrendering its status voluntarily. She addressed in an open letter to the entire gymnastics community on Nov. 5 that she believes that these challenges are too much to come back from. The USA Gymnastics responded with saying that they’re evaluating a plan for the athletes and other professional staff. Hirshland also stated in her open letter that the decertification process doesn’t necessarily guarantee an exact outcome. So far, the USA Gymnastics has been quiet on what it’s planning on doing, whether to be forcibly decertified or to leave voluntarily.
Jacksonville Jaguars refuse to back down
The Jacksonville Jaguars had some strong promises to their fans early in the season regarding Super Bowl aspirations. The Jaguars currently have a 3-5 record and are on a four-game losing streak. Their next game is against their rivals, the Indianapolis Colts (3-5), and they’re treating this game as a playoff game. Myles Jack, linebacker for Jacksonville, said, “This is a thousand percent a must-win…it’s a conference game that we’ve got to win. And then we’re on a four-game losing streak, so we can’t lose another game.” Having an attitude like this is almost taboo for a regular season game because the teams don’t want to put that much emphasis on a mid-season game. There has been a key component missing; the running back Leonard Fournette. The Jaguars offensive line is almost completely build around him, and having him gone for the past month has been really hard on the team. The players, however, are certain that with the much awaited return of Fournette, that they will win against the Indianapolis Colts and break this losing streak. After this game, there are only eight games left to save them for the season. Their road to redemption all starts with this “must-win game” against the Colts.
