Nathan Cleverly will discover if Ryan Coyne fight is allowed this week

Posted on October 30, 2012 by adminsports

Court date set over Cleverly title defence (but Flintoff has an eye on the belt too!)

UPDATED:

01:00 GMT, 30 October 2012

Nathan Cleverly will discover later this week if he can defend his world light-heavyweight title against Ryan Coyne in Los Angeles on November 10.

The American is involved in a contractual dispute with promoter Don King and the pair are due in court on Thursday.

If a resolution cannot be reached,
Cleverly, who met Andrew Flintoff in London on Monday, could face one of three fighters who have been short listed to
step in at the last minute.

Big names: Nathan Cleverly (left) with former cricketer and aspiring boxer Andrew Flintoff

Coyne claimed last week that King was prepared to sue Cleverly’s promoter Frank Warren and the WBO if the fight went ahead.

The 30-year-old insists his contract with King has expired but alleges the veteran promoter believes otherwise.

If
the two cannot settle their differences, Cleverly, 25, could be forced
to accept a non-title fight as he bids to generate exposure Stateside.

But the Welshman insisted his training has not been affected by the delay.

'This should be frustrating but I've
taken it all in my stride,' he said. 'It's something I'm used to by now
because there always seems to be drama around my fights.

Waiting: Cleverly is hoping to fight Ryan Coyne in Los Angeles on November 10

'I'm getting on with my business and I've trained well. Mentally and physically I feel great.

'I really don't care who's in the
other corner, as long as I get to fight. I've got no problem with the
politics that's been going on.

'We will be fighting in LA on November
10 and that's the most important thing to me. If it is a non-title
fight then it won't be the end of the world. I'll treat it as any other
fight.

'Every fight is a world title fight to me and it's a great opportunity for whoever comes in.

'I feel like I'm just around the corner from the super-fights, so this is a great opportunity for me.'

Possibility: Cleverly may have to take a non-title bout if Coyne cannot settle his dispute with Don King

Coyne's 22-fight record is short on names, but the 'Irish Outlaw' is ranked in the top 10 by the WBA and WBC.

'He's a strong guy who likes to come forward and fight. He's very hungry and will cause problems,' Cleverly added.

'Like myself he's never been beaten. It will be a great battle between two warriors defending their unbeaten records.'

Cleverly was speaking after being introduced to Flintoff who will make his professional boxing debut in Manchester on November 30.

The former cricketer, who has lost almost three stone in weight, was kept out of the media spotlight as he continues his preparations under the tutelage of Barry McGuigan and his son Shane.

Boxers in arms: Cleverly and Flintoff met in London before their respective fights

'Freddie was pretty chuffed to meet me and he said he'd seen me fight before which was nice,' Cleverly added.

'I believe that boxing is the hardest sport out there and for anyone to step through the ropes proves they've got the fire for a fight.

'Freddie's had a few battles on the cricket pitch with his team mates but when it's one-on-one in a boxing ring, that's when you've got to really stand and prove your character.

'I think that Freddie's made of the tough stuff, he was a beast on the pitch having the Aussies on the run, so he's got to take that same fire and desire he showed when England won the Ashes in 2005 into the ring with him.

'I said to Freddie that it's going to be the hardest thing he has done, but the buzz from winning and with the crowd cheering will be well worth it.'

Sunderland 1 Middlesbrough 1: Campbell to the rescue to earn Black Cats replay

Posted on January 29, 2012 by adminsports

Sunderland 1 Middlesbrough 1: Campbell on return rescues Black Cats to earn replay

Fraizer Campbell emerged from his latest bout of injury misery to keep Sunderland's FA Cup dreams alive and deny Middlesbrough a famous victory.

The former Manchester United striker was introduced as a half-time substitute, in the process making his first senior appearance since August 2010 as a result of two serious knee injuries.

He needed just 18 minutes to make an impact, sliding the ball past Boro keeper Danny Coyne from James McClean's pinpoint pass to cancel out Barry Robson's first-half opener.

Welcome back: Campbell celebrates his equaliser to earn Sunderland a replay

MATCH FACTS

Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, O'Shea, Brown, Richardson, Larsson, Vaughan, Gardner, McClean, Sessegnon, Wickham.

Subs: Westwood, Turner, Campbell, Colback, Ji, Meyler, Elmohamady.

Scorer: Campbell 59

Middlesbrough: Coyne, Hoyte, Bates, Rhys Williams, McMahon, Hines, Haroun, Robson, McDonald, Emnes, Jutkiewicz.

Subs: Ripley, Bennett, Luke Williams, Martin, Park, Main, Smallwood.

Booked: Hoyte, Williams.

Scorer: Robson 16

Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)

Attendance: 33,275

The Black Cats had earlier seen a
Craig Gardner strike controversially ruled out, but their npower
Championship neighbours were good value for a replay after a
full-blooded fourth-round contest in front of a crowd of 33,275.

Sunderland were dealt a major blow
ahead of kick-off when skipper Lee Cattermole, who made his name as a
teenager at Boro, was ruled out by a hamstring injury, a misfortune
which was to prove significant before the break.

Gardner took his place in the middle
of the field, but without Cattermole's bite, the Teessiders were able to
prosper as Rhys Williams, Marvin Emnes and Robson, aided when not in
possession by Faris Haroun and Scott McDonald, made life intensely
difficult for their counterparts.

The visitors started brightly and
Black Cats keeper Simon Mignolet was relieved to grasp McDonald's
third-minute volley to his chest after it has initially threatened to
squirm from his grasp.

Sunderland gradually worked their way
into the game and might have gone ahead seven minutes later, only for
Sebastian Larsson to head wastefully wide after Stephane Sessegnon had
tricked his way past Robson and crossed from the right.

Boro had a lucky escape three minutes
later when defender Seb Hines headed a David Vaughan corner straight at
team-mate Haroun and saw the ball loop just over Coyne's crossbar.

But it was they who took the lead in spectacular style with 16 minutes gone.

Masterblaster: Robson stunning volley handed Boro the lead early in the first-half

Emnes made life difficult for
defender John O'Shea, captaining Sunderland in Cattermole's absence, and
he could only loop a weak header towards Robson on the left side of the
penalty area.

The former Celtic midfielder needed
no second invitation and unleashed a stinging volley which flew past
Mignolet's despairing dive and into the bottom corner.

The travelling fans behind Coyne's
goal were in raptures, but as the half worse on, it was they who started
to see far more of the ball than they would have liked.

Coyne got down well to block
McClean's 23rd-minute shot and was in the right place at the right time
to claim the winger's close-range header seconds later.

However, the game erupted into
controversy with six minutes of the half remaining after the Black Cats
thought they had dragged themselves back into it.

Leveller: Campbell celebrates scoring on his return for Sunderland

Gardner controlled Kieran
Richardson's cross with a hint of handball and fired home off the inside
of the far post with striker Connor Wickham watching the ball home at
close hand.

But the celebrations were ended
abruptly by a flag, and after consulting his assistant, referee Kevin
Friend ruled out the effort, apparently for offside against Wickham,
despite the fact that he had not intervened.

Sunderland's mood might have darkened
further on the stroke of half-time when Lukas Jutkiewicz found himself
in on goal, but Mignolet saved his initial effort and when Haroun fed
the rebound back to him, he fired harmlessly across goal.

Campbell replaced Wickham at the break, although it was Boro who enjoyed the better openings during the early exchanges.

Emnes volleyed just wide with 50
minutes gone and Robson curled a free-kick a yard past the post with the
visitors refusing to sit on their lead.

Up for the cup: The two teams will have to battle it out in the again for a place in the next round

The home side's fortunes took a turn
for the worse when defender Wes Brown limped off after landing awkwardly
following an aerial challenge with Emnes.

However, the 10 men levelled in stunning style as Michael Turner prepared to replace him.

McClean ran on to Robson's poor
back-pass before squaring for Campbell, who slipped his shot unerringly
past Coyne to send a sigh of relief around the stadium.

O'Neill's men tore into their
opponents as the momentum swang firmly their way, although Boro
continued to make a real fight of it.

Play switched rapidly from end to
end, but neither side was able to find the killer blow in a rousing
finale during which Williams was perhaps fortunate to see yellow rather
than red for a wild challenge on Vaughan.

Sunderland v Middlesbrough live

Posted on January 29, 2012 by adminsports

FA CUP LIVE: Sunderland v Middlesbrough – the action from the Stadium of Light as it happens

Follow Sportsmail's coverage of the FA Cup as Sunderland host Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light to kick off Sunday's fourth round action. The Wear-Tees derby will be the first for three years after Boro were relegated from the Premier League and Tony Mowbray's side will be fired up to beat their rivals for the first time since 2006. Email me your thoughts on the action at dan.ripley@dailymail.co.uk or contact me on Twitter @Ripinho.

Sunderland 0-1 Middlesbrough (1.30pm)

Click here to follow all the live goals

Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley,
O'Shea, Brown, Richardson, Larsson, Vaughan, Gardner, McClean,
Sessegnon, Wickham. Subs: Westwood, Turner, Campbell, Colback, Ji,
Meyler, Elmohamady.

Middlesbrough:
Coyne, Hoyte, Bates, Rhys Williams, McMahon, Hines, Haroun, Robson,
McDonald, Emnes, Jutkiewicz.
Subs: Ripley, Bennett, Luke Williams,
Martin, Park, Main, Smallwood.

Goals: Robson 16.

Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)

All the latest from League Two (3pm)

36min: That's going to keep the local dentist in business. Rhys Williams collides with the back of McClean's head defending a free-kick and he may have lost a tooth as he goes off the pitch to try and stop the heavy bleeding.

33min: A few groans from the home support now as one or two passes from Sunderland start to go astray. Boro looking much more organised at the back than they did earlier in the game.

30min: A few crunching challenges have flown in already, and Wickham seems to be feeling it more than most.

The Sunderland striker is limping his way round the pitch but we will wait and see if he is able to run it off.

27min: Not much from Middlesbrough in attack since the goal. Mainly because Sunderland won't let them have the ball.

The Black Cats not panicking but definitely playing with some urgency.

24min: And Coyne has to be alert again for a James McClean header 10 yards out, but the keeper is fortunate the effort is straight at him.

22min: It was a slow starter but this is turning into a good cup tie now as Coyne does well to parry away a low drive from Wickham.

19min: Arguably goal of the round but it has come slightly against the run of play, as Sunderland continue to press.

16min: GOAL! Sunderland 0-1 MIDDLESBROUGH

Championship, you're having a laugh! This is world class from Barry Robson whose decision to smash home a dropping ball just inside the box on the volley pays dividends, as he crashes his drive across goal into the bottom corner. Simon Mignolet was never going to get near it.

15min: Sunderland win a free-kick in a dangerous position on the right flank, but Vaughan wastes the effort by going straight for goal and firing over.

13min: Nearly a bizarre own goal. David Vaughan's corner is headed clear by Seb Hines, but only straight at his own team-mate Frais Haroun's head with the ball ricocheting just over the bar. A goal kick given though.

Ups and downs: Middlesbrough's Seb Hines (4) challenges Sunderland's Connor Wickham

11min: Sessegnon looks up for this. He dances down the right before clipping a cross for Larsson, who heads wide. Not a great effort from the Swede who should have at least tested Danny Coyne.

9min: Sunderland looking for a couple of openings but Stephane Sessegnon's through ball to Connor Wickham is poorly controlled by the striker, and the Boro defence easily pick the ball up.

6min: A war of attrition so far, Boro fans low in numbers but not noise as they let their home counterparts know what they think of their support. A few empty pockets in the home section.

3min: Early effort from Scott McDonald is on target but straight at Simon Mignolet, who is wearing one of those protective masks that seem to be in vogue this season.

Of course he has good reason, but it can't just be me that has seen an increase in their usage this term.

Kick-off: Away we go at an overcast Stadium of Light.

Prepared: Police form a cordon to separate fans as they made their way to the ground

13.25: Out come the players to a packed stadium. Plenty of empty seats in the away end but it's not due to a lack of interest but health and safety that limit Boro to 3,000 seats. Every single one of them snapped up of course.

13.22: Middlesbrough boss Tony Mowbray pre-match:

'It's important because it's the next match. Results haven't been going for us this year and we have to get back to winning ways, starting today.

'The FA Cup was big for me growing up, but there is a lot of local pride at stake for fans as well.'

13.19: Any of you questioning the relevance of this derby, I only need to tell you there is a large police presence for this derby.

Plenty of fans filling up the stadium too. Should be top atmosphere at the very least.

13.16: We have already touched on the reason why Lee Cattermole cannot face his former side, but what about Julio Arca

Even I feel bad that he has to miss out on a Sunderland return today. Our man in the north, Colin Young, touches on his absence in his column.

13.13: Yes that is me on the Middlesbrough bench. Don't worry though, if I make it on to the pitch today I will continue to process updates.

In the fifth round hat A Sunderland fan poses with a mock-up FA Cup trophy

13.10: Full line-ups from the Stadium of Light:

Sunderland v Middlesbrough
Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, O'Shea, Brown, Richardson, Larsson, Vaughan, Gardner, McClean, Sessegnon, Wickham. Subs: Westwood, Turner, Campbell, Colback, Ji, Meyler, Elmohamady.

Middlesbrough: Coyne, Hoyte, Bates, Rhys Williams, McMahon, Hines, Haroun, Robson, McDonald, Emnes, Jutkiewicz. Subs: Ripley, Bennett, Luke Williams, Martin, Park, Main, Smallwood.

Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)

13.05: The draw for the fifth round follows this game and Sportsmail will bring you every ball that comes out of the hat live too.

Whether that will be here or during our coverage of Aston v Aston Villa here, I will let you know.

13.00: Sunderland skipper Lee Cattermole is conspicuous by his absence for this afternoon's FA Cup fourth round clash with first club Middlesbrough.

The Teessider missed out after damaging a hamstring in training on Friday, and with Nicklas Bendtner also out Craig Gardner and Connor Wickham are brought in.

Boro are without suspended duo Julio Arca – a Black Cats old boy – and Kevin Thomson, while Joe Bennett is named only among the substitutes as Seb Hines, Tony McMahon and Lukas Jutkiewicz get the nod.

12.55: Interesting to see Craig Gardner start for Sunderland today. Homesickness appears to have unsettled the player this season, but weekend Martin O'Neill still sees him as key man in the Black Cats midfield – and not just for this weekend.

12.50: Middlesbrough starting XI

Coyne, Hines, Hoyte, Williams, Bates (C), McMahon, Haroun, Robson, McDonald, Emnes, Jutkiewicz.

Coming into the side: Connor Wickham (left) starts for Sunderland in attack

12.45: Sunderland starting XI:

Mignolet, Bardsley, Richardson, Brown, O'Shea (C), Larsson, McClean, Vaughan, Gardner, Sessegnon, Wickham.

12.40: Sunderland fans (and Middlesbrough supporters too) would have enjoyed seeing Newcastle tumble out yesterday at Brighton, but you don't have to go back far for the last time the Black Cats were humbled at home in this competition.

Only last season in fact, when Notts County won 2-1 at the Stadium of Light in the third round – Darren Bent scored his final goal for Sunderland in that game.

12.35: And while I don't want to pin all my goal scoring hopes on this game. It's worth noting that whether it be the Stadium of Light or Roker Park, there hasn't been a goalless draw between these two on Wearside since 1964. Throw your 0-0 betting slips away now.

12.30: It's probably fair to say that so far at least, the fourth round of the 2012 FA Cup isn't going to be one talked about for many years to come.

Only one team (Birmingham) has scored more than two goals for instance, and upsets have been few and far between.

Still I'm a big fan of the law of averages, and maybe today's game can hopefully serve up some crackers, starting with the Wear-Tees derby with team news on the way.

Dead ball specialist: Sunderland's Seb Larsson has enjoyed a strong season so far

Coventry 3 Middlesbrough 1

Posted on January 21, 2012 by adminsports

Coventry 3 Middlesbrough 1: Two sent off for Boro as Sky Blues soar to victory

An inspirational performance from debutant Alex Nimely helped basement club Coventry to a 3-1 victory over nine-man Middlesbrough who suffered their third successive league defeat.

The on-loan Nimely, who spent the first half of the season with Middlesbrough, set up Gary McSheffrey for the game's opening goal and added a second early in the second half after Kevin Thomson had been sent off.

Middlesbrough captain Matthew Bates then scored at the wrong end after a clever cross from Coventry substitute David Bell.

Gone: Kevin Thomson was sent off in the first half

MATCH FACTS

Coventry: Murphy, Keogh, Hreidarsson, Cranie, Christie, Clingan, Deegan (Bell 46), Thomas, McSheffrey, Nimely, Platt (Eastwood 79)

Subs not used: Dunn, Wood, Baker

Goals: McSheffrey 36, Nimely 57, Bates og 64

Bookings: Deegan, Hreidarsson

Middlesbrough: Coyne, Hoyte (McMahon 70), Bennett (McManus 69), Bates, Williams (Smallwood), Thomson, Robson, Arca, Haroun, McDonald, Emnes

Subs not used: Ripley, Martin

Goals: McDonald 66

Bookings: Thomson, Williams, Robson

Red cards: Thomson, Arca

Scott McDonald pulled one back for the visitors who made three quick substitutions to try and turn the game in their favour.

But the hosts held on with Boro winger Julio Arca seeing red in the closing stages for a two-footed lunge on Sammy Clingan.

Middlesbrough's new signing Lukas
Jutkiewicz was denied the chance to face his former employers due to an
agreement between the two clubs.

But fellow striker McDonald was presented with two glorious opportunities inside the opening nine minutes.

He latched onto a mistake from Sammy
Clingan only to volley straight at Joe Murphy before the Sky Blues
stopper produced a magnificent save to deny the same player moments
later.

Murphy continued to impress as
another flowing Middlesbrough move culminated in a Joe Bennett drive
which was tipped over by the Republic of Ireland international.

The dynamics of the game then shifted
significantly when the hosts broke the deadlock in the 36th minute as
Nimely fed McSheffrey to slot home from inside the area.

The visitors were reduced to 10 men
moments later when Thomson, who had been harshly booked just 11 minutes
earlier for bringing down Cyrus Christie, was shown a second yellow
card.

The midfielder could have no
complaints over his second caution as he flew in with his studs showing
to bring down goalscorer McSheffrey.

The game threatened to boil over in
the aftermath of Thomson's dismissal and that prompted Coventry boss
Andy Thorn to substitute Gary Deegan, on a yellow card, for Bell at
half-time.

Nimely, making his first appearance
since joining on loan from Manchester City, failed to score during his
time with Boro but he headed home 57 minutes into his Coventry career.

Boro felt the ball had not crossed
the line as a defender hooked it clear but the assistant referee was
perfectly placed to award the goal.

Nimely was involved in the third goal
seven minutes later as he released Bell out wide and his first time
cross was touched in by Bates with Clive Platt in close pursuit.

Boro responded instantly when Marvin
Emnes' driven cross was nodded in by McDonald and Mowbray attempted to
rally his troops with a triple change.

But Coventry used their extra man
advantage to close out the game as Middlesbrough's dismal afternoon was
completed in stoppage time when Arca earned their second red card.

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Nathan Cleverly will discover if Ryan Coyne fight is allowed this week

Sunderland 1 Middlesbrough 1: Campbell to the rescue to earn Black Cats replay

Sunderland v Middlesbrough live

Coventry 3 Middlesbrough 1