ANTHONY JOSHUA could be heading into his final year in boxing – as the search for his next opponent rumbles on.

AJ is recovering from elbow surgery in May and preparing to enter training camp for his first fight since losing to Daniel Dubois in September.

Reuters

Promoter Eddie Hearn with Anthony Joshua[/caption]

Promoter Eddie Hearn revealed a comeback bout is targeted between October-December and Dillian Whyte, 37, was their frontrunner opponent.

But now Whyte is closing in on a deal to instead face 20-year-old British sensation Moses Itauma on August 16 in Saudi Arabia.

It leaves the returning Deontay Wilder as another option for Joshua – who could be approaching his final year in the sport.

Hearn told DAZN: “Dillian Whyte was probably the frontrunner, to be honest with you. Now it looks like he’s going to fight Moses – so that was a curveball.

“Jared Anderson’s been mentioned, obviously Deontay Wilder’s back soon.

“I think AJ would have been out the ring just over a year by the time he steps back into the ring.

“He will be coming off surgery, I don’t think (Tyson) Fury’s going to be ready to fight around that time anyway.

“But I expect it to be someone to gear him up for a really big fight in 2026. And probably, 2026 will be his last year in the sport.”

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Wilder is coming off a KO loss to Zhilei Zhang, 42, last summer having been stunned on points by Joseph Parker, 33, in December 2023.

And the 39-year-old now returns on June 27 in Kansas against little-known 24-5 Tyrrell Herndon – where he can look to revive the AJ fight once more.

Hearn added: “AJ-Wilder’s a massive fight as well and I think because of the loss to Dubois, it makes the fight more palatable.

“Especially if Wilder can come back with a good win.”

Fury, 36, was twice beaten by Oleksandr Usyk, 38, last year and announced his retirement in January a month after losing the rematch.

But Hearn still holds out hope the unpredictable Gypsy King will return to fight Joshua – setting up a swan song double header.

He said: “It’s probably three fights away. For me, if I’m advising AJ, we’re back this year, we have two Tyson Fury fights, what else is there to do?

“Maybe fight a Daniel Dubois, but for me once AJ fights Tyson Fury, he’s kind of done it all.

“I’d love him to have another crack at Daniel Dubois and I’d love him to have another crack at Usyk but you just keep going on and on and on.

“Now, if we get to next year and he’s still firing on all cylinders then 2026 won’t be his last year.

“But for me, something feels right about coming back this year, beating Tyson Fury twice and then sailing off into the sunset.”

GETTY

Deontay Wilder is still a contender to fight Joshua[/caption]

Getty

Hearn hopes Tyson Fury will return to fight Joshua[/caption]

THERE will be a staggering 40 nations competing in this year’s World Cup of Darts – and the pairings for each country have been confirmed!

It came home last year as Luke Humphries and Michael Smith fired England to glory after beating Austria’s pairing of Rowby-John Rodriguez and Menseur Suljovic 10-6 in the final.

X / SkySportsDarts

Michael Smith and Luke Humphries failed to surpress their emotions in last year’s final[/caption]

PDC

Smith and Humphries won England’s record-breaking fifth title[/caption]

And not only did that victory end a seven-year English drought, but it also put England ahead of the Netherlands as the outright record holders with five triumphs.

World No1 Humphries will be hoping he can retain the title as he gets the chance to represent his country once again.

But Cool Hand is set to have a different partner to last year – a certain former Premier League winner and millionaire teen sensation.

World Cup of Darts 2025: FULL list of pairings and nations

Seeded nations (straight into second round)

• (1) England – Luke Littler, Luke Humphries
• (2) Wales – Jonny Clayton, Gerwyn Price
• (3) Scotland – Gary Anderson, Peter Wright
• (4) Northern Ireland – Josh Rock, Daryl Gurney

Unseeded nations 

• Argentina – Jesus Salata, Victor Guillin
• Australia – Damon Heta, Simon Whitlock
• Austria – Mensur Suljovic, Rusty-Jake Rodriguez
• Bahrain – Sadiq Dasmal, Hassan Bucheeri
• Belgium – Mike De Decker, Dimitri Van den Bergh
• Canada – Matt Campbell, Jim Long
• China – Xiaochen Zong, Lihao Wen
• Chinese Taipei – Pupo Teng-Lieh, An-Sheng Lu
• Croatia – Pero Ljubic, Boris Krcmar
• Czechia – Karel Sedlacek, Petr Krivka
• Denmark – Benjamin Reus, Andreas Hyllgaardshus
• Finland – Teemu Harju, Marko Kantele
• France – Thibault Tricole, Jacques Labre
• Germany – Martin Schindler, Ricardo Pietreczko
• Gibraltar – Craig Galliano, Justin Hewitt
• Hong Kong – Man Lok Leung, Lok Yin Lee
• Hungary – György Jehirszki, Gergely Lakatos
• India – Nitin Kumar, Mohan Goel
• Italy – Michele Turetta, Massimo Dalla Rosa
• Japan – Ryusei Azemoto, Tomoya Goto
• Latvia – Madars Razma, Valters Melderis
• Lithuania – Darius Labanauskas, Mindaugas Barauskas
• Malaysia – Tengku Shah, Jenn Ming Tan
• Netherlands – Danny Noppert, Gian van Veen
• New Zealand – Haupai Puha, Mark Cleaver
• Norway – Cor Dekker, Kent Joran Sivertsen
• Philippines – Lourence Ilagan, Paolo Nebrida
• Poland – Krzysztof Ratajski, Radek Szaganski
• Portugal – Jose de Sousa, Bruno Nascimento
• Republic of Ireland – William O’Connor, Keane Barry
• Singapore – Paul Lim, Phuay Wei Tan
• South Africa – Cameron Carolissen, Devon Petersen
• Spain – Daniel Zapata Castillo, Ricardo Fernandez Carballo
• Sweden – Jeffrey de Graaf, Oskar Lukasiak
• Switzerland – Stefan Bellmont, Alex Fehlmann
• USA – Danny Lauby, Jules van Dongen

How to watch World Cup of Darts 2025

• The World Cup of Darts will be broadcast LIVE on Sky Sports.
• Group stage matches begin at 6pm BST and then the latter stage fixtures are split in afternoon sessions (11am/12pm) and evening sessions (6pm)
• Subscription members can stream the entire four-day event on NOW TV.
• Alternatively, SunSport will be running a live blog providing leg-by-leg coverage of the World Cup of Darts 2025.

THIS is the terrifying moment a British veteran photographer is shot in the head during the frenzied protests in Los Angeles.

Dad-of-two Toby Canham was left with a severe head wound after he was fired at by a Californian police officer with a rubber bullet.

The Mega Agency

Veteran photographer Toby Canham has shared a nasty injury he suffered during the frenzied protests in Los Angeles[/caption]

The Mega Agency

The moment a California Highway Patrol officer fired at the dad-of-two[/caption]

The Mega Agency

Canham was seen being treated at the scene on Sunday night[/caption]

Canham, 59, was standing just off the 101 Freeway in downtown LA reporting from a tense standoff between cops and protesters on Sunday.

The police were stationed beneath the bridge at a low level and just 100 yards away from Canham and his camera.

The photographer, who has previously served in the British Army, was on assignment for the New York Post at the time.

Hundreds of rioters had gathered above the highway during the protests – prompting journalists to closely watch the chaos.

But an unlucky Canham was caught by a bullet fired from a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer.

Footage captured by the veteran showed the cop suddenly position himself behind a pack of fellow officers behind a pillar.

Moments later he opened fire towards the top of the freeway.

It is unclear what prompted the stray bullet.

Canham was savagely hit directly in the forehead and quickly collapsed to the ground.

He could be heard screaming in agony: “F***, f***, I just got shot in the head!”.

The journalist was helped back to his feet by horrified onlookers who quickly noticed a big red mark appearing.

Pictures show Canham being treated at the scene with a noticeable gash in the middle of his head from the powerful rubber bullet.

He was taken to hospital late on Sunday and spent most of Monday being treated for whiplash and neck pain.

Canham said after the ordeal: “When I got whacked, to my best recollection it was just me filming with my cameras on and then I got shot.

“Where I was hit, I was the only person overlooking the freeway. I wasn’t surrounded so I was an easy target.”

Canham also recalled just minutes before being hit, a flashbang exploded a mere few feet away from him.

It left him with two rips in his trousers from flying shrapnel.

A protester nearby reportedly launched a water bottle at authorities in retaliation.

On the same day, a TV journalist was shot live on air as she reported on the violent immigration riots in downtown LA.

Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi was covering the protests for Nine News when she was hit at close range by a rubber bullet.

The ordeal caused her to collapse in agony mid-broadcast.

Elsewhere, a British photojournalist was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery when a ‘sponge bullet’ tore through his thigh during the same night of carnage.

Nick Stern, 60, from Hertford, said he had made himself clearly visible as a member of the press when he was shot while photographing a standoff between protesters and riot cops.

LA’s streets have turned into a warzone since Friday as heavily armed riot cops used tear gas and rubber bullets to stop incoming rioters.

Sunday night saw the worst of the protests with police being forced to defend the city as people set cars on fire and looted shops.

The chaos has continued for five days with California now announcing a curfew for downtown LA between 8pm and 6am.

The anti-ICE and anti-Donald Trump demonstrations have spread to New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and other major cities since.

The Mega Agency

Canham taken to hospital late on Sunday and spent most of Monday being treated for whiplash and neck pain[/caption]

AFP

California’s National Guard defending the Federal Building as demonstrators gather with signs[/caption]

LOVE Island’s first evicted 2025 star has opened up on her brutal dumping.

Fans of the matchmaking series were left furious when stunner Sophie Lee was given the boot on a savage day two twist.

Shutterstock Editorial

Love Island’s Sophie Lee has broken her silence on her brutal show dumping[/caption]

Shutterstock Editorial

She was initially coupled up with Harry Cooksley[/caption]

Shutterstock Editorial

Yet when he stood up to show his interest in Shakira, Sophie was left single and dumped from the island[/caption]

The former fire breather and dancer, who was left scarred for life following a terrifying accident, saw her Love Island journey end after Shakira Khan, 22, chose her partner Harry Cooksley, 30, to re-couple up with.

Earlier in the episode, Manchester model Shakira was seen flirting up a storm with all the male contestants after being left single when American bombshell Toni, 24, stole her man Ben, 23, during an explosive series opener.

Yet after she and Harry – who she dubbed “Hazza” in a flirty chat – partnered up in front of the firepit, Sophie was left single and ordered to leave the villa immediately.

The influencer, 29, has now broken her silence on her two-day villa stint and said of her antics: “I just was myself, fully. My silly, wonderful and little bit cautious (but that’s just me) self.”

She added of Harry – who stood up last night to show his interest in Shakira: “As long as he’s happy.

“I know for me, what I make of my life is down to me.

“I don’t regret anything I’ve done. I did everything that I wanted to do. And summer’s not over!”

Her speedy show stint was a knock on effect of American Toni’s arrival in the Mallorca villa on day one.

Yet Sophie has no bad blood with the bombshell arrival.

She added of her experience: “It’s Love Island – even the people that think they’re safe aren’t! If you’ve not mixed and mingled, or you’ve mixed and mingled too much… all of a sudden you might not have a strong connection and you could leave.

“Basically, you can’t be a slow burner and you can’t be a fast runner… in this case you’ve got 24 hours. What are you going to do?

“Toni is SO sweet, though.”

The show’s couples following the first dumping are Toni and Ben, Meg and Dejon, Shakira and Harry, Helena and Conor, Alima and Blu and Megan and Tommy.

Love Island continues tonight at 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.

For all the latest on Love Island keep up to date with our live blog.

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Cautious investors lifted the ASX to a second consecutive record high on Wednesday, as “productive” trade talks continue.

Phoenix edged Rovers in a nine-goal thriller in a Great Southern Soccer Association contest which featured four penalties, an own goal, and drama from start to finish.

The S&P-ASX200 index leapt to a new peak of 8639.1 points on Wednesday before paring back its gains to finish just 4.9 points better on the day at 8592.1, extending the year’s growth to 5.3 per cent.

Albany country star Tammy London has just released her debut solo single, Mustang, which she launched at Six Degrees on Saturday June 7.

European Union Ambassador Gabriele Visentin labelled China’s military scale up as a ‘worrying sign’ of conflict in the Indo-Pacific and flagged the EU’s interest in growing as ‘a strong security actor’. 

Palmerston Association has been awarded the contract for a new women’s refuge in Katanning in partnership with Kadadjiny Aboriginal Corporation, with the State Government committing to contribute to costs.