Sport

Tommy Fury announces huge fight against former World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 27th March 2026

Tommy Fury has announced his next major boxing match – against a rather unlikely opponent.

The Manc boxer and former Love Island star will face Eddie Hall, who once reigned as the World’s Strongest Man and was the first person on the planet to deadlift 500kg.

The match, billed as Beauty vs The Beast (we’ll let you decide who’s who…), will take place at the AO Arena this summer.

Tommy Fury and Eddie Hall will be facing off in Manchester as part of the Misfits Boxing series, a sports promotion company founded by YouTube sensation KSI.

26-year-old Fury – younger brother of heavyweight legend Tyson Fury – remains unbeaten, seeing off all-comers in the crossover boxing world.

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As for 38-year-old Eddie Hall (nicknamed The Beast), he retired as a strongman competitor, where he’s previously been crowned the World’s Strongest Man, and has now pivoted into combat sports.

The pair have collaborated recently on several videos online, taking on challenges like a One Punch Knockout and a breakfast eating competition.

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But this will be the first time they’ve publicly faced off in the ring.

Misfirst Boxing has once more delivered the biggest match-ups possible in the crossover boxing space, with Fury vs. Hall promising to be a titanic tussle that will captivate fans around the world.

Tommy Fury vs Eddie Hall, Beauty vs The Beast, will take place on Saturday 13 June at the AO Arena in Manchester – you can get tickets HERE.

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Featured image: Publicity picture

Sport

Rochdale AFC go viral with song choice during promotion party celebrations

Danny Jones Danny Jones Rochdale AFC players singing Olivia Dean in dressing room promotion party

Rochdale AFC are going viral on their return to the Football League, not just because of the remarkable end to their already spectacular season, but over their song choice during the promotion party in the dressing room.

We promise you: even if you haven’t seen it already, you will absolutely love this clip.

For those who haven’t been following their journey over the 25/26 campaign, Rochdale AFC were promoted back to League Two and the EFL proper, after more than a century in the top four divisions came to an end back in 2023.

Thankfully for the Greater Manchester side, who have always served as an important grassroots side throughout the decades, their hiatus wasn’t too long, and scenes inside the Wembley dressing room have been circulating all over social media – especially thanks to the track selection.

If Olivia Dean is the artist of the moment, then Rochdale simply have to be one of the teams of the year.

Lifting the National League playoff trophy in the aftermath of a tense 2-2 draw, where the Vallians came back from a two-goal deficit to bring the tie level – thanks to goals from substitute Tyler Smith and Emmanuel Dieseruvwe in the 78th and 96th minute, respectively – you could say they were men in need.

Managing to then survive extra time and make it to penalties, another pair of crucial saves in the shoot-out from starring keeper Oliver Whatmuff, and a decisive miss from Boreham Wood’s Cameron Cox sealed the dramatic win for The Dale.

Breathless stuff.

All that being said, you’d expect some of the usual football-adjacent big win bangers to be heard in the aftermath of a playoff win: ‘Freed From Desire’, chants of ‘We are going up’, ‘Sweet Caroline’ these days, and so on.

But not these lot: they decided to stick on ‘Man I Need’, singing their hearts out and jumping up and down in unison like they were in one of her two recent Manc crowds themselves.

In case you missed it, her Co-op live shows were unsurprisingly incredible, but we’ll admit that seeing a bunch of blokes scream and cheer as they throw drinks in the air and sip suds straight from the shiny cup has definitely added another dimension to our love for this song and the Olivia ‘Deannaissance’.

Not only has the soulful singer-songwriter written one of the best radio hits in recent memory, for our money, but she’s even getting now former non-league footballers choosing her as the soundtrack to their main character moments.

You just love to see it (watch the full highlights HERE).

With Jimmy McNulty’s side having only just narrowly missed out on automatic promotion and the National League crown in that crazy title-decider against fellow entertainers York City, it can’t be denied that they’ve been the other truly box office outfit this term; another late comeback proved it once again.

No side with over 100 points and 90 goals scored should be denied going up and a piece of silverware, which is why, although they’ve been a great advert from the fifth tier, so many are still calling for ‘3UP’. We want more moments like this, please…

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Featured Images — Rochdale AFC (via X)/The Manc Group

Sport

Two Manchester Basketball players have been named in the SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester Basketball players named in SLB Team of the season 2025/26

A pair of Manchester Basketball players have been named in the latest SLB Team of the Season for 2025/26.

The most recent UK Super League Basketball (SLB) campaign is set to wrap up this month, with the playoffs taking place down in the capital, but there are other awards to be handed out before then.

It remains to be seen how ‘The Final Four’ phase will play out at The O2 in London on 17 May, but we can definitely take joy in moments like this.

Announced on Thursday, 7 May, Manchester Basketball confirmed that duo Max Jones and Jordan Johnson have joined the rest of the league’s roster of the best players this term.

As detailed on the club website, “Max has averaged 17.4 points in the SLB in 32 games – he’s been a starter for the franchise and was also named in the ENBL All-Star Five in Germany last month.

“Jordan averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 assists in 30 games in the SLB, had a stellar European campaign and hit 30 pts in just over 27 minutes in the SLB Cup Final.”

Commenting on social media, one fan wrote: “Both JJ and PJ have been so great at the PG spot all year. I feel this is a joint award for them both, but they can only fill one spot for the accolade. If we wanna be a serious club to build upon year on year, JJ also needs to be in an MCR jersey next year.

“We absolutely have the pieces to build around. JJ’s nerve is sooooo cool under pressure. You can just tell they wanna loft a meaningful trophy, and it’s gonna happen if we as a club plan and build the way we need to.”

Plenty of supporters have also stressed the importance of making sure that the board tie down the likes of Jones and other big talents this summer; the rest of the Molten All-League Team of the Season for 2025/26 can be found below.

It’s also worth noting that teammate Tim Adetukasi and women’s team star Irene Oboavwoduo have each been named in the SLB’s British Team of the Year in their respective divisions for 2026.

Writing in a club statement reflecting on a great week of recognition for the resurgent club, General Manager Dominique Allen said: “We are really proud to be a club flying the flag for British players.

Both Tim and Irene have made a real impact on and off the court. We’re really happy for both of them that they are getting some well-deserved recognition.”

Well done to all the MCR stars who are helping get the franchise back on its feet following such a major rebrand across the board.

Here’s looking forward to another promising and productive year for Manchester Basketball.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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