Boxer Anthony Joshua is set to mark his comeback to the ring with a surprise heavyweight bout against Jake Paul in Miami.

The former world heavyweight champion and YouTuber-turned-boxer will face off in a match consisting of eight three-minute rounds, with both boxers using 10oz gloves.

The 36-year-old hasn’t fought since September 2024, when he suffered a shock loss to British compatriot Daniel Dubois at Wembley in the fifth round of their IBF world heavyweight title fight.

Joshua, who goes in with a record of 28 wins and four losses, promised the American “no mercy” ahead of his comeback.

“I took some time out, and I’m coming back with a mega show. It’s a big opportunity for me. Whether you like it or not, I’m here to do massive numbers, have big fights and break every record whilst keeping cool, calm and collected,” he said.

“Mark my words, you’ll see a lot more fighters take these opportunities in the future. I’m about to break the internet over Jake Paul’s face.”

If Jake Paul wins, he’ll be in the running for a title, according to his manager, Nakisa Bidarian, chief executive of Most Valuable Promotions.

He said: “For Jake it’s doing the impossible, silencing the doubters and putting himself in a position to be in conversation for a belt, and he gets that if he beats Anthony Joshua.

“And for Joshua it’s pretty simple: he’s been out for quite a bit of time, he comes back and does one of the biggest events in the world, and if he knocks out Jake Paul he will be idolised by many within boxing.”

He continued: “What we’ve accomplished in four years with Jake, with no amateur background, with no Olympic pedigree, makes everyone kind of take a step back and say, ‘What is going on here? How is this possible?’

“It angers people in boxing that we can come in and get as much attention and notoriety as we have, as quickly as we have.”

Paul was due to face Gervonta Davis this month, but the bout was cancelled after a civil lawsuit was filed against the WBA lightweight champion.

The 28-year-old, who has a 12-1 record, last fought at heavyweight when he beat Mike Tyson by unanimous decision in November last year, in what was the then 58-year-old’s first fight in 19 years, before following that up in June with another unanimous decision victory over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

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Paul labelled the fight in Miami as “Judgement Day.”

“A professional heavyweight fight against an elite world champion in his prime. When I beat Anthony Joshua, every doubt disappears and no one can deny me the opportunity to fight for a world title.

“To all my haters, this is what you wanted. To the people of the United Kingdom, I am sorry. On Friday, December 19, under the lights in Miami, live globally only on Netflix, the torch gets passed and Britain’s Goliath gets put to sleep.”

Rubbish will continue rotting in the streets of Birmingham for months, union chiefs have warned, after more workers voted to join industrial action.

Agency workers employed by Job&Talent are now joining the dispute for the first time, with the Unite union blaming “an epidemic of bullying, harassment and intimidation”.

And with workers voting to extend the already months-long strike, the union says bins could go uncollected beyond next year’s local elections in May.

It comes after footage obtained by Sky News captured a manager from Job&Talent warning agency staff that those who join the strike would be blacklisted by the council.

In the clip, he says: “Those people that do decide to join the picket line, then the council have confirmed to us that they are not going to get a permanent job.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham added: “This is a real escalation in the dispute with agency workers now joining picket lines due to the terrible way they have been treated by Job&Talent and Birmingham council.

“The council is spending a fortune it doesn’t have on a dispute that could easily be resolved by agreeing a fair deal for workers.

“Unite does what it says on the trade union tin; we are totally committed to fighting for the jobs, pay and conditions of all members.

“Agency and directly-employed workers alike in Birmingham council’s refuse service have the union’s complete and utter support.”

A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said: “While we are disappointed the dispute has not been resolved as Unite has rejected all our offers, we are continuing to make regular waste collections and our contingency plan is working.

“We have been collecting an average of approximately 1,330 tonnes of kerbside waste every day, more than we did prior to industrial action, and over the last six months we have collected over 100,000 tonnes of kerbside waste.

“There has been a 22 per cent increase in tonnage of waste collected per employee and a 52 per cent improvement regarding missed collections.

“A small number of agency staff are in a separate dispute with Job&Talent. The city council has contingency plans and will continue to look to maintain residents with a minimum of one collection a week.

“Meanwhile we continue to move forward with the service improvements that are long overdue and that our residents need.”

The council also said it would not tolerate blacklisting, and had investigated the matter, but concluded no blacklisting had taken place.

In a statement last week, Job&Talent responded to the leaked footage.

Read more:
No end in sight for bin strike after six months
Birmingham bin strikes: How residents are taking action

The statement read: “Job&Talent is aware of a short video clip circulating online which shows a Job&Talent manager speaking to agency workers at one of the city’s refuse depots.

“The comments made in the recording were part of a longer discussion and do not reflect the position of Job&Talent.

“We do not engage in or condone any form of blacklisting, and no worker is or would be denied employment opportunities on the basis of lawful participation in industrial action.”

Unite said Job&Talent workers would be able to join the picket line from 1 December.

Bin workers have been locked in a standoff with the council over proposed pay cuts for most of the year.

Union bosses say council plans will leave 171 workers £8,000 worse off a year.

Collections have been disrupted since January, but the row descended into an all-out strike in March.

The council soon declared a major incident and rubbish has continued to pile up across the city as the dispute continues.

Unite claims there have been no formal negotiations over ending the dispute since May.

The union’s lead officer, Onay Kasab, said: “Residents of Birmingham will be rightly concerned to see that the misery of bin strikes can continue through Christmas, New Year and beyond May’s local elections but the council is solely responsible for the ongoing dispute.

“Unite remains fully committed to return to meaningful negotiations to secure a fair deal for affected workers while also ensuring the endemic bullying culture and threats of blacklisting are stamped out.”

In a statement, Job&Talent said: “We acknowledge the ballot outcome and will continue working closely with our workers to address any concerns.

“The result reflects only a small portion of our overall workforce.

“As addressed previously, Job&Talent remains firmly committed to operating with transparency, integrity, and full compliance with employment laws.”

Mass killings and millions forced to flee for their lives have made Sudan the “epicentre of suffering in the world”, according to the UN’s humanitarian affairs chief.

About 12 million people are believed to have been displaced and at least 40,000 killed in the civil war – but aid groups say the true death toll could be far greater.

Tom Fletcher, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told Sky’s The World With Yalda Hakim the situation was “horrifying”.

“It’s utterly grim right now – it’s the epicentre of suffering in the world,” he said of Sudan.

The war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – who were once allies – started in Khartoum in April 2023 but has spread across the country.

The fighting has inflicted almost unimaginable misery on a nation that was already suffering a humanitarian crisis.

Famine has been declared in some areas and Mr Fletcher said there was a “sense of rampant brutality and impunity” in the east African nation.

“I spoke to so many people who told me stories of mass executions, mass rape, sexual violence being weaponised as part of the conflict,” he said.

The fall of a key city

Last month, the RSF captured Al Fashir – the capital of North Darfur state – after a siege of more than 18 months.

Hundreds have been killed and tens of thousands forced to flee, according to the UN and aid groups.

The World Health Organisation said more than 450 people alone were reportedly killed at a maternity hospital in the city.

RSF fighters also went house to house to murder civilians and carried out sexual assault and rape, according to aid workers and displaced people.

The journey to escape Al Fashir goes through areas with no access to food, water or medical help – and Mr Fletcher said people had described to him the “horrors” of trying to make it out.

“One woman [was] carrying her dead neighbour’s malnourished child – and then she herself was attacked on the road as she fled towards Tawila,” he told Sky News.

Such is the violence in Al Fashir, blood from mass killings appears to stain the sand in satellite images from Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab, Mr Fletcher added.

“We’ve got to make sure there are teams going in to investigate these atrocities. Al Fashir is a crime scene right now,” he said.

“But we’ve also got to make sure we’ve got protection for civilians from the future atrocities.”

Children at the forefront of suffering

Mr Fletcher told Yalda Hakim that children had “borne the brunt” and made up one in five of those killed in Al Fashir.

He said a child he met “recoiled from me” and “flinched” when he gestured towards a Manchester City logo on his shirt when they were kicking a ball around.

“This is a six-year-old, so what has he seen and experienced to be that terrified of other people?” he asked.

He’s urging the international community to boost funding to help civilians, and a “much more vigorous, energised diplomacy” to try to end the fighting.

“This can’t be so complex, so difficult, that the world can’t fix it,” he told Sky News.

“And we’ve seen some momentum. We’ve seen the quad – Egypt, America, Saudi, the UAE just recently – getting more engaged.

“I’m in daily contact with them all, including the White House envoy, Dr Massad Boulos, but we need to sustain that diplomatic engagement and show the creativity and patience that’s needed.”

Read more:
Genocide unfolding in Darfur, warns Sudanese government
‘Tens of thousands killed in two days’ in Sudan city

Hopes of an imminent end to the violence currently look unlikely.

Sudan’s military leader, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, said on Friday that his forces would not stop until the RSF is wiped out.

“This war will not come to an end with a truce, but when rebels are destroyed,” he said – according to a statement from Sudan’s ruling council.

“We call on all Sudanese to join the fight, and for those who can carry weapons to come forward.”

The RSF and the Sudanese army have previously agreed to various ceasefire proposals during their two-and-a-half-year-old war, but none have succeeded.