Briton Josh Kelly was forced to dig deep to retain his IBF light-middleweight world title, surviving a spirited late comeback from Belfast’s Caoimhin Agyarko to win a narrow points decision in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Kelly looked in complete control until the complexion of the contest changed when he received a deserved sixth-round point deduction for repeated punches to the back of the head.

The 31-year-old was then bloodied by cuts across his face and a gash on his nose as Agyarko grew in confidence and began to land with increasing success.

But Kelly stood firm through the championship rounds to secure victory, with the judges scoring the contest 114-113, 115-112 and 115-112.

“That was a messy and hard fight. I didn’t get cuts from punches like this, it comes from heads and elbows. This is what it looks like when you’ve got tight skin,” Kelly said.

“I knew he [Agyarko] was go to be tricky and awkward. [He had] a good game plan. He tried to make it a good boxing match. I had to show a different side to me at the end and that is what a champions does.”

Fighting on the undercard of Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight comeback against Kristian Prenga, Sunderland’s Kelly claimed his 21st professional victory.

Agyarko, 29, had hoped to become Ireland’s first black world champion. Instead, despite a brave second-half comeback, he suffered the first defeat of his professional career in his 30th contest.

Also on the card, WBO super-middleweight champion Hamzah Sheeraz laboured to an underwhelming points win over Simon Zachenhuber.

The 27-year-old Briton was far from his best and struggled to find his rhythm but was awarded a majority decision as he extended his record to 24 wins and one defeat.

After tears in Paris, tears again in Glasgow.

It leaves even the great Adam Ramsay-Peaty wondering how much of this is worth it.

“I work a lot harder than what it says on the scoreboard,” the Englishman said after taking 100m breaststroke bronze at the Commonwealth Games, his eyes and cheeks red with emotion.

“It hurts too much. I have got to approach training differently now because it hurts too much.”

Ramsay-Peaty has done it all in this sport.

Three Olympic gold medals. Eight world titles. The 14 fastest times in history.

But after taking a break from swimming amid a wave of mental health issues in 2023, he is still searching for that winning feeling again on the big stage.

He was pipped to Olympic gold in Paris two years ago and in Glasgow, despite coming into the final as the fastest qualifier, he had to settle for bronze.

He was beaten by Australia’s Sam Williamson but also Jersey’s history-maker Filip Nowacki, the 18-year-old he has taken under his wing.

Ramsay-Peaty was third at halfway and could not close the gap.

“It took a lot of courage to get back into the sport, so we should be happy with everything we get, but then that contradicts the athlete inside me and what I work for,” he said.

Ramsay-Peaty has spoken about the difficult decisions that come with being an elite athlete. The time away from his son, whom he held in his arms after the Paris silver. The events at home he has to miss.

“They are not even sacrifices; they are choices,” he said.

“It’s like getting knocked out in the group stages in the World Cup for a very good team. You know you’re better and it hurts because you know you have to wait for a very long time for the next championships.

“This is probably – realistically – my last Commonwealth Games and I thought I’d trained for better. I could do better. I’ve been faster this season. That’s where the frustration is.”

Ramsay-Peaty has made no secret of the fact he is still competing in the quest for Olympic gold.

He considered retirement again after Paris, but committed to another four years when the 50m race was added to programme for Los Angeles 2028.

This 100m breaststroke is his event – the one in which he went unbeaten in eight years – but there may be a time when he has to let it go.

The 50m race – a dash down one length of the pool – would be less taxing on the body.

“Is the 100 even viable any more? I don’t know,” he said.

“When it hurts like this, the 50 is probably my super strength with my power.

“With the Olympics, that’s probably going to be more realistic, but it’s too early to tell.”

Given the emotion, there are times you wonder how close Ramsay-Peaty is to walking away entirely.

He has appeared to walk to the edge but always turned back, insisting the drive for LA remains.

“Of course,” he said.

“I know I’m a sprinter. I know I can do very well because I’ve done it. It doesn’t disappear overnight.

“It requires me to look at the formula and see how I can get to that speed again.”

Baltimore Ravens defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike, who had neck surgery in April, is nearing a return to the field.

Madubuike, 28, has been cleared to practice by independent spine and cervical doctors, sources say. The Ravens placed him on the active physically unable to perform list on Saturday, giving them time to assess his conditioning and acclimate his return to the field. If all goes well, the expectation is that Madubuike will be activated from the PUP list as early as next week and begin practice. The Ravens’ first full-squad practice is Wednesday.

The news should accelerate a return that was in doubt for much of the past 10 months. Madubuike’s status has been the subject of much speculation since he missed all but two games last season because of a neck injury that neither the team nor the player ever offered specifics on. Madubuike’s last game was against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2, and he was placed on injured reserve Sept. 27.

Adding to the long-term concern, team officials repeatedly declined to address Madubuike’s status, saying it was up to him to comment. Madubuike hasn’t spoken to reporters since the injury. The two-time Pro Bowler, however, spent much of the offseason working out at the team facility and pushing for a return.

Madubuike and his team have visited and consulted with specialists throughout the process, but the final hurdle was getting clearance from the Ravens’ medical team. That seemed near last week when Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta told local radio station 105.7 The Fan that Madubuike’s status was “pointed in the right direction.”

A healthy Madubuike is a hugely important addition for Baltimore. When healthy, he’s been one of the better interior defensive linemen in the NFL with an ability to rush the quarterback and be stout against the run. The Ravens rewarded him with a four-year, $98 million deal following a 2023 season in which he had 13 sacks. Two years later, he’s still the NFL’s seventh-highest-paid interior defensive lineman.

The Ravens defense fell on hard times last year, and a significant part of that was Madubuike’s absence. They struggled to get to the quarterback, finishing with 30 sacks. Only two teams had fewer. They also never could consistently get off the field, particularly in the fourth quarter.

It won’t be all on Madubuike to fix those issues. The Ravens replaced longtime head coach John Harbaugh with Jesse Minter, who has been a highly successful defensive coordinator at the college and NFL levels. They signed outside linebacker Trey Hendrickson, defensive end Calais Campbell and safety Jaylinn Hawkins in free agency and then used a second-round pick on outside linebacker Zion Young.

The defensive picture, however, would have been incomplete if Madubuike was unable to return. He hasn’t been on the field with his teammates since last September, so there certainly will be rust to knock off. He also figures to have mental and physical hurdles to jump in returning from an injury that threatened to derail his career.

However, his imminent return to the practice field is about as good of news as the Ravens could get as they prepare for training camp to begin.

On Saturday, the Ravens also placed nose tackles Travis Jones (pectoral) and John Jenkins (undisclosed), linebacker Teddye Buchanan (knee), outside linebacker Adisa Isaac (elbow) and cornerback Bilhal Kone (knee) on the PUP list. Jones, who led the team with five sacks last year, had surgery this season. He’s expected to return to practice relatively early in training camp. The Ravens also placed center Corey Bullock on the non-football illness list.