just in: Christiano Ronaldo wins UEFA player of the year

Cristiano Ronaldo has been named UEFA player of the year. Ronaldo won the Champions League and Euro 2016.

Olympics: Shakur Stevenson crushed in Rio De Janeriio!

Shakur Stevenson took a seat on a small, folding plastic chair, a spot normally reserved for security guards to rest. 

This was behind the boxing venue, out in the open, out where his emotion was still raw.

The 19-year-old doubled over as he sat, weeping heavily and screaming loudly. 

He was uncontrollable and inconsolable, a teenager incapable of processing a split-decision defeat at the hands of Cuban Robeisy Ramirez.

This was Olympic devastation, when a silver medal is considered a loss, when a kid can’t yet step back and see the big picture. 

From the past (the journey from the gyms of Newark, N.J., to an Olympic podium) to the present (his silver medal was the best U.S. men’s boxing result since 2004)

to the future (an extremely promising professional career ahead). Yes, he wanted gold, but this was a long way to come with a long way to go.

None of it mattered in the moment. Not after a high-class fight at the bantamweight division. Ramirez of Cuba was the considerable favorite, 

looking to duplicate the gold he won in London. He was older, 22, more experienced and a big talent in his own right.

Shakur Stevenson was distraught after his loss in the gold-medal fight. (Reuters)

Ramirez clearly won the first round. Stevenson rallied to win the second. And in the finale, a late flurry by the Cuban may have been enough to tip the judges.

Two of the three went for him. Just one gave it to Stevenson.

It was that close.

As the decision was announced Stevenson could only cover his face with his shirt. 

He was gracious enough to repeatedly congratulate Ramirez and he never cast doubt on the decision. “It was a close fight,” he said.

He couldn’t hide the pain, though. He didn’t want to try to hide the pain.

“I felt like I let a lot of people down,” Stevenson said later. “I’m disappointed in myself. I’m crushed.”

He let no one down. He shouldn’t be disappointed in himself. He was wailing in pain anyway.

“He’s been uncontrollable here, crying,” Team USA coach Billy Walsh said. “In some respects he has to get ready for the medal ceremony.”

Stevenson would gather himself for that, fight out a few smiles and find a silver medal draped around his neck.

That was part of Stevenson’s disappointment, he wanted to begin the restoration of USA Boxing. 

For decades it was the most feared team in the world, producing a parade of greats from Muhammad Ali to Sugar Ray Leonard to Oscar De La Hoya and so on. 

It’s been mostly disappointment after disappointment the past decade and a half.

“Of course it hurts,” said Kay Koroma, Stevenson’s personal coach. “You go through something like that, [it’s like] they pulled everything out of you.

 … Once he realizes the best of the best had to pull out everything in the bag, [he’ll say], ‘That was my gold medal.’

“Shakur Stevenson woke America up,” Koroma continued. “Shakur Stevenson made America smile. It wasn’t just Newark, it was all of America. 

I told him, ‘Your smile is golden.’ ”

Stevenson’s future is beyond bright. He has tremendous reach and defensive skills. His coaches rave about his work ethic and dedication. 

There is a charisma to him, a likable, sellable personality in a sport desperate for one. 

There’s an inspiring backstory of growing up the oldest of nine children in Newark’s Central Ward neighborhood. 

There are quirky marketing bits like how he was named after Tupac Shakur and for a stretch lived on Muhammad Ali Boulevard.

Shakur Stevenson’s silver medal was the best by an American man in boxing since 2004. (Reuters)

Floyd Mayweather has declared Stevenson the next Floyd Mayweather, which is the highest compliment Floyd Mayweather can give. 

Perhaps it’s not just because Mayweather wants to sign him to his promotion, The Money Team. Mayweather flew down to Rio to watch his fights and recruit him. 

Everyone is recruiting the kid, though.

“I haven’t signed with anybody,” Stevenson said, promising to go home and weigh the options.

Professional boxing is a tough game, a brutal game where nothing is certain. He at least has all the markings of the next big star.

Fans “should expect one of the best boxers coming up,” Stevenson said. “I want to be a great pro. I want to break records. I want to win titles.

I am not going to the pros with the gold medal that I wanted, but … hey.”

Over and over, the loss kept dragging him back. That will fade eventually, but not now. Maybe that’s a good thing.

“It’s the worst feeling in the world,” Walsh said. “I’ve been there many times. Too many times. To be sitting in a dressing room after losing. 

To be sitting in a dressing room losing when maybe you had the opportunity to win, when you’ve been good enough to win. He had a massive opportunity to do that.

“We often learn more from a loss than a victory. When you’re winning it masks over the cracks. Today we saw the cracks what they were. 

He has the idea and the tools to mend that. What he needs is a bit higher work rate and he’ll be here for a time to come.”

Stevenson probably understands that, but the tears said he could’ve lived without the lesson for the day.

He said he hopes he meets Ramirez one day as a pro, promising a different result.

On a day he dreamed for forever, after a fight he’d trained relentlessly toward, the future felt a long way off. 

This was the brutality of defeat, a teenager ripped apart, Olympic style.

“I’m going to come back stronger,” Stevenson said

Selfless: Meet the poorest president who gives out his money to charity

Most of the leaders in the world are more concerned about looting the country’s funds and building empires for themselves. They do not care about the poor neither do they think about their subjects who voted them in. Most of these leaders only have their own interests and that of their families at heart. They enjoy being treated as first class citizens and do not joke with the luxuries their positions offer them.

Jose Alberto ‘Pepe’ Mujica Cordano is a highly respected man in Uruguay. He is said to be the world’s poorest president as he served his country between 2010 and 2015 as the fortieth president of Uruguay. What made Mujica different and unique when compared to the other presidents that have served was his act of benevolence. His austerity made people refer to him as the world’s poorest president. He chose to live on a farm despite having access to the presidential mansion. He decided to live in a simple house located in a rural area outside Montevideo.

The lifestyle of Mujica is an interesting one as he prefers to live simply despite being paid an amount equivalent to twelve thousand US dollars per month. The intriguing part of this is that about ninety percent of his earning goes to the poor and small-scale entrepreneurs. After giving out ninety percent of his salary, Mujica is left with an amount that is equivalent to an average Uruguay’s earning per month. Despite his act of charity, he does not feel poor and enjoys his life on the farm.

It is quite possible for Mujica to embrace this life of solitude due to the time he spent in jail. His past revealed that he was the former leader of some guerilla group called Tupemaros. This group was a violent one that used a Robin Hood-like strategy to fight for the poor. Fourteen years in confinement remolded him and changed his way of life.

His political views are unsettling considering the fact that he supports the same-sex marriage, abortion rights and the legalization of marijuana. While assessing his way of life and the things he does, people feel he does not act like a president but he is no doubt someone the poor relates with.

His leadership style is living by example; his choices clearly reflect that. He does not see himself as someone who lacks the basic things of life as he embraces this lifestyle. In addition to living on a farm, his official car is a 1987 Volkswagen Beetle.

He has lived like that all his life and is happy with what he has. His perspective about his life is an interesting one.

Touching: See who Jay Jay Okocha celebrates birthday with.

Former Super Eagles striker Austin Okocha celebrated his 43rd birthday with the Internally  People (IDP) in their camp located at Kuchigoro, Abuja. Jay Jay Okocha,  his brother Emmanuel Okocha alongside his partners donated materials such as food items, educational kits and sports kits to the IDP Camp. Campers also received tactical soccer training, self-development training and educational training from the former Paris Saint Germain (PSG) midfielder and his crew time at the camp. Okocha also distributed books to children in the camp as part of educating young minds making them know the value of education.

The former Bolton Wanderers captain recently launched the Jay Jay Okocha Foundation, a non- profit organisation aimed at using football to raise awareness on the strategic importance of Education, Peace and Unity for the economic growth of Nigeria. Okocha retired from the national team in 2006 where he played 75 matches scoring 14 goals and was a member of the Dream Team that won gold in Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games.

See The 10 Poorest States In Nigeria

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, these 10 states are the poorest in Nigeria with over 70% poverty rate. A survey carried out on the bureau’s website, disclosed that Sokoto remains the poorest state in Nigeria with an 81.2% poverty rate. 

1. Sokoto Sokoto has unfriendly climate conditions with temperature going as high as 45C on a normal day. Most parts of the state are rural areas and over eighty percent (80%) of the inhabitants of Sokoto practice one form of agriculture or another.

 2. Katsina Katsina is a state in North central Nigeria and has the highest poverty prevalence among all states in the region.

 3. Adamawa Formed in 1991 from the extinct Gongola state, Adamawa has of late been terrorized by the Boko Haram terrorists, disrupting its economic development and growth. 

4. Gombe Gombe is another North eastern state which suffers sporadic attacks from terrorists. 

5. Jigawa Jigawa state is situated in the north-western part of the country. It is mostly populated by the Hausa/Fulani, who are spread throughout the state. It has a 74.1 percent poverty rate. 

6. Plateau Plateau state is the twelfth largest state of Nigeria haunted by some terrorist attacks and tribal clashes from time to time, especially clashes between Fulani herdsmen and its inhabitants. 

7. Ebonyi Ebonyi is the only south-eastern state among the top 9 poorest country. 

8. Bauchi In Hausa the word Bauchi means the land of freedom and tourism. However recent Boko Haram adventures in the area, though few, have driven tourists away from the area.

 9. Kebbi It is bordered by Sokoto State,Niger State,Dosso Regionin the Republic of Niger and the nation of Benin. The recently concluded Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport (SABIA), stands out as one of Nigeria’s most sophisticated airports and is expected to boost the state’s economy. 

10. Zamfara Recently the governor was blasted for the “alarming scope of economic dangers and its potential threat to the economic development of the state,” by the Zamfara Budget Working Group. 

Niger is the state with the lowest poverty rate which is 33.8%. It was followed by Osun (37.9%) and Ondo (45.7%). Bayelsa (47%) and Lagos (48.6%) have less than 50% poverty rate. 
The average poverty rate in the Northwest geopolitical zone is 71.4%, which remained the highest in the said area. It is followed by the Northeast region which has 69.1% and the North central region which has 60.7%. Poverty was least dominant in the Southwest (49.8%), South-South (55.5%), and South-East regions (59.5%).