Bent giving up Premiership to stay in Charlton

Soccer Betting Lines

06/15/2007 - London, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After much speculation about a move to West Ham, striker Darren Bent put all rumors to rest on Thursday, agreeing to a new contract that will keep him with Charlton.

The Addicks are coming off a disappointing season in the Premiership where they finished with only eight wins. Since the club was relegated with the second worst record in the league, there were rumors that Bent would switch teams to stay in the top flight.

West Ham and Tottenham both showed serious interest the 23-year-old England international, but in the end Bent decided to stay put.

"We set a valuation for Darren and West Ham were the only club prepared to meet that valuation," said Charlton chief executive Peter Varney. "This morning we gave them permission to speak to Darren, which he did, and he has decided not to join West Ham."

A move to West Ham was thought to be intriguing because it would have re- united Bent with former manager Alan Curbishley. It was Curbishley who brought Bent to Charlton two years ago from Ipswich.

Bent has netted 31 league goals in 68 starts since joining the Addicks in January of 2005. In his first season with the club Bent collected 22 goals, 18 in the Premiership, before posting 13 goals in the Premiership last season.

Charlton is a 6-1 favorite to win the Championship next season.

"We therefore look forward to Darren starting with us in the Championship next season, which is a massive boost to our chances of returning to the Premier League," said Varney.

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

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"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

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The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.