SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil 's Supreme Court postponed on Thursday a decision on who will be governor of Rio de Janeiro state, extending a three-week crisis in the country's postcard region. Matters of policing, urban mobility and even gas prices are piling up on the desk of a local judge operating as caretaker.
Rio has had no governor since March 23, when Cláudio Castro resigned to run for senator in October’s elections, as required by law. Others who could fill his role are not available to take over.
Justice Flávio Dino asked for a review in a case that will establish whether Castro's successor until January will be picked by voters in an early election or by members of the state's scandal-prone legislature. He has up to 90 days to return to the court with his ruling.
So far the score is 4-1 in the 10-member Supreme Court for a vote through the state legislature.
Thiago Pampolha would be eligible to take Castro's position if he had not resigned as deputy governor in 2025 to take a seat in a state government watchdog body. The next in line was Rodrigo Bacellar, the speaker of Rio state's legislature, but he was recently jailed and removed from office.
The head of Rio's state's judiciary, Ricardo Couto de Castro, is now serving as governor. But as he was not expected to stay on for long he is facing headwinds to get other executives to work with him, local media has reported.
A new elected governor might take office only in January next year, as Rio citizens were already scheduled to pick one in October's general elections.
Thomas Traumann, a political consultant and former government minister, says the extension of the political chaos in Rio is not only embarrassing, but also dangerous.
“Brazil's government has just offered a deal to reduce diesel prices, which are high because of the conflict in the Middle East. Rio is one of the few that did not agree because there's no one to authorize it. Now we will have Brazil's most expensive diesel,” Traumann said. “And what if there's violence from crime gangs tomorrow morning. Who is going to tell police to react?”
Local media has also reported that members of Rio's judiciary fear they might soon face difficulties to move some cases ahead as their head has to manage the state's government with no end in sight.
Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, one of the sons of former President Jair Bolsonaro and a likely rival to his successor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in October's elections, has pushed for state lawmaker Douglas Ruas to be elected governor through the state legislature.
Supporters of Lula and his candidate for Rio governor, Eduardo Paes, have argued voters should go to the polls.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
FILE - Supreme Court Justice Flavio Dino attends the verdict and sentencing phase of a trial, in Brasilia, Brazil, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
LONDON (AP) — Tyson Fury’s latest comeback has revived the prospect of a long-awaited showdown with Anthony Joshua.
First, though, the self-described “Gypsy King” needs to deal with a Russian-born heavyweight who wrestled a bear for fun. Arslanbek Makhmudov is Fury’s opponent in their 12-round fight Saturday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“I’ve never overlooked anybody in my life, and I’ll definitely not overlook this beast. He’s a scary dude,” Fury said Thursday at a press conference.
Fury, the former two-time heavyweight champion, came out of retirement for the fifth time because he wants to “punch men in the face and get paid for it.”
The 37-year-old Fury had called it quits shortly after losing to Oleksandr Usyk in December 2024 for a second time — his only two professional defeats.
Fury promised he will be “speedy, skillful, handsome and destructive" on Saturday.
Usyk holds the WBC, WBA and IBF titles and at age 39 has indicated he only has a few fights left in him. The Ukrainian’s next bout, though, has taken everyone by surprise — he’s set to face kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven in May at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.
Also in May, WBO title holder Fabio Wardley faces Daniel Dubois in Manchester.
Usyk told The Associated Press in a recent interview he foresees a trilogy bout with the charismatic Englishman: “In my head, Tyson Fury, it’s the last dance.”
In their first meeting, Fury had lost his WBC title to Usyk via split decision in May 2024. The rematch was a unanimous decision for Usyk. Both fights were in Riyadh.
Fury told Netflix after Thursday's press conference that if there's a third Usyk fight, he'd want it to be in Britain.
“As far as I’m concerned that’s closed for now. I’m going concentrate on this big Russian fella, and then Anthony Joshua,” Fury said. “I want three fights this year. I want to do April, maybe September and December. So maybe Usyk will be that December fight.”
Fury (34-2-1, 24 KOs) has made no secret that he wants Joshua next. The BBC reported Thursday that Croke Park in Dublin could be the setting later this year for a Fury-Joshua showdown to top a card that would include Irish great Katie Taylor.
The 36-year-old Joshua had called out Fury after breaking Jake Paul's jaw in a stoppage victory in December. Days later, though, Joshua was involved in a fatal car crash in Nigeria. He was a passenger in the vehicle and two of his close friends were killed.
Fury has said the tragedy is part of what motivated him to come out of retirement.
Joshua appears set to resume fighting. Last weekend, he attended the Deontay Wilder vs. Derek Chisora bout in London and had a brief interaction with Wilder after the American beat Chisora.
The 36-year-old Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs) has created some buzz by posting a video that showed him wrestling a bear. He explained in a Feb. 21 social media post that “the goal was to overcome the threshold of fear and learn to control yourself in critical situations."
Makhmudov hails from the Russian southern republic of Dagestan but lives in Canada. His most recent fight was a 12-round unanimous decision over Dave Allen in October.
Makhmudov's left eye was swollen shut in a loss to Guido Vianello in 2024. He was felled by Agit Kabayel's body shots in a fourth-round stoppage in 2023.
Conor Benn (24-1, 14 KOs) returns to Tottenham after two middleweight slugfests there against Chris Eubank Jr. in 2025. He lost the first one but dominated the rematch in November.
In the highlight of Saturday's undercard, the Briton faces Regis Prograis in a bout at a catchweight of 150 lbs. The 37-year-old Prograis (30-3, 24 KOs) is a former two-time world champion at super lightweight (140 lbs).
Both men are hoping for a title shot later this year. The 29-year-old Benn has traded verbal jabs with WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia.
The main card begins at 7 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET) and is available on Netflix.
Fury's ring walk is expected around 10:30 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. ET), about one hour after Benn vs. Prograis.
AP boxing: https://apnews.com/boxing
FILE - Britain's Tyson Fury, right, punches Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk during their undisputed heavyweight world championship boxing fight at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
FILE - Britain's boxer Tyson Fury speaks at a press conference after loosing his fight against Ukraine's boxer Oleksandr Usyk for the WBA, WBO, and WBC heavyweight title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)
Boxwers Tyson Fury is lifted up by Arslanbek Makhmudov during a press conference, Thursday April 9, 2026, in London. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)
Boxwers Tyson Fury, left and Arslanbek Makhmudov face off as Ring Magazine CEO Rick Reeno, looks on during a press conference, Thursday April 9, 2026, in London. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)
Boxer Tyson Fury reacts during a press conference, Thursday April 9, 2026, in London, for his upcoming fight against Arslanbek Makhmudov. (Bradley Collyer/PA via AP)
