Heavyweight boxing king Oleksandr Usyk retained his titles after a dramatic and controversial stoppage victory over kick-boxer Rico Verhoeven with a second left of the 11th round in Egypt on Saturday.

In the shadow of the Great Pyramid of Giza, Verhoeven had rocked the Ukrainian champion and seemed to be leading before he was dropped and eventually stopped.

"I thought it was an early stoppage but in the end it's not up to me," Verhoeven told DAZN.

May 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that a memorandum of understanding on a peace deal has been "largely negotiated" with Iran and will open the Strait of Hormuz, with details to be unveiled soon.

"Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly," Trump wrote on Trump Social.

Trump posted the announcement after separate calls with the leaders of Muslim majority nations and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Iran are moving their World Cup training base to Mexico after football's world governing body FIFA approved a request to transfer it from Tucson, Arizona, the head of Iran's football federation said on Saturday.

The Iranian team will be based in Tijuana on the border of Mexico and the United States, federation president Mehdi Taj said in a video carried by the Fars news agency.

WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Saturday that negotiators for the United States and Iran were "getting a lot closer" to finalizing an agreement to end the war, according to an interview with CBS News.

He said a final agreement would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and would ensure that Iran's enriched uranium would be "satisfactorily handled," according to CBS.

"I will only sign a deal where we get everything we want," Trump was quoted as saying.

By Michael Martina, Jana Choukeir and Eman Abouhassira

NEW DELHI/DUBAI, May 23 (Reuters) - Iran, the United States and mediator Pakistan all said on Saturday that progress had been made in talks on ending almost three months of war.

Tehran is focused on finalising a memorandum of understanding, Iran's foreign ministry said after Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi met Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief.

The United States and Iran could strike a deal to end the Middle East war as early as Sunday, Washington's top diplomat said, while Tehran insisted the agreement would do nothing to limit its nuclear programme.

Washington and Tehran have observed a ceasefire since April 8 while mediators push for a negotiated settlement, although Iran has imposed controls on Gulf shipping and the US has blockaded Iran's ports.

DUBAI, May 23 (Reuters) - Iran's top negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, told Pakistani army chief Asim Munir during talks in Tehran on Saturday that the U.S. was not an honest party in negotiations to end their war and Iran would not compromise on its national rights, state television reported.

A regional mediation push led by Pakistan aims to narrow differences between Iran and the U.S. after weeks of war that have left the vital waterway of the Strait of Hormuz closed to most shipping despite a nervous ceasefire, upending global energy markets.

PARIS, May 23 (Reuters) - France has decided to ban Israel's police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from access to French territory, said Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Saturday, adding that the decision reflected anger over the treatment of Gaza flotilla activists.

"As from today, Itamar Ben-Gvir is banned from entering French territory," wrote Barrot on X.

"Along with my Italian counterpart, I am asking the European Union to also take sanctions against Itamar Ben-Gvir," he added.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-GuptaEditing by Tomasz Janowski)

France announced on Saturday it has banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir from entry for mocking bound activists seized by Israeli soldiers on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.

"From today, Itamar Ben Gvir is banned from entering French territory" after "his reprehensible actions towards French and European citizens" who were part of the humanitarian flotilla, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X.

He added that, with Italy, he was also calling for European Union-level sanctions against the far-right Israeli minister.

Israel struck south Lebanon on Saturday despite a ceasefire as Hezbollah said its backer Tehran had pledged not to abandon the militant group.

Hezbollah said its chief Naim Qassem had received a message from Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, saying the latest proposal through Pakistani mediators aimed at ending the regional war emphasised "the demand to include Lebanon" in the broader ceasefire.

Lebanese authorities, however, have insisted the country's ongoing talks with Israel under US auspices must be independent from the Iran-US negotiations.