Sports Briefs

■ Boxing
Peter TKOs Martinez in 3rd
Undefeated heavyweight Samuel Peter stopped Mexico's Gilbert Martinez in the third round of a scheduled 10-round bout in Las Vegas, Nevada on Friday for his 23rd straight victory. Peter, ranked fifth by the World Boxing Council and ninth by the International Boxing Federation, unleashed a barrage of punches to the head of Martinez before the fight was stopped at 2:05 of the third. The 24-year-old Peter, of Las Vegas, improved to 23-0 with 20 knockouts. The 38-year-old Martinez slipped to 18-9-3 with seven knockouts.

■ Cycling
Italy's Cunego takes Stage 3
Italy's Damiano Cunego won the third stage of the Tour de Romandie in Anzere, Switzerland on Friday, but Colombian Santiago Botero's third-place finish was good enough to give him the overall lead. Cunego finished the 146.5km stage in 3 hours, 45 minutes, and 49 seconds, to edge out Russia's Denis Menchov and Botero after a difficult 15km climb to the finishing line. With a time of 11 hours, 50 minutes, and 34 seconds, Botero leads Cunego by two seconds in the race for the overall title. The Colombian took the leader's yellow jersey from Italy's Alessandro Petacchi as the five-day event moved to the mountains for the first time. Petacchi -- who won the first two stages in sprint finishes -- finished the third stage in 107th place and drops out of the overall top 10. Spain's Pedro Diaz Lobato broke away from the peloton early in the race, but he was reeled in 4km from the finish as Cunego led a group of six riders up the final climb. The tour concludes Sunday in Lausanne.

■ Boxing
Hopkins and Taylor to fight
Middleweight boxing champion Bernard Hopkins and undefeated challenger Jermain Taylor are one step closer to getting into the ring. The two are scheduled to attend a press conference Tuesday in New York to formally announce the July 16 bout, which has been in negotiations for months. The 40-year-old Hopkins, who has defended his title 20 times, last month gave Taylor 24 hours to accept a US$1.5 million purse for the fight. He later relented and increased the offer to US$1.8 million, but the bout was still delayed in negotiations over terms for a possible rematch. Taylor, a member of the 2000 US Olympic team, is undefeated in 23 fights and considered the best prospect among the middleweight challengers. The fight is scheduled to be held at the MGM Grand hotel-casino in Las Vegas.

■ Soccer
Croates and Serbs clash
Fans of rival soccer clubs fought in the stadium parking lot, and threw rocks and sticks at buses after a match involving Croatian and Serbian-backed teams in Sydney on Saturday. It was the second time in two months that supporters of the Bonnyrigg White Eagles and Sydney United fought after a New South Wales Premier League match. When the teams last met on March 13 in Sydney, six people were arrested and two police officers injured after 50 fans rioted inside the stadium. On Saturday, as part of increased security measures, Parramatta Stadium officials released fans of the Croatian-backed Sydney United team from the stadium before fans of the Serbian-backed Bonnyrigg White Eagles. Bonnyrigg won the match 4-1. But police said violence erupted in the car park when buses carrying fans away from the match were pelted with rocks and sticks.