■ Boxing
Eagle still the champ
Champion Eagle Kyowa of Thailand defeated Japan's Akira Yaegashi in Yokohama, Japan, on Monday with a unanimous decision to successfully defend his WBC minimum weight title. Kyowa, who is based in Japan, improved to a record of 18-1 with six knockouts. Yaegashi, taking his first shot at a world title, slipped to 6-1 with five KOs. Kyowa led after the first four rounds and sent Yaegashi to the canvas with a right to the jaw in the closing seconds of the 10th round.
■ Soccer
Heavily armed fans arrested
Brazilian police arrested two fans who allegedly planned to throw a grenade at a bus full of rival supporters following a Brazilian league match over the weekend, authorities said on Monday. The two Palmeiras fans were detained at a federal highway police checkpoint on Sunday night following the team's 3-1 loss to Cruzeiro in Sao Paulo, highway police said in a statement.
■ Boxing
Jailbird wins title, freedom
Convicted drugs dealer Samson Sor Siriporn is to be released from prison three years early as a reward for winning the women's WBC light-flyweight title, her promoter said yesterday. The Thai boxer, who in April became the first boxer to win a world title while serving a jail sentence, will be paroled on June 13 so she can prepare for her next fight. Siriporn, 24, is serving a 10-year sentence for selling methamphetamines. Under the close watch of dozens of prison guards at the notorious "Bangkok Hilton," Siriporn won a unanimous decision to beat Japan's Ayaka Miyano and take the vacant WBC belt. She has since vowed to turn her back on her life of crime and focus on a career in the ring.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite