■BOXING
Pacquiao to take on Clottey
WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao will put his title on the line against Ghanaian Joshua Clottey in March after talks on a bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr fizzled out this week, the Filipino’s promoter said on Friday. The planned fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr broke down when negotiations between the two sides hit a snag over the American’s demand for a rigorous dope testing procedure. Pacquiao’s new opponent beat Zab Judah of the US for the IBF welterweight title in August 2008 and lost a split decision to Puerto Rico’s Miguel Cotto last June. “This is a better fight,” Bob Arum of Top Rank, Pacquiao’s promoter, said in a telephone interview. “[Clottey’s] a real strong, aggressive and hard-punching African from Ghana and he poses a real test for Manny.” Arum said a location for the fight would be decided tomorrow.
■SKELETON
Hollingsworth breaks record
World Cup leader Mellisa Hollingsworth of Canada won a skeleton race on Friday in Koenigssee, Germany, after setting a track record in the second run. Hollingsworth clocked 49.48 seconds and 48.78 seconds for an aggregate of 1 minute, 38.26 seconds, beating first-run leader Kerstin Szymkowiak of Germany by 0.24 seconds. Shelley Rudman of Britain was third, 0.47 seconds behind. Martins Dukurs of Latvia, who also leads the overall standings, won the men’s race in 1 minute, 35.29 seconds after runs of 47.74 seconds and 47.55 seconds. Dukurs beat two Germans. Sandro Stielicke was 0.34 seconds behind and Frank Rommel 0.55 seconds back.
■SOCCER
Faubert targets Algeria spot
West Ham United’s French midfielder Julien Faubert has applied for an Algerian passport in a bid to achieve his dream of playing at this year’s World Cup in South Africa, the player told the AS sports daily on Friday. Faubert, whose wife is Algerian, has played only one match for his native France, although that was a friendly. Algeria qualified for the World Cup after a dramatic two-leg playoff with north African giants Egypt. The Desert Foxes will play in Group C alongside England, the US and Slovenia. West Ham loaned Faubert to Real Madrid last season, where the player had a bitter experience — playing a total of one hour in the last few months of the season before returning to England.
■SOCCER
Dossena moves to Napoli
Defender Andrea Dossena joined Italian club Napoli on a four-year deal from Liverpool on Friday. Napoli, who are fourth in Serie A, paid 4.25 million euros (US$6.1 million) to buy the Italy international, Liverpool said. Since joining Liverpool in 2008, Dossena has scored one goal in 18 Premier League games. He also appeared in eight Champions League matches. Dossena has also played 10 times for Italy and wants to secure a spot in the Azzurri squad for this year’s World Cup in South Africa. He previously played in Italy with Verona, Treviso and Udinese.
■SOCCER
Liverpool sell Voronin
Liverpool have agreed to sell striker Andriy Voronin to Dynamo Moscow. The Premier League club said on Friday that they had negotiated a fee of 2 million euros with Dynamo and the Ukraine international had agreed personal terms. Liverpool expect the deal to be completed over the weekend. Manager Rafa Benitez says he is selling Voronin, who was on loan at Hertha Berlin last season, because he cannot be guaranteed regular action.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care