BOXING
Chavez remains unbeaten
Unbeaten Mexican star Julio Cesar Chavez Jr kept his WBC middleweight crown in Houston, Texas, on Saturday by stopping US challenger Peter Manfredo in the fifth round. Chavez landed a stunning right to Manfredo’s head and followed with 30 unanswered punches as the American tried in vain to evade the champion’s blows before referee Laurence Cole halted the bout 1 minute, 52 seconds into the fifth round. “I’ve been working at it a lot, trying to box instead of fight. It took me a while to get into it, but it worked out well,” Chavez said. “In the long run, we were going to fight, we were going to roll.” The son of legendary fighter Julio Cesar Chavez improved to 44-0 with one draw with his 31st victory inside the distance, the first defense of the title he won last June with a 12-round decision over Germany’s Sebastian Zbik. Manfredo fell to 37-7, ending a six-fight winning streak in what he said might have been his final bout. Chavez, the larger fighter, connected on solid power punches throughout the second round and both men landed solid straight right hands to the head in the third. Manfredo bloodied Chavez’s nose in an aggressive fourth-round performance, but Chavez responded in the fifth with his stunning blow and pressed the attack to the finish.
Photo: AFP
SOCCER
Mechelen rally late
Taiwan international Javier Chen’s KV Mechelen left it late to grab a point against SV Zulte Waregem on Saturday in a Belgian Jupiler league match that featured two red cards. Hosts Mechelen were reduced to 10 men in the 19th minute when Abdul-Yakuni Iddi was sent off for being involved in a scuffle with Waregem’s Olafur Skulason, but the visitors failed to take advantage until they were awarded a penalty in the 52nd minute when Boris Pandza handled in the penalty area. Remi Mareval converted from the spot. The visitors were also reduced to 10 men in the 66th minute when Jonathan Delaplace got a second yellow card. Julien Gorius equalized for Mechelen in the 86th minute, also from the penalty spot, after substitute Alessandro Cordaro was fouled in the area. Mechelen were 11th in the standing following Saturday’s matches.
GOLF
Mulroy birdies five times
South Africa’s Garth Mulroy made five birdies in a row on his homeward nine on Saturday, giving him a third-round lead in the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek in Malelane, South Africa. He carded an eight-under-par 64 to move into a two-stroke lead over Felipe Aguilar, the Chilean who signed for a 68 after his second-round 64. “I was a bit disappointed to miss out on a birdie on 18,” Mulroy said after he picked up shots on each of the holes from the 13th to the 17th. He added that the best way to fix that would be to go out and get a birdie on his first hole yesterday. Mulroy started his round fast with a pair of birdies on the first two holes and picked up a third on the sixth hole. His impressive round was in stark contrast to the woes of halfway leader Jbe Kruger, who battled his way to a one-over-par 73 in a round that differed markedly from his opening 36 holes.
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
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB