LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Stevenson stops Dawson
Adonis Stevenson stopped Chad Dawson with a single, swinging left-handed punch at 1 minute, 16 seconds of the first round in Montreal, Canada, on Saturday to capture Dawson’s World Boxing Council light heavyweight world title. Stevenson, a Haitian-born Canadian who at 35 has fought just 22 professional fights, underscored his reputation as a knockout artist as he improved to 21-1 with 19 wins inside the distance. “You understand why people don’t want to fight me now?” a beaming Stevenson asked as he clutched his championship belt. Stevenson had stepped up in weight to take the fight. His plan was to use his speed and, when he had a chance, unleash his powerful left. According to CompuBox statistics, the telling blow was the third he landed on the night. Dawson, who was trying to bounce back from a 10th-round loss to Andre Ward in a fight in which Dawson stepped down to super middleweight, instead suffered an even more embarrassing defeat, falling to 31-3. Dawson was leaning in and winding up to throw a right when southpaw Stevenson nailed him on the side of the head. When he rose, his eyes were glazed and his legs wobbly, and the referee called it off for the technical knockout. “It was a punch I didn’t see,” a dejected Dawson said. “He caught me and that was it.”
CRUISERWEIGHT
Marco Huck retains his belt
German cruiserweight Marco Huck retained his World Boxing Organization belt by defeating Britain’s Ola Afolabi by majority decision in Berlin on Saturday. The defending champion did not look overly troubled in the third bout between them, so there was some surprise at the Max-Schmeling-Halle when Lahcen Oumghar of the Netherlands scored it 114-114, but Deon Dwarte of South Africa and John Madfis of the US agreed Huck won, scoring it 115-113 and 117-111 respectively. “I think I surpassed myself today,” said Huck, who improved to 36-2-1 with 25 knockouts. “Today, I showed that I can box. Key to the success was my good preparation.” Afolabi said he agreed with the first judge’s call and Madfis’ score was ridiculous. He dropped to 19-3-4 with nine knockouts. Huck kept his belt after fighting Afolabi to a draw by majority decision in May last year, while he beat the Briton with a narrow unanimous decision in May 2009. “I leave the ring today without a bad conscience,” said Huck, who has made 11 successful defenses of the title he won from Victor Emilio Ramirez in 2009.
SUPER FLYWEIGHT
Sanchez defeats Sosa
Mexico’s Juan Carlos “Zurdito” Sanchez lost his International Boxing Federation super flyweight title on the scales, but he did not let Argentina’s Roberto Domingo Sosa win it in the ring in Las Vegas on Saturday. Sanchez earned a 12-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Sosa, using his height and reach advantage to keep Sosa largely at bay, while landing his own punishing shots. Sanchez punctuated his victory with a knockdown in the 12th and was given the win by a margin of 117-110 from two ringside judges, with the third scoring it 116-111. Sanchez improved to 16-1-1 with eight knockouts, but he will not leave Las Vegas with the belt he took with him. He was stripped of the title on Saturday morning, a day after he failed to make the weight for the fight. Sanchez spent two hours trying to make the weight, but even on a third visit to the scales he was still over the super flyweight limit. The IBF declared the title vacant and had Sosa won he would have claimed it. Instead he suffered his first defeat, falling to 24-1.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two