BOXING
No retirement talk: Pacquiao
Philippine great Manny Pacquiao will box on irrespective of the outcome of his Nov. 24 fight against American Brandon Rios, the eight-weight world champion said on Wednesday. Two straight defeats, the second a sixth-round knockout by old foe Juan Manuel Marquez in December last year, have triggered talk of retirement, which would only increase if he loses in Macau as well. However, the 34-year-old Filipino said he would not even give retirement a thought. “[I] just want to go out and win this fight,” Pacquiao told reporters through adviser Michael Koncz via a teleconference. The boxer dismissed any hangover from his last two losses and said he was feeling comfortable and confident ahead of the Macau showdown. Pacquiao dismissed his last two defeats as part of boxing and denied being under any pressure to re-establish himself as the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer. However, he conceded that the Rios fight would be crucial. “This is one of the most important ones because I want to show my fans in the world that I can still compete at the high level,” he said.
SOCCER
Sunderland make quarters
A rare goal from Phil Bardsley put Sunderland on the road to a League Cup quarter-final clash with Chelsea as they beat Southampton 2-1 on Wednesday. It was only Sunderland’s fourth win of the season and their third in the same competition as they set up manager Gus Poyet for a reunion with his old club. Bardsley struck from close range 14 minutes into the second half, after former Sunderland goalkeeper Kelvin Davis had parried Jozy Altidore’s header. Substitute Sebastian Larsson looked to have wrapped up the win with a second four minutes from time, but defender Maya Yoshida’s late header set up a tense conclusion.
BOXING
Mundine vs Mosley back on
Anthony Mundine yesterday said US boxing great Shane Mosley will return to Australia to face him in a rescheduled non-title middleweight fight in Sydney on Nov. 27. Former world middleweight champion Mundine and his manager Khoder Nasser told a press conference the bout was back on after the pair guaranteed Mosley a A$1 million (US$947,000) purse up front. The announcement comes a little over two weeks after Mosley flew home on the eve of the initial fight on Oct. 23, citing a breach of contract with the previous promoter. “This time, it’s going to be done,” Mundine said of his first bout since losing an IBF world middleweight title fight to fellow Australian and archrival Daniel Geale in January. “I’m excited. I’m focused on one goal and that’s proving to the world, to myself, to my fans, and the boxing world that I belong with the legends,” he said. Mosley, who has won five world titles in three weight classes, announced his retirement in June last year after he lost a unanimous decision to junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez of Mexico. However, the 42-year-old returned to the ring in May, beating Pablo Cesar Cano by unanimous decision to win the vacant WBC welterweight title in Mexico.
FOOTBALL
Phillips acting Texans coach
Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips will take over as Houston’s interim head coach and try to help the team end a six-game skid with Gary Kubiak out indefinitely after suffering a mini-stroke this weekend. “I’m just keeping the seat warm,” Phillips said. It is a familiar position for Phillips, a 30-plus-year NFL coaching veteran, who was last a head coach in Dallas and has twice served as an interim head coach.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but