Germany's Arthur Abraham overcame a broken jaw on Saturday to retain his IBF middleweight title with a unanimous decision over Colombia's Edison Miranda.
Abraham pounded Miranda for four rounds until the Colombian apparently caught the Armenian-born German with a right to the jaw late in the fourth round. Abraham spat blood and was unable to close his mouth, but prevailed to improve to 22-0. The ring doctor said he faced an operation.
In the fifth round, Miranda intentionally headbutted Abraham, who went over to the edge of the ring to let blood pour out of his mouth.
PHOTO: EPA
After that his corner kept telling the 26-year-old Abraham he had to hold out the whole 12 rounds or his title would be gone.
"You can do it -- try to close your mouth -- you can do it," Abraham's trainer, Ulli Wegner, kept telling him.
Miranda pressed the fight, but appeared spent from the pounding he had taken and fell to 26-1.
PHOTO: EPA
The German kept dodging blows and once a round unloaded a few hard shots -- sometimes knocking the Colombian into the ropes -- before covering up again.
Miranda's third low blow of the night in the 11th round proved costly.
Abraham repeatedly turned his back on Miranda after a clinch -- apparently his concentration gone -- and each time the Colombian ran after him and tried to knock him out from behind.
The low blow gave the German five minutes to recover and he easily stayed away from Miranda through the final two rounds.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS