BOXING
Smokin’ Joe has cancer
Former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier is seriously ill with liver cancer. His personal and business manager said on Saturday the 67-year-old boxer was diagnosed four or five weeks ago and is under hospice care. Leslie Wolff said those close to Frazier are hoping for the best, but calls it a “serious situation.” Frazier was the first man to beat Muhammad Ali, knocking him down and taking a decision in the so-called “Fight of the Century” in 1971. He then lost two more fights to Ali, including the epic “Thrilla in Manila” bout in 1975.
BOXING
Bute remains undefeated
Lucian Bute kept his undefeated record intact with a one-sided unanimous decision victory over Glen Johnson in an IBF super-middleweight title fight in Quebec City, Canada, on Saturday. The 31-year-old Canadian-based Romanian Bute improved to 30-0 and made the 10th defense of the title he won in 2007. “It was a great fight and a great performance for me,” said southpaw Bute, who saw his string of six consecutive KOs snapped. “Glen Johnson is a great fighter. To beat him, you have to avoid the jab. I did that and I tried to out-jab him.” Two of the three judges gave Bute all 12 rounds and he lost just one round on the other judge’s scorecard in front of a crowd of 15,306 at the Colisee arena. The 42-year-old Johnson, of Jamaica, fell to 51-16-2. Johnson injured his right arm in the bout, but continued to fight. He didn’t take the loss well. “I think I won the fight,” Johnson said. “It’s tough to win in your opponent’s hometown because as soon as he does one little thing, the crowd goes crazy instead of paying attention to what the punches are telling you.” On the undercard, Canadian super-bantamweight Steve Molitor outpointed Sebastien Gauthier in a 10-round split decision to improve to 34-2. Meanwhile, in Hollywood, Florida, Panama’s Guillermo Jones scored a sixth round technical knockout of Mike Marrone to retain his WBA cruiserweight title. Jones knocked Marrone down in the fifth and sixth rounds at the Hard Rock Live Arena. Jones improved to 38-3-2 with his 30th knockout, while Marrone fell to 20-4.
BOXING
Burns grabs second title
Ricky Burns earned his second world title when he easily outpointed Michael Katsidis for the interim WBO lightweight belt at Wembley Arena in London on Saturday. Burns relinquished the WBO super-featherweight title to make his division debut against the favored Katsidis and produced a classy display, which the judges rewarded with unanimous scores of 117-111, 117-111 and 117-112. Katsidis, from Australia, was the more aggressive throughout, but kept getting punished by his Scottish opponent’s snappy jab and sharp counterattacks. Burns improved to 33-2 (nine KOs), while Katsidis dropped to 28-5 (23 KOs).
HORSE RACING
Upset at Breeders Cup
Drosselmeyer scored a spectacular upset by winning the US$5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday, while delivering a much-needed dose of redemption for jockey Mike Smith. Smith, who suffered a gut-wrenching defeat at the wire in last year’s Classic aboard Zenyatta, piloted Drosselmeyer past the celebrated field in a dramatic stretch run to win the US’ richest race. Drosselmeyer finished one and one-half lengths ahead of the Bob Baffert-trained gelding Game on Dude, ridden by Smith’s ex-girlfriend, Chantal Sutherland.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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