BOXING
Golovkin batters Rosado
Gennady Golovkin battered gutsy Gabriel Rosado on the way to a seventh-round technical knockout on Saturday to remain unbeaten and retain his World Boxing Association middleweight world title. Kazakhstan’s Golovkin, who lives in Germany and was fighting in the US for the second time, poured on the pressure from the opening bell until Rosado’s corner threw in the towel and referee Steve Smoger officially stopped the bout after two minutes, 46 seconds of the seventh. The hard-punching middleweight improved to 25-0 with 22 victories inside the distance. Fighting in the Theater at Madison Square Garden, the 30-year-old Golovkin notched a second-straight convincing win in front of US fans, following up his punishing fifth-round knockout of Grzegorz Proksa in September last year and positioning himself for a shot at World Boxing Council champion Sergio Martinez. Even Golovkin’s jabs rocked Rosado, who fought gamely despite the blood that was pouring from the cut over his eye and from his nose by the sixth round. Before the seventh, his corner asked if they should stop the fight and he said no. However, as the seconds ticked away in the seventh and he was unable to respond effectively to Golovkin’s punches, they called a halt.
RALLYING
Peterhansel defends title
Frenchmen Stephane Peterhansel and Cyril Despres have successfully defended their car and motorbike titles in the Dakar Rally. Peterhansel, leading the race since the second stage on Jan. 6, became the most successful driver in the world’s toughest rally with his fifth victory to go along with a record six on a motorbike. He is the first person to win the car category twice since the rally moved from Africa to South America in 2009 for security reasons. Overall, Peterhansel beat 2009 winner Giniel de Villiers of South Africa by 42 minutes, and by nearly 90 over Mini teammate, third-placed Leonid Novitskiy of Russia. Despres’ fifth title on a KTM tied him in rally history with the inaugural Dakar winner, countryman Cyril Neveu. They are second only to Peterhansel in bike titles.
RALLYING
Loeb wins Monte Carlo Rally
Nine-time world champion Sebastien Loeb of France won the Monte Carlo Rally for the seventh time in the past eight races on Saturday. The Citroen driver, competing in the first of only four races this season after going into semi-retirement, won ahead of countryman Sebastien Ogier and Daniel Sordo of Spain after race organizers cancelled the day’s final two stages on safety grounds. Adverse weather forced many spectators to attempt to abandon the mountainous terrain ahead of the last two stages, causing major congestion. Loeb, who clinched the day’s third stage ahead of Ogier and Sordo, finished one minute, 39.9 seconds up on Ogier and 3:49 clear of Sordo overall.
SOCCER
Milan eye Balotelli
AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani says the club is interested in signing Mario Balotelli, but only if Manchester City drops its asking price for the Italy striker. Balotelli, who is a Milan fan, has long been linked with a return to Italy, where he progressed through the ranks at Inter before joining City in 2010. Balotelli’s agent, Mino Raiola, spent time at Milan’s headquarters on Friday. Galliani is more hopeful of bringing Milan idol Kaka back to the San Siro and is in talks with the Real Madrid player about reducing his salary.
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
Arsenal stormed six points clear at the top of the English Premier League as Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres put Fulham to the sword in a 3-0 win, while West Ham United’s defeat at Brentford offered Tottenham Hotspur a lifeline in the battle for survival. The Gunners have stumbled toward the finish line in their quest for a first league title in 22 years, blowing a sizeable lead over Manchester City in a series of nervous displays. However, the return of Saka, making his first start in six weeks, freed up Mikel Arteta’s men in a dominant performance that shrugged
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