BOXING
Golovkin stops Macklin
Undefeated Kazakhstani middleweight Gennady Golovkin stopped Irish challenger Matthew Macklin in the third round in Mashantucket, Connecticut, on Saturday night to successfully defend his WBA and IBO titles. Golovkin improved to 27-0 with his 24th knockout, using a left hand to the body to flatten Macklin (29-5) one minute, 22 seconds into the third. Golovkin dominated the first two rounds, landing several hard combinations. “It was an easy fight for me,” Golovkin said. “I felt great in the ring. He never hurt me. I was very happy with my performance.” Golovkin has made five successful title defenses and has not gone the distance in a fight since June 2008 against Amar Amari in an eight-round bout. Macklin has lost three of his last four fights.
RUGBY UNION
Fruean to have heart op
New Zealand Super Rugby team the Crusaders say center Robbie Fruean must undergo heart surgery and will miss the remainder of the three-nation tournament. The 24-year-old Fruean needs a valve replacement to repair damage to his heart caused by rheumatic fever which he contracted four years ago. Team doctor Deb Robinson said Fruean’s cardiac function has been deteriorating over the past six months and a specialist had recommended surgery. Fruean underwent open-heart surgery in 2009 when he was diagnosed with pancarditis as a result of his earlier illness. Coach Todd Blackadder said Fruean was expected to make a full recovery and could return to Super Rugby next year.
SOCCER
Uruguay progress after win
Uruguay defeated Uzbekistan 4-0 at the Under-20 World Cup to secure a place in the knockout stage on Saturday. Gino Acevedo scored with a low 25m shot in the 38th minute, and Nicolas Lopez, Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Ruben Bentancourt added more goals in the second half. Uruguay finished Group F second to Croatia, and will take on Nigeria in the playoffs. Uzbekistan also advanced as one of the best third-placed teams and will meet Greece. Croatia, already qualified, beat New Zealand 2-1 while Iraq beat Chile by the same score to win Group E. Both teams were already through to the last 16. Iraq will face Paraguay, while Chile are up against Croatia. Egypt beat England 2-0 and finished third, but came up one goal short of advancing. Instead, Ghana went through to the first knockout round as the 16th and last team because of a better goal difference and will play Portugal.
MOTOGP
Lorenzo hails best ride
Defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo said his fifth placed finish in Saturday’s Dutch MotoGP the day after he underwent an operation on a broken collarbone was better than any of his numerous victories. The Spaniard — who was passed fit to ride only hours before the race — also saw his gamble pay off because he finished just one place behind championship leader Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa extended his lead by only two points to nine over Lorenzo in a race won by the latter’s Yamaha teammate Valentino Rossi, ending a winless run of nearly three years for the Italian. Lorenzo, who underwent the operation early on Friday morning in Barcelona after breaking the collarbone in practice on Thursday, was delighted with the way things turned out. “This fifth position is better than any victory I have had in my career,” Lorenzo said. “It would have been impossible to believe some minutes after my crash that this could happen.”
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
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