Rising welterweight Keith Thurman remained unbeaten on Saturday night, stopping Julio Diaz after three rounds when Diaz’s corner threw in the towel due to an injured rib.
Lucas Matthysse overcame two early knockdowns and stopped John Molina Jr early in the 11th round of the Argentine 64kg star’s dynamite return to the ring. Matthysse knocked down the bloody Molina in each of the final three rounds, culminating in a decisive combination.
Omar Figueroa Jr also retained his WBC lightweight title with a split-decision victory over Jerry Belmontes on a chilly night before an energized crowd at the outdoor ring south of Los Angeles.
Photo: AFP
Thurman (23-0, 21 KOs), nicknamed “One Time” for his knockout power, retained his WBA interim welterweight title by knocking down Diaz in the second round before delivering the body shot that apparently ended it. Although he had a short night, Thurman demonstrated his formidable skill and power in his seventh fight in less than two years.
“He’s a warrior, but he just couldn’t take the punishment,” Thurman said of Diaz. “No one knows the power of One Time until they step in the ring with One Time. We did the work in the gym. How did you think I was able to look this good?”
Thurman was busy from the opening bell, and he dropped Diaz (40-10-1) in the second round with a left to the temple. Diaz stayed on his unsteady feet for a moment before taking a knee and getting up to beat the count.
Diaz took a barrage of body punches from Thurman in the third round, and his corner stopped the fight with Diaz on his stool.
The main event was an anticlimax after a tenacious performance by Matthysse (35-3, 33 KOs), who had not fought since injuring his eye and losing a decision to champion Danny Garcia in September last year.
“It did take me a few rounds to get going, but I was able to take control,” Matthysse said.
“The knockdowns threw me off a little, but I was able to get my punches in,” he said.
That defeat interrupted the rapid rise of the hard-punching Argentine known as “The Machine,” and he returned with what many expected to be a simple fight against Molina (27-4), a Los Angeles-area fighter who infamously got knocked out in the first round of a title shot in 2012.
Molina showed he was no pushover from the opening round, knocking back Matthysse with a big right hand. Another chopping right out of a clinch in the second round sent Matthysse to his knees on just his second career knockdown.
Although Matthysse controlled long stretches of the bout with his jab and power, he went down again late in the fifth after winning much of the round, dropping to his knees on a punch to the top of his head. Matthysse immediately indicated the punch was illegal in the back of his head, but referee Pat Russell ruled it a knockdown.
Despite a cut near his left eye, Matthysse kept using his jab and power against Molina, who had a large cut on the left side of his head. Matthysse then knocked down Molina late in the eighth round with a left hand and a possible push before punishing him throughout the ninth.
Matthysse dropped Molina again in the 10th round with a combination on the ropes. Molina crumpled into the corner on a relentless barrage of punches early in the 11th, and Matthysse leaped on the ropes to celebrate.
Figueroa (23-0-1) gained a measure of revenge with a methodical win over Belmontes (19-4), who beat him several times when the two Texans were amateur fighters. Two judges favored Figueroa by 118-110 and 116-112, while a third gave it to Belmontes 115-113.
“That’s just the way he fights,” Figueroa said. “I wanted to put on a good show for the fans, but there’s only so much I can do.”
GUNNING FOR A WIN: The victory sending Arsenal to the final for the first time in six years was cathartic for a team who had lost their previous four semi-finals Arsenal on Tuesday reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semi-final second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semi-finals in last year’s UEFA Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 UEFA Europa League. In their first final for six years,
SUPERSTAR DELIVERS: Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to propel the Spurs to a 135-123 victory over the Dallas Mavericks The Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday shook off the early exit of injured star Luka Doncic, rallying without him in the second half for a 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Austin Reaves, again coming off the bench in his second game back from a 19-game injury absence, scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, drilling a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lakers their first lead of the game early in the final frame. “Losing Luka, you know nothing’s going to be easy after that because he does so much for us, but we bonded together,” said
DEADLINE DAY: Rennes’ Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off the move due to the Blues’ bloated squad Liverpool on Monday won the race to sign Stade Rennais defender Jeremy Jacquet on the quiet final day of the English Premier League transfer window, while Crystal Palace swooped for Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Jorgen Strand Larsen despite the collapse of Jean-Philippe Mateta’s move to AC Milan. The Reds agreed a reported fee of up to ￡60 million (US$82 million) for the highly rated Jacquet. However, the 20-year-old will not join the Premier League champions until the summer despite Liverpool’s need for defensive reinforcements. Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off
Ademola Lookman on Thursday scored on his Atletico Madrid debut in a 5-0 rout of Real Betis Balompie that sent Diego Simeone’s team to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. David Hancko, Giuliano Simeone, Antoine Griezmann and Thiago Almada also scored for Atletico as they advanced to the last four for the third straight season. Atletico are trying to reach their first Copa final since winning the competition in 2012-2013. Hancko opened the scoring for the visitors in the 12th minute and Giuliano Simeone added to the lead in the 30th, before Lookman got his first goal for Atletico on a fast
RSS