BOXING
Fury not true champ: Wilder
Dethroned world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder said that he still does not see his conqueror, Tyson Fury, as the true titleholder. The American on Wednesday told a Premier Boxing Champions podcast that the real “Bronze Bomber” had not shown up for their last fight, likening his performance on the night to that of a zombie. “It’s not over. In my eyes I don’t see Fury as the champion,” the 34-year-old said, as he enjoyed some downtime in Alabama. “He ain’t the champion yet, we’ve still got one more fight left ... and I’m looking forward to giving the world the best of Deontay Wilder... People that know boxing know that that wasn’t Deontay Wilder that night. I was a zombie that night... I wasn’t myself, I felt like a zombie in there.” Fury overwhelmed Wilder in their Las Vegas rematch in February, seizing the World Boxing Council crown with a seventh-round stoppage. They had previously fought to a draw in December 2018. Wilder claimed afterward that his legs had been weakened by a 20kg costume of full dark armor and helmet that he wore to the ring to honor Black History Month. A third bout between the two heavyweights was scheduled for July, but has been pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a likely date in October.
FOOTBALL
Packers’ Davis dies aged 85
NFL Hall of Famer Willie Davis, the first African-American captain in Green Bay Packers’ history, died on Wednesday aged 85. Davis was a crucial member of the Packers’ winning teams when they were led by legendary head coach Vince Lombardi. Davis died at a Los Angeles hospital, but the Packers did not provide any details, such as cause of death. A defensive end, Davis played for the Packers from 1960 to 1969 and was part of Green Bay’s Super Bowl-winning teams in 1967 and 1968. In a dozen NFL seasons, he never missed a game. Davis was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1981. He holds the Packers’ career record for fumble recoveries with 21. Davis played in 162 career games and was named to the NFL’s 1960s All-Decade Team. His death came on Major League Baseball’s Jackie Robinson Day, an annual event to honor the day Robinson made his professional debut. Robinson had a memorial career and is best known for becoming the first black player in US baseball in 1947.
RUGBY UNION
Argentina to ditch bid: report
Argentina are to abandon plans to bid to host the 2027 Rugby World Cup to give Australia a free run as the southern hemisphere’s candidate, Sydney’s the Daily Telegraph reported yesterday. The Argentine government in 2016 announced that the country would bid to take the tournament to South America for the first time, but the newspaper quoted World Rugby vice chairman Agustin Pichot as saying that was no longer the case. “We discussed it with Australia and we thought it was not good for us to compete against our partner,” Argentine Pichot was quoted as saying. “So we decided to just let Australia run, because they also had a stronger project.” There was no immediate comment from the Argentine Rugby Union. Pichot earlier this week announced his bid to replace Bill Beaumont as chairman of World Rugby. Rugby Australia seconded his nomination.
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Belgian partner Elise Mertens on Monday notched up their first win in the doubles group stage of the WTA Finals in Riyadh to keep their semi-final hopes alive, while Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russian partner Veronika Kudermetova were aiming to record their first victory after press time last night. Third seeds Hsieh and Mertens came back from a disheartening opening-day loss to Australia’s Ellen Perez and Nicole Melichar-Martinez to defeat top seeds Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, the women’s doubles world No. 3 and 4 respectively. The 6-1, 6-3 victory at King Saud University Indoor Arena
Taiwan’s top table tennis player Lin Yun-ju made his debut in the US professional table tennis scene by taking on a new role as a team’s co-owner. On Wednesday, Major League Table Tennis (MLTT), founded in September last year, announced on its official Web site that Lin had become part of the ownership group of the Princeton Revolution, one of the league’s eight teams. MLTT chief executive officer Flint Lane described Lin’s investment as “another great milestone for table tennis in America,” saying that the league’s “commitment to growth and innovation is drawing attention from the best in the sport, and we’re
Coco Gauff of the US on Friday defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to set up a showdown with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the final of the WTA Finals, while in the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching was eliminated. Gauff generated six break points to Belarusian Sabalenka’s four and built on early momentum in the opening set’s tiebreak that she carried through to the second set. She is the youngest player at 20 to make the final at the WTA Finals since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Zheng earlier defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to book
Atalanta BC brought Serie A leaders SSC Napoli down to earth with a bump with a 3-0 victory on Sunday as Ademola Lookman grabbed two goals. Napoli were hoping to open up a substantial lead at the top before, but Atalanta stunned the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium as they decisively ended the home side’s unbeaten run that stretched back to Aug. 18. Inter then closed the gap with a 1-0 victory over Venezia to end the weekend just a point behind Napoli. Lookman pounced first in the 10th minute when Marten de Roon’s header fell for the London-born Nigerian international