BOXING
Andrade stops Quigley
Demetrius Andrade on Friday night stopped Jason Quigley of Ireland in the second round to retain his World Boxing Organization middleweight title at the Southern New Hampshire University Arena. The 33-year-old Andrade, from Providence, Rhode Island, improved to 31-0 with his 15th knockout, dropping Quigley (19-2, 14 knockouts) three times. In the second round, Andrade sent Quigley to the canvas with a left to the temple. After Quigley got up Andrade swarmed over him and dropped him in a corner with a right hand to the top of the head. Referee Arthur Mercante Jr stepped in and stopped the fight 2 minutes, 24 seconds into the round. The co-main event between World Boxing Council flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez of Mexico and McWilliams Arroyo was a no-decision after two rounds due to a cut along Arroyo’s left eye that he sustained due to an accidental head butt. Martinez (16-1, 1 no contest 14 knockouts) retained his title.
BASEBALL
Guardians sign falls
An opening day for the newly named Cleveland Guardians on Friday began with a bang, but not the one they had hoped for. As fans were buying the first available Guardians merchandise as the MLB team officially transitioned from being the Indians after 106 years, a sign installed outside the team store at Progressive Field broke free from its mount and crashed to the sidewalk. “Well, that’s an ominous sign,” one onlooker yelled. A worker was on a ladder checking bolts when the sign snapped a small section of the ballpark’s stone exterior, fell about 3m and smashed into pieces. No one was injured.
SOCCER
Augsburg down Bayern
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich on Friday crashed to a shock 2-1 defeat against Augsburg without Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich, who is back in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Goals by Mads Pedersen and Andre Hahn put Augsburg 2-0 up, and although Robert Lewandowski claimed his 14th goal in 12 league games, it was not enough to rescue Bayern. “We deserve to fall behind in the first half,” Thomas Mueller told DAZN after his 600th appearance for Bayern ended in disappointment. “We gave away possession, dealt with crosses badly. This is a bitter setback for us and our confidence.”
MOTORCYCLING
Marquez to get eye tests
Spanish motorcycling ace Marc Marquez is to undergo eye tests next month, after which his Honda team are to make a decision over his participation next season. Six-time world champion Marquez missed the final MotoGP of the season in Valencia, Spain, last weekend. He is also sitting out testing under way at Jerez. Honda director Alberto Puig said Marquez’s health must come first after the 28-year-old began to experience double vision. “How he feels is the most important thing,” Puig said. “He’s about the same as when he was diagnosed and he needs time and rest. Round Christmas time we’ll see what condition he’s in and make a decision then.”
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB