RUGBY LEAGUE
New Zealand defeat Tonga
A strong first-half performance yesterday set up New Zealand’s 26-6 win over Tonga in the home side’s first rugby league Test in almost three years. New Zealand led 20-6 at halftime in the match at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium, which was turned by Tonga supporters into a sea of red clothing and flags. The Kiwis managed only one try in the second half, but still convincingly won the match, which serves as part of their preparation for the Rugby League World Cup in Britain later this year. New Zealand’s previous international match was against Britain in November 2019. International rugby league has largely been in abeyance due to international border closures amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
BOXING
Alvarez says bout ‘personal’
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Friday said that his upcoming trilogy fight with longtime ring rival Gennady Golovkin is “personal,” adding that he was hoping to end the Kazakhstan boxer’s career. Alvarez and Golovkin, known as “GGG,” first met in 2017 and fought to a disputed draw. In the rematch in 2018, the Mexican won an even more controversial points decision that many observers thought could have gone the other way. A money-spinning third instalment is scheduled to take place on Sept. 17. “Yeah, he’s two different people, he pretends to be a nice guy here, but he’s not,” Alvarez told reporters. “Yeah, it’s personal for me and this is the way I am. I don’t pretend to be another person or say things in the media or other places and [then] come here and pretend I don’t want to say anything. It’s personal for me, because he talks a lot of things... That’s why he’s special now. I just can’t wait to be in the ring.” Alvarez said that he would end Golovkin’s career with a knockout. Golovkin downplayed any suggestion of animosity. “If we take my opponent’s achievements, I believe he did great,” Golovkin said. “I’m a big fan of boxing, and from that standpoint, I respect him a lot. As for him saying this is personal, I really don’t understand what he’s talking about as after the second fight we shook hands and I believe we put everything behind us back then. If he says he still has something against me, again, it’s his problem not mine.”
BOXING
IBA excluded from Paris
Boxing’s world governing body has once again been excluded from organizing its own events at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Friday. The International Boxing Association (IBA) had already been barred from the Olympics in Tokyo last year, with the organization’s presence at the 2028 Los Angeles Games also uncertain. “In the interest of the athletes and the boxing community, the IBA will not be running qualifications and Olympic events,” IOC sports director Kit McConnell told a news conference in Lausanne, Switzerland. Boxing is to take place at Paris 2024, but McConnell said that the IOC remained “very concerned by the governance, the refereeing and judging process and the finances” of the amateur boxing body. The recent re-election of the IBA president, Russian Umar Kremlev, has been called into question by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, while the IOC is also concerned about “its financial dependency” on Russian gas company Gazprom.
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
Italy crashed to a 3-0 loss away to Norway, as the four-time FIFA World Cup champions made a disastrous start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday, while Belgium had to settle for a draw in North Macedonia. Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland all scored in the first half in pouring rain in Oslo as Norway made it a night to forget for Italy, who missed out on the past two World Cups. “I have no explanation. Our supporters don’t deserve this kind of match. We need to do some soul-searching. It’s unacceptable,” Italy captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi
‘STILL’: In front of a packed New Jersey arena attended by Donald Trump and Mike Tyson, UFC 316 delivered high drama as Merab Dvalishvili retained his title Georgia’s Merab Dvalishvili scored a second-round submission win over Sean O’Malley to retain his bantamweight title at Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 316 on Saturday, with Kayla Harrison also winning by submission in the co-main event, tapping out Juliana Pena to claim the women’s bantamweight crown. In front of a packed crowd at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, which included US President Donald Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson, Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing, although not aesthetically pleasing, unanimous decision. Dvalishvili (19-4) sat on top of the cage and shouted
Manchester City on Monday completed the signing of left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported ￡31 million (US$41.8 million). The 24-year-old Algeria international has signed a five-year contract and will be available for the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins later this week. Ait-Nouri is expected to be just one of a trio of new City faces for that tournament with deals close to completion for AC Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders and Olympique Lyonnais playmaker Rayan Cherki. After missing out on a major trophy in the recently completed season for the first time since 2016-2017, City are hoping
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