BOXING
Alvarez signs fights deal
Canelo Alvarez has agreed to a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season, with the Mexican superstar leveraging a widely speculated bout with Jake Paul for a much bigger contract. Turki Alalshikh, the head of Riyadh Season and the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, announced the deal on Thursday on social media. “Don’t mess with the lion,” Alalshikh said. Alvarez quickly replied: “Let’s go brother.” The first fight under Alvarez’s new deal would be in May in Riyadh. Ring Magazine, citing a source with knowledge of the details, said that a bout against Terence Crawford was planned for September in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium. Alvarez has spent years as the biggest moneymaker in boxing, and the 34-year-old super middleweight champion used the threat of a stunt fight against Paul to leverage a major commitment from the Saudi Arabian government arm that has flooded the sport with money in the past few years.
Photo: AFP
RUGBY UNION
Etzebeth’s symptoms return
South Africa star forward Eben Etzebeth has had a return of concussion symptoms and has been sent to specialists, ruling him out of action for the immediate future, his club the Sharks said. The lock forward is a two-time World Cup winner with the Springboks and his performances last year saw him nominated for World Rugby’s Player of the Year for a second successive time. Etzebeth has not played since being diagnosed with concussion in the Sharks’ 39-21 home win over the Exeter Chiefs in the European Champions Cup on Dec. 7 last year. Etzebeth had “suffered a return-of-symptoms of his recent concussion,” the Sharks said. “The Sharks take this injury very seriously and player welfare remains our top priority. Eben is being managed by concussion specialists. He will be cleared to return once they are fully satisfied that his injury has completely resolved.”
Photo: Reuters
CRICKET
Iyer cuts movie short
India middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer had to cut short a movie night and turn in earlier than planned on Wednesday, but a match-defining half-century against England the next day made it all worthwhile. Iyer’s belligerent 59 off 36 balls set up India’s comfortable chase of 249 in the one-day series opener, which the hosts completed inside 39 overs to go 1-0 up in the three-match series. The previous evening, a call from captain Rohit Sharma informed Iyer he would be playing the series opener as Virat Kohli had been laid low by a knee niggle. “I was watching a movie last night, I thought I could extend my night, but then I got a call from skipper saying that you may play because Virat has got a swollen knee,” Iyer told broadcaster Star Sports after India’s four-wicket victory. “And then [I] hurried back to my room, went off to sleep straightaway.”
Photo: AFP
TENNIS
Andreescu’s return delayed
Former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu will delay her start of the season after undergoing an emergency appendectomy, the 24-year-old said on Thursday. After withdrawing from the season-opening Auckland Open and the Australian Open for a second straight year, the 2019 US Open champion was set for her comeback at the Merida Open in Mexico, running from Feb. 24 to March 2.
Photo: AFP
Taiwan’s Lee Hao-yu on Friday went 0-for-3 in his MLB debut for the Detroit Tigers against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, becoming the 19th Taiwan-born player to reach the big leagues. The Tigers ultimately lost 1-0 in 10 innings, ending their six-game winning streak. The 23-year-old started at third base and batted eighth for Detroit. He was promoted from Triple-A Toledo ahead of the four-game series against the Red Sox at the latter’s home stadium, replacing injured utility player Zach McKinstry. “Being right-handed, and given our schedule, I think six of the next 12 games are going to
Matheus Cunha on Saturday fired Manchester United toward the UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 win at Chelsea, while Tottenham Hotspur remain in the relegation zone after twice blowing the lead to draw with Brighton & Hove Albion. Chelsea failed to take advantage of a United defense ravaged by injury and suspension as a fourth straight league defeat for the Blues left their Champions League hopes in ruins. United have missed out on the riches of Europe’s elite competition for the past two seasons, but are closing in on a return thanks to an upturn in fortunes under interim manager
Denmark’s double Olympic badminton champion Viktor Axelsen, long a rival of Taiwan’s former world No. 2 Chou Tien-chen, yesterday announced his retirement at age 32, saying back problems meant he could no longer “compete and train at the highest level.” Axelsen, who won gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and again in Paris in 2024, had back surgery in April last year and said he had not overcome his physical issues. “Accepting this situation has been incredibly difficult,” he said in a statement. “But I have now reached a point where my body won’t allow me to continue.” Axelsen retires as one
Italian soccer is at its lowest ebb in nearly 40 years after a wholesale European exodus at club level followed the nation’s failure for the third successive time to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, and compounded a leadership and structural crisis. The exits suffered by Bologna and ACF Fiorentina on Thursday in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League respectively meant no Italian teams are left in European competition this season. Italy’s last remaining UEFA Champions League contenders, Atalanta BC, went out in the round of 16 last month. It is the first time since the 1986-1987 campaign that Italian clubs
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