Germany's Arthur Abraham overcame a broken jaw on Saturday to retain his IBF middleweight title with a unanimous decision over Colombia's Edison Miranda.
Abraham pounded Miranda for four rounds until the Colombian apparently caught the Armenian-born German with a right to the jaw late in the fourth round. Abraham spat blood and was unable to close his mouth, but prevailed to improve to 22-0. The ring doctor said he faced an operation.
In the fifth round, Miranda intentionally headbutted Abraham, who went over to the edge of the ring to let blood pour out of his mouth.
PHOTO: EPA
After that his corner kept telling the 26-year-old Abraham he had to hold out the whole 12 rounds or his title would be gone.
"You can do it -- try to close your mouth -- you can do it," Abraham's trainer, Ulli Wegner, kept telling him.
Miranda pressed the fight, but appeared spent from the pounding he had taken and fell to 26-1.
PHOTO: EPA
The German kept dodging blows and once a round unloaded a few hard shots -- sometimes knocking the Colombian into the ropes -- before covering up again.
Miranda's third low blow of the night in the 11th round proved costly.
Abraham repeatedly turned his back on Miranda after a clinch -- apparently his concentration gone -- and each time the Colombian ran after him and tried to knock him out from behind.
The low blow gave the German five minutes to recover and he easily stayed away from Miranda through the final two rounds.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Manchester United on Thursday settled for a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League round-of-16 tie. United led on Joshua Zirkzee’s goal in the 58th minute, but the hosts equalized 12 minutes later after Bruno Fernandes’ hand ball and Mikel Oyarzabal sent Andre Onana the wrong way from the penalty spot. The Europa League could be a way for United to finish the season with a trophy after crashing out of the FA Cup on Sunday. A spot in the quarter-finals is to be on the line at Old Trafford in the second leg on Thursday next
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
RSS