BOXING
Zhang knocks out Joyce
Chinese heavyweight Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang knocked out Britain’s Joe Joyce in the third round of their rematch at London’s Wembley Arena on Saturday. Forty-year-old Zhang sent his 38-year-old opponent sprawling to the canvas with a huge right hook to his jaw. Joyce got back to his feet and received oxygen after the referee waved off the fight. Zhang, the 2008 Olympic silver medalist who stopped Joyce in six rounds at London’s Copper Box in April last year, is the WBO’s mandatory challenger for Ukraine’s WBO, IBO, IBF and WBA champion Oleksandr Usyk. “Like I said before the fight, it’s going to end sooner than the first one,” Zhang, now with a record of 25 wins with one defeat and one draw, told the crowd through a translator.
SOCCER
Rapinoe retires regret-free
Megan Rapinoe is to bid farewell to international soccer with no regrets about her time on and off the pitch, she told a news conference on Saturday ahead of her last game, a friendly against South Africa yesterday. The striker, who earned recognition not only for being a two-time world champion but also for her activism, gained fame for her advocacy of LGBT+ rights, solidarity with NFL player Colin Kaepernick and famously confronting former US President Donald Trump. “The off-field stuff is what is most meaningful [to me], and I think what I’m most proud of leaving this team and leaving the game,” she said. “Being so vocal about racial justice or gay rights, I feel like the team really stepped into it and took upon itself to be so much more of what we were on the field and really focus on that.”
TENNIS
Sakkari’s title wait over
Second-seeded Maria Sakkari on Saturday ended her four-year wait for a second WTA title, beating Caroline Dolehide 7-5, 6-3 to win the 1000 level Guadalajara Open. Greece’s Sakkari, ranked ninth in the world, had come up empty in six finals since her breakthrough victory in Rabat in 2019. That included the Guadalajara final last year, when she lost to the US’ Jessica Pegula, and a loss to Coco Gauff in the final at Washington this year. An emotional Sakkari thanked her coach of five years. “We’ve heard so many bad things — that I will never win a title, that I’m a top-five player with only winning one title, that was very hard for me to overcome,” she said. “I’m so happy that I did it here this week.”
SOCCER
Kane beats Bayern record
Harry Kane on Saturday bettered a record first set by legendary German striker Gerd Mueller when he hit a hat-trick in Bayern Munich’s 7-0 rout of VfL Bochum, which took the champions back to the top of the Bundesliga. Kane fired in Bayern’s second just 13 minutes in, before scoring a penalty in the second half. He added a third with two minutes remaining when he tapped in a low cross from Leroy Sane. With six goals in five games, the England captain now has more goals in his first five league matches than any other player in Bayern’s history, beating the mark of Mueller (1965), Miroslav Klose (2007) and Mario Mandzukic (2012), who all scored five times in their first five games for the club. “I’m happy to play my part and I hope there will be many more to come. So far so good,” Kane said.
Manchester City have reached do-or-die territory in the UEFA Champions League earlier than expected ahead of what Pep Guardiola has described as a “final” against Club Brugge today. City have disproved the suggestion a new format to Europe’s top club competition would remove any jeopardy for the top clubs as Guardiola stares down the barrel of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in his career. The English champions have endured a torrid season both in their English Premier League title defense and on the continent. A run of one win in 13 games, which included Champions League
Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday poured in 35 points as the Thunder grabbed a bounce-back 118-108 victory in Portland to push their NBA-best record to 37-8. The Thunder, surprised by the short-handed Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, fended off a late surge from the Trail Blazers to snap their four-game winning streak. Jalen Williams scored 24 points and Isaiah Joe added 16 off the bench. Center Isaiah Hartenstein, back after a five-game absence with a calf injury, added 14 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and a big block. The Western Conference leaders were under pressure late as Portland, trailing by 15 heading
The Golden State Warriors on Wednesday withstood Oklahoma City star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 52-point outburst to beat the Western Conference leading Thunder 116-109. Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points and Warriors superstar Stephen Curry scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as Golden State erased a double-digit deficit and pulled away late for the victory. “We just stayed solid,” said Curry, who entered the contest mired in a shooting slump and had just four points on one basket in the first half. “Just all-around effort.” The Thunder, fueled by 31 first-half points from Gilgeous-Alexander, led by as many as 14 in the
Ousmane Dembele on Wednesday scored a hat-trick as Paris Saint-Germain romped to a 4-1 win at VfB Stuttgart and qualified for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages. PSG were at risk of elimination after a disappointing league stage, with three losses and a draw, but were utterly dominant against an outclassed Stuttgart side as they confirmed their place in the playoffs. With six minutes gone, Bradley Barcola headed PSG in front after Desire Doue stood a cross up at the back post following a corner. Stuttgart probed for an equalizer, but PSG hit on the counterattack, Dembele tapping a Barcola pass into an
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