Joshua wins another belt
CARDIFF, Wales — After just 21 fights, Anthony Joshua is a three-belt world heavyweight boxing champion. He finally knows what it’s like to go 12 rounds, too. Frustrated by the movement of Joseph Parker and the irritating interventions of inexperienced referee Giuseppe Quartarone, Joshua required a decision by the judges to add the WBO belt to his WBA and IBF titles on Saturday. It was never in doubt, with two judges awarding it to Joshua 118-110 and the other making it 119-109. It was Parker’s first loss in 25 fights and Joshua’s 21st straight win. “I was switched on, focused and went 12 rounds. It was light work,” said Joshua, after a mature, patient but hardly headline-grabbing performance. “This was about boxing finesse. I stuck to my word.” All 20 of Joshua’s previous wins came via knockout — and only two had gone beyond seven rounds. But thanks to Parker’s reactions and counterattacking skills, one of the sport’s biggest punchers barely landed a clean shot with his big right hand. Quartarone didn’t help, either, constantly getting between the two fighters and stopping the flow of the contest. There were boos at the final bell from many in the crowd of 78,000 inside Principality Stadium, seemingly aimed at the Italian referee who was taking charge of his first world heavyweight title fight. Joshua moved to within one win of matching Lennox Lewis’s achievement of cleaning up the sport’s most glamorous division. Big-punching American Deontay Wilder holds the other main heavyweight belt, the WBC’s, and could meet Joshua before the end of the 2018.
BASKETBALL
› SAN ANTONIO — Steve Nash was an unsung Canadian kid who received one significant basketball scholarship offer from a school in the United States.
Jason Kidd was a hoops prodigy in Oakland, Calif., who was ticketed for superstardom from childhood. After parallel careers that first crossed during college workouts a quarter-century ago, two of the best point guards of their generation are thrilled to be headed into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame together. “It’s even more special when it’s with him and with so many people you respect,” Nash said. Kidd, Nash and fellow former college and NBA stars Ray Allen and Grant Hill learned Saturday they are among the 13-member class that will be inducted in September in Springfield, Mass. Also in the group are Maurice Cheeks, Lefty Driesell, Dino Radja, Charlie Scott, Katie Smith, Tina Thompson, Rod Thorn, Ora Mae Washington and Rick Welts. Most of the inductees appeared together before the NCAA men’s basketball tournament semifinals Saturday in San Antonio, but Nash and Kidd have been linked since their teenage years for more than their sublime playmaking skills, and they provided assists to each other along the way. They played nearly two seasons together with the Phoenix Suns from late 1996 to 1998, but their bond began in the Bay Area during their famed group workouts while Nash was at Santa Clara and Kidd was at California. “He kept pushing me, and hopefully I pushed him to become a better player,” Kidd said. “Steve was always early, and he was always the last to leave, and he never gets tired. So when you have a workout partner like that, it will only make you better.”
› CINCINNATI — The Xavier men’s basketball program stuck to custom and promoted from within to replace coach Chris Mack, hiring top assistant
Travis Steele on Saturday as its 18th head coach. The move came four days after Mack — a former Musketeers player who holds the program record for wins as head coach — left to take over at Louisville. Steele, 36, has been an assistant at Xavier for 10 seasons, including the past nine under Mack, and he has been an integral part of the program’s development in the Big East. The Musketeers won their first Big East regular-season title this season and were ranked as high as No. 3 in the AP poll, a school record. They also received the first No. 1 NCAA tournament seed in school history but lost to Florida State in the second round.
FOOTBALL
› AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn wide receiver Will Hastings has undergone surgery for a torn knee ligament. Tigers coach Gus Malzahn said Saturday the surgery went well but didn’t give a timetable for a return. Hastings injured an ACL during a scrimmage last weekend. Hastings’ 525 yards on 26 catches ranked third on the team last season, when he caught four touchdown passes, and Malzahn called his injury “a big blow” to the Tigers. Fellow receiver Eli Stove — who had 29 catches and rushed for 315 yards last season — tore an ACL earlier this spring. Malzahn said center Nick Brahms is out for the spring with an ankle injury.
TENNIS
› KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — Sloane Stephens won her hometown tournament Saturday, beating Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 (5), 6-1 in the Miami Open final. Stephens, a South Florida native who was born in Plantation and lives in Fort Lauderdale, won the last women’s final on Key Biscayne. The tournament will move next year to the Miami Dolphins’ stadium. Seeded 13th, Stephens won with defense, repeatedly extending rallies until Ostapenko made a mistake. Ostapenko had a 25-6 advantage in winners but committed 48 unforced errors to 21 by Stephens. Stephens was the surprise champion at the U.S. Open last September and then endured a long slump she ended at Key Biscayne. She improved to 6-0 in finals, and she will break into the top 10 in the world ranking for the first time next week at No. 9. Also Saturday, Bob and Mike Bryan won their 115th doubles title and their biggest in nearly two years when they beat Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev 4-6, 7-6 (5), 10-4. John Isner will go for the biggest title of his career today when he faces Alexander Zverev in the men’s final. Isner could give the United States its first sweep of the singles titles at the event since 2004, when Serena Williams and Andy Roddick won.