Ruiz stuns Joshua, claims heavyweight title
NEW YORK — Andy Ruiz flattened Anthony Joshua twice in the seventh round and capped one of boxing’s biggest upsets to win his share of the heavyweight championship Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
Ruiz won it by technical knockout at 1 minute, 27 seconds of the seventh round to become the surprise champ in a bout that had shades of Buster Douglas’ upset over Mike Tyson in 1990. Ruiz barely was on anyone’s heavyweight radar when he was summoned as a replacement to fight champion Joshua in front of a packed Garden.
Ruiz (33-1, 21 KOs) seized the opportunity in dominating the British champion and made boxing history to win the WBA/IBF/ WBO/IBO championships.
Ruiz knocked down Joshua twice in the third round and did it two more times in the seventh before referee Mike Griffin ended the fight.
SOCCER
Liverpool reigns for a sixth time
Liverpool won its sixth Champions League title, getting an early penalty kick by Mohamed Salah and a late goal by substitute Divock Origi to beat Tottenham 2-0 in a matchup of Premier League rivals at Madrid.
Liverpool’s title came one year after it lost the final to Real Madrid.
Its fans were celebrating almost from the opening whistle: Less than 30 seconds later, Liverpool had won a penalty — on a handball in the area by Tottenham midfielder Moussa Sissoko. After a video review, Salah stepped up to bury the penalty kick beyond Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Origi started the celebrations in earnest in the 87th minute when he collected the ball after a failed attack by Liverpool and, turning in the area, fired a shot around Lloris and inside the far post.
MOTOR SPORTS
Byron captures pole for Cup race
William Byron turned a lap of 173.494 mph to win the pole for Sunday’s Monster Energy Cup race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa.
Kyle Busch joins Byron in the front row. Clint Bowyer starts third, followed by Erik Jones and Brad Keselowski.
In other news:
• Cole Custer slipped past Tyler Reddick on the final turn and held on to win the Xfinity Series race in overtime at Pocono Raceway.
• Josef Newgarden won the first of two Detroit Grand Prix IndyCar races, outlasting the competition on a rain-slicked road course at Belle Isle. The Team Penske driver finished nearly a second in front of Alexander Rossi, who also was the runnerup at the Indianapolis
500, and Takuma Sato. Newgarden, who opened the year with a victory at St. Petersburg, joins Indy 500 champion Simon Pagenaud as the series’ two-time winners this season. The 70-lap race became a 75-minute timed event after thunderstorms delayed the start by more than an hour. The second race is Sunday.
GOLF
Kaymer leads Memorial by 2
Martin Kaymer did not look the part of someone who has not won in five years, shooting a bogeyfree, 6-under-par 66 that gave him a two-shot lead over Adam Scott going into the final round of the Memorial at Dublin, Ohio. Scott also had a 66.
They will be in the final group — two major champions who each reached No. 1 in the world but now are in the midst of a drought. Scott has gone more than three years since his last victory.
Hideki Matsuyama shot 64 and was in the group four shots behind that included Jordan Spieth (69) and Patrick Cantlay.
In other news:
• Scott Parel shot a 6-under 66to extend his lead to five strokes in the PGA Tour Champions’ Principal Charity Classic at Des Moines, Iowa. Parel, who tied the course record of 63 on Friday, had a 15-under 129 total at Wakonda Club to break the tournament 36-hole record of 13 under set a year ago by eventual winner Tom Lehman. Marco Dawson shot a 65 to match Jerry Kelly (67) at 10 under.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL Alvelo’s 16 Ks lift Washington
Taran Alvelo struck out 16 and allowed only three hits as Washington defeated Oklahoma State 1-0 in a Women’s College World Series elimination game at Oklahoma City.
The Huskies (52-8), who ousted Minnesota 5-3 in the first game of the day, advanced to play UCLA on Sunday in the semifinals and will need to win twice to advance to the best-ofthree championship series, while the Bruins will only need to win once.
Earlier, Kaylee Tow hit a three-run homer in Alabama’s six-run first inning as the Crimson Tide routed Florida 15-3 in an elimination game. Tow finished with four RBIs to help the Crimson Tide (58-9) advance to another elimination game against Arizona.
PRO BASEBALL Silverio’s slam sparks Skeeters
Juan Silverio’s grand slam highlighted a five-run fifth inning that powered the Skeeters to an 11-6 Atlantic League victory over Somerset at Constellation Field in Sugar Land.
Zach Borenstein ’s three-run homer in the fourth staked the Skeeters to a 3-1 lead, and Martinson’s solo shot in the sixth upped the lead to 9-6.
Michael M ariot (3-0) struck out seven and walked three while giving up seven hits and three earned runs.
Jason