Joshua retains his heavyweight titles
Anthony Joshua retained his world heavyweight titles with a ninth-round knockout of Kubrat Pulev in London, potentially set
ting up an all-British fight against Tyson Fury to be undisputed champion of boxing’s marquee division.
Joshua, the WBA, IBF and WBO champion, had already knocked down the plucky but onedimensional Pulev three times — twice in the third round — when he
unleashed a right hook that sent the 39-year-old Bulgarian to the canvas a final time.
Shakur Stevenson won in a unanimous decision over Toka Kahn Clary in a junior-lightweight bout in Las Vegas.
Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno fought to a thrilling majority draw at UFC 256, with Figueiredo setting a UFC record with two defenses of his flyweight title in three weeks after he survived a perilous stalemate with Moreno.
The Cleveland Browns won’t have top cornerback Denzel Ward for their matchup against Baltimore on Monday night as he continues to be slowed by a calf strain.
Detroit Lions defensive end Everson Griffen was placed on the COVID-19 list a day before he was expected to play a key role against Green Bay. ... Miami Dolphins leading rusher Myles Gaskin went on the COVID-19 list, a blow to the playoff-contending team on the eve of its game against Kansas City. ... The Rams placed outside linebacker Jachai Polite, a member of the practice squad, on the reserve COVID-19 list, the team announced.
The New York Mets were finalizing a deal to hire Arizona Diamondbacks assistant general manager Jared Porter as their general manager, according to the Associated Press.
Porter won three World Series in the front office for the Boston Red Sox and another with the Chicago Cubs before joining Arizona as a senior vice president and assistant general manager in 2017.
After weeks spent negotiating a potential deal to bring aboard a veteran backstop, the Angels narrowly missed an opportunity to add former Chicago White Sox catcher James McCann to their roster.
McCann, 30, reportedly agreed to sign with the New York Mets for a four-year contract estimated at about $40 million. The Angels made a push to match the offer but maxed out at a three-year commitment, according to a person with knowledge who was not authorized to speak publicly about the deal.
That the Angels came close to signing McCann hints at a potential change in philosophy under new general manager Perry Minasian. The Angels tended not to invest in offense-first catchers during former general manager Billy Eppler’s tenure, choosing instead to rely on players with strong defensive acumens.
— Maria Torres
Ownership of the Tennessee Titans is remaining with the Adams family with Susie Adams Smith agreeing to sell her share of the team to the family-controlled KSA Industries Inc.
Former New York Yankees infielder Phil Linz, who knocked a Game 7 home run off Bob Gibson in the 1964 World Series and whose sour notes on his harmonica in an amusing team-bus incident was said to spark the team to that year’s Series, has died. He was 81.