Canelo confident
LAS VEGAS — Saul “Canelo” Álvarez remains supremely confident as he moves back up to the heaviest weight of his career for another hefty challenge.
Álvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs) is favoured to take the WBA 175-pound title from unbeaten Dmitry Bivol on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas Strip.
The pound-for-pound superstar has fought at light heavyweight only once previously in his career, taking out a past-his-prime Sergey Kovalev in late 2019.
Asian Games postponed
LESS than three months after Beijing hosted the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the Olympic Council of Asia said Friday that this year’s Asian Games in China are being postponed because of concerns about the spreading omicron variant of COVID-19 in the country. The OCA said it had not picked new dates but said they would be announced “in the near future” after talks with local organisers and the Chinese Olympic Committee.
Chelsea sale terms agreed
CHELSEA Football Club has confirmed that terms have been agreed with a consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and backed by Clearlake Capital over the acquisition of the English Premier League soccer team. The Stamford Bridgebased outfit announced the 4.25 billion pound ($F11.4 billion) deal for the reigning European champions in a statement issued in the early hours of Saturday, subject to receiving the required approvals.
Norman ‘disappointed’
TWO-TIME winner Greg Norman has said he is “disappointed” at reports his request to play in the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews in July has been turned down by organisers. Australian Golf Digest reported on Saturday that a spokesperson for the R&A, who organise the tournament, said the body would not alter their stance on entry requirements for previous winners to accommodate Norman.
Alcaraz upsets idol Nadal
MADRID - Teenager Carlos Alcaraz prevailed 6-2 1-6 6-3 over Rafa Nadal in a Spanish clash of the generations at the Madrid Open on Friday, claiming his first victory over his idol and setting up a semifinal showdown with world number one Novak Djokovic. In a topsy-turvy contest at the Manolo Santana Stadium, Alcaraz weathered an ankle injury to produce a statement performance to become the first Spanish player to beat Nadal since Fernando Verdasco at the 2016 Australian Open.