Fury stops Whyte in sixth round, keeps WBC title
World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury retained his WBC title with a brutal sixth-round stoppage of fellow Briton Dillian Whyte in front of more than 94,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
A right uppercut from Fury sent Whyte to the canvas and the champion raised his right hand in celebration. Whyte, who appeared to lose a tooth from the mighty punch, got to his feet and tried to show he was ready to continue but then staggered, leading the referee to end the fight.
Fury toyed with Whyte for much of a cagey fight, with Whyte — the longtime mandatory challenger — mostly reckless with some big, wayward shots.
It was a 32nd win for the undefeated Fury, who defended his WBC belt for the second time and has talked of retiring at the age of 33.
Before giving the biggest ever capacity for a boxing bout in Britain a now-familiar post-fight rendition of Don McLean’s “American Pie,” Fury — one of boxing’s most colorful and controversial characters — suggested he would stick to a pre-fight vow to hang up his gloves.
“This might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King,” Fury said in the ring, with his WBC and Ring Magazine belts around his shoulders. “What a way to go out.”
It certainly was. The punch that ended the fight with a few seconds to go in the sixth came pretty much out of nowhere, with Fury in control of the fight without truly exerting himself.
Whyte had been starting to breathe heavier in what proved to be the final round, by which time he had a cut around his right eye — potentially from a clash of heads.
The fifth round saw Fury dominate, with a body shot and then a straight right rocking Whyte back and getting the crowd going.
ETC.
Tennis: Novak Djokovic booked a place in the Serbia Open final in Belgrade after overcoming another slow start and Karen Khachanov 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
The top-ranked Serb came back from a set down for the third consecutive match after hardfought wins over Miomir Kecmanovic and Laslo Djere to reach his third final at his hometown tournament.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion previously won the Serbia Open in 2009 and 2011.
Djokovic, who is bidding for his first title of the year, will face Andrey Rublev in Sunday’s final. The second-seeded Russian player defeated Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-2 in the other semifinal. …
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek will play Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Stuttgart Open in Germany after both came through their respective semifinals.
Swiatek stretched her winning run to 22 matches as she overcame Liudmila Samsonova 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-5 to move into her fourth final of the season. Sabalenka, who lost last year’s final to
Ash Barty, defeated the second-seeded Paula Badosa 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
Swiatek and Sabalenka have one win against each other. Sabalenka won at the WTA Finals last year, while Swiatek made up for that on her way to winning the Doha title this year.
Soccer: Bayern Munich completed a decade of domestic dominance by beating main rival Borussia Dortmund 3-1 to seal a record-extending 10th consecutive Bundesliga title.
Goals from Serge Gnabry, Robert Lewandowski and Jamal Musiala sent Bayern an unassailable 12 points clear of second-placed Dortmund with three games of the season remaining. …
Defending champion Inter Milan gave a signal of intent as it crushed Roma 3-1 to move on top of Serie A on a miserable return to San Siro for former coach José Mourinho. Denzel Dumfries, Marcelo Brozović and Lautaro Martínez scored for Inter and Henrikh Mkhitaryan netted a late consolation. Inter moved a point above AC Milan, which faces a tricky trip to Lazio on Sunday.
It was the third straight match in which Inter scored three, having done so at Spezia last weekend in the league and on Tuesday in the Italian
Cup semifinal against Milan. …
Gabriel Jesus scored four goals as Manchester City crushed Watford 5-1 to chalk off another win in its battle with Liverpool for the English Premier League title. The Brazil striker also provided the assist for City’s other goal, a stunning strike by Rodri, as the defending champion increased its lead to four points. Hassane Kamara did get on the scoresheet for the visitors but Roy Hodgson’s relegation-threatened side was no match for City, which was relentless and efficient in attack.
College basketball: Purdue center Zach Edey won’t enter the NBA
Draft and plans to return to Purdue for his junior season. Edey announced his decision Friday on social media.
The 7-4 center from Toronto averaged 14.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks this past season while playing just 19 minutes per game. He was an Associated Press second-team all-Big Ten selection