Fury retains WBC title in potential final bout

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 long-time 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.

“This might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King,” Fury said in the ring. “What a way to go out.”

If he does retire, Fury will go down as the greatest British heavyweight, surpassing Lewis.

What might make him continue is the chance to be the undisputed champion from what could be a hugely lucrative bout against Oleksandr Usyk or Anthony Joshua.

Golf

RECORD ROUND AT ZURICH CLASSIC >> Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele played the back nine in 8-under 28 and shot a 12-under 60 in best-ball play to shatter the Zurich Classic three-round record at 29 under and stretch their lead to five strokes. The final round in Avondale, Louisiana, will be alternate shot.

Cantlay and Schauffele opened with a tournamentrecord 59 in best-ball play Thursday and had a 68 in alternate shot to maintain a one-stroke lead. They have set the 18-hole, opening round, 36-hole and 54hole records.

The South African tandem of Garrick Higgo and Branden Grace were second at 24 under after a 63. HATAOKA TAKES LA OPEN LEAD >> Nasa Hataoka took advantage of Jin Young Ko's late meltdown to take a four-stroke lead into the final round of the DIO Implant LA Open.

Tied for the lead with Hataoka after a birdie on the par-5 15th, the topranked Ko bogeyed the par-4 16th and made a quadruple-bogey 8 on the 17th after failing twice to get the ball out of the deep barranca.

Hataoka birdied the 16th and parred the final two holes for a 4-under 67 and 11-under 202 total at breezy Wilshire Country Club. The 23-year-old from Japan has five LPGA Tour victories, winning twice last season. Hannah Green was second after a 69.

Ko shot a 72, closing with a 15-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the par-3 18th, to fall into a tie for third with Inbee Park (68) and Haeji Kang (69). EUROPEAN TOUR >> Bad weather in northeast Spain forced organizers to suspend the third round of the ISPS Handa Championship on Saturday. Scott Jamieson leads the tournament.

NHL

GOALIE CONTROVERSY IN VEGAS? >> With four games left in the regular season and the Vegas Golden Knights locked in a down-to-thewire playoff push, the last thing they need is another goalie controversy. But after starting goaltender Robin Lehner missed practices Friday and Saturday, the team said he was taking maintenance days and coach Peter DeBoer denied any knowledge of his veteran netminder agreeing to season-ending surgery.

Lehner was pulled in favor of rookie Logan Thompson between the first and second periods during Wednesday's 4-3 overtime victory over the Washington Capitals, a move DeBoer said was made to spark the team and create a different vibe. Multiple reports surfaced Friday that Lehner agreed to season-ending surgery due to a lower-body injury suffered March 8 in Philadelphia.

In a rare move regarding practice status, the team issued a statement on Lehner taking another maintenance day Saturday, and DeBoer opened his postpractice press conference by referring to the statement and saying he would not comment further.

In NHL action on Saturday:

Rookie Seth Jarvis scored 1:39 into overtime, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 for their third straight win. Rookie Pyotr Kochetkov made 17 saves in winning his NHL debut . ... David Pastrnak scored his teamleading 39th goal after missing the previous eight games with an undisclosed injury, helping the Bruins to a 3-1 win over the Rangers.

Colleges

ANOTHER DUKE STAR GOING PRO >> Duke freshman Trevor Keels announced plans to enter the NBA draft. The 6-foot-5, 221-pound guard is a potential first-round prospect and is ranked as ESPN's No. 25 draft prospect. Keels follows three teammates, sophomore Mark Williams, star freshman Paolo Banchero and Wendell Moore Jr., into the draft.

Soccer

AROUND THE MLS >> Facundo Quignon scored a goal in the third minute of secondhalf stoppage time to send FC Dallas to a 2-1 victory over the Houston Dynamo. Sebastian Ferreira notched his third goal of the season to give the Dynamo (3-2-3) a 1-0 lead in the 33rd minute against Dallas (4-1-3) . ... Taxiarchis Fountas scored two goals and added an assist — all in the first half — to spark D.C. United to a 3-2 victory over the New England Revolution.

Tennis

DJOKOVIC TO PLAY FOR SERBIA OPEN TITLE >> Topseeded Novak Djokovic advanced to his first final of the season after a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Karen Khachanov at the Serbia Open. Djokovic will be looking to win the homeland event for the third time when he faces second-seeded Andrey Rublev.

• Top-seeded Iga Swiatek and third-seeded Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the championship match of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix at Stuttgart, Germany. Swiatek has won 22 straight matches. Sabalenka won 7-6 (5), 6-4 over second-seeded Paula Badosa.

NFL

CHRISTMAS TRIPLEHEADER >> The NFL will have three games on Dec. 25 for the first time: two in the afternoon on CBS and Fox, followed by a prime-time contest on NBC. NFL vice president of broadcasting Mike North revealed the tripleheader on a podcast hosted by WGR radio host and Buffalo Bills sideline reporter Sal Capaccio.