Lomachenko stops Linares in 10th, wins lightweight title

NEW YORK —  Vasyl Lomachenko stopped Jorge Linares in the 10th round of their lightweight championship fight Saturday night, winning a title in his third weight class in just his 12th pro bout.

Lomachenko landed a hard left to the body during a flurry of precision punches that sent Linares went to a knee. Linares finally got up just as the count was reaching 10 but referee Ricky Gonzalez called an end to the fight at 2:08 of the round.

“I prepared for the last few rounds, and my father told me, ‘You need to go to the body,’” Lomachenko said. His father, Anatoly Lomachenko, is his trainer.


Linares knocked down Lomachenko in the sixth and the fight was all even after nine rounds before Lomachenko (11-1, 9 KOs) put an overpowering end to his first fight at 135 pounds, adding that title to his belts at 126 and 130 pounds.

Linares (44-4, 27 KOs) hadn’t lost since 2012 and used his size advantage to do some damage, but in the end Lomachenko did more in an exciting Madison Square Garden match.

The fighter widely known as Vasyl said this week he prefers to use Vasiliy, his legal name. And now he can be called lightweight champion after picking up the WBA’s version of the belt in front of a crowd of 10,429 that chanted “Loma! Loma!” as he made his ring walk — which came first for a change since he was the challenger — and waved blue and gold flags for much of the night.

It was Lomachenko’s eighth straight victory by stoppage, but this one was much tougher than a recent stretch of clinics in which his last four fights ended when his opponents’ corners wouldn’t let them take more punishment from the Ukrainian.

Lomachenko had joked he should be called “no mas Chenko” for his habit of making opponents quit, but Linares made him earn this victory.

The Venezuelan was on a 13-fight winning streak and was giving the two-time Olympic gold medalist the test he wanted, one that he said would bring out the best in what many already consider the most skilled fighter in the world.

Each fighter was ahead 86-84 on a judge’s card, while Julie Lederman had it 85-all after nine rounds.

Lomachenko said Thursday he needed to finally be put in danger to show his complete array of skills, and then on display in the 10th round with a series of shots that Linares couldn’t defend, especially the left to his midsection that took the biggest toll.

Linares landed the fight’s first noticeable punches early in the second round but Lomachenko began to get dialed in later in the round, and Linares’ face showed some frustration by the end of the third as Lomachenko kept landing quick combinations and dancing out of the way when Linares fired back.

Lomachenko ended the fifth with another flurry and his manager, Egis Klimas, stood in the corner smiling and nodding his head, knowing he has someone special.

But the smiling stopped in the sixth, when Linares knocked Lomachenko down with a straight right hand in the final minute of the round. Lomachenko got up easily and didn’t appear hurt, but Linares carried the confidence from the knockdown into a strong seventh round.

“That right hand, it was a great punch. It happens,” Lomachenko said.

Lomachenko regrouped to win the eighth but Linares responded with a strong ninth, landing a strong combination that seemed to momentarily hurt Lomachenko. But that was his last highlight.

Lomachenko arrived at the arena to find a personalized Knicks jersey hanging in his locker and the crowd that included new Knicks coach David Fizdale roared when clips of him warming up were shown on the arena’s video screens.

But unlike when he fought at the smaller Theater inside MSG in December in his last bout, a sixth-round stoppage of the smaller Guillermo Rigondeaux, this time Lomachenko faced a bigger man and a much bigger test.

“Linares is a great champion,” he said, “and the fight was good for the fans and everybody.”

source: sports.inquirer.net

Dillashaw TKOs Garbrandt for UFC bantamweight title

NEW YORK — T.J. Dillashaw dropped undefeated Cody Garbrandt with a right and finished him off in the second round to win the 135-pound championship at UFC 217 Saturday (Sunday Manila time).

Dillashaw (15-3) was rocked in the first round and stumbled to his stool when he took a shot to the face to end the first. Garbrandt, predicted by many as UFC’s next big star, even ducked under Dillashaw’s left leg as he kicked and did a little dance to the delight of the crowd.

But Dillashaw stunned Garbrandt with a high left kick to the head and then a right hook that corkscrewed Garbrandt’s body and effectively ended the bout. UFC President Dana White strapped the belt around Dillashaw’s waist as the new bantamweight champ.

“No Love” Garbrandt (11-1) earned one of the loudest ovations of the night when he was shown on the screen walking into MSG. He walked out having lost his shot at taking the next step as UFC’s hopeful breakout star.

Dillashaw won the bantamweight title in 2014 and had two successful defenses before he lost the belt to Dominick Cruz in 2016.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Pooping in MMA fight will now result in TKO loss

Mixed martial arts is arguably one of the craziest and most unpredictable sports there is, as anything can happen inside the cage.

One of the most bizarre incidents happened in June, when UFC Strawweight Justine Kish lost control of her bowels and visibly soiled herself mid-fight.

Ahead of UFC 217 at Madison Square Garden in New York this weekend,  the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) has made a bold move by getting rid of unwanted bodily fluids inside the octagon.

The governing body, which is responsible for regulating MMA fights in the state, has now banned poop, urine and vomit while competing.

According to the new rules in place relayed by MMA Imports, any fighter who would release the body fluids will forfeit the fight by technical knockout (TKO).

As of this writing, only the NYSAC has imposed such a rule and it remains unclear if other governing divisions in other states will soon follow.

The new regulation will take effect on Saturday’s event (Sunday in Manila), headlined by a UFC Middleweight title fight between champion Michael Bisping and the returning Georges St. Pierre. Khristian Ibarrola /ra

source: sports.inquirer.net

NBA: Another milestone for James as Cavs down Knicks

LOS ANGELES, United States — Cleveland star LeBron James scored 32 points — and became the youngest player to score 28,000 in an NBA career — as the Cavaliers downed the New York Knicks 111-104 at Madison Square Garden on Saturday.

James, 32, took his career points tally to 28,020, good for eighth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

He reached the milestone with a step-back jumper that gave the Cavaliers a 45-31 lead with 6:49 left in the second quarter.

He also handed out 10 assists, and with two more will pass Lenny Wilkens (7,211) for 13th on the career list.

The NBA champion Cavaliers were without guard Kyrie Irving, who sat out with soreness in his right quadriceps. Deandre Liggins started in his place, scoring five points without an assist.

Kevin Love returned to the Cavs lineup after missing two games with back spasms. He contributed 23 points and 15 rebounds as Cleveland took their Eastern Conference-leading record to 34-15.

The Knicks fell to 22-30. They haven’t won two straight games since December 20-22.

Brandon James paced New York with 23 points and 10 assists. Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, the subject of persistent trade rumors, scored 17 points but connected on just six of 21 from the floor.

The Knicks were without point guard Derrick Rose, sidelined for a fourth straight game by a sprained left ankle. And starting center Joakim Noah departed early with a sore left hamstring.

New York showed signs of life late, scoring six straight points to trim Cleveland’s lead to 106-101 with 59 seconds remaining.

But James found Love for an uncontested three-pointer as the Cavs pulled away again.  CBB

source: sports.inquirer.net

McGregor to be a father after historic win, wants UFC equity

In a feat that no other mixed martial artist from the UFC had ever done, Conor McGregor became a simultaneous two-division world champion after destroying Eddie Alvarez at the main event of UFC 205 on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

Undoubtedly the biggest star of the promotion, the UFC featherweight and lightweight titleholder had been hinting at two huge personal announcements leading to the historic Madison Square Garden card.

Speaking to members of the media during the mandatory post-fight conference, the Irish sensation revealed that he and his longtime girlfriend, Dee Devlin, are expecting a mini-“Notorious” sometime in May next year.

“There’s a few bombshells I wanted to hit, but then it was like ‘do I do it or don’t do it?’ One announcement, I’m going to be a daddy early next year,” McGregor said via MMAFighting. “I’m crapping me jocks, I’m not going to lie. I don’t even know what way to take it. It’s messing with me head because I don’t want to be bringing a child into this. I don’t even want to do the celebrity type (expletive). I hate all that. I don’t want my family to be like that.”

The 29-year-old superstar has been quite active inside the octagon and fought for the company 10 times since debuting in 2013. With a baby on the way and a shiny new belt around his waist, McGregor believes he deserves a little break from fighting.

“I’m just going to have this baby, take a little bit of time and see what way I feel after that,” he said.

Aside from his pending fatherly duties, McGregor also took the time to address an issue regarding the company’s new ownership, and talked about receiving some sort of equity from the new owners, WME-IMG.

“They’ve got to come talk to me now. ‘Cause no one has come talk to me since the sale happened as a businessman,” he described owners Ari Emaneul and Patrick Whitesell, who were both in attendance in New York. “I’ve been approached as a ‘hello’ and that type of stuff but I’ve earned something. Who owns the company now? There’s people that have shares in the company, celebrities, Conan O’Brien owns the UFC now. So where’s my share? Where’s my equity?” he said.

According to UFC President Dana White, last weekend’s event raked in a record-setting $17 million at the gate and will most likely break the all time pay-per-view record for the company as well.

Such imposing figures is sure to bring in quite a fortune for the company, and its biggest star is demanding a bigger piece of the cake if they want to retain his services.

“I’m aware of my worth and now I’ve got a family. Now I’ve got a kid on the way. I’m coming for mine now if you want me back,” McGregor said.

“I’ve got both belts, a chunk of money, a little family on the way. You want me to stick around, you want me to keep doing what I’m doing, let’s talk, but I want ownership. I want an equal share. I want what I deserve, what I’ve earned.”  Khristian Ibarrola

source: sports.inquirer.net

Kanye West rambles onstage at MTV VMAs, Calvin Harris wins

NEW YORK, United States—In typical and true Kanye West fashion, the rapper ranted at the MTV Video Music Awards, touching on subjects from music to his beef with Taylor Swift to violence in his hometown Chicago.

Before he debuted his music video for “Fade” on Sunday, West rambled onstage as the audience at Madison Square Garden in New York City cheered him on.

“Now later tonight ‘Famous’ might lose to Beyonce but I can’t be mad, I’m always wishing for Beyonce to win,” said West, who will compete with Beyonce for video of the year, and also referring to the 2009 VMAs when he jumped onstage, stole Swift’s microphone and said Beyonce should have won over the then-country singer.

He talked about his “Famous” video, which features what appears to be naked images of West, Swift, Kim Kardashian, Donald Trump and more. He even pointed to former girlfriend Amber Rose, who was in the audience and is also in the video.

“It was an expression of our now, our fame right now, us on the inside of the TV, you know, the audacity to put Anna Wintour right next to Donald Trump,” he said.

“I put Ray J in it bro,” he said, referring to Kardashian’s ex with whom she did a sex tape.

“But if you think about last week it was 22 people murdered in Chicago,” he continued. “You know, people come up to me like, ‘Man, that’s right! Take, tell Taylor this. Bro, like I love all y’all.”

“That’s why I called her,” he said with a laugh.

West could have another memorable moment Sunday if he wins video of the year later in the show. Aside from Beyonce’s “Formation,” his competition includes Justin Bieber’s “Sorry,” Drake’s “Hotline Bling” and Adele’s “Hello.”

But Beyonce could own the night, too, when she performs. The top nominee with 11 was angel-winged and green-feathered with daughter Blue Ivy in tow, she arrived on the white carpet along with Sybrina Fulton, Lezley McSpadden and Gwen Carr, the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner, among others. They appeared in videos for Beyonce’s “Lemonade” visual album and also make up the Mothers of the Movement, women of color who lost children to violence.

Rihanna kicked off the show, performing a medley of her hit songs in a bright pink ensemble that matched her background dancers and the stage. She sang songs like “We Found Love” and “Where Have You Been”—sometimes letting the backing track do most of the work. She sang “Work” and other songs during a second performance, and will receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award.

Ariana Grande brought spin class to the VMA stage when she sang the reggae-tinged “Side to Side” with Nick Minaj. Grande cycled while singing and was backed by female dancers imitating her. Male dancers lifted dumbbells and did other exercises, and at the end of their performance, Grande and Minaj put their male dancers’ faces in front their crotches.

Michael Phelps said he’s been inspired by hip-hop music before introducing Future, who Phelps said he listened to before swimming. The rapper-singer-producer performed his hit “(Expletive) Up Some Commas.”

Drake won the first award for the night—best hip hop video for “Hotline Bling.” Puff Daddy, who presented the award, said Drake was stuck in traffic. Calvin Harris won best male video—beating West’s “Famous”—for “This is What You Came For,” which featured Rihanna and was co-written with former girlfriend Swift. Harris accepted the award in a video message.

Britney Spears, Nick Jonas and The Chainsmokers are set to perform. Nominees for best female video include Beyonce, Adele, Rihanna, Sia and Grande.

Coldplay, Desiigner, Fergie and Alessia Cara earned multiple nominations, while David Bowie—who died from cancer earlier this year—is nominated for best direction, cinematography, art direction and editing for “Lazarus.” The music video, which shows him looking frail in bed with bandaged eyes, was released just days before the icon’s Jan. 10 death.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Serena Williams beats Wozniacki in exhibition at Garden

NEW YORK — Serena Williams beat good friend Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 6-4 in an exhibition at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

The 21-time Grand Slam champion hasn’t played a match since losing the Australian Open final Jan. 30, pulling out of two tournaments because of illness. She’s scheduled to return to competition at Indian Wells this week.

“I’m headed out to the desert, and we’ll see what happens,” Williams said in an on-court-interview.

There were plenty of mistakes — many punctuated by a shriek — for Williams early on Tuesday, but as she does so often, she somehow was still ahead at the end of the set. The game started to look more familiar: the court coverage, the well-rounded repertoire, the big serves to escape trouble. She even tried quite a few drop shots with mixed results.

“I never miss one in practice, ever,” she insisted.

Proving she was moving just fine, Williams earned her first set point when she sprinted to the net to run down a drop shot, and then immediately raced back to chase down a lob.

With her dogged defense, Wozniacki forced Williams into some long rallies. But as was the case in 10 of their 11 career meetings — which includes the 2014 U.S. Open final a few miles away — Williams’ offense was too much.

In the first match of the BNP Paribas Showdown, 16th-ranked Gael Monfils of France beat two-time major champion Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (6), 6-3. Two games midway through the second set were played as mixed doubles — Williams and Wozniacki came onto the court in their warmups, and Williams teamed with Wawrinka and Wozniacki with Monfils.

source: sports.inquirer.net

Crawford stops Lundy to retain WBO title

NEW YORK — Terence Crawford stood on the second rope, mouth open and tongue sticking out for the entire world to see.

Simply, it was the picture of a man enjoying his success.

“It’s real satisfying,” Crawford said after stopping Henry Lundy 2 minutes, 9 seconds into the fifth round to retain his WBO super lightweight title Saturday night.

“Glad I got the job done (and) put on a great show.”

The bout picked up where the fighters left off at their final press conference Thursday, when they exchanged words before Crawford shoved Lundy in front of photographers.

Crawford (28-0) drew blood in the fourth round, opening a cut along Lundy’s right eye. Crawford then dropped Lundy (26-6-1) for a standing eight count with a combination early in the fifth, and after the fight was restarted, Crawford’s assault continued until referee Steve Willis stopped the fight.

“I caught him with some good shots,” Crawford said. “I was picking up momentum.”

According to Compubox stats, Crawford landed 89 of 247 total punches, including 49 of 84 power punches. By comparison, Lundy connected on 47 of 211 punches, and 31 of 85 power punches.

“He got me with a good shot,” Lundy said.

Following the fight, Crawford and Lundy embraced in the ring.

“(He) hit me on the top of my head and threw (my) equilibrium off,” Lundy said. “Couldn’t recover.”

While the main event was explosive from the opening bell, the earlier semi-main event between Felix Verdejo and Willian Silva in the WBO Latino Championship Lightweight division was an exhibition of scientific boxing. Verdejo took a 10-round, unanimous decision over Silva to improve to 20-0.

“I felt very good,” Verdejo said. “This is a new learning experience for me.”

In the first four rounds, Silva and Verdejo used their feinting and movement in order to trade jabs. Verdejo slightly began to open up in the fifth with heavier shots, one of which staggered Silva late in the round.

But there was little in the way of a sustained attack from either fighter in the later rounds, which may have had to do with Silva’s philosophy of circling away from Verdejo.

“He moved a lot during the fight,” Verdejo said.

Verdejo landed more jabs (39), power punches (67) and total punches (106), but Silva disagreed with the judges’ decision. Only one judge, John McKaie, thought Silva won a round, the ninth. The remaining two judges, Alan Rubenstein and Robin Taylor, gave Verdejo all 10 rounds.

“I don’t care what the scorecard says. I thought I did enough to win the fight,” Silva said.

The Crawford-Lundy and Verdejo-Silva bouts highlighted a seven-fight card which drew a sellout crowd of 5,092 at The Theatre at Madison Square Garden.

Emanuel Taylor, Sean Monaghan, Christopher Diaz, Jean Carlos Torres and Julian Rodriguez all won their undercard fights. Taylor knocked out Wilfredo Acuna in the sixth round of a super lightweight bout; Monaghan improved to 26-0 with a fifth-round stoppage of Finnish light-heavyweight Janne Foreman; Diaz knocked out Angel Luna at the 2:42 mark of the fourth round of their featherweight fight; Torres moved to 4-0 by stopping Miguel Gloria (1-2) via third-round technical knockout, while Rodriguez took an eight-round, unanimous decision over King Daluz (12-3-2).

source: sports.inquirer.net

Kanye’s lyrics about Taylor Swift ignite new controversy

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Kanye West’s new album, “The Life Of Pablo,” has ignited a new controversy between the rapper and pop superstar Taylor Swift.

West debuted his album at the Yeezy Season 3 fashion show at Madison Square Garden in New York on Thursday. The album included a song called, “Famous,” in which he called the “Bad Blood” singer a “b—-” and said he made her famous.

On his Twitter account, he said the lyric was not an insult. “I did not diss Taylor Swift and I’ve never dissed her,” he wrote.

“I called Taylor and had a hour long convo with her about the line and she thought it was funny and gave her blessings,” he wrote.

Tree Paine, Swift’s publicist, said in a statement that West did not ask Swift for approval.

“Kanye did not call for approval, but to ask Taylor to release his single ‘Famous’ on her Twitter account,” the statement said. “She declined and cautioned him about releasing a song with such a strong misogynistic message. Taylor was never made aware of the actual lyric.”

West defended his use of the word “b—-,” saying it was an endearing term in hip hop.

Meanwhile, Swift’s friends have come to her defense on social media. Taylor Swift’s brother, Austin, posted an Instagram video of him throwing Yeezy shoes in a trashcan.

West famously interrupted Swift’s speech during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards when she won for best female video. But the two apparently put differences aside and she introduced him when he won the video vanguard award at the 2015 VMAs.

source: entertainment.inquirer.net

Boxing promo tour for Pacquiao in New York

Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao was in New york on Thursday (Philippine time) to promote his last boxing match that would be held in April this year.

At the press conference held in Madison Square Garden, where Pacquiao invited his fans to watch his last professional boxing match.

He was accompanied at the event by his coach Freddie Roach and his wife, Jinkee Pacquiao.

source: gmanetwork.com

Pacquiao arrives in LA for press tour of 3rd match with Bradley

Sarangani Rep. and Filipino boxing icon Manny  Pacquiao has arrived in Los Angeles for the press tour of his upcoming rematch with Timothy Bradley in April.

Pacquiao was accompanied by his wife Jinkee to the Crystal Ballroom of The Beverly Hills Hotel, where the press tour will begin, a report by GMA News stringer Jayson Otamias said.

He will begin promoting what he stressed is his last professional fight.

In an earlier interview, Pacquiao said that he is ready to end his 21-year boxing career in order to focus on his political duties. He is running for senator in the May elections.

The press tour will be continued in New York City. Team Pacquiao and Team Bradley will be flying out to the city on Wednesday for the second press conference that will be held in The Theater at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 21.

Pacquiao left the Philippines for the tour on Monday.

Pacquiao will be facing Bradley to win the WBO Welterweight crown for the third time.

The match will be held at MGM Grand in Las Vegas on April 9. —Jessica Bartolome/KBK, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

NBA considering week-long All-Star break

MIAMI - The NBA is considering extending its annual all-star game break from three days to a full week so players have a longer mid-season rest, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Saturday.

Citing an unnamed NBA source, the newspaper reported that the plan would give players seven days off in mid-February but increase the number of back-to-back games played during the rest of the season by one or two per club.

The newspaper said the league is using the week-long gap model when planning its schedule, which will be released next month after a delay so television partners can adjust to changes such as the blockbuster move of LeBron James from Miami to Cleveland and plan accordingly.

Next year's NBA All-Star Game is set for February 13-15 in New York with events split between the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.

It would actually fall about three weeks beyond the point where most teams reach the halfway mark in their 82-game seasons.

Players have sought a longer mid-season rest, notably the elite stars whose participation in the annual all-star events mean they have no extra rest like the rank and file millionaire NBA talent.

Teams generall have five days off booked into their schedules around the break, some teams starting that period later than others to allow for games every night and time to travel to and from the host city and reconnect with club teammates.

The upcoming NBA season is set to begin October 28 and end on April 15, 2015 with the playoffs to start April 18. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com