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February

Diana Shnaider beats Zhu Lin in Thailand Open for 1st WTA title

Rising Russian star Diana Shnaider bounced back from a turbulent second set to upend defending champion Zhu Lin of China 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 for her first title at the WTA Thailand Open on Sunday. The No. 108-ranked NC State student displayed a fierce and solid baseline game to unsettle her No. 45-ranked adversary, prevailing in a competitive contest lasting 1 hour, 59 minutes amid challenging, humid conditions at the beach resort. Facing a brief setback as Zhu fought back from 1-4 to 3-4, Shnaider regained control by unleashing deep flat strokes, managing to break back to lead 5-3 before comfortably securing the first set. […]

January

Aryna Sabalenka gets rare 6-0, 6-0 win, advances at Australian Open

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka reached the fourth round of the Australian Open on Friday with a 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Lesia Tsurenko. The second-seeded Belarusian, who earned her first Grand Slam title here 12 months ago, needed just 52 minutes for victory at the Rod Laver Arena. She has dropped just six games in three rounds so far. “Last year, Iga [Swiatek] won so many sets 6-0, and this is one of the goals, to try to get closer to her,” Sabalenka joked. “I’m just super happy with the level I’m playing so far. Hopefully I can just keep going like that or […]

December

Jai Opetaia vacates IBF cruiserweight title, will fight Ellis Zorro next

Jai Opetaia announced on social media that he has vacated his IBF cruiserweight title after the organization ruled he must next face mandatory challenger Mairis Briedis in a rematch. Instead, Opetaia (23-0, 18 KOs) will proceed with a fight vs. Ellis Zorro on Saturday’s stacked card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, headlined by Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder in separate fights. “I fought through absolute agony to win that belt and it saddens me to relinquish it,” Australia’s Opetaia said. “But the fact is, Briedis isn’t ready to fight on Dec. 23 and I need to stay active. I simply can’t turn down […]

December

Devin Haney shuts out Regis Prograis, now 2-division champion

Devin Haney delivered a virtuoso performance to become a two-division champion in his first fight at 140 pounds, scoring a shutout decision over Regis Prograis on Saturday evening at Chase Center. All three judges scored the fight 120-107 for Haney, who captured Prograis’ WBC junior welterweight title. Haney also was the undisputed lightweight champion before vacating all four of his belts in late November. Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) earned every round Saturday night on the strength of precision punching, an excellent jab and ring generalship beyond his 25 years. He scored a knockdown in Round 3 with a sharp right hand and busted […]

November

Rangers take out D-backs for franchise’s 1st World Series title

The Texas Rangers spent seven months of this season terrorizing adversaries with a menacing offense that feasted on home runs and hardly ever let up. The first night of November showcased the other aspects that make them dominant — gritty starting pitching, sound defense and a lineup versatile enough to manufacture runs when needed. It sealed them a title. The Rangers defeated the upstart, underdog Arizona Diamondbacks in front of a soldout Chase Field crowd, 5-0, in Game 5 of the World Series on Wednesday, clinching the first championship in the 63-year history of their franchise. Nathan Eovaldi continually weaved out of trouble, somehow matching […]

October

Tyson Fury survives knockdown, edges Francis Ngannou on points

In a shocking turn of events, Tyson Fury was forced to survive a third-round knockdown to eke past Francis Ngannou via split decision Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. One judge scored it 95-94 for Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, but was overruled by tallies of 96-93 and 95-94 for Fury. Fury’s WBC heavyweight title wasn’t on the line in the 10-round boxing match. Ngannou was making his pro boxing debut in his first fight since January 2022. England’s Fury was installed as a -1400 favorite to attain the match. He moves on to an undisputed heavyweight championship fight versus Oleksandr Usyk despite arguably his […]

October

Ben Shelton wins Japan Open for first career ATP title

Ben Shelton earned his first tour title, defeating Aslan Karatsev 7-5, 6-1 at the Japan Open on Sunday. The 21-year-old American, who made his first tour semifinal appearance at the US Open last month, continued his recent rich vein of form in Tokyo, making 18 winners and dominating his Russian opponent with his swinging lefty serve as he closed out the final in 84 minutes. “That meant a lot to me and my team,” Shelton said. “We have been working really hard since the beginning to build my game and win titles on the ATP Tour. I made some deep runs lately. […]

September

Emanuel Navarrete to defend title vs. Robson Conceicao on Nov. 16

Emanuel Navarrete will defend the WBO junior lightweight title versus Robson Conceicao on Nov. 16 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, it was revealed on Friday’s “Top Rank on ESPN” broadcast. The fight, which will be Navarrete’s third of 2023, will serve as the chief-support bout to the Shakur Stevenson-Edwin De Los Santos lightweight title fight. Navarrete (38-1, 31 KOs), 28, scored the biggest victory of his career in August, taking a wide-points victory over former champion Oscar Valdez. A three-division champion, he also captured titles at 122 and 126 pounds and is ESPN’s No. 1 boxer at 130 pounds. […]

September

Defending champion Iga Swiatek bows out of US Open in Round 4

Iga Swiatek’s US Open title defense ended with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 loss to Jelena Ostapenko in the fourth round Sunday night. The loss also means Swiatek’s stay at No. 1 in the WTA rankings will end next week, when current No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka will rise to the top spot for the first time. “I don’t know why I played that bad,” Swiatek said. “I’m not happy with my performances on hard courts this year. But overall, I did a pretty good job at maintaining my level. I’m happy I’m going to have time to practice because I miss that.” Swiatek’s shots were […]

July

Terence Crawford stops Errol Spence Jr. to win undisputed welterweight crown

Terence Crawford dismantled Errol Spence Jr. in a tour de force performance, scoring a ninth-round TKO in the long-awaited superfight to capture the undisputed welterweight championship Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena. Crawford floored Spence in Round 2 and twice in Round 7, a two-fisted beatdown to wrest away the IBF, WBA and WBC 147-pound titles to go along with his WBO belt. The 35-year-old Crawford buckled a bloodied and swollen Spence in Round 9 and was unloading unanswered shots when referee Harvey Dock mercifully ended the punishment at 2 minutes, 32 seconds. Spence, 33, protested the stoppage but appeared to […]

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