Mosley, Mora draw fails to impress
Boxing: Sugar Shane Mosley wanted a victory that would earn him another big-money fight. Sergio Mora wanted to re-establish himself as an elite boxer.
Neither left Staples Center in Los Angeles satisfied after their 12-round draw Saturday night.
The junior middleweight bout was an anticlimactic end to a solid card that featured spectacular knockout wins by Victor Ortiz, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Daniel Ponce De Leon.
In a sometimes dull fight, the 39-year-old Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) didn’t get redemption for his one-sided loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in May, and Mora (22-1-2, 6 KOs) fell short of his biggest victory.
Both fighters were booed by the crowd, which chanted “Canelo! Canelo!” – the nickname of the rising 20-year-old Mexican star – during the main event.
“We both fought hard,” Mosley said. “It was good fight, a good decision.”
The fight was difficult to score, with judge Kermit Bayless calling it 115-113 for Mora, David Denkin giving Mosley a 116-112 edge, and Lou Moret ruling it even at 114-114. The scores at press row were equally divided, from a six-point victory for Mosley to a four-point win for Mora.
Before the main event, junior welterweight contender Ortiz (28-2-1, 22 KOs) took a round to feel out Vivian Harris (29-5-1, 19 KOs) before unloading, stopping Harris early in the third round after knocking him down three times in the second.
Ortiz landed a right hook and then a quick right uppercut to knock down Harris 45 seconds into the third round, with referee Raul Caiz waving off the fight right when Harris hit the canvas.
Earlier, Alvarez had a spectacular third-round knockout of veteran Carlos Baldomir.
Alvarez (34-0-1, 26 KOs) hurt Baldomir (45-13-6, 14 KOs) with a number of punches toward the end of the final round before a straight left put the Argentine on his face. Baldomir, who had failed to go the distance only once before, was able to get to his feet, but was too wobbly to continue.
Ponce de Leon (40-2, 33 KOs) also stopped Antonio Escalante (23-3, 15 KOs) with a single right hook at 2:40 of the third round in a 12-round featherweight bout.
• Retirement gets to Hatton: Former world champion Ricky Hatton has blamed his struggle with retirement for his binge drinking and drug use.
Hatton was admitted to a rehab clinic after the News of the World published a video last weekend that appears to show him snorting cocaine. His spokesman later confirmed the drug use.
Hatton said in a video interview on the paper’s website that “I have been binge drinking heavily and dabbling in other daft and silly things.”
From the clinic, Hatton says he is “dealing with depression due to the fact I have not been able to cope with my retirement from boxing.”
France gets through to Davis Cup final
Tennis: France wrapped up its match with Argentina to charge into the Davis Cup final for the first time since 2002.
Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement, survivors from the 2002 team, beat Eduardo Schwank and Horacio Zeballos 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 to give France a 3-0 lead in London.
Czech Republic leads Serbia 2-1 in the other semifinal.
• U.S. wins doubles: Mardy Fish and John Isner defeated Colombia’s Robert Farah and Carlos Salamanca 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in Bogota, Columbia, to give the United States a 2-1 lead in its Davis Cup World Group playoff.
Fish is slated to play Santiago Giraldo in today’s reverse singles on the outdoor red-clay court and Sam Querrey will take on Alejandro Falla.
The winner of the tie will remain in the World Group.
U.S. women record rout over Senegal
Women’s basketball: Diana Taurasi had 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and five assists in 15 minutes to help the U.S. women’s national team beat Senegal 93-51 in Salamanca, Spain, in its final exhibition game before the world championship begins next week in the Czech Republic.
Swimming: Responding to a sexual abuse scandal that rocked one of the country’s most prominent Olympic sports, USA Swimming expanded background checks, approved new athlete protection measures and made it mandatory for members to report any credible allegations.
The measures were approved by wide margins at the group’s annual convention in Dallas.
All non-athlete members of the USA Swimming must pass a criminal background check, a move that will cover between 30,000 and 40,000 additional members.
Also, anyone who interacts directly with swimmers, including local club owners and chaperones, must join USA Swimming.
The screenings, which had been required every two years for coaches, will be updated on a “real-time” basis so any infractions will turn up more promptly in the database.