Clan-Members » She averaged 9.6 points and shot a career-high 53.8 percent

A roundup of the past weeks notable boxing results from around the world:Saturday at PhiladelphiaDanny Garcia TKO7 Samuel Vargas - Fight recap Welterweight Records: Garcia (33-0, 19 KOs); Vargas (25-3-1, 13 KOs)Rafaels remarks: As expected Garcia, 28, fighting in his hometown for the first time in six years, ran roughshod over the Toronto-based Vargas, 27, of Colombia, in exactly the kind of mismatch everyone expected. This was a total waste of time, but Garcia, out since winning a vacant welterweight world title against Robert Guerrero in January, took this nontitle bout for one reason, because he said he needed a tune-up fight to get ready for the real fight already scheduled. That will come March 4 in a title unification showdown with Keith Thurman (27-0, 22 KOs), 27, of Clearwater, Florida, who was ringside working as an analyst on the Spike telecast. What Thurman saw was Garcia destroy Vargas, who got knocked down on a right hand in the second round and battered until referee Gary Rosato waved off the fight at 2 minutes, 17 seconds of the seventh round, just as Vargas corner was waving a white towel in surrender. What was more entertaining than the fight was Garcia and Thurman talking trash and going nose to nose after the fight.Jarrett Hurd TKO6 Jo Jo Dan - Full undercard recap Junior middleweight Records: Hurd (19-0, 13 KOs); Dan (35-4, 18 KOs)Rafaels remarks: Hurd, 26, of Accokeek, Maryland, is an exciting prospect who opened a lot of eyes with his impressive 10th-round knockout of then-unbeaten Oscar Molina on CBS on the Keith Thurman-Shawn Porter undercard in June. In his first fight since, Hurd was once again impressive as he manhandled replacement opponent (and much smaller) Dan, a 35-year-old southpaw from Romania who fights out of Montreal. Hurd did damage with an accidental low blow in the third round, but even without that, Dan, coming off a 14-month layoff, had no chance. Hurd imposed his will from the beginning and landed many punishing right hands on the former welterweight world title challenger. When Hurd nearly dropped him with a right hand in the sixth round and continued to fire away, trainer Howard Grant threw in the towel and referee Benjy Esteves Jr. ended the carnage at 1:06.Javier Fortuna W10 Omar Douglas - Full undercard recap Lightweight Scores: 96-93 (twice), 95-94 Records: Fortuna (31-1-1, 22 KOs); Douglas (17-1, 12 KOs)Rafaels remarks: In June, Fortuna, an extremely fast 27-year-old southpaw from the Dominican Republic, lost his secondary junior lightweight belt by upset 11th-round knockout to Jason Sosa in Beijing. Fortuna, who has a rematch clause and is expected to face Sosa next, won his second fight in a row since the upset, as he outpointed Douglas, 25, of Wilmington, Delaware, in a fast-paced fight. There were a lot of fouls and holding, and referee Shawn Clark had his hands full. He doled out several warnings, but Fortuna and Douglas still put on a pretty good show. That said, Fortuna, who got off the deck after a first-round knockdown on a clean left hand to the chin, rightfully got the nod in a very close fight.Saturday at Monte CarloJason Sosa W12 Stephen Smith Retains a junior lightweight title Scores: 117-110, 116-112, 116-111 Records: Sosa (20-1-4, 15 KOs); Smith (24-3, 14 KOs)Rafaels remarks: In by far the best fight of the weekend, Sosa and Smith waged a terrific slugfest that was competitive throughout even if Sosa, 28, of Camden, New Jersey, got the well-deserved nod to retain his secondary belt for the first time following his upset 11th-round knockout of Javier Fortuna to win it in June. This was a very hard-fought fight in which Sosas physical strength and pressure style made the difference. He dropped Smith with a left hand in the second round and opened a bad cut over his right eye just before the end of the third round. The fourth round was a fierce toe-to-toe battle that could be a round of the year honorable mention, after which the ringside doctor took a close look at Smiths damaged eye. It was the second time that Englands Smith, 31, one of the four fighting Smith brothers (along with former junior middleweight titlist Liam, Paul and Callum), came up short in a world title fight. Two fights ago, in April, he dropped a decision to Jose Pedraza.Luis Ortiz W12 Malik Scott - Fight recap Heavyweight Scores: 120-105, 120-106, 119-106 Records: Ortiz (26-0, 22 KOs); Scott (38-3-1, 13 KOs)Rafaels remarks: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. This was just an absolutely hideous fight and an utter waste of time because Scott did not come to fight, as has been the case for most of his frustrating and forgettable 16-year career. While King Kong -- to many the most avoided man in the heavyweight division -- tried to hunt him down with his powerful left hand, and he did knock him down three times (but not very dynamic knockdowns), all Scott did was run, clinch, flop to the mat, complain about imaginary fouls and try to survive. Scott, 36, of Philadelphia, looked petrified the entire fight, knowing that at any moment a missile from Miamis Ortiz, a 37-year-old southpaw Cuban defector, could end his night. Ortiz, recently stripped of an interim title for ignoring his mandatory defense against Alexander Ustinov, landed nearly as many punches (146) as Scott threw (155) and scored knockdowns in the fourth, fifth and ninth rounds, but even they were not enough to make this fight interesting. Ortiz is due back in action Dec. 10 on the Anthony Joshua-Eric Molina card in Manchester, England, and whatever happens it cant be worse than this.Jamie McDonnell W12 Liborio Solis Retains a bantamweight title Scores: 117-111, 116-112, 115-113 Records: McDonnell (29-2-1, 13 KOs); Solis (25-5-1, 11 KOs)Rafaels remarks: Horrible scoring alert! McDonnell, 30, of England, was lucky to retain his belt for the fifth time thanks to hometown cooking against Solis, 34, a former junior bantamweight world titleholder from Venezuela. This will go down as one of the most controversial decisions of the year, especially given the absurdly wide 117-111 scorecard turned in by Robert Hoyle. Solis looked to have gotten a raw deal. Even Sky Sports, McDonnells U.K. broadcaster, had Solis, despite a 6-inch height disadvantage, winning the fight. McDonnell did land some nice body shots to slow Solis down a bit in the middle of the fight and he hurt him in the ninth round. But Solis, with his nonstop pressure, appeared to have the better of the action, including when he hurt McDonnell with a right hand in the 11th round. Dont count on a rematch. McDonnell, according to Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, probably will move up in weight.Martin Murray W12 Nuhu Lawal Super middleweight Scores: 117-110 (twice), 116-111 Records: Murray (34-4-1, 16 KOs); Lawal (23-1, 13 KOs)Rafaels remarks: Murray, 34, of England, is 0-2-1 in middleweight world title fights and 0-1 in super middleweight title bouts, and still eyeing that elusive title belt. He was supposed to fight former titleholder Arthur Abraham in a rematch of Abrahams split decision win against him in 2015, but he dropped out with an elbow injury. Then Russian replacement opponent Dmitry Chudinov dropped out about a week before the fight because of a virus and was replaced with Lawal, 34, a native of Nigeria fighting out of Germany. Lawal, really a junior middleweight/middleweight, gave a solid account of himself, but his punches lacked snap and were usually wide against the more compact and skillful Murray, who rocked Lawal in the first round and was never in any danger despite being penalized one point by referee Russell Mora for leading with his head in the 12th round.Saturday at Ciudad Valles, MexicoJose Argumedo TKO3 Jose Antonio Jimenez Retains a strawweight title Records: Argumedo (19-3-1, 11 KOs); Jimenez (17-6-1, 7 KOs)Rafaels remarks: Argumedo, 28, of Mexico, traveled to Japan in December 2015 and won a ninth-round technical decision against Katsunari Takayama to claim a 105-pound world title. Argumedo made his second defense against Jimenez, 33, of Colombia, and took him out impressively to stop his eight-fight unbeaten streak. Argumedo scored two knockdowns in the third round, first with a huge overhand right hand that bounced Jimenez off the ropes before he went down and then moments later when referee Mario Gonzalez credited him with one when he pounded Jimenez into the ropes, which held him up. Jimenez was in rough shape and Argumedo continued to hurt him with right hands until Gonzalez stepped in to wave it off.Saturday at Magdeburg, GermanyRobert Stieglitz W12 Medhi Amar Wins European light heavyweight title Scores: 116-112 (three times) Records: Stieglitz (50-5-1, 29 KOs); Amar (33-5-2, 16 KOs)Rafaels remarks: Germanys Stieglitz, 35, a two-time super middleweight world titleholder, moved up to light heavyweight in 2015 and won his third in a row (since losing a world title fight to rival Arthur Abraham in their fourth meeting) to claim the European title in a steady if unspectacular performance in a relatively low-action fight. Amar, 34, of France, was making his first defense after winning the vacant title in May.Friday at MiamiYunieski Gonzalez TKO1 Maxwell Amponsah Light heavyweight Records: Gonzalez (18-2, 14 KOs); Amponsah (11-3, 10 KOs)Rafaels remarks: In July 2015, Gonzalez burst on the world stage with a tremendous performance against former light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal on HBO, but Gonzalez was robbed in a decision loss. Then Gonzalez, 31, a Cuban defector based in Miami, dropped a majority decision to contender Vyacheslav Shabranskyy. But now Gonzalez has won two fights in a row on the comeback trail, both by first-round knockout, including this blowout of Amponsah, 30, a 2012 Olympian from Ghana fighting out of New York. Amponsah lost his second fight in a row by knockout. Joe Ledley Wales Jersey . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. Joe Allen Jersey . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. http://www.soccerwalesstore.com/ . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations. Gareth Bale Wales Jersey . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Aaron Ramsey Wales Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Two MVPs were too much for the Chicago Sky.Candace Parker scored 19 of her 30 points in the first half, Nneka Ogwumike added 27, and the Los Angeles Sparks won 95-75 in the teams semifinal playoff opener Wednesday night.Two-time WNBA MVP Parker had nine rebounds and newly crowned MVP Ogwumike had 10 rebounds and six assists for the Sparks, who were playing their first game in 12 days after early-round byes in the revamped playoffs. The game was at the Pyramid on the Long Beach State campus, 24 miles from downtown Los Angeles.Nneka and I have a really good chemistry in the high-low and we were able to capitalize on that, Parker said. Its been an amazing journey for me to sit back and watch Nneka develop as she has. You rarely see an MVP dive on the floor and get an extra possession for your team. Im learning just as much from her.Ogwumike has been teammates with Parker since 2012.With Candace theres so much to learn from her. She sees the game, Ogwumike said. We understand each others game.The Sky was missing injured Elena Delle Donne and her team-leading averages of 21.5 points and 7.0 rebounds. In her absence, the offensive load was spread among four players. Jamierra Faulkner scored a leading 13 points off the bench. Cappie Pondexter added 12, Tamera Young had 11 and Courtney Vandersloot 10.One thing I can guarantee is missed shots or turnovers, were going to come back an even stronger team in this second game, Pondexter said.The Sky forced seven turnovers in the opening quarter when they trailed by two. But they couldnt keep up the pressure and Los Angeles outscored Chicago 30-15 in the second, the Sparks highest-scoring period of the game.If you give up a 30-point quarter to that team, its tough to beat, Vandersloot said. After that it seemed like we were just trading baskets and not doing enough to win.The Sparks ran off nine straight points for an 86-65 lead in the fourth.The Sky never got closer than 12 points in the third, with Parker scoring the Sparks final six points on a three-point play and a 3-pointer. Ogwumike had 12 in the quarter, including eight in a row, stealing the ball and converting at the other end in one possession.I dont like her going right all thee time.dddddddddddd I want to see her go left and score, Sky coach Pokey Chatman said of Ogwumike. You have to make people go to their countermove and make them uncomfortable, and we didnt do that enough.The Sparks led 52-35 at halftime, pulling away with a 23-8 run to end the second quarter. Parker had nine points, Ogwumike seven and Kristi Toliver hit a 3-pointer to cap their scoring. They shot 62 percent in the half.TIP-INSThree-time NBA MVP Magic Johnson hugged Ogwumike before she received her WNBA MVP trophy from league president Lisa Borders before the game. On hand to support Ogwumike was her sister Chiney, who plays for the Connecticut Sun, their mother and an uncle. Its great to see big boss at our games, Parker said of Johnson, who co-owns the team. We were fortunate to talk to him before the playoffs began and to pick his brain about what it takes to win a championship. ... Sparks C Jantel Lavender won the leagues sixth woman award on Wednesday, receiving 26 of the 39 votes from a national media panel. Lavender came off the bench in all 34 regular-season games after being a starter the previous two seasons. She averaged 9.6 points and shot a career-high 53.8 percent from the field.DELLE DONNES THUMBDelle Donne sat on the Sky bench in street clothes with a wrap on her right thumb after recent surgery. She joined Betnijah Laney, who is out with an ACL tear, under the basket while the team warmed up for the second half.STREAKINToliver was 3 of 7 from 3-point range, extending her streak as the only player in the league to make at least one 3 in every game played. She hit 81 from long-range in 33 regular-season games.DRAFT PICKThe Sparks will select fourth in the 2017 draft as a result of the lottery held earlier Wednesday. They had 227 chances out of 1,000 to land the top pick, which went to San Antonio. The Sparks acquired Connecticuts lottery pick through a draft-day trade in April.WHATS NEXTGame 2 is Friday at Staples Center, the Sparks home court that was unavailable for the best-of-five series opener because the Los Angeles Kings were playing an exhibition. ' ' '