Crawford punishes Spence to claim undisputed welterweight world belt

LOS ANGELES—Terence Crawford punished Errol Spence on the way to a ninth-round technical knockout to claim the undisputed welterweight world title in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Unbeaten Crawford had knocked down Spence three times and had his previously unbeaten foe staggering under a hail of blows when referee Harvey Dock called a halt at 2:32 in the ninth.

Crawford added Spence’s World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation titles to his own World Boxing Organization crown.

Crawford became the first undisputed welterweight world champion of boxing’s four-belt era, which began in 2004.

A former lightweight and undisputed light welterweight world champion, he became the first man to win all the belts in two weight divisions.

ADELAIDE—Nouhaila Benzina became the first player to wear a hijab during a Women’s World Cup game when she sported the Muslim headscarf in Morocco’s match against South Korea on Sunday.

World governing body FIFA lifted its ban on footballers wearing the hijab nearly a decade ago, after previous concerns over player safety.

The 25-year-old defender Benzina, who plays her club football in Morocco, ran out against South Korea in Adelaide to write her name in the history books.

Benzina shared social media posts in the lead-up to the World Cup about wearing a hijab, but has not spoken to the media in Australia and New Zealand about it.

She told broadcaster Al Jazeera recently it would be a proud moment.

“Lots of work was done over many years, and thank God it had a positive result,” she said.

“It means everything because of who

“We hope to play at a high level and honour Moroccans.”

Several other sports have lifted hijab bans in recent years including basketball, but it is still not allowed during official football matches in France.

The Moroccan women, coached by Frenchman Reynald Pedros, are at their first Women’s World Cup on the back of a historic runners-up finish at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. They were thrashed 6-0 by Germany in their tournament opener, with Benzina remaining on the bench. AFP

I took the belts from,” Crawford said.

“They tried to blackball me, they kept me out, they kept me out. They talked bad about me, they said I wasn’t good enough, that I couldn’t beat these top welterweights, and I just kept my head to the sky and I kept praying to God that I would get the opportunity to show the world who Terence Crawford is.”

“And tonight, I believe I showed how great I am,” added Crawford, who improved to 40-0 with 31 knockouts, taking his string of knockouts to 11 fights.

That includes all eight of his fights at welterweight.

It was a stunningly dominant performance in what was expected to be a close fight, one that had drawn comparisons to classic welterweight matchups such as Roberto Duran v Sugar Ray Leonard and to more recent mega-fights like Floyd Mayweather’s 2015 victory over Manny Pacquiao.

Music superstar Eminem provided in-person accompaniment for Crawford’s walk to the ring. The sellout crowd at T-Mobile Arena included a who’s-who of boxing royalty headlined by heavyweight greats Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield and also featuring Mayweather and Pacquiao. AFP

THE core of the national’s men’s team competing in ongoing Southeast Asian Volleyball League (V.League) will banner the country’s return to the Asian Games in Hangzhou in China in September.

Though still in the hunt for a breakthrough win, the bulk of the Filipino spikers currently playing in the SEA V.League will be tasked to carry the fight in the 19th Asiad in September, according to Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNFV) president Ramon “Tats” Suzara.

“I think the core players here will definitely go to the Asian Games,” said Suzara at the sidelines of the SEA V.League, his brainchild tournament with Thailand federation president Shanrit Wongprasert, in the City of Santa Rosa in Laguna.

Among the anticipated leaders for the Philippines’ Asiad comeback after 49 years are the troika of Bryan Bagunas, Marck Espejo and rising star Steven Rotter.

The last time the Philippines played in the Asian Games was in 1974 in Tehran where the country finished in sixth place.

Bagunas and Espejo missed the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia last summer but returned to the team with a bang while Rotter has been a revelation so far for the Philippines since the SEA Games, Asian Volleyball Confederation Challenge Cup and the SEA V. League.

The Philippines finished 10th in its AVC debut and fifth in the SEA Games. In the second leg of the SEA V.League, the local spikers after a winless Leg 1 campaign in Jakarta last week, have been