FROM STEVE BRENNER IN ARLINGTON
No-one can doubt the heart of Liam Smith.
The Englishman walked into the lion’s den here in Texas , taking on the Mexican hero Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez who brought a bumper 51,240 crowd to their feet at the home of the Dallas Cowboys with every thumping, fearsome shot which rocked the WBO light-middleweight champion.
FROM STEVE BRENNER AT AT&T STADIUM
IT sadly wasn’t to be for Liam Smith.
The Scouser put on one hell of a brave show here in Dallas in front of 50,000 screaming Mexican fans desperate to see their hero Canelo Alvarez become a three time world champion.
FROM STEVE BRENNER IN ARLINGTON
Everything adds up for Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez.
Fast horses, even faster cars, the adulation of a boxing-mad nation and the owner of rapier-like fists which have propelled the Mexican to the very top of the tree.
GRAPEVINE, Tex. — The Mariachi band played with unmistakable pride. Fans screamed, desperately scrambling to get a glimpse of their hero.
Young and old, several hundred of them came out on Wednesday to pay homage to Sául Álvarez, the Mexican boxer widely known as Canelo and viewed as one of the most popular — and marketable — stars of a sport entering its post-Floyd Mayweather, post-Manny Pacquiao era.
FROM STEVE BRENNER IN NEW YORK
After the drama came the tears.
As Carl Frampton was crowned WBA featherweight champion of the world after a display of incomprehensible courage to secure a majority points decision against the excellent Léo Santa Cruz, ringside emotions were laid bare.
FROM STEVE BRENNER IN NEW YORK
History beckons for Carl Frampton.
If he wins his first bout at featherweight in New York tonight, having moved up from super-bantamweight, he will become the first Northern Irishman to become a two-weight world champion.
BY STEVE BRENNER
Pete Rose is a lot of things to a lot of people.
Hit King. Legend. Cheat. Liar.
USA 2 ECUADOR 1
STEVE BRENNER IN SEATTLE
Jurgen Klinsmann called for courage and his United States players gloriously delivered.
A stellar display from Clint Dempsey in his own Seattle backyard helped Klinsmann earn his first major tournament knock-out triumph and send the US to within one game of the Copa America Centenario final.
FROM STEVE BRENNER
Forget about the searing injustice.
Try, if you can, to eradicate the memory of one of the worst refereeing displays ever seen in a major tournament.
ORLANDO, Fla. — It will undoubtedly take more than a convincing win over Haiti to reinvigorate Brazil’s love affair with its national soccer team.
With only 35 minutes on the stadium clock, Brazil, five-time world champions, already had three goals against an earnest collection of Haitian players who were content enough to be joining the party at this summer’s Copa América Centenario without registering a seismic result against a team that has traditionally been one of the game’s greatest powers.