Boxing: Ricky Hatton said he felt “happy” in retiring after the former world champion’s comeback bout against Vyacheslav Senchenko ended in a ninth round knockout defeat, in Manchester, late Saturday. A tearful Hatton admitted he had painfully discovered he was no longer a force at elite level after sinking to his knees from a left to the kidneys in a non-title welterweight bout at the Manchester Arena. It was an outcome that became increasingly likely as the fight went on.
Horse Racing: Gentildonna edged past Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe runner-up Orfevre by a nose to become the first three-year-old filly to win the 2,400-metre Japan Cup yesterday. Japanese jockey Yasunari Iwata guided Gentildonna, triple filly champion this season, to take the lead in the last furlong to cross the finishing line in two minutes 23.1 seconds ahead of Orfevre ridden by Kenichi Ikezoe. Irish-bred Solemia failed to bury the jinx that the winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe cannot win the Japan Cup as the four-year-old filly finished 13th. Solemia was the eighth French champion to race in Tokyo.
Rugby Union: Scotland coach Andy Robinson has resigned a day after his side lost to Tonga, the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) announced yesterday. The Englishman had been under contract until after the 2015 Rugby World Cup, but the 21-15 upset to the Tongans in Aberdeen meant that the Scots had lost 10 of their last 13 matches, including elimination from the World Cup at the group phase for the first time.
Sailing: Former winner Vincent Riou became the seventh skipper to pull out of the Vendee Globe yacht race a day after tearing a hole in his hull when colliding with a metallic bouy, his team announced yes-terday. He had been in third place in the solo round-the-world race early Saturday and was in hot pursuit of a second win after his victory in the event in 2004-2005. But all that changed when he heard a sudden loud crack in the early hours of Saturday while racing off the coast of Brazil. Armel le Cleac’h leads the race after 15 days of the two-month marathon, 56 nautical miles ahead of Francois Gabart.
Golf: Rory McIlroy won the European Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai yesterday. The 23-year-old Ulster-man closed with a 66 for a 23-under-par total of 265, two strokes clear of Justin Rose who set a new course record of 62. World No.1 McIlroy was already assured of winning the European Tour money list before the tournament started. He also topped the money list on the USPGA Tour, only the second player to do so after Luke Donald last year.
Basket, NBA: Los Angeles Lakers earned their first away victory of the NBA season in emphatic style on Saturday, routing the Dallas Mavericks 115-89. Antawn Jamison was among six Lakers players scoring in double figures and also grabbed 15 rebounds as Los Angeles delivered their best performance since the arrival of new head coach Mike D’Antoni. The Los Angeles Lakers, 0-4 on the road coming into this contest, out-rebounded the Mavericks 61-39. They held the Mavericks – one of the highest scoring teams in the MBA championship with an average of 101.8 points per game coming in – to 37 per cent shooting and led by as many as 37 points.