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Boxing: Floyd Mayweather (picture, right) and Connor McGregor’s cross-sport showdown looks closer to being made after the two men talked up the prospect. Five-weight boxing world champion Mayweather, 39, signed off his professional career in September 2015, retiring with a 49-0 record. But talks of a bout with UFC champion McGregor have persisted – largely due to the amount of money such a spectacle would generate. Despite reservations about the legitimacy of such a fight, the two want it to happen. “Most likely the fight between me and McGregor will happen,” Mayweather said. “That’s the only fight that will get me back in the ring.”

Snooker: The World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) said former Masters champion Alan McManus has been co-opted to the board as a player director. He succeeds six-time world snooker champion Steve Davis, who has decided to step down from his position. Scotland’s McManus turned professional in 1990 and can list eight ranking event finals and a career-high ranking of number six among his achievements to date. As part of his new role, McManus now looks forward to being able to use his vast experience on the tour to support the playing membership and alongside fellow player director Ken Doherty, will sit on the new Players Commission.

Figure Skating: Javier Fernandez proved he will be the man to beat at next year’s Winter Olympics when even an error-filled programme could not stop him becoming the first man in more than 40 years to win five successive European figure skating titles. Despite crashing heavily on his right hip following a quadruple Salchow and putting a hand down on his loop, the two-times world champion still blew away the opposition in Ostrava to win the title with a combined total of 294.84 points. That total allowed the 25-year-old Spaniard to beat his nearest rival, Russia’s Maxim Kovtun, by a whopping 28.04 points.

Horse Racing: Narrow favourite Arrogate won the world’s richest race, the $12 million World Cup Invitational, in emphatic fashion as California Chrome ended his storied career on a disappointing note in Florida last weekend. Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith piloted four-year-old colt Arrogate into the lead with a dominant run around the final turn and he pulled away down the straight to win by three-and-a-half lengths. Arrogate covered the 1 1/8-mile (1,810 metres) distance at Gulfstream Park in 1 minute, 47.61 seconds to secure the $7 million first prize. California Chrome faded down the stretch in the final race of a standout career.

Handball: France claimed a record-extending sixth world handball title by beating Norway 33-26 in a tense final yesterday as their solid defence helped grind down their opponents. Les Bleus were trailing early on but once the defence found their mark, Norway, who had never won a medal in a major handball championship, had no answer. France now have six world titles, two Olympic golds and three European titles ahead of Russia and Sweden in terms of major championship triumphs.

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