Spinks, Hopkins shine in big fight night
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Cory Spinks upset Ricardo Mayorga Saturday night to become boxing's undisputed welterweight champion.
Also, in the main event, undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins battered William Joppy to retain his titles.
Spinks, the son of former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks and nephew of former light heavyweight and heavyweight champion Michael Spinks, stole the show before a sellout crowd of 12,364.
'I did what I had to do - box," Spinks said. "I kept my head and did what I had to do."
Hopkins, making the 17th title defense of a share of the middleweight crown, wore down Joppy, winning on the inside and landing. In the final round, he gave Joppy a savage beating, unleashing power shots to the head.
Also, John Ruiz captured the interim WBA heavyweight belt, beating Hasim Rahman; Travis Simms scored a fifth-round knockout of previously undefeated Alejandro Garcia of Mexico to capture the WBA super welterweight title, Zab Judah needed one punch to stop Jaime Rangel to retain his WBO 140-pound title.
An apology from Rasheed Wallace
PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Veteran Portland forward Rasheed Wallace has made an apology for his controversial remarks about the NBA.
Not included in that apology was Commissioner David Stern, who has labeled Wallace's controversial comments as "hateful and offensive."
Stern did not suspend or fine Wallace, who accused the NBA of exploiting black players, criticized the league for drafting players out of high school, and questioned Stern's $8 million annual salary in an interview with The Oregonian.
Prior to Saturday night's game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Wallace issued an apology statement.
"I made a few comments that some people found objectionable," he said. "Like everyone, I have a right to express an opinion .. I regret using street language to express my opinion, because everyone has focused on these few comments when I said other things."
Wallace referred to young NBA players, specifically those who came to the league straight from high school, "dumb-a-- n----."
He is making $17 million this season, the final year of a six-year, $80 million contract.
NBA: L.A. Clippers 106, Phoenix 91
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Elton Brand had 21 points and 14 rebounds Saturday night to lead the Los Angeles Clippers past Phoenix, 106-91.
For the Suns, it was their fifth straight defeat with Amare Stoudemire on the sidelines.
Quentin Richardson scored 25 points and Corey Maggette added 23 for the Clippers, who won a second straight contest after losing nine of their previous 11.
Los Angeles trailed, 27-26, before Richardson nailed a three-pointer that started a 10-0 run beginning the second quarter. The Clippers took a 61-47 advantage into the break and led by as many as 23 points thereafter.
Stephon Marbury had 30 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds for the Suns. Fellow All-Star Shawn Marion added just 12 points on 6-of-21 shooting.
Phoenix has not won since Stoudemire, its 2003 Rookie of the Year, was sidelined by a badly sprained ankle. The Suns fell to 0-2 under Coach Mike D'Antoni, who replaced the fired Frank Johnson on Wednesday.
NHL: Montreal 5, Tampa Bay 2
TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 14 (UPI) -- Yanic Perreault scored twice and Jose Theodore stopped 35 shots Saturday as Montreal struck for four unanswered goals in a 5-2 victory over Tampa Bay.
Montreal picked up four of a possible six points on its trip and improved to 5-2-2 in its last nine contests. It could have been a perfect trek if the Canadiens hadn't blown a lead in Friday's 4-2 loss to Florida.
Montreal moved over the .500 mark for the third time in a week.
Besides hitting the break-even mark, the Canadiens also produced one of their better nights on offense. They scored more than three goals for just the seventh time in 31 games this season.
Perreault hadn't scored in nine games, but he evened it at 1-1 with five minutes to play in the first. Stephane Quintal used a screen from a teammate to give Montreal the lead for good.
