MANILA, Philippines - Charly Suarez scored a major upset Friday night in the World Series of Boxing quarterfinals by beating world's No. 4 Semen Gribachev of Azerbaijan.
Suarez, 23, was recruited by the Mumbai Fighters of India, one of 12 international franchises in the league organized by the International Boxing Association (AIBA), the international federation for amateur boxing.
The Davaoeno power-puncher surprised the feisty Azeri with lightning quick jabs and precise combinations that obviously hurt his foe so that the hometown crowd in Mumbai thought the fight was practically over after three rounds.
The 27 year-old Azeri veteran however, tried to come back in the last round, but Suarez was already sitting on a comfortable lead as the animated crowd chanted the Filipino's name lustily.
Chess Results
STA. ROSA CITY, LAGUNA - FIDE Master Haridas Pascua of Pangasinan won over Franz Robert Grafil of Valenzuela on Saturday to lead the march of seeded players after the second round of the 2012 National Age-Group Chess Championships, Luzon leg at the Market Place Complex here.
Tied with Pascua in the Boys Under-20 with 2.0 points were National Masters Alcon John Datu and Mari Joseph Turqueza of Quezon City and Jan Nigel Galan of Valenzuela City. Also in the running with 1.5 points were National Master Joey Albert Florendo of Zamboanga City and Nigel Valenzuela of Manila.
In the Boys Under-16, top seed Jerad Docena scored his second straight win to grab the solo lead. Close behind him with 1.5 points were Giovanni Mejia of Taguig, Jose Carlo Castro , Fomy Fagon and Paul Robert Evangelista of Quezon City, Charles Daniel Abuzo of Valenzuela City, Spencer de Guzman and Christian Nanola of San Pablo.
Djokovic Loses
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Top-ranked Novak Djokovic lost for the first time this season, falling to Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5 in the semifinals of the Dubai Championships on Friday.
The surprisingly one-sided victory ended Djokovic's 10-match winning streak that included the Australian Open title and his bid for a fourth successive Dubai title.
In the final, Murray will meet Roger Federer, who edged Juan Martin del Potro 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6). Del Potro missed four set points in the second-set tiebreaker at 6-2, with Federer winning the last six points.
Federer, aiming for his fifth Dubai title but first in five years, said he expected a tough match from Murray. Murray leads their matchups 8-6, but they haven't met since Federer won in the ATP finals in 2010.
Golf Accord
The National Golf Association of the Philippines and the Federation of Golf Clubs have finally agreed on the Unified Handicapping System, ending years of talks on coming up with a high degree of uniformity in handicapping among member clubs.
NGAP's secretary general Jun Arceo and Fed Golf's Iggy Clavecilla signed the Memorandum of Agreement last Tuesday in a meeting at the Manila Golf Club with the former heaving a sigh of relief that "after six years of negotiations, it has finally come into fruition." Arceo and Clavecilla are chairmen of the handicapping committee of their respective groups.
The NGAP will next pursue golf clubs in the Visayas and Mindanao to join its fold in its continuing commitment to reach out to all groups and have a truly unified handicapping system. With the Unified Handicapping System, all golfers, men's and ladies, would be able to compete on a fair and equitable basis through the course rating of golf courses.
Boxing Show
ROD Nazario's In This Corner airs the entire 10-round match between Elberto Guardario and Ruther Del Castillo tonight over PTV-4. The bout, which took place at the Tejeros Convention Center in Rosario, Cavite, will be shown from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and presented by Ginebra San Miguel, San Miguel Beer, Purefoods, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and Petron.
Guardario is 24 years-old, and hails from Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, while Del Castillo is 25-years-old, and is from Mandaue City, Cebu.
