Holyfield's bid for fifth heavyweight title blocked in Moscow by Ibragimov

Ibragimov kept his WBO title with a unanimous decision over Holyfield, who turns 45 next week and was trying to become the second-oldest heavyweight champion.

Fighting before a home crowd, Ibragimov improved his record to 22 wins and one draw with a slick, counter-punching display. Holyfield dropped to 42-9 with two draws.

The sparse crowd at Khodynka Arena chanted "Sultan! Sultan!" near the end of the bout, with the fighters embracing at the final bell. There were no knockdowns in the 12-round bout, which was scored 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111 by the judges.

"It was a great fight. He got the decision and I have to go back to the drawing board," Holyfield said. "He's a left-handed fighter, and moves a lot. I did the best that I could with the style that he had."

● In Hoffman Estates, Ill., Juan Diaz added the IBF championship to his WBA and WBO lightweight titles Saturday night when his unification fight with Julio Diaz ended a second into the ninth round.

The bout ended just as the bell to start the round rang. Julio Diaz's brother, Joel, a cornerman, told the referee to stop it, bringing a fight that Juan Diaz (33-0, 17 knockouts) had dominated to a sudden conclusion.

In an undercard fight, former WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz stopped journeyman Otis Tisdale in the second round and set his sights on another title bout Saturday night.

cross country

Pima wins Calif. invitational

The Pima College cross country teams won the Combined Team Sweepstakes Championship and Aztec sophomore Craig Curley won the men's race at the Mt. SAC Invitational on Friday in Walnut, Calif.

The Pima women won the team title, scoring 47 points, to remain undefeated this season. The Aztecs were led by Aurora Trujillo's (Cholla) eighth-place finish. She covered the 3-mile course in 19 minutes 26 seconds.

Curley paced the third-place Pima men by setting the course record of 20:10 on the hilly 4-mile course. He won by over a minute. 

The combined team title was scored by combining the top 5 finish times from both men's and women's teams. The combined Pima squads won the competition by over 2 minutes.

soccer

Solo apologizes for criticism

ST. LOUIS — U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo apologized for harsh criticism of coach Greg Ryan during the women's World Cup in a statement issued Saturday night about a half-hour before the team's 5-1 exhibition victory over Mexico.

Solo also decided not to dress for the opener.

"I would like to apologize to my teammates, coaches and everyone else adversely affected by my comments," Solo said. "This public apology comes later than it should have, but I hope that does not diminish the fact that I am truly sorry."

Ryan opted for veteran Briana Scurry in the World Cup semifinals, a 4-0 loss to the Brazil. Solo, 25, had allowed two goals in four World Cup starts and had a shutout string of nearly 300 minutes, and lashed out at her coach.

● The Pima College men's soccer team clinched second place in the ACCAC with a 3-1 victory over South Mountain in Phoenix on Saturday. The Aztecs are 12-4.