d a four-match unbeaten streak ended, was 14th.On Wednesday, Napoli hos | Forum

First middleweight titleholder Billy Joe Saunders called out unified titleholder Gennady Golovkin and then promptly turned down a career-high seven-figure payday to face him. Ross Detwiler Jersey .Then, when offered a guaranteed fight with superstar Canelo Alvarez if he would first defeat Gabriel Rosado, Willie Monroe Jr. or Curtis Stevens -- his camps choice -- in the co-feature of Alvarezs fight with Liam Smith on Sept. 17, Saunders rejected all of those second-tier opponents.Englands Saunders (23-0 12 KOs) wanted only to face unknown Russian Artur Akavov (16-1 7 KOs), but since he was not even a second-tier contender and was wholly unknown, Golden Boy declined to put that fight on Alvarezs card.But on Friday, Saunders got his man. He will face Akavov on Oct. 22 at the Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Wales, promoter Frank Warren announced.After turning down the fight with Golovkin, Saunders was scheduled to make his first title defense against Ukraines Max Bursak on April 30 in London, but pulled out after suffering a left hand injury.Then Saunders, 27, was supposed to make his first defense on the Tyson Fury-Wladimir Klitschko II undercard on Oct. 29 in Manchester, England, but the fight was moved up one week when the heavyweight championship rematch was canceled last week due to Furys withdrawal.Now he will make defense No. 1 against fellow southpaw Akavov, nearly a year after he eked out a majority decision to win the 160-pound belt from Irelands Andy Lee in December.Nothing comes easy in boxing and Im definitely not taking Akavov for granted, Saunders said. Hes a strong fighter and very dangerous and if I dont come in 100 percent, then he could cause an upset in my first title defense. Im going to make sure Im in the shape of my life and give Akavov the toughest night hes ever had. Hes never been stopped before so this is going to be a first for him.Warren still hopes to still make an Alvarez-Saunders or Golovkin-Saunders unification fight in 2017 but said Saunders needed to get back into the ring before either is possible.This is Bills first fight in 10 months, Warren said. The Russian is a tough guy who is capable of making things awkward. Hopefully, Bill will shake off the ring rust with a successful defense to set up a super fight for early [in the new] new year.Akavov, 28, has won 11 fights in a row since an eight-round unanimous decision loss to novice pro Oleg Liseev in 2012 in Russia, but he has never faced even a fringe contender. He has fought all but four of his bouts in Russia with two in Estonia and his past two in New York after linking up with promoter Lou DiBella.I know why they picked me as an opponent, Akavov said. Although I am very honored and proud to fight for the WBO world championship, at the same time, I promise to prove that the Saunders camp [was] gravely mistaken with whatever they were expecting of me in the ring. I represent my family first and my country and that alone will not let me fail.Said DiBella: I know that the champion Billy Joe Saunders is a professional, so I hope hes not looking past Akavov. Artur Akavov is a tough SOB who will bring the fight to Billy Joe. If this is a keep busy fight, the champion better be prepared for a tough night. Artur is no joke.British junior middleweight champion Liam Williams (15-0-1, 10 KOs), 24, of Wales, is also on the card in a defense against Londons 28-year-old Ahmet Patterson (17-0, 7 KOs). Mark Buehrle Jersey .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Ian Hamilton White Sox Jersey .C. -- Todd Fiddler scored a hat trick, including the overtime goal, as the Prince George Cougars survived an 8-7 win against the Kamloops Blazers in Western Hockey League play Sunday. https:///...ersey-white-sox.html . -- Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was charged Thursday with driving while intoxicated, a day after he was suspended for an NFL substance-abuse policy violation. ROME -- Promoted Pescara proved no test for an understrength Juventus.Even with Gianluigi Buffon, Giorgio Chiellini and Claudio Marchisio rested and Andrea Barzagli, Miralem Pjanic and Paulo Dybala out injured, the five-time defending champion cruised to a 3-0 win in Serie A on Saturday.Sami Khedira scored one goal and set up another, Mario Mandzukic and Hernanes also found the target, and Gonzalo Higuain hit the post as the Bianconeri moved seven points ahead of second-place Roma, which visits Atalanta on Sunday.The title is won by beating the smaller squads and tonight we showed a lot of respect for Pescara, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said.In the final minutes, Allegri replaced Mandzukic with 16-year-old forward Moise Kean, the first player born in the year 2000 to appear in Serie A.Earlier, Lorenzo Insigne ended his scoring drought in style, getting both goals and also hitting the crossbar in the space of 10 minutes in Napolis 2-1 win at Udinese.Also, Chievo Verona beat visiting Cagliari 1-0.On Sunday, the Milan derby is the pick of seven matches.JUVENTUS 3, PESCARA 0Juventus extended its home unbeaten streak in Serie A to 23 matches.Khedira opened the scoring in the 36th with a shot through traffic inside the area following a give and take with Mandzukic.Higuain hit the post with a long shot in the 53rd, failing to take advantage with Pescara goalkeeper Albano Bizzarri out of position.Ten minutes later, Mandzukic collected a headed pass from Khedira and scored from close range, marking Khediras first Serie A match with both a goal and an assist.Hernanes then sealed matters with a long, curving shot, while Juve reserve goalkeeper Neto was hardly tested.On Tuesday, Juventus visits Sevilla in the Champions League.Pescara, which has only one win, remained two points from the bottom.UDINESE 1, NAPOLI 2With only its third win in seven away matches, last seasons runner-up Napoli moved up to fourth place, nine points behind Juventus. Caleb Frare Jersey. Insigne hadnt scored since April, a run of 1,136 minutes, after finishing with a career-best 12 goals last season.In the 47th, Insigne redirected a cross from Jose Callejon inside the box for his first.A minute later, Udinese goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis tipped a long shot from Insigne off the bar.Insigne had yet another a chance in the 56th, finding himself unmarked inside the area but the 1.63-meter (5-foot-4) winger launched his shot high over the target.A minute later, Insigne took advantage of poor defending to score his second as Silvan Widmer deflected a cross into his path.It was Insignes second brace in Serie A, having first achieved the feat against AC Milan in October 2015.Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri was impressed, especially since Insigne had a fever a day earlier.Considering what he did in those (10) minutes, it was a big confidence booster, Sarri said. Insigne can go two months without scoring but in the end skills are skills, and it shines through.Stipe Perica pulled one back for Udinese with a header following a corner but Napolis defense then clamped down.Karnezis also stretched out to palm wide a long, low shot from Dries Mertens.Napoli hadnt won at Udinese since September 2007.Udinese, which had a four-match unbeaten streak ended, was 14th.On Wednesday, Napoli hosts Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League.CHIEVO VERONA 1, CAGLIARI 0A century of matches proved worth the wait for Chievo Veronas 36-year-old fullback Massimo Gobbi.Gobbi scored early in the second half to help end Chievos five-match winless streak, exactly 100 matches after his previous Serie A goal with Parma in September 2013.Chievo moved up to eighth, two points ahead of Cagliari.---Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampf ' ' '