Arreola beats Witherspoon to stay perfect

Chris Arreola of Riverside defeated Chazz Witherspoon in a battle of undefeated heavyweights when Witherspoon was disqualified at the end of the third round in Memphis, Tenn., on Saturday night.

Arreola (24-0, 21 knockouts) pounded Witherspoon late in the third round, knocking him down after three left hands to the head.

Witherspoon, of Paulsboro, N.J., stumbled to his feet as the bell rang, but a member of Witherspoon’s corner entered the ring before the end of the mandatory eight-count, causing the disqualification.

Witherspoon (23-1) was in trouble anyway, but the decision by referee Randy Phillips ended the fight.

“They can’t get up on the apron,” Phillips said of the cornermen. “That ends the fight right there.”

In the main event, Andre Berto stopped Miguel Rodriguez in the seventh round to win the vacant World Boxing Council welterweight title.

Berto had knocked Rodriguez down twice in the seventh before the referee stopped the bout with 47 seconds left as Berto continually rocked Rodriguez with right hands.

The bout became a battle for the belt after former champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired earlier this month, setting the stage for Berto and Rodriguez, the top contenders, to fight for the championship.

Berto entered the fight undefeated in 21 previous bouts, 18 by knockout. Rodriguez had lost only twice in 31 fights, with 23 knockouts.

Mikkel Kessler stopped Dimitri Sartison in the 12th round at Copenhagen to win the vacant World Boxing Assn. super-middleweight title.

Kessler (40-1) dominated the bout from the beginning. For Sartison, it was his first loss after a 22-0 start.

International Boxing Federation champion Arthur Abraham knocked down Edison “Pantera” Miranda three times in the fourth round at Hollywood, Fla., to win by technical knockout. The title wasn’t at stake in the bout.

About 30 seconds into the fourth round, Abraham (27-0) landed a clean left hook to the temple that floored Miranda (30-3). Abraham’s sweeping left hook caught Miranda on the chin for the second knockdown.

Abraham ended the fight seconds later with a third left hand to the head, bringing an automatic stoppage via the three-knockdown rule. The time of the knockout was 1:13.

TENNIS

Ferrer, Tanasugarn win Ordina Open titles

Top-seeded David Ferrer won his first grass-court title by defeating Marc Gicquel, 6-4, 6-2, at the Ordina Open in Den Bosch, Netherlands.

In the women’s draw, qualifier Tamarine Tanasugarn upset third-seeded Dinara Safina, 7-5, 6-3, to win her first grass-court title.

Fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska won her third title of the year, beating eighth-seeded Nadia Petrova, 6-4, 6-7 (11), 6-4, in the final of the Eastbourne International Open in England. She joined Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova as the tour’s only three-time winners in 2008.

Fourth-seeded Ivo Karlovic successfully defended his Nottingham Open title with a 7-5, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (8) victory over third-seeded Fernando Verdasco. Rain forced the match to be played indoors.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

North Carolina beats Fresno State, 4-3

Chad Flack’s two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning kept North Carolina alive in the College World Series with a 4-3 victory over Fresno State at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha.

It’s the second straight elimination game that the Tar Heels have won on a late home run. Tim Federowicz’s grand slam in the ninth inning Friday night gave them a 7-3 win over Louisiana State.

The Tar Heels (54-13) forced another elimination game today against Fresno State (44-30), the first No. 4 regional-seeded team to reach the CWS.

A win sends North Carolina to the best-of-three championship round against Georgia, which eliminated Stanford, 10-8, earlier Saturday.

Ryan Peisel hit a three-run homer that gave the Bulldogs (44-23-1) a 9-3 lead in the fifth inning against the Cardinal (41-24-2).

SOCCER

U.S. women win, 1-0, on Hucles’ late goal

The U.S. women’s team won the Peace Queen Cup tournament at Suwon, South Korea, beating Canada, 1-0, on a 92nd-minute goal by Angela Hucles.

Goalkeeper Hope Solo made two game-preserving saves at the end of the game for the American women, who tuned up for the Beijing Olympics by winning their fourth tournament of the year.

Fernando Arce and Jared Borgetti each scored twice to help Mexico beat Belize, 7-0, in a 2010 World Cup qualifying game at Monterrey, Mexico.

Mexico won the CONCACAF region series by an aggregate of 9-0.

Gonzalo Romero scored two goals to lead Guatemala to a 3-1 victory over St. Lucia in a World Cup qualifying game at the Coliseum. Guatemala won the two-game series by an aggregate of 9-1.

HORSE RACING

Jockey injured, horse euthanized

Jockey Shaun Bridgmohan received minor injuries and his horse, Vinstar, was euthanized after the horse took a spill during the first race at Churchill Downs.

Bridgmohan was taken to a Louisville hospital but had no broken bones or serious injuries, an agent for the jockey said.

According to a statement from Churchill Downs, the 29-year-old jockey was dropped near the sixteenth pole during the six-furlong sprint when the horse appeared to take a bad step.

MISCELLANY

Scheckler prevails in Skateboard Park

Ryan Sheckler of San Clemente won the Skateboard Park event at the AST Dew Tour stop in Baltimore.

Scheckler landed a succession of technical tricks on the rails to earn an average score of 94.65.

Paul Rodriguez of Tarzana was second at 89.80.

The L.A. Riptide was defeated, 19-18, by the Long Island Lizards in a Major League Lacrosse match at the Home Depot Center in Carson.