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Oleksandr Usyk’s journey to his heavyweight title fight against unified champion Anthony Joshua in London on Sept. 25 has not been without success or recognition. But a victory would shine the spotlight on him like never before and invite comparisons to former champions Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko.

Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs), 34, is attempting to become Ukraine’s first world heavyweight champion since the Klitschko brothers, who dominated the division while reigning as champions from 2004 to 2015, including one period when they held all four belts between them.

Wladimir’s career ended at the age of 40 after an epic encounter with Joshua in front of 90,000 at Wembley Stadium in 2017. Usyk now has the opportunity to avenge that loss by his countryman and silence Joshua’s home crowd. About 60,000 fans are expected at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the fight.

After winning a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics and then unifying all four major cruiserweight world titles in 2018 to become undisputed champion, Usyk made his move up to heavyweight in October 2019. Now, after only two fights in the division, the biggest fight of Usyk’s career has arrived and his team insists this opportunity has not come into his life as a heavyweight too soon.

Alexander Krassyuk, general director of K2 Promotions, the Ukraine-based promotional company of Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, has helped guide Usyk’s career since he turned professional in 2013. Krassyuk is not shy about disclosing what the strategy will be against the 31-year-old Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs), a naturally bigger man.

“Boxers can just throw a punch to the chin and hope to get lucky, and they might be once out of 10, but can they do it 10 times in a row?” Krassyuk mused to ESPN. “You have to box and win each and every round to win the title. Boxing is the art of defense first and foremost, landing punches and not getting anything back. Footwork is the basis for throwing punches and defending. This is very important for any fighter, and Oleksandr is very good at this.”

Joshua weighed 240 pounds for his last fight, 40 pounds heavier than the cruiserweight limit at which Usyk was operating not so long ago. But Krassyuk said that that is in the past. His fighter is now a legit heavyweight contender.

“He has been working hard … building his body for the heavyweight division, and he’s a true heavyweight now,” Krassyuk said. “No one can say he is a cruiserweight fighting as a heavyweight like Chris Byrd was. Oleksandr is a natural heavyweight now.”


Usyk, who weighed 217 pounds for his second heavyweight fight in October, will try to move and box his way to victory rather than stand toe-to-toe with a heavier puncher. It is not an impossible task. History shows fighters from lighter divisions can conquer the best at heavyweight. David Haye and Evander Holyfield have previously succeeded in winning world titles at cruiserweight and then at heavyweight, and Roy Jones Jr. and Michael Spinks stepped up from light heavyweight to win the world title in their first fights at heavyweight.

Usyk, who made six defenses as a world cruiserweight champion, stepped up to heavyweight after his eighth-round TKO win over Joshua’s fellow Englishman Tony Bellew in November 2018.

“Fighting Joshua is my goal,” Usyk said after ending Bellew’s career. And after wins over Chazz Witherspoon in October 2019 and Derek Chisora in October 2020, Usyk gets his wish.

Avenging Wladimir Klitschko’s 11th-round defeat to Joshua would increase Usyk’s fame around the world, but he already has a big profile back home.

Krassyuk says Usyk is already a bigger star in his homeland than the brilliant Vasiliy Lomachenko, who became a world champion in just his third professional fight after winning gold medals at two Olympics. Lomachenko, a three-division world champion, is currently rebuilding his career after losing a decision to Teofimo Lopez in 2020 and has enjoyed big nights in the United States with the help of promoter Top Rank.

But Krassyuk said that at this point, Usyk is probably the most popular athlete — not just boxer — in the country.

“You can’t compare him to the Klitschkos because that was 10 years ago. It’s more about the heritage than the fame. When you have the achievement of beating Joshua, something Wladimir couldn’t do, it will be huge.”

Krassyuk noted that Wladimir is always in touch with Usyk. “They are texting, calling and exchanging information,” Krassyuk said. “Vitali might be travelling to the fight; I had a meeting with him last week, and he’s one of Usyk’s biggest fans — he has been at most of his fights.”

After winning a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, Usyk returned to Ukraine as a hero.

“His face was everywhere in the country on billboards,” Krassyuk said. “His fights have been televised here in Ukraine, by one of the biggest stations, and people have been able to watch his fights on TV. Lomachenko started his career in the United States, and his first three fights were not even televised here [Ukraine]. The time difference was also a factor. Oleksandr has fought in Ukraine, Russia, Europe as well as America.”

Usyk and Lomachenko are good friends, and Usyk has been described as a bigger version of the fleet-footed Lomachenko.

“If you ask Usyk who his favorite fighter is, he will say Loma,” Krassyuk said. “Lomachenko has played a big part in his career… he’s like his brother. They have been working together since 2006, 2007; they are from the same school of fighters and have the same trainer.”

Usyk lives in Kyiv with wife Yekaterina and three children (two boys and a girl) and has prepared in the Ukrainian capital with trainer Anatoly Lomachenko, Vasiliy’s father.

“Anatoly Lomachenko has been his mentor since the Olympic Games [in 2012], and he still is,” Krassyuk said. “He will be in his corner in London.”

All the pieces are in place for Usyk to overcome the challenge before him. Usyk has the skills, a talented corner and an entire country behind him on Saturday. And if he wins, he’ll have the gold and the fame — just like the Klitschkos before him.

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Guardians promote top prospect for Tigers series

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Guardians promote top prospect for Tigers series

Chase DeLauter, an outfielder with no major league experience, was included on the Cleveland Guardians‘ roster for their wild-card series against the Detroit Tigers.

Selected 16th in the 2022 amateur draft, DeLauter hit .278 with five homers and 21 RBIs in 34 games at Triple-A Columbus. He turns 24 on Oct. 8.

DeLauter was sidelined by injuries for much of this year. He was hurt during a pregame workout at spring training on Feb. 28 and had bilateral core muscle surgery on March 4 for a sports hernia.

After eight games at the rookie-level Arizona Complex League Guardians, DeLauter played his first game this year for Triple-A Columbus on May 23, but he stayed in the lineup only until July 12. He had surgery 11 days later to repair a fractured hamate bone in his right wrist.

DeLauter could be the first player to debut in the postseason since 2020, when Tampa Bay pitcher Shane McClanahan, San Diego pitcher Ryan Weathers and Minnesota outfielder Alex Kirilloff all accomplished the feat.

Manager Stephen Vogt said DeLauter has been taking batting practice at the organization’s Arizona complex. DeLauter had been slated to play in the Arizona Fall League.

“As we were talking through it and looking through the series with three games, we felt 11 pitchers was the right move,” Vogt said. “When we looked at at-bats, Chase was healthy, and he’s the best bat we have available to us. We thought it would be a good idea to get him on the roster.”

DeLauter is among seven left-handed bats on the Guardians’ bench and could come in to play center or right field.

Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said DeLauter’s promotion was not a surprise.

“You can’t get into the building and not be seen by somebody. So we had some time to talk. And we have some pitchers and position players who spent some time in Toledo this year as well,” Hinch said. “Our teams, not only are we sort of intimately close at the big league level, but in Triple-A, in Double-A, in Single-A. We play these guys coming up throughout. And so you’ll hear our hitters talk about facing these guys in Akron or facing these guys in Erie, along with Toledo and Columbus.”

The Tigers left off right-handers Chris Paddack and Tanner Rainey but included right-hander Paul Sewald for the best-of-three series that started Tuesday.

Yankees rookie catcher J.C. Escarra and pitchers Paul Blackburn and Will Warren made roster against the Boston Red Sox, while pitchers Luis Gil and Ryan Yarbrough were left off along with outfielder Austin Slater.

New York is carrying 12 pitchers and 14 position players. Escarra is the third catcher after Austin Wells and Ben Rice, giving manager Aaron Boone pinch-hitting and pinch-running options.

Warren is viewed as a better relief option than Gil, who averaged 5.2 walks per nine innings.

Boston included a pair of speedy potential pinch runners, infielders Nate Eaton and David Hamilton, and rookies left-handers Connelly Early and Payton Tolle. Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Monday that right-hander Lucas Giolito will miss the series because of an ailing elbow.

Catcher Elias Díaz, who has a sore left oblique, was left off San Diego’s roster for its series at the Chicago Cubs, and the Padres included three catchers: Luis Campusano, Freddy Fermin and Martín Maldonado.

Rookie infielder Mason McCoy was on the roster, and left-hander Yuki Matsui was left off.

Chicago included rookie outfielder Kevin Alcántara and catcher Moisés Ballesteros but left off right-hander Javier Assad and catcher Miguel Amaya.

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Twins fire Baldelli after roster purge, 70-92 mark

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Twins fire Baldelli after roster purge, 70-92 mark

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins fired manager Rocco Baldelli on Monday, ending his seven-year tenure that included three American League Central titles after a second straight disappointing season.

“This is a difficult day because of what Rocco represents to so many people here,” Twins president Derek Falvey said in a statement. “He led with honesty, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to our players and staff. He gave himself fully to this role and I have tremendous respect and gratitude for the way he carried himself and the way he showed up every single day.”

The Twins, who were expected to contend for the AL Central title this season, faltered in June and became active at the trade deadline, sending away 10 players while cutting $26 million from the payroll. The team went 23-43 after the All-Star break to finish fourth in the division with a 70-92 mark.

Minnesota went 19-35 after the trade deadline passed, with only the Colorado Rockies faring worse over the final two months.

The Twins finished with the fourth-worst record in the major leagues and their worst mark since 2016, when they went 59-103 after firing longtime general manager Terry Ryan at midseason. Falvey was hired to replace Ryan after that.

The 44-year-old Baldelli, who won the 2019 AL Manager of the Year award as a rookie, has led the Twins to three division titles. In 2023, Minnesota ended a record 18-game postseason losing streak and won its first playoff series since 2002.

Baldelli had an overall record of 527-505 in seven seasons, and he’s the third-winningest manager in Twins history behind Tom Kelly and Ron Gardenhire.

Attendance has swooned at Target Field, with the Twins finishing with an 81-home game total of a little more than 1.7 million tickets sold, their lowest number in a non-pandemic season since 2000 when they played at the Metrodome and finished 69-93.

Fans have mostly directed their disdain toward ownership, with deep frustration over cost-cutting that came after the 2023 breakthrough. The Pohlad family put the franchise up for sale last year, but decided last month to keep control and bring on two new investment groups for an infusion of cash to help pay down debt.

The dizzying trade-deadline activity left Baldelli and his staff without much to work with down the stretch, though All-Star center fielder Byron Buxton was a bright spot in a breakthrough season for his health, and rookie second baseman Luke Keaschall provided consistent production and a professional approach at the plate belying his inexperience.

The departures of shortstop Carlos Correa, outfielder Harrison Bader, first baseman Ty France and multi-position player Willi Castro robbed the lineup of experience and steadiness, but that was nothing like what happened to Baldelli’s bullpen.

The Twins traded their five best relievers, from closer Jhoan Duran on down, and left the final 54 games to a ragtag group that had eight blown saves in 18 opportunities during that span.

Baldelli was hired before the 2019 season to replace Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, with Falvey citing his adaptivity to the data-based direction of baseball strategy and his communication skill in distilling it to coaches and players and clearly setting expectations and preferences.

“Over the past seven years, Rocco has been much more than our manager. He has been a trusted partner and teammate to me in leading this organization,” Falvey said in a statement. “Together we shared a deep care for the Twins, for our players and staff, and for doing everything in our power to put this club in the best position to succeed.

“Along the way we experienced some meaningful accomplishments, and I will always be proud of those, even as I wish we had ultimately achieved more.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Bochy, winningest active manager, out in Texas

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Bochy, winningest active manager, out in Texas

ARLINGTON, Texas — Bruce Bochy will not return as manager of the Texas Rangers after a three-year stint that began with the franchise’s first World Series championship in 2023 before missing the playoffs and not having a winning record in both seasons since then.

The Rangers said Monday night that the team and Bochy mutually agreed to end his managerial tenure in Texas. Bochy was offered a front office role to stay in an advisory capacity, the team said.

The move came a day after the Rangers finished 81-81. That was the first .500 record for the franchise that began as the Washington Senators in 1961 before moving to Texas in 1972, and a first for Bochy in 28 seasons managing San Diego, San Francisco and Texas.

Bochy was at the end of the three-year contract he got when Chris Young, one of his former pitchers, hired him after the Rangers’ sixth consecutive losing season. Bochy went 249-237 with the Rangers.

“Bruce Bochy is one of the greatest managers in baseball history, and he will forever hold a place in the hearts of Ranger fans after bringing home the first World Series title in franchise history in 2023,” said Young, then their general manager and now the Rangers’ president of baseball operations. “Boch brought class and respect to our club in his return to the dugout, and we will always take pride in being part of his Hall of Fame career.”

After turning 70 this season as baseball’s winningest active manager, Bochy has a career record of 2,252-2,266, with those wins ranking sixth among all managers — the five ahead of him are all in the Hall of Fame. No managers in the past 60 years have more than Bochy’s four World Series titles, and the only ones with more are Joe McCarthy, Casey Stengel and Connie Mack.

Bochy had been out of managing for three seasons when he was hired by Texas. He had stepped out of the Giants dugout at the end of 2019 after 13 seasons and three championships from 2010 to 2014. That followed 12 seasons and another National League pennant with the Padres.

San Francisco, also 81-81 this season, fired second-year manager Bob Melvin on Monday after the Giants missed the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. Minnesota fired Rocco Baldelli, ending his seven-year tenure that included three American League Central titles, but only one playoff appearance, over his final five seasons.

The Giants’ president of baseball operations is Buster Posey, the 2012 National League MVP and seven-time All-Star catcher who played all but the last of his 12 MLB seasons with Bochy as his manager.

Over the last week of the regular season, Bochy wouldn’t answer questions about his future with the Rangers, saying that the decision would wait until after the season. But he said he was having a great time and didn’t sound like he was ready to be done as a manager.

“It’s as much fun as I’ve had in the game,” Bochy said last week about managing again. “I said this when I came back, you have a deeper appreciation when you’re out, especially for three years and you realize what you have, how blessed you are to be doing what you’re doing. It’s been a lot of fun, and I still love it, and enjoy it.”

And that was during a strange and frustrating season on the field for the Rangers, who, for the first time, had a pitching staff that led the majors in ERA (3.47). They also set a single-season MLB record with their .99112 fielding percentage, bettering the 2013 Baltimore Orioles‘ mark of .99104.

Among the potential replacements for Bochy in Texas is former Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, who joined the Rangers last November as a senior adviser for baseball operations.

The 45-year-old Schumaker was the 2023 NL Manager of the Year after the Marlins went 84-78 and made the playoffs. They slipped to 62-100 in 2024 with a roster decimated by trades and injuries before the team and Schumaker agreed that he would not return for this season. He was previously a bench coach for St. Louis, where he had played for the Cardinals during their 2011 World Series championship over Texas.

Young said Schumaker would be a candidate, but that there had not yet been conversations within the organization about the search process.

The Rangers went more than a month at the end of the season without their half-billion-dollar middle infield of two-time World Series MVP shortstop Corey Seager (appendectomy) and second baseman Marcus Semien (left foot), as well as 35-year-old right-hander Nathan Eovaldi, who was 11-3 with a career-best 1.73 ERA over his 14 MLB seasons before getting shut down because of a rotator cuff strain.

Even without those standouts and several rookies filling in, the Rangers went on a 13-3 run to get within two games of the AL West lead on Sept. 13, and in the thick of the wild-card chase. They then lost their next eight games and were eliminated from playoff contention.

The only manager older than Bochy this season was 73-year-old Ron Washington, but he didn’t manage a game for the Los Angeles Angels after June 19 because of quadruple bypass heart surgery.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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