In Brief

BOXING

Froch decisions Johnson,
reaches Super Six title bout

Carl Froch said he would win every round on every scorecard Saturday night in Atlantic City.

Well, he didn't even win on every scorecoard. But he still did enough during a wild, hard-fought slugfest against veteran Glen Johnson to retain his super middleweight title and advance to the finals of the Super Six World Boxing Classic.

Judges John Stewart (117-111) and Mark Green (116-112) favored Froch. Judge Nobuaki Yuratani scored it 114-114.

Froch (28-1, 20 knockouts) has been on a roll in the modified round-robin tournament, designed to pit the best of the 168-pound division against each other.

After an impressive victory over the 42-year-old Johnson (51-15-2), Froch will meet Andre Ward in the tournament finals later this year. Ward advanced with a semifinal victory this year against Arthur Abraham.

Also: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. defeated Sebastian Zbik (30-1) by majority decision to win the middleweight title at Staples Center in Los Angeles, taking a major step toward establishing his own legacy while his famous father looked on.

Two judges scored the fight for the 25-year-old Chavez (43-0-1) 115-113 and 116-112, and the third had it a draw.

Chavez's father won his first title in the same town in 1984, when he stopped Mario Martinez for the WBC junior lightweight title at the Olympic Auditorium.

On the undercard, Christy Martin returned to the ring six months after she was left for dead following a brutal attack, losing to Dakota Stone after breaking her right hand.

Martin was winning on all three cards when the ring doctor stopped the fight at 1:09 of the sixth and final round.

Jim Martin, her husband and longtime trainer, was charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery for the attack on Martin on Nov. 23 at their home in Orlando, Fla. His trial is scheduled for October.

MISCELLANEOUS

Shackleford commits to face
Animal Kingdom in Belmont

The rubber match is on: Preakness winner Shackleford is ready to take on Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom in Saturday's Belmont Stakes.

Shackleford passed his final test with a sharp five-furlong workout at Belmont Park in New York.

It'll be the first time the Derby and Preakness winners hook up in the Belmont since 2005, when Preakness winner Afleet Alex beat Derby winner Giacomo, and the 22nd time in the history of the Triple Crown races.

Also: Baylor moved into the semifinals of the College World Series, beating Missouri 1-0 when Holly Holl homered in the bottom of the 13th inning at Oklahoma City. The Bears will face top-ranked Arizona State today, needing two wins to reach the best-of-3 championship.

Florida also reached the semis, beating California 5-2 to earn a meeting with second-seeded Alabama.

The first two teams eliminated were the hometown teams, Oklahoma State (42-20) and Oklahoma (43-19). Cal beat Oklahoma State 6-2 before losing to Florida, and Missouri topped Oklahoma 4-1 to reach the elimination game against Baylor.

Hall of Fame running back John Henry Johnson died in Tracy, Calif. He was 81.

The San Francisco 49ers said Johnson, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 after a 14-season NFL career, died Friday.

Santi Cazorla scored twice to give World Cup champion Spain a 4-0 victory over the United States in an exhibition game at Foxborough, Mass.

FIFA and Nigeria's soccer federation are investigating Argentina's 4-1 loss at Nigeria on Wednesday after betting patterns suggested it was targeted by match fixers.

It is the highest-profile match yet in a wave of suspicious recent international exhibitions, often with goals scored from penalty kicks.

Defending champion Allyson Felix finished third in the Prefontaine Classic 400 meters in Eugene, Ore., and world champion Caster Semenya placed second in the 800 in her American debut.

Amantle Montsho of Botswana won the 400 in 50.59 seconds, and Felix crossed in 51.41 to trail fellow American Debbie Dunn by 0.04.

Semenya timed 1 minute, 58.88 seconds to finish 0.59 behind Kenia Sinclair of Jamaica. The South African won the event at the 2009 world championships but was unable to compete for much of last year because of controversial gender testing.

Meb Keflezighi is scheduled to run the half marathon as part of the Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon today, his first appearance in his hometown as a pro.

Keflezighi, who attended San Diego High and UCLA, won the 2009 New York City Marathon, the first American to claim the title in 27 years, and the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The 51s' road game against the Fresno Grizzlies was postponed because of rain. The two Pacific Coast League teams will play a doubleheader today beginning at 2:05 p.m.