Klitschko stops Austin to keep title

Wladimir Klitschko retained his International Boxing Federation heavyweight title Saturday night at Mannheim, Germany, stopping American challenger Ray Austin in the second round.

After measuring Austin for one round, Klitschko knocked him down 87 seconds into the second with at least three left hooks. Austin climbed to his feet, but referee Eddie Cotton stopped the fight.

Klitschko improved his record to 48-3 with 43 knockouts in the mandatory defense, and Austin, of Cleveland, fell to 24-4 with four draws and 16 knockouts.

Both fighters were listed at 6-foot-6 and 246 pounds, with Austin’s camp hoping another big heavyweight would trouble Klitschko. But the champion caught him on the ropes with two shots seconds apart to end the bout.

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Omar Narvaes retained his World Boxing Organization flyweight title with a unanimous decision over Brahim Asloum at Le Cannet, France. Narvaes remained unbeaten with 24 wins and two draws in 26 fights. It was the second loss for Asloum in 22 fights.

WINTER SPORTS

Mancuso drops in Cup standings

Julia Mancuso of Olympic Valley, Calif., slipped to second in the overall World Cup standings after Tanja Poutiainen won a giant slalom and Nicole Hosp finished second at Zwiesel, Germany.

Hosp moved 19 points ahead of Mancuso in the overall standings. Mancuso, who finished fifth, entered the event tied with Renate Goetschl for the overall lead. Mancuso led after the first run.

Poutiainen won her first World Cup event in more than two years, finishing in 1 minute 50.12 seconds. Hosp was .11 of a second behind, and Michaela Kirchgasser was third, .14 behind.

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Didier Cuche won the next to last World Cup downhill of the season to clinch his first discipline title in the event. He raced down the Olympiabakken course at Kvitfjell, Norway, in 1 minute, 28.51 seconds, edging Erik Guay by 0.06 of a second.

Marco Buechel was third in 1:28.94, and Michael Walchhofer, the defending World Cup downhill champion, was fourth in 1:28.84. Bode Miller of Bretton Woods, N.H., was 15th.

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Virpi Kuitunen won a 1.2-kilometer sprint at Lahti, Finland, to clinch the women’s World Cup overall cross-country title. With five events remaining, she has 1,297 points. Marit Bjorgen, the defending overall champion, is second with 788. She fell during her semifinal race and finished eighth.

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Shani Davis won the men’s 1,000 meters at the world single-distances speedskating championships in Kearns, Utah.

Davis, the Olympic gold medalist in the 1,000 and world-record holder in the 1,000 and 1,500, was the first American to win an event at the four-day championships. He finished in 1:07.28, just ahead of Denny Morrison (1:07.30). Lee Kyou-Hyuk was third (1:07.51).

SOCCER

Manchester United is tied in FA Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo converted a second-half penalty kick to give Manchester United a 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough in the quarterfinals of the English FA Cup.

Ronaldo’s 17th goal of the season came in the 68th minute after a hand ball from Middlesbrough captain George Boateng, who gave Middlesbrough a 2-1 lead in the 47th with a header.

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Midfielder Homare Sawa scored a goal and set up another as Japan defeated Mexico, 2-0, at Tokyo in the first leg of a playoff for September’s women’s World Cup in China. The second leg is Saturday at Toluca, Mexico.

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Former English national team coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has reportedly agreed to coach a Premier League club next season. His girlfriend, Nancy Dell’Olio, was quoted by the Daily Telegraph as saying he had agreed to take his first coaching role since quitting during last year’s World Cup.

MISCELLANY

Azusa Pacific wins NAIA track title

Aron Rono won the mile and 5,000 meters to help Azusa Pacific win the NAIA men’s indoor track and field championship at Johnson City, Tenn. The Cougars finished with 83 points. Oklahoma Baptist was second with 62. Rono, a sophomore from Kenya, won the mile in 4:06.90 and the 5,000 in 14:22.44. He is the first athlete in NAIA history to win both events in the same meet.

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Wisconsin finished with 40 points to win the NCAA men’s indoor track and field title at Fayetteville, Ark. Florida State was second with 35. Arizona State won its first women’s indoor title with 38 points, five more than Louisiana State.

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Joe Germaine threw 10 touchdown passes -- seven to Ryan Dennard -- to lead the Utah Blaze to a 75-71 victory over the Arizona Rattlers in an Arena League game at Salt Lake City. Sherdrick Bonner threw seven touchdown passes for the Rattlers.... John Dutton threw four touchdown passes to help the Colorado Crush beat the Kansas City Brigade, 44-40, at Denver.... Will Pettis scored on a 56-yard kickoff return and caught four touchdown passes in the Dallas Desperados’ 59-40 victory over the Tampa Bay Storm at Dallas.

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Top-ranked Duke lost for the first time in the 2007 lacrosse season, falling to Loyola (Md.), 8-7, at the First 4 Invitational in front of 5,132 at the University of San Diego.

Duke is 4-1, Loyola 2-2.

Duke came back from an early deficit to take the lead with less than five minutes remaining in regulation before Loyola scored two goals in the final minutes for the win.

Ned Crotty of Duke led all scorers with three goals.

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Defending champion and four-time winner Jeff King took the lead in the 1,100-mile Iditarod sled dog race after a nine-hour run from Anvik to Eagle Mountain, Alaska.