Conor Benn saw off the challenge of American Peter Dobson in Las Vegas with a unanimous decision victory to keep his unbeaten record.

The 27-year-old from London, who is unable to fight in the UK due to failed drug tests, won his second straight fight in the US as he went 12 rounds for the first time in his career.

The judges scored the welterweight fight 119-109, 118-110 and 118-110 in Benn’s favour to extend his record to 23-0.

After the fight, Benn said he would fight anyone promoter Eddie Hearn puts in front of him.

Leading in to the fight, Benn said he had fallen out of love with boxing after the failed drugs tests but was willing to “spend every last penny” to prove his innocence in the appeal.

His career was thrown into turmoil in October 2022 after he twice tested positive for the banned drug clomifene in the lead-up to a bout against Chris Eubank Jr that was called off in fight week.

His provisional suspension was lifted by the independent National Anti-Doping Panel, although the British Boxing Board of Control and UK Anti-Doping have lodged an appeal against that decision.

Hearn said on Friday that Benn must be allowed to fight again in Britain to fill the void left by Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.

American Wyndham Clark shot a course record 60 to take the lead heading into the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am.

The US Open champion made five putts of at least 25 feet in his 12-under-par round with two eagles, nine birdies and one bogey, eclipsing the previous record of 62.

Clark, who had a lengthy eagle putt at the last to break 60, said he had a “really good feel on the greens”.

He said: “I was just, ‘See ball, hit ball, try to hit it where I wanted to’.

“So in my mind I was like, ‘All right, let’s just get us to where we’re putting,’ because the hole seemed like a bucket today.”

Clark’s round does count as a course record on the PGA Tour, despite the players being able to clean and place balls on the fairways.

Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg continued his strong tournament with a five-under-par 67 to sit one shot off the lead with France’s Matthieu Pavon a further shot behind as he chases a second successive victory on tour.

Justin Rose shot a 66 to move to 11-under par – six off the lead – but Rory McIlroy is a further none strokes adrift after a 69.

The final day’s play could be determined by weather with strong winds and rain threatening to delay or cut short play.

Andy Farrell insists he had no concerns about Ireland suffering a World Cup hangover during Friday’s thumping Guinness Six Nations win over France.

Both sides went into a blockbuster championship opener in Marseille on the back of having their dreams of lifting the Webb Ellis Cup shattered by narrow quarter-finals exits.

Reigning Grand Slam champions Ireland emphatically responded with a 38-17 bonus-point success at Stade Velodrome to begin their title defence with a bang and help ease memories of a painful last-eight loss to New Zealand in October.

“There are no hangovers with us,” said head coach Farrell.

“There’s a realisation of where we’re at and where we need to go to next and what we need to learn and that’s it.

“Hangovers are for tomorrow; we’re three months down the line – that’s a big hangover, if you can’t get over it in that time.

“We talk about our past performances all the time, sometimes we go back three years to say we learnt this or whatever.

“Of course we’ll learn big things from the All Blacks defeat but it’s not a hangover, it’s just the next step in how we progress going forward as a team and that’s how it should be in my opinion.”

Tries from Jamison Gibson-Park, Tadhg Beirne, Calvin Nash, Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher stunned France to silence the majority of a capacity crowd at Stade Velodrome.

Les Bleus had little answer to their dominant visitors and played around 60 minutes of the match with 14 men after Paul Willemse was sin-binned and then sent off following high tackles on Andrew Porter and Caelan Doris.

Despite Ireland registering their biggest victory away to France, new captain Peter O’Mahony, who succeeded Johnny Sexton following the World Cup, believes there is significant room for improvement moving towards a round-two clash with Italy.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Irish Rugby (@irishrugby)

“We’ve been on a journey for a long time and we’ve had lots of great experiences and banked them and we’ve had some tough ones and banked them as well,” said O’Mahony.

“It’s always about getting better and it was another step for the group.

“We spoke about it being a huge occasion for us but, at the same time, it’s just another game for us and how calm and composed we could really be in an environment like that out there.

“It was a great test for the group. We’ve plenty to work on but there were parts of the game that felt like a good performance.”

Ronwen Williams made four saves as South Africa beat Cape Verde 2-1 on penalties to reach the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals on Saturday.

The Bafana Bafana goalkeeper also made a stunning stop at the end of normal time as the last-eight clash in Yamoussoukro ended goalless.

It was his fourth successive clean sheet in the tournament.

Cape Verde created the most chances throughout the game but were unable to make the most of their opportunities and South Africa, the 1996 champions, will now play Nigeria for a place in the final.

The first half was a cagey affair with neither goalkeeper seriously tested.

Kevin Pina had an opportunity for Cape Verde but headed well wide at the back post before South Africa’s Teboho Mokoena lashed a long-range shot straight at Vozinha.

A chance opened up for Themba Zwane after South Africa snatched possession and broke forward but he scuffed his shot wide.

Pina again missed the target at the other end after skipping around two challenges and Ryan Mendes also had an effort blocked after weaving through the area.

Cape Verde had the first chance of the second half when Joao Paulo volleyed wide but South Africa had an opportunity when Khuliso Mudau shot at Vozinha.

Garry Rodrigues could have given Cape Verde the lead when he got behind the defence just before the hour but he failed to get any power on his attempt to curl a shot around Williams.

Cape Verde stepped up the pressure and Rodrigues had an effort deflected for a corner and a Rocha shot was blocked before Jovane Cobral fired over.

Gilson Benchimol almost won it for Cape Verde in the second minute of stoppage time after racing onto a Logan Costa ball but Williams did brilliantly to palm his powerful effort onto the bar.

Extra time began with South Africa in the ascendancy but Vozinha came to Cape Verde’s rescue with two superb saves in quick succession from substitute Mihlali Mayambela and Mokoena.

Benchimol spurned another chance but neither side looked threatening in the second additional period and penalties became inevitable.

South Africa seized the early initiative in the shoot-out as Williams saved the first two spot-kicks from former Manchester United forward Bebe and Willy Semedo.

Zakhele Lepasa’s failure to hit the target gave Cape Verde hope but Williams then kept out Laros Duarte’s effort.

Vozinha saved from Aubrey Modiba in response and Bryan Teixeira finally registered for Cape Verde but Mothobi Mvala put South Africa on the brink and Williams completed the job by saving from Patrick Andrade.

Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson made his Ajax debut as the Amsterdam outfit held Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven to a 1-1 draw on Saturday.

The England international, who moved to the Netherlands last month after cutting short his controversial stint in Saudi Arabia, played the full 90 minutes for John van ‘t Schip’s side.

Ajax, who trail the runaway leaders by 21 points, struck first through Steven Berghuis but were pegged back by a Luuk de Jong equaliser.

Girona missed the chance to reclaim top spot in LaLiga as they were held to a goalless draw by Real Sociedad.

Victory over sixth-placed Sociedad would have taken the Catalan surprise package back above Real Madrid at the summit but they were unable to break down their visitors in a stalemate at the Estadi Montilivi.

The result gives Madrid the chance to move four points clear when they take on city rivals Atletico at the Bernabeu on Sunday.

Third-placed Barcelona gained ground as they won 3-1 at Alaves despite the sending off of Vitor Roque.

Goals from Robert Lewandowski and Ilkay Gundogan put Barca in control. Samu Omorodion pulled one back but Roque settled the contest just after the hour before he was later dismissed for two bookable offences.

Bottom side Almeria remain 11 points adrift of safety after losing 2-1 at Valencia but fellow strugglers Granada claimed a point with a 1-1 draw against Las Palmas.

Bayer Leverkusen maintained top spot in the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win at bottom side Darmstadt but Bayern Munich, with Harry Kane again on the scoresheet, came from behind to keep up the pressure.

Nigeria international Nathan Tella scored in each half for Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten leaders Leverkusen but Bayern stayed within two points as they recovered from a slow start to beat Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1.

Nico Elvedi put Monchengladbach ahead at the Allianz Arena but Aleksandar Pavlovic levelled and Kane headed Bayern in front with his 24th league goal of the season before Matthijs de Ligt wrapped up the points.

Third-placed Stuttgart scored twice in the first seven minutes, through Deniz Undav and Chris Fuhrich, on their way to a 3-1 win at 10-man Freiburg. Maximilian Mittelstadt claimed their third after the sending off of Merlin Rohl.

AC Milan scored twice in the final 18 minutes to cut the gap to second-placed Juventus in Serie A to four points with a 3-2 win at Frosinone.

Luca Mazzitelli had given the home side a 2-1 lead after the hour but Matteo Gabbia levelled and Luka Jovic won it for Milan nine minutes from time.

Olivier Giroud opened the scoring for Milan in the first half but Matias Soule replied from the penalty spot.

Struggling Empoli claimed a point with a 0-0 draw at home to Genoa while the clash between Udinese and Monza also ended in a goalless stalemate. Bologna beat Sassuolo 4-2 in the day’s late game.

In Ligue 1, Rennes won 2-1 at Montpellier and Lens claimed a 1-0 win at Nantes.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta revealed he has taken “a lot of things” from Jurgen Klopp’s reign at Liverpool but admits the next step has to be emulating his trophy success.

Klopp and Arteta will come head to head at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday with the table-topping visitors able to move eight points clear of their hosts with a win.

The German has already announced he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season having taken over in 2015.

During that time he has guided the Reds to a Premier League title, Champions League glory and both the FA Cup and League Cup.

Arsenal sat top of the table for 248 days last season before being usurped by Manchester City but realistically they need to beat Liverpool on Sunday to maintain a chance of pipping both clubs to the trophy this season.

As he prepares for what could be their final meeting in the dugout, Arteta – who has form for rowing with Klopp on the touchline – explained what he has taken from his success in England.

“A lot of things. Especially the identity that his team has, the identity that the club has,” he said.

“It is very clear. He is someone who is so determined to make sure that stamp is put in across the club.

“The team has very clear intentions and behaviours, regardless of where (each player) plays. I love that about what he has done at Liverpool.”

Arteta also believes the next step for the team he is building at Arsenal is to win major trophies on a regular basis – like Klopp’s Liverpool – having already achieved his first aims in north London.

“The first intention was to make our people proud. Proud of the club, proud of the team and how we represent our club – and to be with our ambitions, and enjoy,” added the Spaniard.

“I think we have given them these two things in the last few years, probably more than was expected.

“But the demands are bigger – and have to be bigger. Now that has to be to win big trophies – and win major trophies consistently and be at the very top.

“In order to do that, everyone has to have the same intention. It just doesn’t happen if you don’t demand of each other in this way.

“That’s the next step. Liverpool have done it, we haven’t.”

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has pledged to keep the memory of the Busby Babes alive.

Sunday’s visit of West Ham is the closest fixture to the 66th anniversary of the Munich air disaster on February 6, which claimed 23 lives, including eight players.

It is also the first time without Sir Bobby Charlton, who was injured in the crash, following his death last year.

Fernandes said: “We know the demands of playing for Manchester United. It’s a legacy which is in the club.

“It’s a responsibility for everyone: managers, players, everyone involved in the staff to play in a certain way. But also to pay the most respect possible to those who have been at the club in the past.

“We want to pay our respects to those involved. They built the story of the club and, after that, even more. When bad things happen in your life you get tighter to those close to you.

“It’s going to be 66 years since the disaster and everyone is aware what was built after that and the whole situation around the club before and after.

“We’ve been educated since we arrived at the club to be aware of what happened. I’ve been to the museum with family and friends so we can know more about the history of the club.

“When you go you see everything, I have family and friends who are passionate about the club and when they come here they like to come to the museum. Most people in Portugal are aware of how it was at that time with the Busby Babes.

“Everyone is aware when they come to the club – because every year we pay our respects to those lost in the disaster – what happened. It’s a big part of the story of Manchester United.”

Erik ten Hag and women’s boss Marc Skinner will lead tributes at their fixtures, laying commemorative wreaths. Players will also wear black armbands, while families of the victims will be at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Ten Hag said: “Munich was a disaster for the club and how the club recovered from it, how individuals recovered from it. It was great from such a disaster to survive it and a couple of years later you’re lifting the biggest trophy in European football, that is immense.

“We should always remember this, this is the legacy why Manchester United exist and what we should match as a club, as a team, as an individual.”

Girona missed the chance to move to the top of LaLiga after they were held to a goalless draw by Real Sociedad at Estadi Montilivi.

The Catalan club, who are one point behind leaders Real Madrid and play them next week, struggled without top goalscorer Artem Dovbyk who missed the clash with a knee injury.

The hosts almost landed the first blow. A short corner routine caught Sociedad flat-footed but Aleix Garcia’s shot was saved by Alex Remiro.

Girona thought their persistence had paid off but Yangel Herrera’s header was chalked off for offside.

Savio used nice footwork to beat his man before producing a lifted pass, but Herrera drifted into an offside position when he received the ball and Girona were left frustrated.

Minutes later Sociedad also had a goal ruled out. The dangerous Mikel Oyarzabal took advantage of Paulo Gazzaniga’s poor save and tapped home from six yards before the linesman cut his celebrations short.

After the break, the visitors missed the chance of the match. January signing Sheraldo Becker got on the end of a through ball and used his electric pace to beat Daley Blind in a foot race.

The striker powered an effort narrowly wide, injuring himself in the process.

Sociedad were the better team in the second half and Gazzaniga had to bail the hosts out with an acrobatic stop, tipping Brais Mendez’s close-range volley over the crossbar.

Gregor Townsend feared another dramatic Cardiff collapse would cost Scotland their first win over Wales at the Principality Stadium for 22 years.

Head coach Townsend was an assistant to Andy Robinson in 2010 when Wales scored 17 points in the final few minutes in Cardiff to incredibly turn a 14-24 deficit in to a 31-24 victory.

But this time Scotland – who were 27-0 ahead a few minutes into the second half – withstood a Welsh onslaught to win 27-26 and get their Guinness Six Nations campaign off to a positive start.

“It was a bit like 2010 and it went into my thoughts as the second half went on,” said Townsend after Scotland had ended a run of 11 straight defeats in Cardiff stretching back to 2002.

“I remember the atmosphere that day when Wales had the momentum behind them and came back on the scoreboard.

“The same happened today, fortunately we stayed ahead and we were able to play well in the final five minutes.

“A lot of effort went into that last five minutes – we should have scored a try and we felt there were a couple of penalties that could have gone our way in the last passage – but it was past 80 minutes and we got the win.”

Wing Duhan Van Der Merwe scored two tries and prop Pierre Schoeman also touched down, while skipper Finn Russell was flawless with the boot in landing 12 points.

After Van Der Merwe sliced through for a stunning second try just after the restart, Scotland were on course to eclipse last year’s record win over Wales.

But that was not to be and Townsend was grateful to see Scotland hang on while cursing significant injuries to forwards Richie Gray and Luke Crosbie.

“Both are in a lot of pain,” Townsend said. “Richie and the medics knew straight away it was a bicep injury. So that doesn’t look good for this Championship.

“Luke was a shoulder injury. It’s a painful one and that might settle.

“Not for next week (against France at Murrayfield), but let’s hope he’s not done any significant damage there. It’s a blow to lose two players from our starting team.”

On the nail-biting victory, Townsend added: “We were accurate and put Wales under pressure in the first half.

“Those two tries were really good reward and to have that cushion should have made it a more comfortable second half.

“The fact that it didn’t is a concern for us, but a lot of that was due to the penalty count (16 to four against Scotland) and the numerical advantage Wales had for 20 minutes.”

Wales made the most of second-half yellow cards for George Turner and Sione Tuipulotu to turn the contest on its head.

James Botham, Rio Dyer, Aaron Wainwright and debutant Alex Mann crossed, with Ioan Lloyd kicking three conversions, as Wales secured two losing bonus points.

Wales head coach Warren Gatland, whose young side head to Twickenham next Saturday to play England, said: Did we give Scotland too much respect in that first half?

“They were fully loaded and we’re a young team. To do what we did, be 27-0 down, other teams might have shown less character and start thinking about next week, even throw in the towel.

“We didn’t do that. They kept fighting and put themselves in a position to win. That showed real character and we’ve just got to play like we did in the second half.

“You can’t coach experience. When you’re out there in front of 75,000 people making that much noise and the pace is quicker than club rugby, sometimes that takes time for players to get used to.

“We’ll need a little bit of leeway, but it’s still Test rugby and it’s about winning. That’s what we’ve got to focus on.”

Police are investigating allegations Birmingham’s Juninho Bacuna was racially abused by a fan during Saturday’s derby against West Brom at The Hawthorns.

The home club have confirmed they are supporting West Midlands Police after Curacao midfielder Bacuna reported the matter to the referee during the second half of the Sky Bet Championship encounter.

It was one of two such incidents on the same day in the English Football League as AFC Wimbledon manager Johnnie Jackson revealed his player Omar Bugiel had reported being racially abused at Bradford.

A statement from West Brom read: “West Bromwich Albion can confirm Birmingham City player Juninho Bacuna reported an incident of racism to referee David Webb during the second half of today’s game.

“Albion will offer its full support to West Midlands Police in their criminal investigation of this matter. The club will also remain in contact with Birmingham City to ensure Juninho Bacuna receives the support he requires at this time.

“The club takes a strong stance against all forms of discrimination and will do all it can to ensure anyone found guilty of racism faces the toughest available legal punishment, in addition to a lifetime ban from The Hawthorns.

“Albion will continue to work with the Football Association, the EFL and all relevant authorities to rid the game of racism.”

The incident comes a week after West Brom’s FA Cup tie against another local rival in Wolves was marred by crowd violence.

Birmingham said in a statement Bacuna’s complaint will be “included in the official’s match report and the club will assist the FA, the EFL and the authorities accordingly.”

It added: “Birmingham City thanks the West Brom stewards, security and executive team who acted immediately and the issue is now with West Midlands Police.”

Play was briefly held up late in Wimbledon’s League Two meeting with Bradford at Valley Parade as Lebanon striker Bugiel reported being the victim of alleged racist abuse from someone in the crowd.

Jackson said: “I think there was some racist abuse towards Omar Bugiel. He’s gone in with the referee to report it.

“I don’t know what was said. Obviously, we’ll wait to see the report until I comment further but someone in the crowd has said something to him that they shouldn’t have done.”

The PA news agency has contacted the Football Association for a response.

West Brom beat Birmingham 1-0 while the encounter between Bradford and Wimbledon ended in a goalless draw.

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was pleased with how his side continued to play “seriously” during their 5-0 romp at Sheffield United.

Villa got their top-four ambitions back on track in style as they put the hapless Blades to the sword in a scintillating opening half-hour where they went 4-0 up thanks to goals from John McGinn, Ollie Watkins, Leon Bailey and Youri Tielemans.

Alex Moreno made it five a minute after the break to briefly raise hopes of going for the record Premier League win before Villa took their foot off the gas.

Emery said: “We had control of the game and we were clinical. We got confidence quickly and we were feeling comfortable.

“We finished the first half with a very good result and we tried to be respectful of them firstly and tried to play seriously and practise playing the match thinking of things we needed to improve.

“The most important thing is to win and try to be respectful of the opponent and play seriously in every minute we are facing the match.

“We were scoring goals and we tried to stop them as well, as we did before we scored four goals in the first half.

“In the last moment we conceded one goal before VAR, before we conceded two very good chances for them. I want to be demanding in that moment to play seriously and respect them.

“When you win like that overall we have to be happy but in the next matches we are not always going to be comfortable like that and we have to be serious in our gameplan and be responsible.”

It was another embarrassing day for Sheffield United, just four months after they were beaten 8-0 by Newcastle at Bramall Lane.

Boss Chris Wilder will surely know his side will be playing in the Championship next season as they have taken just 10 points from 23 games and are the same number away from safety.

He said: “No excuses, we were architects of our downfall in terms of the manner of the goals and you’re 4-0 down after half an hour. I am not going to apologise for it but it becomes damage limitation.

“I understand supporters will want to see us get after the opposition in that case but we’ve already had one of those evenings before.

“I didn’t see it coming, I thought I picked the right team, an athletic team, a front-footed team. We were second best all afternoon. As manager I have to stand on the touchline and accept everything that comes my way and it is well and truly deserved.

“The players are on the floor, they are not doing cartwheels in there. It’s a difficult one to take. We are all hurting, a reaction is needed, it is going to be a long week for us. I have to put it right.

“We took a big step backwards today, I can’t hide away from that. That is something that is damaging and something we have to get over.”