SUNDAY SPORTS

Manny Pacquiao won by knockout for the first time in nine years to claim the World Boxing Association welterweight title, and made a proclamation.

“This is it. I am back in boxing,” the 39-year-old Pacquiao said after his seventh-round knockout of Lucas Matthysse on Sunday. “I am not done. I’m still there.”

Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs) knocked Matthysse down onto one knee in the third and fifth rounds. He knocked the Argentine down again in the seventh, and Matthysse spat out his mouthpiece, causing a frenzy among Pacquiao fans in the stadium.

Matthysse, who won 36 out of 39 matches by knockout, said Pacquiao was a “great fighter, a great legend,” adding that he planned to take a break.

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Toronto Argonauts defensive lineman Dylan Wynn has been given a one-game suspension for a late hit on Edmonton Eskimos running back C-J Gable in Friday’s 16-15 loss. Wynn was given a spearing penalty on the play, while Gable was helped off the field and did not return to the game. There was no immediate word on his condition.

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A day of highs and lows for righty Chris Rowley. Rowley was called up from Triple-A Buffalo in the morning and ended up giving up a a game-winning grand slam to Xander Bogaerts in the afternoon as the Blue Jays fell 6-2 against Boston at Fenway Park. Toronto centre fielder Kevin Pillar left the game with a right clavicle injury after making a diving catch.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have fired manager Mike Matheny during his seventh season with the team hovering around .500. The Cardinals announced Matheny’s firing after an 8-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, a defeat that dropped St. Louis to 47-and-46. Matheny went 591-and-473 as manager, and his tenure included a loss to the Boston Red Sox in the 2013 World Series.

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A tough qualifying run for Canadian James Hinchcliffe. He spun out in segment two and was penalized for creating a localized yellow, putting him in ninth for today’s (Sunday) Honda Indy Toronto. Hinchcliffe’s Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammate and fellow Canadian Robert Wickens starts 10th. Josef Newgarden has the pole.

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Former Manchester United star and England’s all-time leading scorer Wayne Rooney made his heavily-anticipated North American debut. The 32-year-old forward came on as a substitute in the 58th minute as his new club D-C United earned a 3-1 home win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in M-L-S. Canadian teenager Alphonso Davies scored a beauty goal for Vancouver.

(Canadian Press)