The first "professional" exhibition fight took place in Pakistan. AMIR KHAN, a British boxer of Pakistan heritage, organized the HBL Superstar Boxing Event in a "truly glamourous manner, hoping to bring international boxing to the country." The event was for charity, "the proceeds going to projects for the drought-stricken Thar region" (DAWN, 6/3). ... Australian Super Truck driver MATT MINGAY "was still in a serious but stable condition on Monday after having surgery for facial injuries." Mingay "crashed during a trucks race" at Belle Isle in Detroit, Mich., on Sunday. His family said that "he had surgery that night." Mingay remained at Detroit Receiving Hospital (AP, 6/5). ... Egypt’s OSUNAARASHI, the first sumo wrestler from Africa to turn pro in Japan, "became a tourism ambassador for his native country on Thursday, in a campaign to encourage Japanese to visit a destination avoided by many travelers following political upheaval" (KYODO, 6/6). ... Liverpool paid tribute to "The Greatest" during Saturday's world title bill at the Echo Arena.
The traditional 10 bells salute "rung" before LIAM SMITH defended his WBO world title against PREDRAG RADOSEVIC and promoters Queensberry Promotions made "a limited number of tickets available" for £5 ($7), with all proceeds going to Parkinson's UK Charity, in memory of MUHAMMAD ALI (LIVERPOOL ECHO, 6/4).
HISTORIC COTTON: Fifty years after England's greatest triumph, the shirt of their '66 hat-trick scorer GEOFF HURST will "go on sale and is expected to fetch" an estimated £300,000-£500,000 ($434,000-$723,000). The No. 10 long-sleeved red jersey, manufactured by Umbro, "is set to be put up for auction by Sotheby's on July 12. The West Ham striker "achieved lasting fame after becoming the first and only player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final when England beat West Germany 4-2 at Wembley" (London GUARDIAN, 6/6).
TOP DOLLAR: Tennis player SERENA WILLIAMS earned $28.9M "over the past 12 months." That makes her the world’s "highest-paid female athlete over that span," unseating MARIA SHARAPOVA, who had held the title the past 11 years. Williams' career prize money of $77.6M "is more than twice as much as any other female athlete."
Her late-career tear has made Williams "a compelling figure for marketers." She ranks second among active athletes, behind only LEBRON JAMES in the U.S., on Repucom’s CelebrityDBI. Her 89% awareness level "ranks in the top 3% of the nearly 4,000 celebrities Repucom follows, and she scores highly on the aspiration and influence attributes in particular" (FORBES, 6/6).
