Whether the heavyweight world title fight between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko is finalized hinges solely on whether the WBA will sanction the bout, Klitschkos manager told ESPN on Tuesday.Bernd Boente and Joshuas promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, have both said the fight terms are agreed to for what would be a Dec. 10 megafight at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. However, it was stipulated by both sides from the outset that they would only make the fight if another major title was at stake besides the IBF version Joshua holds.Klitschko lost the IBF, WBA and WBO titles to Tyson Fury by decision in a massive upset last November. The IBF stripped Fury of the title 10 days later for agreeing to a contractually obligated rematch with Klitschko rather than fight a mandatory challenger. Joshua eventually won that belt.When the troubled Fury pulled out of the Oct. 29 rematch with Klitschko because of a cocaine problem -- he failed two drug tests -- heavy drinking and mental health issues, the Joshua and Klitschko camps began negotiating the fight, figuring the titles would eventually become vacant with Fury unable to defend.Last week, Fury vacated the titles, but neither the WBO nor the WBA has officially ruled on how it will fill the vacancies.The WBO has no plans to approve Joshua-Klitschko for its vacant title. WBO president Francisco Paco Valcarcel told ESPN he wants there to be a four-man box-off among the organizations highest-ranked contenders to fill the title. The matter is scheduled to be decided Thursday during the WBOs annual convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico.The Klitschko and Joshua camps have both asked the WBA to sanction the bout, but WBA president Gilberto Mendoza Jr. has yet to respond. Mendoza also has not responded to repeated requests from ESPN for comment, but the matter is expected to be decided soon.So Joshua and Klitschko are awaiting the WBA ruling. If the WBA declines to sanction the bout, Boente said the fight will not happen this year and that Klitschko would instead fight for the vacant WBA belt on Dec. 10 at the Barclaycard Arena, which is on hold, in Hamburg, Germany.Klitschkos probable opponent for that fight would be Australian contender Lucas Browne (24-0, 21 KOs), who won the WBAs secondary title by comeback 10th-round knockout of Ruslan Chagaev in March. Browne was quickly stripped of the title and suspended because of a positive doping test for clenbuterol in a sample taken a few days before the fight.We will go with the WBA ruling, Boente said. We hope they rule quickly because Dec. 10 is not far away.According to Boente, Klitschkos adviser, Shelly Finkel, and Brownes adviser, Leon Margules, have been negotiating the fight so they can be ready to go should the WBA decline to sanction Joshua-Klitschko.For Wladimir it is very important to have the WBA title in a fight with Joshua, Boente said. We made a deal with Eddie easily. We tried to find an agreement and we made a deal. If the fight doesnt happen now and Wladimir and Joshua both win their next fight, we can do the fight under the same deal next year and it would be even bigger. The framework is there.A fight with the 27-year-old Joshua (17-0, 17 KOs), regardless of which belts are stake, would be worth millions of dollars more to Klitschko (64-4, 54 KOs) than one against Browne. Boente said RTL, Klitschkos German television partner, would pay half as much for a fight with Browne, 37, as it would for Joshua.A Joshua-Klitschko bout would also generate a pay-per-view bonanza on Sky Box Office in Joshuas home country of England, where he is a pay-per-view star. But Boente said it is not only about money for Klitschko.For Wladimir, its also about the WBA title. For him, this is important, Boente said. It is his mission. He is serious when he says it is not only about the money.If they cant get everything worked out in time for Dec. 10 Klitschko -- already out of action for a year while waiting on the Fury rematch that was ultimately canceled -- would not fight until March or April. The reason is because that is the earliest RTL could accommodate a Klitschko fight next year, Boente said.As for the WBO, which ranks the 40-year-old Klitschko No. 2, he would be invited into a four-man box-off, but Boente said he is not interested in an elimination fight.The WBO wants a tournament, which is up to them, Boente said. We love the WBO. Wladimir held the WBO title for a long time and it was the first world title he won. He respects the WBO, but if they do a tournament Wladimir would not participate. At this stage of his career it makes no sense.If a Joshua-Klitschko fight is finalized, Boente said one of the major hurdles has been cleared -- the matter of American television. Klitschko has a contract with HBO and Joshua has one with rival Showtime. He said an agreement was made on that front but declined to specify how a U.S. broadcast would be handled, although a source with knowledge of the agreement told ESPN that the camps have made a two-fight deal under which Showtime would get the U.S. broadcast rights to the first fight and HBO would have the rights to a rematch.Showtime Sports general manager Stephen Espinoza and HBO Sports executive vice president Peter Nelson both declined to comment on the resolution.Andres Guardado Mexico Jersey . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. Rodolfo Pizarro Mexico Jersey . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. http://www.nationalsoccermexico.com/jesus-duenas-mexico-jersey/ .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. Paul Aguilar Jersey . And when it opened, every player was at his stall. Thats a sure sign that a team is in a slump and is searching for answers. "Its embarrassing to be at home and play the way we did," said defenceman Josh Gorges. Miguel Layun Jersey . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second.MONTPELLIER, France -- Stage 6 of the 100th Tour de France was a textbook demonstration of teamwork. Like playing pass the parcel, an Australian deliberately handed over the race lead to a South African teammate and friend, so he could be the first rider from that country to wear the famed yellow jersey. And the German, Andre Greipel, who won the stage with a fierce finishing sprint, owed a debt of gratitude to teammates who plied him with drinks all afternoon, ferrying bottles back and forth from cars at the back of the race, so he didnt melt in the scorching sun. "Room service," the big German said light-heartedly. As the new leader of cyclings showcase race, Daryl Impey can look forward to some first-class treatment, too. Being the first South African to wear the yellow jersey "will definitely change my life," Impey said. Rugby, cricket and, for the majority black population, football, are the big sports for South Africans. Impey can shop in the malls of Johannesburg, where he trains and lives, without being recognized, said his wife, Alexandra. But that was before his buddy on the Orica GreenEdge team, Simon Gerrans, passed him the race lead at the Tour. "Wearing the yellow jersey now is definitely going to change things for cycling, put it on the map in South Africa," said Impey. "Hopefully people will start recognizing me, maybe." Gerrans knows the feeling. To wear canary yellow at the Tour is to be king for a day -- or more depending on how long the rider keeps the lead. Gerrans had it for two unforgettable days. Fans clapped and cheered when they saw him. Reporters chased him. A particularly boisterous crowd of Aussie fans played air guitar for him. The jersey also carries extra responsibilities: news conferences, podium ceremonies and other distractions can eat into rest and recovery -- so important for riders to survive the three-week trek over 3,404 kilometres (2,115 miles). Injuries from crashes have already culled seven of the 198 riders who started in Corsica on June 29. Impey worked for Gerrans earlier at the Tour, helping him win Stage 3 and riding hard in the time trial Orica won as a team in Stage 4. Gerrans figured it was time for some pay-back. So on Thursday he rode in five seconds behind Impey in Montpellier. That was enough for the race lead to pass from one to the other, because they started the day with the exact same overall time, with Gerrans in first place and Impey second. "Daryl was a huge part of me getting the jersey so I thought it was a nice gesture to be able to pass it on to him now. Hopefully for a few days," Gerrans said. "To have the yellow jersey, it just really changes your life as a cyclist." "Ill have a bit more time to myself now and pass all that extra work on to Daryl," Gerrans added. "I dont count it as losing the jersey. I count it as passing it onto a mate.dddddddddddd It was the plan before the stage and we were able to execute it perfectly." Impeys father was a pro cyclist in South Africa, said his wife, Alexandra. She said Impey also used to train with Burry Stander, a two-time Olympic mountain biker killed Jan. 3 when he was hit by a minibus taxi while biking with his wife. Stander was the second leading cyclist to be killed in a road accident in South Africa in recent years. Carla Swart died in January 2011 when she was hit by a truck while training. Describing roads around Johannesburg as "pretty scary," Alexandra Impey said: "I feel more relaxed when hes training here in Europe." Greipels sprint-finish victory capped a hard day of riding for the pack, across 176.5-kilometres (110 miles) of flat, sun-kissed terrain from Aix-en-Provence. Anxious that the regions famous wind, the mistral, might blow hard and split up the race, teams cranked up the pace, reeling in a breakaway rider and motoring at high speed to make sure they wouldnt get left behind. This in heat that turned tarmac sticky, with temperatures in the thirties (above 90 Fahrenheit). Bottles flew from the peloton as riders emptied them and tossed them aside. At the finish, French rider Thibaut Pinot immediately pulled up at a drinks station, pouring a whole bottle of water over his head and downing another in huge gulps. "We rode strong all day in poor conditions," said Mark Cavendish, who won Stage 5 in a sprint but crashed late in Stage 6 and expended too much energy getting back into the race to challenge Greipel in the final dash. Water-carrying is the job of so-called "domestiques," racers who ride in support of leaders going either for overall victory or stage wins. "The yellow jersey doesnt get bottles, as a general rule," said Matt White, a director on Impeys team. While leaders concentrate on staying up front, their support riders drop back to team cars behind the peloton to pick up drinks. "Its a dangerous place to be, getting water bottles at 60 kilometres per hour (37 miles per hour) and putting them in your pockets," said White. So leaders dont do it. Domestiques stuff bottles into pockets and inside their shirts. ""You look like an idiot, but its the easiest way to carry them," said one of Greipels water carriers, Australian Adam Hansen. Then they race back to distribute the drinks to teammates. "When youve got to go all the way back and all the way forward, its hard work," said Hansen. So Greipel doesnt do it, to keep him fresh for finishing sprints where he excels. His stage win Thursday was his fifth at the Tour. Greipel said he downed four to five litres (8 to 10 pints) of liquid -- about 10 bottles -- as he rode. But he didnt get one of them himself. "Thats our job: to make it easy as possible for him," said Hansen. ' ' '