Korean All-star pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin has successfully landed the Major League Baseball (MLB), signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers in a dramatic transaction just before the league-mandated deadline, according to MLB’s official Web site on Sunday.

MLB.com said Ryu has made a contract with the Dogers for a six-year deal worth $36 million. CBSSports.com also reported that Ryu will have a signing bonus of $5 million.

A 30-day window to sign a deal were given to Ryu and Dodgers after the LA-based club secured the exclusive rights to negotiate with Ryu in November, and the deadline was 2 p.m. Pacific Standard Time Sunday. The Dodgers submitted a bid of $25.7 million in a league-wide silent auction, which was the fourth highest bid by a major league club for a foreign player.

As Ryu’s South Korean club, the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), accepted the Dodgers’ bid, the negotiation period started. The Korean club will take the $25.7 million bid as a transfer fee for Ryu.

The Eagles posted Ryu in November after he completed his seventh KBO season in 2012. Ryu will become the first South Korean baseball player to jump directly from the KBO to the majors when he is added to the major league roster.

This is not the first time for the Dodgers take in a South Korean player. Right-hander Park Chan-ho, who became the first Korean to play in the majors in 1994, used to play for the LA-based club.

Ryu, who was born in 1987, made his debut in 2006, becoming the first player to win both the Rookie of the Year honors and the MVP in the same season. He was 18-6 with a 2.23 ERA and a rookie-record 204 strikeouts. Since then, Ryu has been one of the KBO’s most dominant starters.

In his seven KBO seasons, Ryu went 98-52 with a 2.80 ERA and 1,238 strikeouts in 1,269 innings.

The lefty pitcher, who is 187 centimeters (about 6.1 ft) tall and 98 kilograms (about 217 lb), can reach up to 150 kilometers per hour (93 miles per hour) with his fastball, and can also throw a changeup and slider as his out pitches.

Ryu drew international attention when he participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, helping to secure gold for South Korea, and the 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) which South Korea finished runner-up behind Japan. However, it is expected that Ryu would miss the 2013 WBC in March next year as he takes part in the upcoming Dodgers’ spring training and tries to get ready for his first season in the United States.

Image Courtesy : Los Angeles Dodgers

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46 year-old Bernard Hopkins made history Saturday night at the Bell Center in Montreal, Canada, defeating 28 year-old Canadian fighter Jean Pascal for the WBC light-heavyweight title. With his victory, Hopkins became the oldest champion to win a legitimate title in professional boxing history.

The first fight between the two on December 18, 2010 ended in a draw, but this time Hopkins was determined to prove that he still has plenty left in the tank.

Pascal came out firing in the first few rounds as was to be expected from the young former-champion. After catching countless significant blows to the face, Hopkins seemed to be hurt after the fourth round, but refused to back down.

At the start of the fifth round fans roared as Hopkins began to dance around his opponent, taunting him mercilessly in attempts to get into the champions head and get him off of his game-plan.

Once Hopkins saw that his antics were having an impact on Pascal, they became more and more obvious. After doing push-ups in the middle of the ring as he waited for the young Canadian to meet him at the center before the start of the sixth round, Pascal’s frustration became increasingly visible.

The real turning point came when Pascal caught Hopkins left thumb in his eye from a hard jab, which seemed to effect him for every subsequent round. As the fight continued and drew closer and closer to the final round, Hopkins proved that he was in complete control.

Two straight rounds ended with Pascal stumbling back to his corner after near knockdowns from the veteran fighter, and Hopkins seemed to have his second reign as light-heavyweight champion in his sights.

Unfortunately for the promising young fighter, he was completely outmatched this time, and it seemed as though he really just was not good enough to deal with Hopkins.

After the fight, the Philadelphia native told reporters he had no plans of retiring, and his performance Saturday night surely backed up his words.

Congratulations to Bernard Hopkins for making history and further solidifying his status as a boxing legend.

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