Tampa's Michael Rush is a man without a weight class. A former undersized heavyweight, Rush moved down to light heavyweight, winning his first fight in that division.

Then James Toney called. Tonight, Rush will fight as a cruiserweight, his third fight in as many divisions, at the Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City, Ore.

The fight, the biggest of Rush's career, will air at 9 p.m. on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights. Rush, who trains under Larry Barrien at Chuck's Champions in Clearwater, is 23-5-1.

His biggest fight was a loss to Hasim Rahman in 1999. A victory tonight could put him in the title mix.

"This one here is definitely the biggest fight of my career," Rush, 34, said. "I was hoping to take that light heavyweight division, but this is definitely a big fight I had to take. I don't mind moving up in weight."

Toney, 33, is a former middleweight, super-middleweight and light heavyweight champ and is 62-4-2. He is ranked No.2 by the WBA, No.4 by the WBO and No.5 by the IBF.

MORE BOXING: Saying he missed the game, Roy Jones Jr. joined Brevard of the United States Basketball League. He was scheduled to join the team Thursday in time for a game against Florida. ... Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis are expected to arrive in Memphis today for their heavyweight title fight June8. ... Evander Holyfield weighed in at 216 points for Saturday's fight against Hasim Rahman. Rahman weighed 224. ... Wladimir Klitschko will defend his WBO heavyweight title against Ray Mercer June29 in Atlantic City, N.J.

NFL: The Bucs signed undrafted free-agent defensive end Kyle Kipps to a one-year deal. Kipps, 6 feet 4, 261 pounds, played tight end at LSU for two seasons before moving to defensive line. He had 53 tackles, 3 sacks and 9 tackles for loss in two seasons. ... New England signed former Pittsburgh guard Rich Tylski to a one-year deal for $525,000. It also waived quarterback Major Applewhite. ... Uhuru Hamiter, a defensive end who spent last season with Philadelphia, signed with Houston. He played in the Eagles' final seven regular-season games and two playoff games last season. ... A former trainer at the University of Tennessee filed a lawsuit against Peyton and Archie Manning, alleging they made defamatory remarks about her in a book published two years ago. Jamie Ann Naughright seeks more than $15,000 because Peyton Manning said she had a "vulgar mouth."

TRACK: Maurice Greene, the 100-meter world-record holder, will run at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships June21-23. Greene, who has not run since the Penn Relays in late April, has not decided in which events he will compete.

FIELD HOCKEY: The International Hockey Federation has proposed staging the women's World Cup qualifying series between India and United States at a neutral venue such as England. The Americans were to have played in India next week, but they abandoned the series because of mounting tension between India and Pakistan.

CYCLING: Pavel Tonkov won the 17th stage of the Giro d'Italia in Folgaria. Paolo Savoldelli took the overall lead with a second-place finish.

SKIING: Nine-time cross-country Olympic medalist Stefania Belmondo is retiring. Belmondo won a gold and silver at Salt Lake City. The Italian is working with the organizing committee for the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.

HORSES: The price paid for Our Emblem, sire of Triple Crown hopeful War Emblem, was $10.1-million, the new owners confirmed. WinStar Farms and Taylor Made Farm bought Our Emblem from Allen and Audrey Murray's Murmur Farm near Darlington, Md., on Wednesday. ... Gobi Dan beat Sterling Wisdom by 3 lengths in the $100,000 California Sire Stakes for 3-year-old colts and geldings at Hollywood Park. ... Open Sesame took the lead soon after the start then held off Wild Summer by a half-length in Belmont Park's allowance. ... Point Prince took the lead in mid stretch and held on for a 1-length victory over Grammarian in an allowance for 3-year-olds and older at Churchill Downs.

Back to Sports

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright

From the Times sports desk

World Cup soccer
The World Cup winner is ...

More than goals during World Cup

Storm
Chance to start comes for Storm's Milanovich

College
UF's Sobieraj fills all kinds of gaps

WNBA
Brown wins debut as Orlando coach

Et cetera
Sports in brief

TV Sports
A lot of uh-ohs are ahead for networks

Preps
Countryside tops national polls but loses coach

Steier, Johnson cap stellar careers

Falcons find offense in rout of Hurricanes

East Lake unveils rare aerial attack vs. Largo

Baseball regions

Rays
Naimoli: Rays won't get axed

One hit redeems Vaughn

Bad judgment helps odd A's shift work

Rays extra

From the wire

From the state sports wire Jacksonville's Spicer placed on IR after leg surgery
FIU-Western Kentucky game postponed because of Jeanne
Brown anxious to face old team for first time
Dolphins' desperate defense readies for Roethlisberger
Former Sarasota lineman sheds tough-guy image with Michigan
Rothstein rejoins Heat as assistant
No. 16 Florida has history on its side against Kentucky
FSU and Clemson QBs both off to slow starts