MEXICO CITY - The WBC voted Thursday to give its heavyweight title to Hasim Rahman one day after champion Vitali Klitschko retired.
Earlier this week, Klitschko, facing a six-month recovery after tearing a ligament in his right knee, pulled out of a title defense against Rahman. The council said it had received 20 votes, all for Rahman, among the 35 it expects to receive.
Rahman held the title in 2001 before losing it to Lennox Lewis later that year.
The announcement means the top heavyweight champions, including Chris Byrd and Lamon Brewster, are controlled by promoter Don King. King said he wants Rahman to defend against James Toney and the winner to join the other title-holders in a tournament to unify the title.
LACY FUTURE: Gary Shaw, the promoter for IBF super-middleweight champion Jeff Lacy, met with the promoter of WBO champion Joe Calzaghe for six hours. He also said he received a call from Joe DeGuardia, the promoter for Antonio Tarver who offered $1-million for a fight earlier this week. Shaw said he expects to have a deal to fight Calzaghe or Tarver by the end of next week.
- JOHN C. COTEY, Times staff writer
TYSON TROUBLE: Mike Tyson was questioned by police after a TV cameraman said the ex-heavyweight champ assaulted him outside a nightclub in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Carlos Eduardo da Silva said Tyson pushed him, threw his camera to the ground, removed a videotape and put it in his pocket. Police said Tyson acknowledged damaging the camera but denied pushing Silva. A hearing is scheduled for today, but Tyson can send a representative.
SOCCER: American wins MLS MVP
New England forward Taylor Twellman was named the MLS most valuable player. Twellman, who scored 17 goals, is only the third U.S.-born player to win the award and first in five years, joining Tony Meola and Jason Kreis.
U.S. EXHIBITION: Forward Brian McBride will sit out Saturday against Scotland with a groin strain.
SURFING: Boy, 13, to face pros
John John Florence, 13, received a wild-card entry and will become the youngest to compete in the Triple Crown, which starts Saturday in his native Hawaii. He has won four consecutive amateur titles.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Kelly Slater won for a record seventh time in Imbituba, 530 miles from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Slater, from Cocoa Beach, benefited from the ousting of top challenger Andy Irons in the quarterfinals.
TENNIS: Schnyder gets first win
Patty Schnyder beat Nadia Petrova 6-0, 5-7, 6-4 at the WTA Championships in Los Angeles, leaving her 1-2 in round-robin play. Schnyder and Petrova, who fell to 0-2 by committing 43 unforced errors and converting two of her 10 break chances, played to a third set for the sixth time in eight meetings.
TRACK: Hurdler doped, panel says
American hurdler Larry Wade committed a doping violation by testing positive for a steroid, the North American Court of Arbitration for Sport, an independent panel, concluded. Wade, 30, who finished fifth at the 2000 U.S. trials and missed 2004 with a broken arm, was tested May11, 2004, and is suspended until July12.
ET CETERA
ARENA FOOTBALL: The Storm re-signed quarterback Pat O'Hara, who enters his 12th season in the league and fourth with Tampa Bay. O'Hara, who has played in five ArenaBowls and won three, including 2003 with the Storm, served as the team's offensive coordinator last season.
HOCKEY: Canada's women won their fifth in a row against the United States, 5-0 in a pre-Olympic tournament in Turin, Italy. ... Andy Schneider scored twice as Canada's men beat the United States 4-1 at the TUI Nations Cup in Mannheim, Germany. The U.S. team comprises mostly former collegians playing in Europe.
OLYMPICS: Sochi, Russia, will bid for the 2014 Winter Games, joining Pyeongchang, South Korea; Almaty, Kazakhstan; Borjomi, Georgia; Jaca, Spain; Salzburg, Austria; and Sofia, Bulgaria.
WEIGHTLIFTING: China's Li Ping won the women's 117-pound world title and Qui Le the men's 137-pound title in Doha, Qatar. Li totaled 494 pounds, 2 more than Thailand's Junpim Kuntatean. Qui totaled 710 pounds, 15 more than countryman Zhang Ping.
