In brief

Jones, Hopkins agree to rematch

By wire services
Published December 24, 2005

BRISTOL, Conn. - Roy Jones and Bernard Hopkins have agreed to a March 11 fight, representatives of both fighters told ESPN.com on Friday.

The fight would be a rematch of a 1993 bout, which Jones won by unanimous decision.

"I think it's very exciting. Bernard is very happy about it and so is Roy. It's fantastic," said Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, which promotes Hopkins.

The 12-round light heavyweight fight is scheduled to be shown on HBO pay-per-view, though no site has been selected.

"We have a deal," Jones' adviser Brad Jacobs said. "I have Richard's word that Hopkins is in. And Roy told me, "Let's go.' Everybody reviewed what was on the table and were able to agree to it."

Hopkins (46-4-1, 32 KOs), who turns 41 in January, made a middleweight-record 20 title defenses before losing by decision twice to Jermain Taylor this year.

Jones (49-4, 38 KOs), who turns 37 on Jan. 16, is a former middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight champion. For a decade he was considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world, but he has lost three straight, including two by knockout.

A senior Olympic official says a misplaced vote might have helped London win the 2012 Summer Games.

Alex Gilady said a fellow International Olympic Committee member mistakenly voted for Paris rather than Madrid in July for the right to host the games. Another vote for Madrid might have stopped London from winning.

Gilady, an Israeli and member of the London 2012 Coordination Commission, acknowledged there was no way to know for sure what would have happened.

"This is an assumption but a very serious assumption," Gilady said.

In an earlier interview with Israeli Army Radio, Gilady said the unidentified delegate wanted to change his vote after apparently forgetting which city he chose.

The delegate apparently was Lambis Nikolaou, president of the Greek Olympic Committee. He complained after the third round of voting he did not have time to register his choice, but his objection was dismissed and it was shown all votes had been cast.

All IOC members had rehearsed the voting procedure in Singapore before the first round and had about a minute to choose. The members had to press keys representing the cities and then confirm or cancel their choice by pressing a separate key.

"We don't comment on IOC members' voting intentions and it is irrelevant," IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said.

Paris received 33 votes to Madrid's 31 in the third round, eliminating the Spanish capital. Moscow and New York were eliminated in the first two rounds. Had Madrid gotten the vote rather than Paris, the cities would have tied with 32 each, seven fewer than London, and entered a tiebreaker. London beat Paris 54-50 in the final round.

GOLF: Larry O'Brien, a Canadian broadcaster who became the longtime publicist for Jack Nicklaus, died in West Palm Beach at 83 from complications of Parkinson's disease.

SOCCER: Italian forward Paolo Di Canio has appealed his one-match ban for giving a fascist salute to fans last week. The 37-year-old raised his outstretched right arm upward when he was substituted in last Saturday's game against Juventus. In Italy, the gesture is associated with the rule of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

[Last modified December 24, 2005, 01:10:16]