Prince Naseem Hamed, the world's top featherweight, gave up the WBO title he has held since 1995 after refusing to fight Istvan "Koko" Kovacs on Nov. 4.

HBO, the cable network that shows Hamed's fights, said it was not satisfied with Kovacs' credentials and was offering Hamed only a fraction of his usual purse.

"My decision stems from my desire to fight the world's top fighters, battle-tested world champions, rather than the manufactured contenders of boxing's governing bodies," Hamed said.

His brother, Riath, sent a letter to WBO president Francisco Valcarcel informing him of the decision to give up the belt.

Hamed (35-0, 31 KOs) retained his title by stopping Augie Sanchez in the fourth round Aug. 19. Kovacs probably will face Marco Antonio Barrera for the vacant title, with Hamed fighting the winner.

MORE BOXING: Former heavyweight champion Tony Tubbs, 42, pleaded guilty in Cincinnati of trafficking in cocaine. Sentencing was set for Oct. 20. He was the World Boxing Association champion from April 1985 to January 1986.

AUTOS: Penske South bought out Michael Kranefuss' 50 percent share of the Winston Cup team that fields the No. 12 Ford for Jeremy Mayfield. Kranefuss' partner had been the partnership involving car owner Roger Penske, Don Miller and Winston Cup driver Rusty Wallace. Mayfield and Wallace, who drives the No. 2 Ford owned by Penske South, are Winston Cup teammates. ... Turner Sports has acquired NASCAR's Internet rights and will take over production of its Web site Jan. 1. It will add video streaming of highlights, expanded garage cameras and photo galleries, archives and NASCAR fantasy leagues.

COLLEGES: Florida's Nathan Overholser and Olivier Levant won their opening tennis matches at the ITA All-American Championships qualifying round in Stone Mountain, Ga. Overholser beat Trysten Meniane of North Carolina 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Levant cruised past Reiner Nuerohr of Baylor 6-4, 6-1. ... Le'Coe Willingham, top scorer and rebounder for the Auburn women's basketball team last season, will not play this season. Coach Joe Ciampi said it was a "mutual decision." The 6-foot center averaged 11.3 points and 7.6 rebounds. ... Macalester College set an NCAA Division III women's soccer record for consecutive conference wins with a 4-0 victory over Hamline. The Scots have won 38 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games since Oct. 22, 1996. The old record was held by Kalamazoo College, which won 37 games from 1989 to 1993. ... The South Florida men's soccer team defeated visiting Mercer 3-1, with Matt Cavenaugh, Jeff Thwaites and Gabriel Salgado of Plant City scoring for the Bulls. ... Mladen Dikic, Scot Shewey and Michael Blackburn scored for Jacksonville as the Dolphins defeated visiting Central Florida 3-1. Ornulf Olsen scored for UCF. ... Michael Thomas, associate athletic director at Virginia, was hired as athletic director at Akron, replacing Dennis Helsel, who became senior associate athletic director at Maryland. ... Kentucky associate head basketball coach George Felton resigned to become a scout for the Indiana Pacers. ... A Lexington, Ky., jury found Kentucky men's basketball player Jules Camara guilty of drunken driving, fining him $200 and ending his hopes of returning to the Wildcats this season.

OLYMPICS: Hours after tickets went on sale for the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, www.tickets.com was swamped and phone orders were backed up, with some complaining that sales took hours. Organizing committee president Mitt Romney said orders will taper off to a more manageable pace in coming weeks. RUGBY: Alistair Coetzee, coach of South Africa's national under-23 side, will coach the Eastern Province team in the 2001 national championship, becoming the first black coach to lead a provincial team in the country's Currie Cup.

SOCCER: English Premiership club Chelsea agreed to sign Yugoslav midfielder Slavisa Jokanovic from Deportivo La Coruna as a replacement for Roberto Di Matteo, who broke a leg during a loss to St. Gallen. ... Jesus Gil, owner of Atletico de Madrid, was sentenced to six months in jail for influence peddling and obstruction of justice. ... Kansas City Wizards goalkeeper Tony Meola was named Major League Soccer's goalkeeper of the year, and teammate Peter Vermes was named defender of the year.Tampa Bay Mutiny defender Joe Addo and goalkeeper Scott Garlick were finalists.

TENNIS: Martina Hingis beat Jelena Dokic in the second round of the Swisscom Challenge in Zurich, Switzerland, avenging a 1999 Wimbledon loss. ... Defending champion Greg Rusedski beat fourth-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the $800,000 CA Trophy tournament in Vienna. Second-seeded Magnus Norman lost to 19-year-old Roger Federer. Eighth-seeded Cedric Pioline defeated Zbynek Mlynarik. Arnaud Clement and Jerome Golmard also won. ... Serena Williams, Mary Pierce and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario have qualified for the $2-million Chase Championships. The Nov. 13-19 tournament at Madison Square Garden features the top 16 singles players and top eight doubles teams. Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, Monica Seles and Conchita Martinez qualified earlier. ... Brothers Olivier and Christophe Rochus lost their first-round singles matches and then lost their doubles match at the $970,000 Japan Open. Nicolas Lapentti edged Olivier Rochus.

Back to Sports

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

From the Times sports desk

Bucs/NFL

Bucs find October unsettling

Long way to go on short-yardage play

Bucs get 'A' for effort but wind up with an 'L'

Vikes surprisingly rely on Culpepper's poise

Foot surgery ends season for Philadelphia's Staley

College football

Seminoles' last gasp at reason for loss: lack of defensive depth

Seniors say season's not lost yet

2 more ex-USF players file discrimination suits

College football roundup

Baseball

Don't believe the hype

M's hang 0's on Yankees

Canseco dropped from roster

Subway Series hype already at fever pitch

Mets don't have answer for Mac

Clark and Cardinals become a natural fit

Lightning/NHL

Konstantinov sent to IHL for experience

Svoboda passes experience on

NHL briefs

Sports Etc.

USF basketball not investigation target

NBA briefs

Sports briefs

Golf briefs

Captain's corner

Bennett's dreams go on and on

Warrior has come a long way in only one year

Panthers want to prove themselves at tourney

Seedings in doubt after PHU losses

Craft of diving often a curiosity

Cougars spoil Tornadoes' farewell

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