Bowe, Holyfield to Fight Again

Riddick Bowe, who won the undisputed boxing heavyweight championship by beating Evander Holyfield last November, will face Holyfield in a Nov. 6 rematch at Caesars Palace, hotel officials announced Thursday.

The fight will come nearly a year after Bowe won a 12-round decision to hand Holyfield his first loss and give Bowe the title.

Bowe has been stripped of the World Boxing Council portion of the title, so the fight will be for the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Assn. versions.

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Ray Mercer’s battering of Tony Willis in 2 minutes 11 seconds was greeted with catcalls because of its brevity in Bay St. Louis, Miss. Mercer, 32 and with a 21-2 record, knocked down Willis (21-7) with a right hand 45 seconds into the fight, then had him down again 1:27 into the round. Referee Art Coscino didn’t bother to count on the third knockdown.

Pro Basketball

James Jordan, the father of Michael Jordan, has not been seen in three weeks, and his stripped car was found near Fayetteville, N.C., police said. They added that they did not know if foul play was involved.

The elder Jordan was last seen July 22 at the funeral of a friend in Burgaw, N.C., 60 miles southeast of Fayetteville, and his family had not reported him missing, said Sheriff Morris Bedsole.

James Jordan’s Lexus 400 was found Aug. 5 near a wooded area off a Fayetteville road, Bedsole said. The vehicle’s rear window was smashed, and four tires and stereo speakers were missing.

Forward Tom Chambers, whose contract was paid off after last season by the Phoenix Suns, signed with the Utah Jazz.

Moses Malone, one of the most popular players in the history of the Philadelphia 76ers, signed a multi-year contract to rejoin the team.

College Football

Miami Coach Dennis Erickson says he gave Bryan Fortay every chance to become the team’s starting quarterback, but never promised him the job.

Fortay filed a $10 million lawsuit against the university contending, in part, that Erickson broke a pledge to make him the starting quarterback in 1991.

Christian Miller, who figured to see considerable playing time at guard for Oregon State this year, has decided not to return to the team.

Miscellany

Mike Lude, Auburn athletic director, warned that the largest universities in the NCAA could break away to form a new national organization if smaller schools continue to chip away on issues such as gender equity.

Stiffer admissions standards and cuts in the number of athletic scholarships are threatening to lock out minorities from intercollegiate sports, a group of black basketball coaches said.

Nearly 40 coaches from Division I schools spent the day in Norfolk, Va., involved in what the Black Coaches Assn. billed as a summit. The topic was “Crisis: The Lockout of African-Americans in Intercollegiate Athletics.”

A 16-year-old high school football player collapsed and died while watching practice shortly after passing a physical exam, authorities said. An autopsy revealed that Brad Lawson of Ozark, Mo., died from cardiac arrhythmia, or an irregular heartbeat, Christian County Coroner Dean Adams said.

Brasilia dropped out of the running as a candidate to play host to the 2000 Olympics.

The U.S. team won three events on the first day of competition at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Kobe, Japan.

In the 100-meter backstroke, the United States swept the top two places in both the men’s and women’s races. Jeff Rouse of Fredricksburg, Va., the world-record holder in the event, won with a time of 54.85 seconds. Olympian Lea Loveless of Crestwood, N.Y., also won, with a time of 1:01.35. The third U.S. champion was Josh Davis of San Antonio, who won the 200-meter freestyle in 1:48.50.

Names in the News

Free agent forward Steven King signed a multi-year contract with the Mighty Ducks. King, 24 came to the team from the New York Rangers through the 1993 NHL expansion draft. . . . Belgium’s Peter De Clercq outsprinted Russian Eugenia Berzin to win a leg of the Tour of Britain. Australia’s Phil Anderson maintained a slim overall lead. . . . . Andy Hampsten of Boulder, Colo., finished in the pack, but retained the yellow jersey as overall leader of the Tour of Galicia cycling race.