Judge Orders Moorer-Foreman Fight

In a perhaps unprecedented rebuke of a major boxing governing body, a Nevada state judge Friday night revived the once-canceled Michael Moorer-George Foreman heavyweight title fight.

“The fight is back on,” said Todd duBoef, an executive with Top Rank Inc., Foreman’s promoter.

After almost 12 hours of court arguments Friday, Judge Donald Mosley ordered the World Boxing Assn. to sanction the Nov. 5 fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Last week, the WBA said it would strip Moorer of his title if he fought Foreman, saying that placing Foreman in the ring with a far-younger fighter posed serious health risks.

Moorer, who is also the International Boxing Federation champion, refused to risk having the WBA belt taken away if he fought Foreman, causing his promoter, Dan Duva, to drop Foreman and replace him with Joe Hipp.

But lawyers representing Top Rank and Foreman filed suit last Monday charging that the WBA had ulterior motives in refusing the sanction, possibly including the influence of Don King, who promotes every fighter ranked in the WBA’s top five heavyweights--except for Moorer.

According to Henry Holmes, Foreman’s attorney, Mosley, in issuing a mandatory injunction forcing the WBA to sanction the fight, ruled that the WBA did not follow its sanctioning rules and acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” and had “reasons other than were publicized” for refusing its sanction.

“I am personally delighted that justice was done,” Holmes said, “and that finally a boxing organization has been required to comply with the law.”

According to Holmes, both Moorer’s camp--which was represented by Duva and Moorer manager John Davimos--and representatives of the Nevada State Athletic Commission were ready Friday night to go ahead with the Moorer-Foreman fight.

Foreman was present at the hearing, and Holmes said the fighter shook the hands of all the lawyers, hugged his wife and immediately returned to Malibu, where he had begun training for the bout.