Arum Says Foreman Has One to Go

Former heavyweight champion George Foreman, 46, will end his career when he fights Michael Moorer at Madison Square Garden Feb. 29, boxing promoter Bob Arum said Wednesday.

“This is Foreman’s final fight, no ifs, ands or buts,” Arum said at a news conference. However, the fight is not official because no contracts have been signed.

The two-time heavyweight champion made his professional debut at the Garden on June 23, 1969, with a three-round victory over Donald Waldheim on the undercard of a Joe Frazier-Jerry Quarry bout.

The fight will be a rematch of the November 1994 bout in which Foreman knocked out Moorer to become the oldest heavyweight champion, 20 years after losing the title to Muhammad Ali in Zaire.

Soccer

The Netherlands gained the final spot in next summer’s European Championship, beating Ireland, 2-0, in a playoff at Liverpool, England, on two goals by 19-year-old Patrick Kluivert.

College Football

Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George of Ohio State heads the East roster of the East-West Shrine Classic to be played Jan. 13 at Palo Alto. George will be the 20th Heisman winner to play in the Shrine game and the first since Miami quarterback Gino Torretta in 1993. Ohio State quarterback Bobby Hoying and tight end Rickey Dudley will also be on the roster, East selection chairman Bob Blackman said.

Wide receiver Burnell Roques of Claremont McKenna College has been named NCAA Division III player of the year by CNN Sports.

Miscellany

Charles Jordan Jr. of the Green Bay Packers, under investigation by federal authorities for possible links to a cocaine deal, said he has done nothing wrong and does not mind the review.

“I guarantee you they won’t find anything dirty on me,” the wide receiver and kick returner told the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser.

A prosecutor said the player’s name came up when Willie Toris Smith of Selma testified Jordan had paid his $622 airfare for a flight from Los Angeles to Montgomery. Smith, 23, and a cousin of Jordan, allegedly claimed a suitcase containing three kilograms of cocaine after the plane landed.

John Carbray, who is trying to bring a triple-A baseball franchise to Fresno, reportedly has made an offer to buy the Phoenix Firebirds.

Names in the News

Skier Craig Thrasher of Steamboat Springs, Colo., suffered apparent ligament injuries to both knees when he crashed during practice for a World Cup downhill in Val Gardena, Italy.

Coach Debbie Ayres dismissed reserve guard Kathy Hankee from the Cal State Fullerton women’s basketball team for a violation of team rules. Hankee, a 5-8 transfer from College of San Mateo, was averaging five points in the first four games.

Brita Schwern of Long Beach State was named an American Volleyball Coaches Assn.’s first-team All-American. Kelly Kuebler of USC made the second team.