Mercer, ’88 Gold Medalist, Held for Assaulting Woman

Former Olympic heavyweight boxing champion Ray Mercer has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend.

Mercer was charged with hitting Kim Melvin, 25, in the head in Fayetteville, N.C., after Fayetteville police were called to the home that Mercer and Melvin share about 3:30 a.m. Sunday.

Melvin was treated by ambulance workers.

Mercer, 34, was taken to the Cumberland County Jail and ordered to stay there for 48 hours, as required by the state’s domestic-violence law. He was scheduled to go before a magistrate today for a bond hearing on the misdemeanor charge of assault of a female.

Mercer won a gold medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and went on to fight professionally.

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Vinny Pazienza will return to the ring in March, nine months after losing to International Boxing Federation super middleweight champion Roy Jones.

The only question is who he will fight and where.

“We are planning a fight in March and in fact we have reserved a date,” manager Bill Cayton said Monday.

Cayton said he hopes to fill in the details within the next five or six days. Pazienza, 33, of Cranston, R.I., will not be fighting Dana Rosenblatt or Steve Collins, two fighters mentioned by boxing people as possible opponents.

Cayton said he tried to cut a deal with Rosenblatt, who is from Malden, Mass., but it could not be done at this time. He said Collins had financial issues that scuttled the scheduling of a match any time soon.

Pazienza’s June 24 fight against Jones was stopped in the sixth round after Jones knocked him down three times.

Soccer

Liberian-born forward George Weah was voted European Player of the Year, winning the Golden Ball in balloting conducted among soccer writers by the magazine France Football.

Weah, 29, has led AC Milan to first place in the Italian League this season. He received 144 points, easily topping Jurgen Klinsmann of Bayern Munich, who had 108.