Leonard Considering a Third Comeback

Sugar Ray Leonard, 40 years old and five years removed from his last fight, said Thursday he might come out of retirement to fight Hector “Macho” Camacho.

John Cirillo, head of boxing at Madison Square Garden in New York, said the prospect of Leonard’s return is more than the standard boxing hyperbole.

“There’s no question that both fighters are interested,” he said. “And I don’t see any reason for a smoke screen if Ray isn’t coming back.”

If he does return to the ring, Leonard said Madison Square Garden was not his first choice.

“Las Vegas is my preference,” he said, adding that a satisfactory date would also have to be worked out.

Leonard, one of boxing’s most charismatic fighters, has retired three times. He had a detached retina in 1981 and has not fought since losing a 12-round decision to Terry Norris at the Garden on Feb. 9, 1991.

Leonard, who won a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics, won pro titles in five weight classes and retired with a 36-2-1 record.

Asked if he was considering coming back for financial reasons, Leonard laughed and said: “I paid my taxes.

“It’d just be a competitive thing. It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be exciting--if it comes off.”

Camacho, 34, is past his prime and is looking to land a bout against a fighter with the star appeal of Leonard.

“This would be the biggest, most important fight of my career,” said Camacho (61-3-1), a former super-featherweight and lightweight champion. “I love that name on my boxing resume--’Macho’ Camacho win over Sugar Ray Leonard. Two legends, one in his own era, one who has past his.”

Auto Racing

Dale Earnhardt, overcoming the broken collar bone and sternum from a race crash last weekend, qualified for Saturday’s Brickyard 400, but Jeff Gordon won his second consecutive Indy pole with a record lap of 176.419 mph at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Earnhardt plans to start the race to earn the championship points for the event and remain in the battle for the season title. Earnhardt, in third place, 23 points behind Gordon, plans to turn his car over to rookie Mike Skinner early in the race.

Randy LaJoie gained the pole position for tonight’s Kroger 200 Busch Grand National race at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Names in the News

Mark Johnson, the leading scorer on the 1980 gold medal U.S. Olympic hockey team was hired as an assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin.

Morgan Wootten, legendary high school basketball coach at DeMatha in suburban Washington, was upgraded to good condition, three weeks after liver transplant surgery at a Baltimore hospital.

UC Irvine basketball Coach Rod Baker, who interviewed this week for the vacant head coaching job at the University of Maine, withdrew his name from consideration.

Frank Brickowski, 37, signed a one-year deal reportedly worth $1.7 million with the Boston Celtics.