Olympic Boxer Vargas Signs Multiyear Main Events Pact

U.S. Olympic boxer Fernando Vargas of Oxnard signed a multiyear promotional contract Thursday with Main Events Productions.

“I have a job now,” Vargas, 19, told the Ventura County Star. “It’s on now. I’m getting paid and doing what I’ve always wanted to do. I’m a pro boxer.

“I’ll be a world champion within two years. My goal is to be a great champion and unify the welterweight division.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Star said the deal could be worth several million dollars over the next four years. It is believed Vargas received a signing bonus of about $200,000.

Main Events, which operates out of Totowa, N.J., is run by Dino Duva, who took over when his brother, Dan, died. Their father is trainer Lou Duva.

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Olympic gold-medal swimmer Brooke Bennett, a high school junior in Plant City, Fla., plans to accept $65,000 in performance bonuses and relinquish her college eligibility.

Her first-place finish in the women’s 800-meter freestyle at the Atlanta Games earned her $50,000 from U.S. Swimming, Inc., and $15,000 from the United States Olympic Committee.

NCAA rules prohibit athletes from accepting such awards before or during their college careers. “I hope I’m making the right decision,” Bennett told the Tampa Tribune. “My deadline to inform U.S. Swimming if I would accept the money wasn’t until the third of September, but I told my mom we were going to decide by Wednesday because I was just sick of waiting around.”

Bennett said she had always assumed she would swim in college, but after talking with her mother, her longtime coach, Peter Banks, and an attorney, Bennett decided to put the money in a savings or investment account to be used for college or training needs.

Golf

Australia’s Robert Allenby and England’s Mark Roe mastered swirling winds and shoddy greens to shoot 71s and share the halfway lead in the $1.1-million British Masters at Collingtree, England.

Both had 36-hole scores of 140, four under par, and were a stroke ahead of Francisco Cea of Spain and Gavin Levenson of South Africa.

Dennis Paulson, a graduate of Costa Mesa High, shot a nine-under-par 63 to take the lead after three rounds of the Southern California Professional Golf Assn. California Open at Indian Wells Country Club.

Paulson, who lives in Vista, is at 16 under. His 63 is the low round of the tournament. Dennis Trixler of Foster City, Calif., and Kevin Riley of La Mesa are 15 under.

Esteban Toledo of Costa Mesa, shot a third-round 66 to move within two shots of the lead at 14 under.

Hockey

Stanley Cup most valuable player Joe Sakic scored 52 seconds into the third period to break a tie and Russia had a goal disallowed with less than two minutes remaining as Canada won, 5-3, at Vancouver in the World Cup of Hockey.

At Prague, Mats Sundin, Calle Johansson and Jonas Bergqvist scored goals as Sweden beat the Czech Republic, 3-0.

Marc Crawford, who coached the Colorado Avalanche to the Stanley Cup championship this year, signed a three-year contract extension reportedly worth about $800,000 a year, not including bonuses.

Pro Basketball

Guard Vernon Maxwell, 31, signed with the San Antonio Spurs, a team that traded him in 1990. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Forward Walt Williams, who played with Sacramento and Miami last season, signed with the Toronto Raptors.

Miscellany

Chris Boardman broke the world record for the second day in a row in winning the 4,000-meter individual pursuit title at the World Cycling Championships at Manchester, England. . . . Pro beach volleyball player Nancy Reno, who competed in the Atlanta Olympics with former partner Holly McPeak, will have shoulder surgery next week. Reno, 30, will miss the rest of the 1996 season but plans to return next year. . . . Bob Lee, athletic director at Pacific since 1991, resigned. . . . Former Ohio State and NFL quarterback Art Schlichter was arrested on forgery and theft charges for allegedly forging a pair of $25,000 checks stolen from his employer, while serving home detention in Indianapolis over previous bank fraud charges.