A Son Should Never Take a Belt to His Father

A boxing organization has found a new reason to take away a fighter’s title.

He wanted to give his championship belt to his father.

After Ricardo Lopez won the World Boxing Organization’s strawweight title with a technical knockout of his opponent in August, the new champion said he wanted to give his championship belt to his father, a boxing fan. His statement to Mexican newspapers prompted the WBO to take away Lopez’s title and sanction a fight to fill the vacancy.

“It was enough for us,” WBO President Francisco Valcarcel said. “That’s a public resignation.”

Eric Jamili won the vacated title Friday night by stopping Mickey Cantwell in the eighth round at the London Arena--a bout that shouldn’t have taken place, said Lopez’s agent, Dwight Manley.

“He got no letter, he got no telephone call,” Manley said.

Manley said Lopez should have a hearing before the WBO takes away his title. Valcarcel said there’s no reason to.

“Ricardo Lopez is playing politics with me and his manager is playing politics with me,” Valcarcel said.

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Add Lopez: While the strawweight division--fighters weighing 105 pounds and less--is a relatively unknown boxing classification, Lopez is one of the most accomplished fighters in the sport.

He’s 46-0 as a professional and is believed to be one of three fighters to make at least 20 consecutive title defenses in the same weight class. Only Joe Louis, who made 25 defenses, and Larry Holmes, who had 20, have had as many as Lopez.

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Trivia time: Who holds the NFL record for rushing attempts in a season?

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Comic strip: Players from a team named America were stripped nearly naked by soccer fans who invaded the field after watching their side win the Colombian championship Sunday at Cali, Colombia.

Hundreds of supporters broke through a police cordon after the final whistle and stripped the players.

Undeterred, the team completed a lap of honor, using flags and anything else with the team’s red colors to cover themselves.

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Uh oh: Dennis Rodman has only three technical fouls this season. He has yet to be ejected from a game. He even has a smiling face painted on his hair.

Has the Worm reformed?

“I’m always trying to shock people, and this year, I’m shocking people that I haven’t done anything [mean] so far,” the Chicago Bulls forward said. “I might break out, probably next year, and do something crazy.

“I’ve still got something up my sleeve. Just wait and see.”

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Trivia answer: James Wilder of Tampa Bay, with 407 attempts in 1984. Wilder rushed for 1,544 yards, an average of 3.8 per carry. If Barry Sanders, who averaged 6.1 yards, ran the ball 407 times this season, he would have gained 2,483 yards.

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And finally: Professional bowling doesn’t carry the astronomical purses many other sports do.

When Ray Williams Jr. won a tournament in Fairview Heights, Ill., he collected a winner’s purse of $4,000. But it was enough to boost his career earnings to $2,002,373. He became the first bowler to surpass the $2-million mark.

It took Williams 17 years to reach that total.