Trinidad’s Return Is a Real Knockout

Fighting for the first time in his native Puerto Rico in nearly five years, International Boxing Federation welterweight champion Felix Trinidad defended his title for the 12th time by knocking out second-ranked challenger Mahenge Zulu in the fourth round at Bayamon.

One left hook stunned the Zairian challenger and the second to the chin sent Zulu to the canvas for the first time in his career as Trinidad ran his record to 33-0 with 29 KOs.

Trinidad’s victory set up a potential showdown with World Boxing Council welterweight champion Oscar de la Hoya.

“I can’t be worried about just one fighter. I’ll take my path and de la Hoya will take his,” said Trinidad, 25. “Hopefully we’ll meet. So far it doesn’t look like he wants to fight me.”

In an earlier bout, Frankie Liles defended his World Boxing Assn. super-middleweight title by winning a controversial unanimous decision over Russian Andrei Schkalikov.

Tennis

Top-seeded Lindsay Davenport wasted three match points and lost to Romania’s Irina Spirlea, 6-7 (7-3), 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), in the Family Circle tournament at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Third-seeded-Monica Seles almost followed Davenport down, surviving three match points in a third-set tiebreaker before defeating Patty Schnyder, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6).

The UCLA women’s team, ranked 14th, upset top-ranked Stanford, 5-4, handing the Cardinal its first defeat of the season at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

Basketball

The University of Texas reinstated the player whose grades were given to a radio station during the controversy that led to Coach Tom Penders’ resignation.

The school apologized to Luke Axtell, saying his grades should not have been released and that he should not have been declared academically ineligible.

Penders suspended Axtell on March 17, citing academic reasons. About a week earlier, the freshman had complained about the coach to the school’s athletic director.

Assistant coach Mark Turgeon of the Philadelphia 76ers was named the men’s coach at Jacksonville (Ga.) State.

Names in the News

Former UCLA basketball Coach Gary Cunningham, the athletic director at UC Santa Barbara, was in stable condition a day after suffering a heart attack. Cunningham, 58, was stricken Thursday during a meeting at UC Santa Barbara.

An English court banned a fan, Daniel James, from attending soccer games in England and Wales for two years because of his treatment of black players. James admitted used threatening and abusive language at players and spectators during a game at Cambridge Division in January.

The Cambridge United team also banned James from its stadium for five years, and he is court-ordered to stay home when British teams travel to play foreign clubs.

Heavyweight boxer Razor Ruddock was acquitted of charges he stole a $5,000 diamond ring from his former girlfriend by ripping it off her finger. According to Ruddock, he took the ring back after Alexandra Williams had taken it from his house.

Dan Gable, who led Iowa to 15 national wrestling titles, said he won’t be back as coach next season.

Motor Racing

Water seeping from under the Texas Motor Speedway track in Turn 1 caused qualifying for Sunday’s Winston Cup Texas 500 at Fort Worth to be delayed until today.

There were a dozen wrecks Friday. The water wasn’t believed to be a factor until the final two, by Derrike Cope and Lake Speed, during the seventh and ninth Cup qualifying attempts.

Elliott Sadler earned the pole for the Grand National Coca-Cola 300.

Cory McClenathan set a track record, 313.37 mph, in top fuel qualifying, for the Winston Invitational, NHRA’s $650,000 all-star race at Rockingham, N.C.

Miscellany

Tom Dolan cruised to a victory in the 400-meter individual medley, keeping him on track to win four titles in the national swimming championships at Minneapolis.

USC won the men’s 200-meter freestyle relay.

USC will try to raise more than $200,000 for physically challenged athletes in the 18th Annual “Swim with Mike” swim-a-thon April 18.

Boston University’s Chris Drury was named the 1998 winner of the Hobey Baker Award, presented to college hockey’s best player.

Susanthika Jayasinghe, Sri Lanka’s top runner, is getting the support of her country’s sports officials amid accusations she took a steroid. They are calling for a new test.

Jayasinghe showed traces of a steroid in a random test conducted by the International Amateur Athletic Federation, according to the Sri Lanka Athletic Assn.

IAAF President Primo Nebiolo protested the possible conversion of Berlin’s historic stadium, the site of Jesse Owens’ four Olympic gold medals, to a soccer-only venue. Berlin officials are trying to improve the dilapidated 90,000-seat stadium to bolster Germany’s 2006 World Cup bid.