Manager: Lewis, IBF Settle Dispute

Britain’s Lennox Lewis has been recognized as undisputed world heavyweight champion after the resolution of a cash dispute between his backers and the International Boxing Federation.

“Thankfully, the lawyers representing us and the IBF have worked it out and Lennox is now recognized as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world,” Lewis’ manager, Frank Maloney, told Sky Television on Tuesday in London.

Lewis beat IBF and World Boxing Assn. champion Evander Holyfield on a unanimous decision in Las Vegas last Saturday.

But he left the ring with only three of the four belts up for grabs--the WBA, World Boxing Council and lightly regarded International Boxing Organization versions--after the IBF decided to withdraw theirs at the last minute.

IBF President Bob Lee, who pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of taking bribes to fix world rankings, said afterward that he considered the IBF’s title vacant after a dispute over a $300,000 sanctioning fee.

Maloney said the money had now been paid, although Lewis had still not received the belt.

Tennis

U.S. Open champion Serena Williams hurt her back during practice and withdrew from the Chase Championships in New York.

Williams was replaced by Russian Elena Likhovtseva.

Williams was seeded fourth in the 16-player, season-ending tournament that features a $2-million purse.

On the court, top-seeded Martina Hingis of Switzerland struggled past Sandrine Testud, one of five French players in the tournament, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5), and Nathalie Tauziat defeated South African Amanda Coetzer, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6).

Jurisprudence

Former New York Yankee pitcher Ken Clay, 45, was arrested in Bradenton, Fla., for allegedly stealing a woman’s identification and then leasing a truck and obtaining credit cards in her name. The Glen Allen, Va., woman was described as an old acquaintance.

Golf

Lee Trevino won the Sun Microsystems Par 3 Challenge in Carlsbad, holing a five-foot birdie putt to beat Fred Couples on the second playoff hole. Trevino and Couples shot four-under 50s on a course modified to make every hole a par three. . . . Tom Watson led the Senior PGA Tour team to victory in the Wendy’s Three-Tour championship in Henderson, Nev.

Miscellany

After being left out of last week’s NASCAR TV deal, CBS and Disney’s ABC-ESPN are the front-runners for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. An announcement could come by the end of the week. The new deal is expected to be worth about $400 million a year. . . . Mexican soccer star Cesar Andrade’s right leg was amputated just below the knee in a bid by doctors to save his life after he suffered severe injuries in a car accident last week in Mexico City. . . . U.S. drug chief Barry McCaffrey will call for the removal of Dick Pound as chairman of the International Olympic Committee’s drug agency when he meets with IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch in Australia.

Desmon Farmer, a 6-foot-4 guard who averaged 18 points and 4.5 assists for Northwestern High in Flint, Mich., as a junior last season, signed a national letter of intent to attend USC. . . . Ebony Hoffman of Narbonne High in Harbor City, the top-rated post player in the country, signed a letter of intent with the USC women’s basketball team. The 6-2 center averaged 15.7 rebounds and 3.9 blocked shots as a junior last season. . . . The WNBA announced that Indiana will select first in the expansion draft on Dec. 15. The draft order was determined via a random drawing at the league meetings in New York. Seattle, Portland and Miami will follow.

Artax, the Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner, will be retired to stud. . . . Georgia Hoffman, long among the nation’s leading thoroughbred horse breeders, died of complications from leukemia on Sunday at her home in Bal Harbour, Fla. She was 91. . . . H. Clay Earles, who carved a half-mile dirt track out of red clay a half-century ago and turned it into the Martinsville Speedway, died after a yearlong illness in Virginia. He was 86.