NEWSWIRE

Boxing

President Jose Sulaiman of the World Boxing Council is expected to announce Monday that his organization is stripping Felix Trinidad of the welterweight belt he took from Oscar De La Hoya in September.

“It is a very difficult decision,” Sulaiman said by phone from his Mexico City home.

But a very convenient one for De La Hoya and his promoter, Bob Arum, who is closely allied with Sulaiman.

Should Trinidad indeed lose his belt for failing to defend his title against No. 1 contender Derrell Coley, De La Hoya will step in and fight Coley, thus getting an easy shot at regaining his belt.

The fight will be held at either Staples Center on March 11, if a hockey game between the Kings and Calgary Flames can be moved from that date, or at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Feb. 26. Arum is also hopeful of matching De La Hoya against another local superstar, Shane Mosley, on June 17 at Staples Center.

World Sports

Track and field’s governing body decided in Monte Carlo that the controversial drug cases of Olympic champions Linford Christie of Britain and Javier Sotomayor of Cuba should go to arbitration.

Both athletes face bans of up to two years by the International Amateur Athletic Federation.

Also, hoping to prevent national federations from challenging the results of drug tests, the IAAF has agreed to a “losing party pays” system of arbitration.

The United States defeated Mexico, 3-2, to advance to the semifinals of the under-17 world soccer championship at Auckland, New Zealand.