Camacho Jr.’s Victory Is Changed to No-Contest

Hector Camacho Jr.’s technical victory over Jesse James Leija was changed to a no-contest Thursday by the New York State Athletic Commission.

The July 8 fight was stopped when it was ruled Camacho couldn’t continue after the fifth round of the 10-round super-lightweight bout because of a cut over his right eye caused by a clash of heads.

The official scorecards were totaled, and Camacho, ahead on all three, was declared the winner.

The commission, however, ruled that the bell should not have rung to begin the sixth round. Since the bell rang incorrectly, the official cards should not have been consulted under a New York boxing rule and there could not be a decision, the panel said.

Tennis

Little-known American Hugo Armando, who entered the tournament as a lucky loser, scored a stunning 6-1, 6-1 victory over third-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia to reach the quarterfinals of the Generali Open at Kitzbuehel, Austria. Armando, who won in only 40 minutes, gained a place in the tournament after ATP officials ruled Andrea Gaudenzi of Italy was unable to play because of injury.

Second-seeded Albert Portas of Spain defeated Marc Rosset of Switzerland, 6-1, 6-3, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Idea Prokom Open at Sopot, Poland. In women’s play, top-seeded Anke Huber of Germany reached the quarterfinals by defeating Anna Smashnova of Israel, 6-4, 7-6 (4).

Venus Williams advanced to the quarterfinals of the Bank of the West Classic at Palo Alto with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Kristina Brandi.

Jurisprudence

Citing a lack of evidence and incomplete witness accounts, prosecutors in Eugene, Ore., decided not to file charges in a June 24 scuffle between track coach John Smith and hurdler Anjanette Kirkland.

Kirkland, her mother and her sister saw Smith in the lobby of the Valley River Inn on the last day of the U.S. track and field championships, in which Kirkland finished third in the 100-meter hurdles. Their initial verbal confrontation escalated into a brawl.

Miscellany

San Jose State tailback Deonce Whitaker, who rushed for a school-record 1,577 yards last season, is expected to complete the summer classes he needs to graduate and be eligible to play his senior season this fall, Spartan Coach Fitz Hill said. The Spartans play USC on Sept. 1 at the Coliseum.

Tammy Sutton-Brown’s layup with 6.5 seconds to play capped a 14-0 run that gave the Charlotte Sting a 62-60 WNBA victory over the Washington Mystics before 7,896 at Charlotte, N.C. The Mystics led, 60-48, with 6:26 to play. . . . Jennifer Gillom’s running jump shot with 19 seconds to play lifted the Phoenix Mercury to a 63-62 victory against the Detroit Shock before 8,508 at Phoenix. . . . Natalie Williams scored 17 points as the Utah Starzz defeated New York, 71-63, before 6,463 at Salt Lake City.

Cristina Teuscher, the No. 2 swimmer on the U.S. 800-meter freestyle relay team that was disqualified this week in the World Swimming Championships at Fukuoka, Japan, insisted that officials made a mistake.

She was accused by FINA referees of leaving the blocks a fraction too soon, before teammate Natalie Coughlin had hit the touch pad on the wall. That, by swimming rules, is the cue for the next swimmer to leave the blocks.

The Americans were reinstated Wednesday after referees said the change was too close to call if the timing equipment wasn’t working. But Thursday, that decision was reversed and the Americans were dropped again.

Sam Lagana, executive director of the L.A. Athletic Club’s John Wooden Award, will become executive director of the sports division of the Josephson Institute of Ethics in Marina del Rey. Lagana will focus on administration of Michael Josephson’s Character Counts program, designed to raise the level of athletes’ moral and ethical behavior.

In WUSA games, Philadelphia defeated Washington, 2-0, at Washington, New York stopped Boston, 4-2, at Uniondale, N.Y., and Carolina defeated Atlanta, 3-2, at Chapel Hill, N.C.