Klitschko Ends Career After His Latest Injury

At 34 and facing six months of rehab after his second major injury of the year, World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko announced his retirement Wednesday.

“My body will not allow me to play this game anymore,” said Klitschko, who underwent surgery Tuesday on his right knee, an injury suffered in training last week in preparation for a planned title defense this Saturday against Hasim Rahman. “I only have so much power, so much energy.

“It was a very heavy decision. Believe me, boxing has been a big part of my life. But I am sure this is the right decision. I wanted to go out as champion and I did not want to block the heavyweight division.”

Klitschko was given a window of only three months by the WBC to return or lose his title.

He won the title via an eighth-round TKO victory over Corrie Sanders at Staples Center in April 2004 and defended it once against Danny Williams in December.

Klitschko ends his career 35-2 with 34 knockouts. Yet what he will be most remembered for are the losses, to Chris Byrd for the World Boxing Organization title in 2000 and to Lennox Lewis for the WBC crown in 2003.

In both cases, injuries were the key factor.

Klitschko elected to stop after the ninth round of the Byrd fight because of a torn rotator cuff and was branded a quitter with no heart.

He overcame that label with a valiant effort against Lewis in their match at Staples Center. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound Klitschko was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards after six rounds when the fight was stopped because of a deep cut all the way through Klitschko’s left eyelid.

He had been forced to postpone an earlier date this year against Rahman because of a nerve problem in his lower back.

Born in Belovodsk, Kirghizia, under the banner of the old Soviet Union, Klitschko began boxing in Ukraine as a teenager, came of age in the ring in Germany and currently lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Natalie, and their three children.

So is this retirement permanent?

Said Klitschko: “Never say never.”

-- Steve Springer

JURISPRUDENCE

Scientist Pleads Not Guilty in the BALCO Case

Scientist Patrick Arnold pleaded not guilty in federal court in San Francisco to charges he distributed steroids and manufactured the performance-enhancing drug “the clear” that was at the center of the BALCO scandal.

Arnold, 39, of Champaign, Ill., was charged with three counts of illegally distributing performance-enhancing drugs. He was released on $100,000 bond and ordered to return to court Nov. 30.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Santa Margarita Star Commits to UCLA

James Keefe, a 6-8, 220-pound power forward from Santa Margarita High, signed a national letter of intent to attend UCLA, the school announced at the beginning of the one-week early-signing period.

Last spring, Keefe averaged 17 points, 12.3 rebounds and 3.7 blocked shots to lead Santa Margarita to the CIF Southern Section Div. III-AA championship for the second straight season. Keefe is rated No. 27 on Bob Gibbons’ All-Star Sports list of the top 100 high school players in the country.

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Center Michael Fey, sidelined five weeks by a severe groin strain, was allowed to return to non-contact activity.

After a one-hour workout Tuesday , Bruin Coach Ben Howland reported Fey “had no noticeable pain.”

-- Steve Springer

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USC received letters of intent from swingmen Dwight Lewis and Kevin Galloway, Coach Tim Floyd announced. The 6-foot-5 Lewis, who backed out of a commitment to Kansas, had been a Class 5A all-state forward at Metairie Archbishop Rummel in Louisiana before being displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Lewis now attends Katy (Texas) Taylor High. The 6-6 Galloway averaged a triple-double last season at Sacramento High.

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UC Irvine and George Mason will play a season opener today in the first round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Irvine, 16-13 last season, is expected to rely heavily on its senior backcourt of Ross Schraeder and Aaron Fitzgerald.

HIGH SCHOOLS

Cross-Country Preliminaries Postponed by Bad Weather

The City Section cross-country preliminaries, scheduled for Wednesday at Pierce College, were postponed because of inclement weather.

They have been rescheduled to 2:15 p.m. Monday, at the same location. The finals begin at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 19 at Pierce College.

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The boys’ water polo team at Placentia Valencia has forfeited all its victories because of an ineligible player but will remain in the Southern Section Division II playoffs, facing La Habra in a first-round game Friday at La Habra Sonora.

According to the section rule book, once the office receives playoff entries from a league, penalties for violations “will be assessed only against the individual(s) and will not affect the advancement of a team into the playoffs.”

The Tigers, co-champions of the Empire League at 7-1, are now 0-26 overall.

MISCELLANY

Al Unser Has Tumor Removed From Liver

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Al Unser was expected to make a full recovery after doctors in Denver removed a tumor from his liver, his wife, Susan, said.

Unser, 61, was hospitalized last month for pancreatitis and gallstones, but the liver operation became necessary after a biopsy disclosed the tumor.

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One month after appearing close to death because of internal bleeding, former Manchester United soccer star George Best, 59, is improving and could be moved out of intensive care soon, a hospital spokesman said in London.

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Andy Granatelli, whose innovations at the Indianapolis 500 such as turbine-powered cars earned him the name “Mr. 500,” will be honored tonight at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Details: (323) 964-6359.