Barkley’s Left Beats Coetzee in 10th Round

Iran Barkley knocked out Gerrie Coetzee on Sunday night at the Hollywood Paladium in a slugfest pairing two aging former heavyweight champions vying for the World Boxing Board super heavyweight title.

Coetzee knocked Barkley down in the second round. But after a standing eight count, Barkley returned and the two swung from the heels for the next eight rounds. Neither man made much of an attempt to block the other’s punches.

The consequential blow was a left hook from Barkley that finished Coetzee, and the fight was stopped at 2:07 into the 10th round.

Barkley, 37, is 41-12 record with 25 knockouts. Coetzee, 41, dropped to 33-6-1 with 21 knockouts.

On the undercard, former welterweight champion Carlos Palomino, 47, knocked out Rene Arredondo at 1:37 into the first round.

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Nigerian Ike Ibeabuchi (17-0) took the World Boxing Council Intercontinental heavyweight title from seventh-ranked David Tua (27-1) of New Zealand late Saturday night at Sacramento.

In a 10-round junior middleweight battle of former champions, former WBC welterweight champion Jose Luis Lopez won a decision over former World Boxing Assn. welterweight champion Aaron Davis.

Track and Field

Donovan Bailey lost a soggy 100-meter run to Nigeria’s Davidson Ezinwa in the IAFF Znamesky Memorial Grand Prix meet at Moscow.

The Canadian sprinter and world record-holder, who won a showdown with Michael Johnson a week ago, finished in 10.28 seconds to Ezinwa’s 10.20 in a race that began moments after a thunderstorm abated.

Igor Kovac of Slovakia took the 110-meter hurdles in a photo finish with Tony Jarrett of Great Britain. Both were clocked at 13:45.

In another tight finish, Kenya’s David Kiptoo won the men’s 800 meters over Hendrik Moganyetsi of South Africa in 1:44.57.

Soccer

Luis Garcia scored on a solo rush through the defense in the 64th minute to give Mexico a 1-0 victory over El Salvador in a World Cup qualifying game that boosted the Mexicans to a 3-0-2 record and 11 points in the CONCACAF group. Costa Rica has seven and the United States is tied with two others with five points.

Elsewhere, Tunisia tied Egypt, 0-0, and joined Nigeria and Morocco as the first three qualifying nations in the 1998 World Cup. The three join the two automatic qualifiers--France (host) and Brazil (defending champion)--for the 32-team soccer showcase in France.

In Europe, Scotland took a big step toward qualifying when Gary McAllister scored on a 50th-minute penalty kick for a 1-0 victory over Belarus in Minsk.

In a rematch of the 1994 World Cup championship game, Brazil struck for two late goals to tie Italy, 3-3, at Lyon, France. The result left England the winner of the Tournoi de France with a game to spare.

Romario and Ronaldo had goals for Brazil, which also got an own-goal by Attilio Lombardo. Alessandro del Piero scored twice for Italy, which also benefited from an own-goal, by Aldair.

England won the four-nation exhibition tournament after two of the three rounds with a maximum six points.

Pro Football

The Buffalo Bills are not interested in signing a long-term agreement to remain at Rich Stadium unless it includes financial guarantees or an escape clause, a newspaper reported.

The Buffalo News, quoting unidentified sources, said Bill owner Ralph Wilson is becoming increasingly pessimistic about the local economy, but negotiations about a new lease are still progressing.

“My sense is that the longest lease that would be possible is 10 years,” one source was quoted as saying.

Talks between the Bills and Erie County have not been held for about a month but are expected to resume in the next two weeks. The main hurdle is the length of the contract. The Bills’ 25-year lease for Rich Stadium expires next July.

Erie County was looking for an agreement that would keep the Bills in Buffalo for at least 15 years. The Bills want to make sure they are assured a certain amount of revenue or an option to break from the agreement.

Denver Bronco owner Pat Bowlen, facing pressing economic concerns, said he can see a time in the near future when he might have to sell the franchise.

Without new stadium revenue, the Broncos no longer will be able to compete with the NFL’s elite teams, Bowlen argues. And if that’s the case, he said last week, “the thrill would be gone.”

“I get so incensed when people talk about lining Pat Bowlen’s pockets,” he told the Rocky Mountain News. “Hell, if I wanted to make a whole bunch of money, I’d sell the team. The point is, there comes a time when--and we’re not quite there yet--you can’t spend the money any longer to stay competitive.”

A vote on funding for a new stadium for the Broncos could take place in November. Bowlen would like the new facility in operation by 2000.

Miscellany

Unheralded Ivan Gotti became the first Italian in six years to win the Tour of Italy cycling event, leading defending champion Pavel Tonkov of Russia by 1 minute 27 seconds at the end of the 22nd stage at Milan. Mario Cipollini took the last stage.

Julian Pittman, projected to be Florida State’s starting nose guard this season, faces burglary and credit-card theft charges after a weekend break-in. Pittman is accused of breaking into a woman’s apartment with another man about 4:20 a.m. Saturday, taking the woman’s credit cards from her purse and leaving in a sport utility vehicle, Tallahassee Police Lt. David Brand said. . . . Donald G. Morrison, UCLA’s faculty athletics representative, was named president of the Pacific 10 Conference for the 1997-98 school year. John V. Kasser of California and Marie T. Tuite of Washington were named vice presidents. . . . In pro beach volleyball, Kent Steffes and Jose Loiola defeated Randy Stoklos and Troy Tanner, 11-9, to win the Swatch/AVP Open at Lake Tahoe, and Jenny Johnson-Jordan had seven kills as Team Nike defeated Team Norelco, 15-3, in the final of an event at Newport, R.I.