Larry Holmes

On paper, the heavyweight fight between Hasim Rahman (31-2) and Marion Wilson (11-31-3) for the state title at Martin's West on March 1 appears to be a classic mismatch. Records, however, can be deceiving. Rahman, 27, has been ranked as high as No. 3 in the world, while Wilson has always been cast as an "opponent." Rahman, a Baltimorean, built his impressive record, which includes 26 knockouts, against a list of relatively obscure rivals. His two most meaningful fights -- against David Tua and, most recently, against Oleg Maskaev, ended with Rahman being counted out and dropped from the ratings.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Boxing's fractured heavyweight division has four champions. They are the World Boxing Council's Hasim Rahman, the International Boxing Federation's Chris Byrd, the World Boxing Association's Nikolay Valuev and the World Boxing Organization's Lamon Brewster. Of these, Rahman's belt is considered the most accepted - although not necessarily because he is considered to be the best of the lot. The WBC belt held by Rahman has a lineage that can be traced back through such champions as Lennox Lewis, Larry Holmes, Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis -- all the way back to John L. Sullivan in the late 19th century.

LAS VEGAS -- Undisputed champion Evander Holyfield will only be too happy to take on the young lions in the heavyweight division after surviving his senior tour without distinction last night by outpointing Larry Holmes, a 6-1 underdog, in a surprisingly competitive 12-round match at Caesars Palace.Holmes, 42, proved almost as stubborn a championship foe as George Foreman, another plus-40 former champion who had Holyfield in jeopardy in going the distance last year.The decision was unanimous for Holyfield (28-0, 22 KOs)

The comeback of A.J. FoytFour-time Indianapolis 500 winner A.J. Foyt faces his toughest test today -- convincing himself that he can still drive at speeds of more than 200 mph around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway."

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- It was a cleansing by blood, four rounds and change of the violence that uplifts boxing every now and then, that purifies the alphabets and closes the doors on the back rooms. For four rounds and change Friday night, Michael Moorer and Bert Cooper could make you forget Don King and fighters being ripped off, it was that exhilarating.If you didn't like this fight, you don't think boxing is about blood and guts, that there is something socially redeeming about two young men refusing to quit.

Despite facing a federal trial in May on charges of mail fraud, promoter Don King has scheduled 10 championship matches in the next 10 weeks, including a tentative April 29 date at USAir Arena featuring Baltimore's Vincent Pettway defending his International Boxing Federation junior middleweight crown against Simon Brown of Mount Airy, Md.Representatives of King and USAir Arena are trying to finalize terms. The two fighters have already signed contracts for the bout, but no date or site has been specified.

Local boxing promoter Stuart Satosky has been busy with his calculator the past few weeks, preparing an offer for Don King to stage a February title fight at the Baltimore Arena matching International Boxing Federation junior middleweight champion Vincent Pettway and former champion Simon Brown of Mount Airy.Satosky says it will take a minimum of $250,000 to persuade King to allow Pettway to make his first title defense in his hometown.Pettway won the 154-pound title in September by knocking out Italy's Gianfranco Rosi in the fourth round.

LAS VEGAS -- Unbeaten Riddick Bowe helped regain some of his luster as a heavyweight title hope last night by knocking out Rodolfo Marin of Puerto Rico at 1 minute, 45 seconds of the second round of their scheduled 10-round bout on the Mike Tyson-Donovan "Razor" Ruddock under card.Bowe was a controversial winner over former heavyweight champion Tony Tubbs in his previous fight, two months ago in Atlantic City, N.J. He needed to re-establish himself as a knockout artist.Marin may not have been a formidable foe, but Bowe could not be faulted for his convincing performance.

NEW YORK -- The Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson fight officially has been knocked out for January by a combination of Tyson's sore ribs, Holyfield's cold feet, the World Wrestling Federation and a horde of Las Vegas conventioneers.That, in a nutshell, is why the fate of the Holyfield-Tyson fight rests in the hands of an Indianapolis jury -- unless Tyson's legal team can find a way to get his rape trial pushed back from its scheduled Jan. 27 starting date.After several hours of heated meetings at the Manhattan offices of Home Box Office, all parties -- Holyfield promoter Dan Duva and manager Shelly Finkel, Don King and his lawyer, Bob Hirth, and executives of TVKO and Caesars Palace -- agreed to disagree on a suitable January date for the fight, which was postponed from its original Nov. 8 date because of a rib injury suffered by Tyson.

Just 24 hours after putting injured Mike Tyson on hold, heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield's advisers have offered a late November title fight to unranked Francesco Damiani, of Italy, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.As of last night, Damiani had not accepted the offer from Holyfield's promoter, Dan Duva. Damiani (27-1, 23 KOs) has been idle since losing his World Boxing Organization crown to Ray Mercer in Atlantic City last January.Holyfield pushed for a championship match next month after his scheduled Nov. 8 showdown with Tyson was postponed indefinitely when the former champion suffered a rib injury in training, Oct. 8.Efforts to reschedule the $100 million fight before Tyson's pending Jan. 27 trial in Indianapolis for alleged rape of an 18-year-old beauty pageant contestant proved futile.