Terry Norris

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- This time there could be no more excuses, no rationalizing, no more talks of another comeback for Sugar Ray Leonard.Hector Camacho, often regarded as a clown, proved he is also a consummate pro between the ropes in stopping Leonard at 1: 08 the fifth round of their scheduled 12-round International Boxing Council middleweight championship bout at the Convention Center last night.Leonard looked every bit the part of a 40-year-old grandfather as he was consistently beaten to the punch by Camacho, six years younger and active the last six years while Leonard lived a life of leisure.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- This time there could be no more excuses, no rationalizing, no more talks of another comeback for Sugar Ray Leonard.Hector Camacho, often regarded as a clown, proved he is also a consummate pro between the ropes in stopping Leonard at 1: 08 the fifth round of their scheduled 12-round International Boxing Council middleweight championship bout at the Convention Center last night.Leonard looked every bit the part of a 40-year-old grandfather as he was consistently beaten to the punch by Camacho, six years younger and active the last six years while Leonard lived a life of leisure.

NEW YORK -- Six-time world champion Sugar Ray Leonard has fought and beaten four of boxing's brightest stars of the past two decades -- Wilfred Benitez, Roberto Duran, Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler.But, in what his attorney-manager Mike Trainer suggests could possibly be his last fight, Leonard, 34, has chosen to challenge relatively obscure World Boxing Council super welterweight champion Terry Norris at Madison Square Garden Feb. 9.Leonard says he always has wanted to add his name to the ring legends who have performed at the Garden, and that in testing Norris, 23 -- only 6 years older than Ray Leonard Jr. -- "It will be a barometer of how I can handle the good, young fighters."

PHILADELPHIA -- In the hyperbole of professional sports, many an event is advertised as a grudge match.But there are the exceptions when the description fits, and possibly none qualifies more than the junior middleweight unification title bout between Terry Norris and Paul Vaden that serves as an appetizer to the Mike Tyson-Buster Mathis Jr. heavyweight fight at the Spectrum on Saturday night.Norris and Vaden not only share the San Diego area as their home, but, according to boxing sources, also had romantic interests in the same woman, who eventually became Norris' wife.

LANDOVER -- Baltimore's Vincent Pettway, sporting the word 'BOSS" on his ring robe, lived up to the claim last night at USAir Arena in the first defense of his International Boxing Federation junior middleweight title.Dispelling all the talk about having a fragile chin, Pettway survived knockdowns in the first and fifth rounds before finishing three-time former champion Simon Brown of Mount Airy with a spectacular knockout at 2:07 of the sixth round.Pettway's thundering hook counter off a lazy lead by Brown dropped the challenger flat on his back.

Fight fodder:As an amateur, Andrew Maynard used a very direct approach while in the boxing ring: He'd literally run across the ring and start wailing at his opponent, looking to throw 150 punches during a three-minute round.The rather basic plan worked well, too. The Cheverly native won a gold medal in the 1988 Olympics. About a year after turning pro he was still unbeaten, so it was decided that perhaps Maynard should become more of a boxer."Wrong recipe," is the way Andrew describes his first loss, to veteran Bobby Czyz, and a subsequent poor performance against a journeyman named Keith McMurray.

Reading Time: Two Minutes.At the top of any list of what amateur sports doesn't need right now is a "Heisman Trophy" for top high school athletes. Oh sure, the recognition, the scholarships and the money grants to schools on a regional basis, which commence next year, are worthwhile, but think of what some of those character-building creeps who call themselves coaches will have their kids do to gain this so-called honor: "It's only 87-3, throw another touchdown...

The TV Repairman: The golf stop on CBS this weekend, the International, isn't your usual medal-play tournament, remember. Competitors get points for heroics (two for a birdie, five for an eagle), penalties for stumbles (minus one for a bogey, minus three for a double) with the top 72 qualifying after the first two rounds. The field for Sunday will be down to 24 golfers, starting from scratch. It's not as bad as it sounds, honest.* Terry Norris (28-3) and Brett Lally (29-5) will be the guys duking it out on HBO tomorrow (10 p.m.)

LANDOVER -- The Vincent Pettway-Simon Brown junior middleweight title fight is 10 days away, but a couple of heavy blows before the bell came were landed at yesterday's news conference by an unlikely source.Shortly after being introduced by Don King, promoter of the 15-fight event April 29 at USAir Arena, Pettway's usually conservative manager and trainer, Mack Lewis, took his place behind the podium. What followed was a series of jabs that upstaged even the gatling-gun chatter of King, who later said of Lewis' comments, "That wasn't a salvo over the bow, but a direct hit."

LAS VEGAS -- When Meldrick Taylor burst upon the amateur boxing scene as a mid-teen in the tough, gritty gyms of Philadelphia, boxing people there weren't sure what they had.Was he a future featherweight champion or a future heavyweight champion?He sure could fight, everyone acknowledged. But he could eat like Orson Welles, too. Some even gave him a shot at evolving into another Buster Mathis, who made a good run through the heavyweight division during the 1970s.Luckily, however, Taylor's gym ethic was such that he could work off the Twinkies, cheeseburgers, potato chips and pizzas.

LANDOVER -- Baltimore's Vincent Pettway, sporting the word 'BOSS" on his ring robe, lived up to the claim last night at USAir Arena in the first defense of his International Boxing Federation junior middleweight title.Dispelling all the talk about having a fragile chin, Pettway survived knockdowns in the first and fifth rounds before finishing three-time former champion Simon Brown of Mount Airy with a spectacular knockout at 2:07 of the sixth round.Pettway's thundering hook counter off a lazy lead by Brown dropped the challenger flat on his back.

Since he first laced on a pair of gloves as an 8-year-old novice, current International Boxing Federation junior middleweight champion Vincent Pettway has had one manager and trainer -- Mack Lewis, who has been opening the door of his antiquated Eager Street gym to neighborhood kids the past 51 years.Conversely, Simon Brown, a three-time champion who challenges Pettway for his 154-pound title at the USAir Arena tomorrow night, has worked with at least seven trainers. In fact, Brown has difficulty remembering some of the men who have worked his corner since turning pro in 1982.

LANDOVER -- The Vincent Pettway-Simon Brown junior middleweight title fight is 10 days away, but a couple of heavy blows before the bell came were landed at yesterday's news conference by an unlikely source.Shortly after being introduced by Don King, promoter of the 15-fight event April 29 at USAir Arena, Pettway's usually conservative manager and trainer, Mack Lewis, took his place behind the podium. What followed was a series of jabs that upstaged even the gatling-gun chatter of King, who later said of Lewis' comments, "That wasn't a salvo over the bow, but a direct hit."

Reading Time: Two Minutes.At the top of any list of what amateur sports doesn't need right now is a "Heisman Trophy" for top high school athletes. Oh sure, the recognition, the scholarships and the money grants to schools on a regional basis, which commence next year, are worthwhile, but think of what some of those character-building creeps who call themselves coaches will have their kids do to gain this so-called honor: "It's only 87-3, throw another touchdown...

The TV Repairman:One of the segments of the "Highlights for Highbrows" show on "This is the NFL" on Channel 2 Sunday at noon is Tom Clancy's "Hunt for Red Cashion." Get it? Red Cashion's a referee. Contemporary artists are given the opportunity by NFL Films to do their thing with a football theme. Oliver Stone's "The SBIII Conspiracy" should be a hoot, too, as it deals with you know what Super Bowl. Good grief, was Bubba Smith right?* HTS is bringing in the general managers again for a 90-minute gabfest on the exploits of the Orioles, Redskins, Bullets and Capitals in '93, and the show will be aired Christmas night at 7:30.

Phew! Be advised the Notre Dame-Michigan football game will be on Channel 13 tomorrow at noon. Scores of fans panicked, thinking they were going to have to go the pay-per-view route or drive to Pennsylvania when the local TV magazine said otherwise. Other elements of ABC's tripleheader have Penn State vs. Southern Cal at 3:30, Washington vs. Ohio State at 8 p.m.L Don't worry, Siskel & Ebert will make it on some other time.* Chris Berman qualified for an immediate Emmy last Sunday night when auto racing spilled over into the NFL recap show "Primetime" by 25 minutes and he was still able to maneuver the hour show into the allotted 35 minutes.

PHILADELPHIA -- In the hyperbole of professional sports, many an event is advertised as a grudge match.But there are the exceptions when the description fits, and possibly none qualifies more than the junior middleweight unification title bout between Terry Norris and Paul Vaden that serves as an appetizer to the Mike Tyson-Buster Mathis Jr. heavyweight fight at the Spectrum on Saturday night.Norris and Vaden not only share the San Diego area as their home, but, according to boxing sources, also had romantic interests in the same woman, who eventually became Norris' wife.

Phew! Be advised the Notre Dame-Michigan football game will be on Channel 13 tomorrow at noon. Scores of fans panicked, thinking they were going to have to go the pay-per-view route or drive to Pennsylvania when the local TV magazine said otherwise. Other elements of ABC's tripleheader have Penn State vs. Southern Cal at 3:30, Washington vs. Ohio State at 8 p.m.L Don't worry, Siskel & Ebert will make it on some other time.* Chris Berman qualified for an immediate Emmy last Sunday night when auto racing spilled over into the NFL recap show "Primetime" by 25 minutes and he was still able to maneuver the hour show into the allotted 35 minutes.

Here's an interesting statistic for all you red-blooded, Oriole-loving ball fans out there who have come to realize that for the next month or so you cannot purchase two reserved seats together at Camden Yards: Just a dozen of the 230 cable systems serviced by Home Team Sports treat Oriole telecasts as a premium service.In other words, while a vast majority of fans in the region receive Birds games as part of basic service, Baltimore City and Baltimore County subscribers have to pony up $10-plus, and still get bombarded with commercials.

LAS VEGAS -- When Meldrick Taylor burst upon the amateur boxing scene as a mid-teen in the tough, gritty gyms of Philadelphia, boxing people there weren't sure what they had.Was he a future featherweight champion or a future heavyweight champion?He sure could fight, everyone acknowledged. But he could eat like Orson Welles, too. Some even gave him a shot at evolving into another Buster Mathis, who made a good run through the heavyweight division during the 1970s.Luckily, however, Taylor's gym ethic was such that he could work off the Twinkies, cheeseburgers, potato chips and pizzas.