Boxers

Kid Akeem Anifowoshe, who lapsed into a coma after losing a bloody International Boxing Federation junior bantamweight title fight last week in San Antonio, has shown dramatic improvement and has not lost any of his mental faculties, his doctor said. "It's a surprise for him to survive," Dr. Gerardo Zavala said. "When he came to the hospital, I thought he was going to be dead. Now it looks like his mental faculties are there. I think everything is going to be OK."

Buster! The way Cassius shocked Sonny, the way Leon amazed Muhammad, that was the way Buster Douglas beat the belt right off of Iron Mike Tyson on a crazy February night in Tokyo, and if you were lucky enough to see it, in person or on TV, it must have made your hair stand straight up in the air, exactly like Don King's. Buster! What a night, what a fight! This Mr.

Over at the Westminster Boxing Club, where pretenders and contenders both believe that the road to happiness goes through the heavy bag, Joe Manzano is wrapping up another workout as dinner time nears. Twenty-two and dressed in black, he has sparred five rounds and then done another three with the bag--left, right, feint, dodge, hook, jab--all the while punctuating his punching with the grunting "unh! unh! unh!" of a boxer at work. Then it's over.

LONDON - The young U.S. boxers had their noses bloodied once again Thursday with lightweight Jose Ramirez and middleweight Terrell Gausha the latest to be eliminated from the Olympic tournament. After winning its first four fights, the U.S. team has lost seven consecutive bouts. Gausha dropped a controversial 16-15 decision to veteran Vijender Singh of India, and Ramirez was outpointed by Uzbekistan's Fazliddin Gaibnazarov, 15-11. With only two male boxers - flyweight Rau'shee Warren and welterweight Errol Spence - still alive, this U.S. group is on pace to eclipse the 2008 team as the worst of all time.

Kid Akeem Anifowoshe regained consciousness Sunday after surgery to relieve pressure on his brain following a loss to International Boxing Federation junior bantamweight champion Robert Quiroga at San Antonio. Quiroga, 20, also was bloody and bruised but retained his crown by unanimous decision. Anifowoshe had fallen into a coma after the 12-round decision was announced. Trainers said the boxers' use of six-ounce gloves, which provide high punch impact, contributed to their injuries.

"Does Bill Clinton read your paper? Can you help me?" Floyd Mayweather asked, as forlorn as an Olympian can sound while on the verge of fighting for gold and glory. "I wrote a letter to the White House, but I ain't heard back. I ain't heard nothing from nobody. "Man, I just got to get my father out of prison."

Oscar De La Hoya's trainer, Floyd Mayweather Sr., can fill a book of poetry about how bulky and slow Shane Mosley has become. Mosley's father and trainer, Jack, can rant and rave about those who dare to question his son's ability to defeat De La Hoya in their super-welterweight title fight Sept. 13 at Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena. De La Hoya can claim he's in the best shape of his life. Mosley can claim he has more power than he's had in his life. Doesn't matter.

Boxer Miguel Mercedes was in serious condition late Tuesday night after a vein burst in his skull after a bout at the Forum. Mercedes was taken to Westside Hospital and later moved to Cedars Sinai, where a neurosurgeon was scheduled to meet with ringside physician Robert Karns and decide if surgery was needed immediately. Karns said that Mercedes did have swelling but that he was conscious.

Former heavyweight boxing contender Mitch Green drove his automobile into a parked car in Queens early Sunday and was arrested for suspicion of drunk driving, his third arrest in 11 days, police said. According to police, Green was slurring his speech, had alcohol on his breath and appeared lethargic when two Housing Authority officers spotted him about 1 a.m., standing beside his car in the South Jamaica section of Queens.

Former Olympic boxers Evander Holyfield, Pernell Whitaker and Tyrell Biggs all scored knockouts Thursday night in scheduled eight-round matches at the Omni Coliseum. Holyfield (6-0), fighting for the first time as a professional before his hometown fans, scored a first-round TKO over Rick Myers of Bellview, Ill. Biggs (5-0), of Philadelphia, stopped Sterling Benjamin of Brooklyn, N.Y., in the seventh round. Whitaker (6-0), of Norfolk, Va., knocked out Teddy Hatfield of Nashville, Tenn.