Ibf

International Boxing Federation junior-welterweight champion Zab Judah of Brooklyn made the fourth defense of his title a successful one with a 10th-round technical knockout of Reggie Green at Uncasville, Conn. Judah improved to 26-0 with one no-contest. Green fell to 33-5. On the undercard, Olympic silver medalist Ricardo "Rocky" Juarez made a successful pro debut by outpointing Puerto Rico's Pascali Adorno in a four-round featherweight fight.

David Tua traveled thousands of miles, all the way from Samoa to Las Vegas, in search of the heavyweight title. But he came up seven inches short. Lennox Lewis, at 6 feet 5 towering over the 5-10 Tua, put on a masterful boxing clinic Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center to cruise to a unanimous decision over Tua, who later said he reinjured a rib in the second round.

It wasn't the clean knockout federal prosecutors had hoped for, but they still won a solid decision Thursday when a jury found International Boxing Federation founder and former president Bob Lee guilty on six of 38 counts in a New Jersey racketeering trial. The 66-year-old Lee, charged with taking $338,000 in bribes from promoters and managers to fix rankings and sanction fights, was found guilty of tax evasion, money laundering and interstate travel in aid of racketeering.

Jurors in the racketeering case against International Boxing Federation founder Robert Lee Sr. got their first glimpse Friday at hidden-camera videotape of Lee receiving alleged bribe money. The flickering tape shows Lee in a hotel suite with longtime IBF rankings chairman Douglas Beavers. Beavers pulls up his pants leg and removes a packet from his sock. "Christmas cheer," he says. Lee takes the packet and asks: "What, how much is this?" "It's $5,000," Beavers says.

The State Attorney General's office, at the request of the California State Athletic Commission, has launched an investigation of boxing promoter Bob Arum, based on Arum's sworn statement that he made improper payments to the International Boxing Federation in 1995. Although it appears unlikely, Deputy Attorney General Earl Plowman wouldn't rule out the possibility that his action could jeopardize the Oscar De La Hoya-Shane Mosley welterweight title fight June 17 at Staples Center.

The case files from United States of America v. International Boxing Federation read like a spy novel. There are clandestine meetings and phone calls filled with code words. Don King is referred to as "Fuzzy Wuzzy" and another promoter is called "the fat man." Alleged bribes are "turkey" and "stuffing." At the center of the racketeering probe, IBF President Robert Lee Sr.

Executives from the embattled International Boxing Federation have been videotaped handling alleged bribe money in a motel room, according to a source close to a long-running federal investigation. The videotape, recorded by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents, shows former IBF ratings chairman Doug Beavers pulling a roll of cash from his sock and handing it to President Robert Lee Sr. Don Brennan, who served on the federation's executive board, was also present, the source said.

The embattled International Boxing Federation suffered another blow Wednesday when a federal judge in Newark, N.J., appointed a monitor to oversee its operations, the first time such legal measures have been taken against an American sports organization. Government stewardship has historically been employed against mob-tainted labor unions. In this case, U.S. District Judge John W. Bissell gave the monitor--New Jersey attorney Joseph Hayden Jr.

A federal court judge ruled Monday that he would unseal some of the government's evidence against Robert Lee Sr., president of the International Boxing Federation, who stands accused of accepting bribes to fix rankings. Responding to a motion by the Los Angeles Times, U.S. District Judge John W. Bissell said he would review documents, audio- and videotapes to determine which will be released. Bissell said he may engage in a "balancing effort" to withhold material that could harm innocent people.

Federal prosecutors said in court Wednesday that they have a videotape of Bob Lee, president of the troubled International Boxing Federation, taking bribes to fix rankings. The revelation came as the U.S attorney's office asked a judge to appoint a monitor to oversee the IBF while Lee and three colleagues face racketeering charges. "We have a videotape where we see Bob Lee sitting at a table accepting payoffs," Executive Assistant U.S. Atty. Joseph Braunreuther said. " . . .