Originally published Sunday, May 4, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Briefs | Boxing: De La Hoya defeats Forbes before 27,000 fans
Boxing De La Hoya dominates: Oscar De La Hoya showed he could still beat a contender. Next up is cashing in again like a champion. In what was little...
Boxing
De La Hoya dominates: Oscar De La Hoya showed he could still beat a contender. Next up is cashing in again like a champion.
In what was little more than a tuneup for a much bigger fight, De La Hoya kicked off his retirement tour Saturday night before an appreciative crowd of 27,000 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., by pitching a near shutout against overmatched Steve Forbes.
De La Hoya, 35, got a chance to shake off ring rust and put on a show. He didn't disappoint, battering Forbes, 31, on his way to an easy 12-round decision in his first fight in a year.
The victory set up a September rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr., who beat De La Hoya by split decision in May 2007. Even though De La Hoya was a 17-1 favorite, his solid performance against Forbes will likely do what De La Hoya wanted by helping to sell the second fight with Mayweather.
De La Hoya won all 12 rounds on one judge's scorecard and 11 out of 12 on the other two.
Tennis
Nadal to face Ferrer for title: Three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal of Spain cruised past Denis Gremelmayr of Germany 6-1, 6-0 to reach his fourth consecutive Barcelona Open final in Spain.
"I played nearly perfectly," Nadal said.
Nadal will face second-seeded David Ferrer of Spain in today's final. Ferrer defeated Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-6 (10-8), 6-3.
Nadal, 21, is 19-1 in clay-court finals, including 3-0 in Barcelona.
Gonzalez eliminates El Aynaoui: Fernando Gonzalez of Chile remained unbeaten on clay this year, beating 36-year-old Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the BMW Open final in Munich, Germany.
![]()
Gonzalez, seeded second, will go for the title today against Simone Bolelli, an Italian who upset top-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 7-6 (7-4).
El Aynaoui is the oldest semifinalist on the ATP Tour since Jimmy Connors. Connors was 40 when he made the semis in San Francisco in 1993.
College football
Oregon State receiver has spring in his step: Senior receiver Sammie Stroughter had three receptions for 58 yards to help the White team defeat the Black team 22-3 in Oregon State's spring intrasquad game as 6,852 watched at Reser Stadium in Corvallis.
Stroughter is coming back from a tumultuous 2007 season. Last fall, he missed early practices and the first game of the season after two people close to him died. He returned to the team for the second game, but suffered a lacerated kidney in the fourth game. He was granted a medical hardship, giving him a second senior season.
Swimming
Ilchenko retains open-water crown: Larisa Ilchenko of Russia defended her 10-kilometer open-water world crown in Seville, Spain, and amputee Natalie Du Toit of South Africa qualified for the Beijing Olympics by finishing fourth.
Ilchenko swam the four loops of the Guadalquivir River course in 2 hours, 2 minutes, 2.7 seconds. Last year, she won the title in Melbourne, Australia.
Du Toit, 24, was 5.1 seconds behind Ilchenko. Du Toit lost her left leg after being hit by a car in 2001.
Volleyball
Penn State men take NCAA title: Top-ranked Penn State won its first NCAA men's championship in 14 years, rallying for a 27-30, 33-31, 30-25, 30-23 victory over second-ranked Pepperdine in Irvine, Calif.
"This replaces the 1972 Derry [Pa.] Little League championship for me," Nittany Lions coach Mark Pavlik said of his first NCAA title. "The strength this team had was singularity of purpose. They certainly played much better than I can coach."
Matt Anderson had 29 kills for the Nittany Lions (30-1) and was voted the tournament's most outstanding player.
Seattle Times news services
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
NEW - 8:52 PM
Michigan high school wins first game after star player dies
NEW - 9:30 PM
NW Briefs: Eastern Washington dismisses Kirk Earlywine as men's basketball coach
'Gift' lifts Carl Edwards to title in Las Vegas
Iditarod mushers set out for Nome

nwautos
Turismo upgrade "Gran Turismo 5: XL Edition" for PlayStation 3 has features such as new car-tuning settings, new NASCAR vehicles, better replay video...
Post a comment
- Lakewood cop accused of embezzling $150K meant for slain officers' families
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- Social worker recounts minutes before Powell fire
- Agency set to investigate handling of 911 call about Josh Powell
- Quick decisions: How Washington hired its new football staff
- Historic day for gay marriage as another fight looms
- Justin Wilcox's versatile defensive style is the right fit for Huskies | Jerry Brewer
- Council members get briefing on arena proposal, minus details
- It's Terrence Time: Enigmatic Ross leads Huskies
- $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
- Gay-marriage bill passes House, awaits Gregoire's signature
504 - Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color
399 - Council members get briefing on arena proposal, minus details
350 - AP Source: Obama to change birth control rule
330 - Oregon live game thread
155 - Worker: Josh Powell told son he had 'surprise'
113 - Rough road again
108 - A few late-night notes
96 - USA Today further spells out how Mariners, handful of clubs next in line for huge cash windfall
76 - Marijuana legalization initiative set to go on Nov. ballot
74
- Wanted in Seattle classrooms: more teachers of color
- State Medicaid program to stop paying for unneeded ER visits
- 3 big health insurers stockpile $2.4 billion as rates keep rising
- Economy, blogs give survivalists new reason to look to Northwest
- State's share of mortgage settlement: $648 million
- Bellevue College adds a third bachelor's degree program
- Darren Berg gets 18-year sentence for Ponzi scheme
- One man's audacious pursuit of sailing history
- $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses
- 'Gauguin and Polynesia': dazzling mix-and-match | Art review










