Jones Gets Over Hill With Knockout in 4

World Boxing Council light-heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr., who has sent conflicting signals about his next move, scored a fourth-round knockout of former champion Virgil Hill on Saturday night in Biloxi, Miss.

About a minute into the fourth round, Jones delivered two hard rights, the second a kidney punch that sent Hill to the canvas in obvious pain. Hill got up, but referee Fred Steinwinder III stopped the bout.

Hill was taken to the hospital immediately after the fight, with what a ringside doctor said was apparently a broken rib.

“I haven’t heard a sound quite as devastating as that,” Jones said of the punch that ended the fight.

Jones, who had fought only one round in the past year, improved to 36-1 with his 31st knockout. Hill is 43-3.

Jones has said that he wants to pursue a heavyweight fight, but he is now indicating that he will defend his WBC light-heavyweight champion by taking on top 175-pound contender Graciano Rocchigiani later this year.

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Gerry Penalosa of the Philippines retained his WBC super-flyweight title when the fight at Manila was stopped in the second round because of a head butt by challenger Joel Luna Zarate of Mexico. It was called a technical draw.

Track and Field

A blazing anchor leg by world 100-meter champion Marion Jones helped Nike International set an American record of 1 minute 29.64 seconds for the women’s 800-meter relay at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia.

The Nike team of Tamika Roberts, Olympian and former USC star Inger Miller, Nicole Green and Jones broke the previous record of 1:30.20 set last year by a Nike team at the Penn Relays.

Michael Johnson anchored the Nike men’s 800-meter relay team, which won in 1:19.85 but missed the world record of 1:18.68 set in 1994 by a Santa Monica Track Club team anchored by Carl Lewis.

Paul McMullen, who lost parts of two toes in a lawn-mower accident last summer, outran Terrance Herrington to win the mile in 3:59.12 at the Drake Relays at Des Moines. . . . Rory Abshire, a Southwestern Louisiana freshman pole vaulter, died from injuries suffered when he fell from an 11-foot observation tower at the track while doing a handstand.

Tennis

Michael Chang defeated Mikael Tillstrom of Sweden 6-3, 6-4, to reach the final of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships at Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Chang will face Jim Courier, who won the last five games to beat Andrei Pavel of Romania, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Cedric Pioline of France saved two match points to defeat Alberto Berasategui of Spain, 6-3, 0-6, 7-6 (7-5), and move into the final of the Monte Carlo Open. Pioline will face Spain’s Carlos Moya, who defeated Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Golf

Hale Irwin, who won the PGA Seniors’ Championship by seven shots last week, shot a two-under-par 70 to take a six-shot lead going into the final round of the Las Vegas Senior Classic.

Irwin overcame rain, cold and strong winds to go nine under for the tournament. Twenty-two players shot 80 or higher Saturday.

Bob Estes, Scott Verplank and Skip Kendall are tied for the lead at 12-under 204 going into the final round of the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic.

Estes, who started the day tied for the lead with Hal Sutton, shot par 72.

Kendall vaulted into contention by shooting a nine-under 63--one off the course and tournament record. Verplank, who has been plagued by elbow injuries since winning the 1985 Western Open as an amateur, shot a 66.

Liselotte Neumann shot a seven-under 65 to take a three-stroke lead over Pat Hurst after two rounds of the LPGA Chick-fil-A Championship at Stockbridge, Ga.

Auto Racing

Joe Nemechek fended off a late challenge from Phil Parsons to win the Touchstone Energy 300 NASCAR Busch Grand National stock car race at Talladega, Ala.

Kenny Bernstein and John Force set track records to lead qualifying in the NHRA Pennzoil Nationals at Dinwiddie, Va.

Bernstein, of Lake Forest, was quickest in top fuel, producing track records for elapsed time (4.637 seconds) and speed (314.79 mph). Force, from Yorba Linda, had a track-record 4.887 run at at 310.66 mph in a Ford Mustang to lead funny car qualifying.

Stacy Compton won the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Portland (Ore.) Speedway.

Miscellany

UCLA survived two big comebacks by USC to beat the Trojans, 18-17, in a Pacific 10 Conference Southern Division baseball game at Dedeaux Field.

The Trojans (34-18, 18-8 Pac-10) trailed 8-0 early but came back to take a 10-9 lead after five innings. The Bruins (19-29, 11-18) fought back, scoring eight runs in the sixth for a 18-13 advantage going into the bottom of the ninth. USC rallied with four runs--all with two out--and had the bases loaded when Dominic Correa grounded out to end the game.

Garrett Atkins went four for six with five RBIs to lead the Bruins. He extended his school-record hitting streak to 32 games.

Former New Mexico football player Kawika Ordenstein was arrested and charged with attempted murder in Albuquerque after attacking a track athlete in a dispute over a woman.

Ordenstein allegedly assaulted James Marin, who has a broken upper jaw and blood on the brain.

Fresno State point guard Kenny Brunner, accused of beating a man with a samurai sword, says he will make himself eligible for the NBA draft. Brunner, who transferred from Georgetown to Fresno, was suspended indefinitely when he and center Avondre Jones were arrested for assault last month.