Chacon, Fraser Join Hall of Fame Class

The little guys made it big Thursday in the International Boxing Hall of Fame class of 2005.

Headlining this year’s group of 15 inductees in Canastota, N.Y., were two-time featherweight champion Bobby Chacon, junior-middleweight champion Terry Norris, two-time junior welterweight champion Duilio Loi of Italy, and Ireland’s popular featherweight champion Barry McGuigan. Non-boxers to be enshrined included matchmaker Don Fraser and writer Bert Sugar in the Non-Participant and Observer classes.

The induction ceremony is June 12.

The boxers, who fought in classes below 154 pounds, were chosen by a panel of boxing writers and historians.

Chacon held WBC crowns as a featherweight from 1974 to 1975 and as a super-featherweight from 1982 to 1983. California-born Chacon tried for a third world title in 1984 but was stopped by WBA lightweight champion Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini. With an explosive punching style, “Schoolboy” Chacon knocked out 23 of his first 25 pro opponents. He finished 59-7-1 with 47 KOs.

The Hall of Fame also released names of posthumous honorees: featherweight champion Eugene Criqui, bantamweight champions Joe Lynch and Charles “Bud” Taylor and middleweight champion Marcel Thil in the Old-Timer Category; manager-film historian Bill Cayton and manager-promoter Lope Sarreal in the Non-Participant Category; writer Jersey Jones and Boxing News editor Harry Mullan in the Observer Category; and Jack Randall in the Pioneer Category.

Tennis

Andre Agassi made an unscheduled appearance at the Australian women’s hard court championships in Gold Coast, Australia, playing a one-hour exhibition against Scott Draper to fill a void created after top-seeded Nadia Petrova withdrew before her quarterfinal against Silvia Farina Elia because of injury.

Elia will face Samantha Stosur, who upset Magadalena Maleeva, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Second-seeded Patty Schnyder also advanced with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Sesil Karatantcheva and Tatiana Golovin beat Italy’s Flavia Pennetta, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4.

Roger Federer reached the semifinals of the $1-million Qatar Open with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Felciano Lopez in Doha.

Federer will play Nikolay Davydenko. Ivan Ljubicic and Albert Costa also advanced.

Top-seeded Lleyton Hewitt beat Argentina’s Agustin Calleri, 6-1, 6-4, to move into the quarterfinals at the Australian men’s hard court championships in Adelaide, Australia.

Hewitt will face Taylor Dent, who beat Julien Benneteau, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2.

Meghann Shaughnessy was defeated, 6-4, 6-2, by Daniela Hantuchova and James Blake lost, 7-6 (2), 6-4, to Dominik Hrbaty in a loss to Slovakia in a group match at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia, but the U.S. is in contention for a spot in the final against Argentina.

Miscellany

Attorneys for the woman who accused Kobe Bryant of rape say his defense team is requesting to interview media organizations that covered the case for the sole purpose of delaying her civil trial.

The woman’s attorneys said the interviews would cause significant delays and cost the woman tens of thousands of dollars in legal expenses.

Included is American Media Inc., which owns the National Enquirer and other tabloids, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Denver.

The Sparks will open the WNBA schedule on the road May 21 against defending league champion Seattle. The Storm makes its first visit to Los Angeles on June 24. The Sparks will play their first four games on the road before their home opener against San Antonio on May 31.

The Avengers will hold a scrimmage and their annual season ticket-holder party at noon Saturday at renovated Avenger Training Facility at West L.A. College in Culver City.