Tapia Keeps Title

Johnny Tapia stalked Nicaragua’s Adonis Cruz for 12 rounds, delivering enough jabs and combinations to retain his WBO junior bantamweight title with a unanimous decision at Albuquerque, N.M.

Tapia (39-0-2, 23 KOs) was the aggressor throughout the fight. Cruz is 25-3-1 with 13 KOs.

Citing a hand injury sustained while training, but mired in what a promoter calls “major personal problems,” Julio Cesar Chavez has withdrawn from a fight scheduled Friday against Irishman Mickey Ward in Reno, Nev. Top Rank president Bob Arum said he thinks the injury is genuine, but a Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority special events consultant said she doubts the injury report.