Thursday, March 20, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
There are so many fights on the local agenda, a review may be in order.
Starting with a March 29 card, Las Vegas will host no fewer than eight shows by May 3. "We're on a phenomenal pace," said Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
In order, the upcoming cards include:
* March 29 at the Las Vegas Hilton. Main event offers IBF heavyweight title fight between champion Michael Moorer and challenger Vaughn Bean. Undercard includes Julio Cesar Chavez and Ricardo Lopez, along with WBA junior middleweight champ Laurent Boudouani vs. Carl Daniels.
* April 4 at the Orleans. Word is the hotel/casino didn't pay much for this one, a nondescript Telemundo card that headlines Erik Morales vs. Javier Lucas. The semi-main event, Chico Corrales vs. Steve Quinonez, is even less scintillating.
* April 9 at the Aladdin. It's a potentially exciting headline fight between Donald Curry and Emmett Linton, Curry having once been Linton's trainer and the two now harboring hard feelings toward each other.
* April 12 at the Tropicana. This is an afternoon show with Raul Marquez almost certain to win the vacant IBF junior middleweight championship in a fight with Anthony Stephens.
* April 12 at the Thomas & Mack Center. It's the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Pernell Whitaker showdown on top, with Paulie Ayala and Butterbean Esch in the primary undercard bouts.
* April 18 at the Las Vegas Hilton. An excellent doubleheader with the Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Junior Jones rematch as its focal point. Longtime WBA welterweight champ Ike Quartey provides support and he looks to be in with a legitimate challenger, Ralph "Tiger" Jones.
* April 23 at the Tropicana. No secured main event yet for this show, presented by local promoters Power Punch and BAM.
* May 3 at the MGM. The Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield rematch caps a busy six weeks of boxing in the city. Julian Jackson vs. WBC middleweight champ Keith Holmes appears to be set as the primary undercard fight.
Around the ring
* CORPUS CARD: A pay-per-view doubleheader Saturday from Corpus Christi, Texas, offers a pair of intriguing fights. In the main event, WBC junior lightweight champ Azumah Nelson defends against Genaro Hernandez, while the semi-main offers the long-awaited Michael Carbajal vs. Scotty Olson clash. Local oddsmaker Herb Lambeck likes the 34-1-1 Hernandez to upset the 39-3-2 Nelson, even though he makes Nelson a 9-to-5 favorite. "Genaro's 5-11 frame and 73-inch reach give him excellent physical advantages," Lambeck said. As for the semi-main, Lambeck makes Carbajal a 20-to-1 choice due to Olson having been knocked down five times in his most recent outing. The card can also be seen at The Orleans hotel, with a $10 admission charge and 6 p.m. starting time.
* TYSON, KING: "We're not here to play around," Mike Tyson said after opening his training camp in Boca Raton, Fla., in preparation for his May 3 rematch with Evander Holyfield at the MGM. "If Holyfield beats me this time, he will beat me at the best I've ever been. I hate making excuses. I don't take it personally (that Holyfield won their first fight), it just happened." Tyson is also working with a new trainer, Richie Giachetti, and his early view is that "I have confidence in him." Meanwhile, Tyson's promoter, Don King, will have an HBO movie made about his life, with production beginning next month in Los Angeles. Actor Ving Rhames will portray King in the movie, which is based on the unflattering book "The Life and Crimes of Don King" by Jack Newfield.
* QUICK HITS: One solid right hand was all it took Tuesday night in Flint, Mich., for Las Vegas-based heavyweight Jimmy Thunder to dispose of Crawford Grimsley. The bout -- including the 10 seconds it took for the referee to count out Grimsley -- lasted exactly 13 seconds. The win upped Thunder's record to 32-7 and helped negate a January loss to John Ruiz. Grimsley, 20-2, was out for several minutes before regaining consciousness. ... Veteran Las Vegas trainer and gym owner Johnny Tocco will be honored with a proclamation at City Hall on Monday. "I don't know how it came about," he said. "When I got the call, I thought they were pulling my leg." ... Closing in on 70 years old, Carmen Basilio will appear at a sports memorabilia show Saturday and Sunday at the Fiesta casino/hotel. Basilio, a member of the Boxing Hall of Fame, retired with a 56-16-7 record that included welterweight and middleweight championships. Basilio will appear for two hours starting at 12:30 p.m. each day. ... Local super middleweight Joseph Kiwanuka has taken a April 29 fight with Antoine Byrd in Philadelphia. USA cable will televise. ... The Nevada Golden Gloves championships will be contested Friday and Saturday at the Golden Gloves Gym with the first bell at 7 p.m. each day. ... The once-postponed IBF featherweight title fight between champion Vuyanni Bungu and Kennedy McKinney of Las Vegas is on for April 5. The site has been changed from Mississippi to South Africa. ... The WBC has given new heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis until the end of the month to arrange a mandatory title defense against Henry Akinwande. ... The Nevada State Athletic Commission will file a complaint at its meeting today against boxer Warren Williams, who fought and lost at the Aladdin on March 4. Williams tested positive for cocaine following his bout with Steve Martinez. ... Friday on HBO, Roy Jones and Montell Griffin fight in Atlantic City in what could be a decent bout. Nonetheless, the supposedly invincible Jones is a --850 favorite in the Las Vegas Hilton sports book, although he has been bet down from an opening --1700.
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