Thursday, Sept. 11, 2003 | 9:06 a.m.
Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4084.
A glimpse of boxing's future, as well as a reminder of its past, will be part of Saturday's undercard at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Miguel Cotto is in a featured role, which is apropos for a 22-year-old from a boxing hotbed who is aligned with a major promoter.
He'll fight in the bout immediately preceding the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Shane Mosley main event, and while he may be tested in his 12-round fight with Panama's Demetrio Ceballos, Cotto is certainly expected to win.
"I need to continue training and facing fighters with different styles," said Cotto, a native of Puerto Rico who is 16-0 with 13 knockouts and a potential future champion at 140 pounds.
"I've improved," he said, "but I've still got a lot to learn. Professional fighters have a lot of experience and if you want to be the best, like I do, you have to learn from your mistakes."
Top Rank's Bob Arum has Cotto under contract and is already salivating at the possibilities.
"People, myself included, believe he's the next Felix Trinidad," Arum said, referring to the Puerto Rican slugger who made millions of dollars in an illustrious career that included a win against De La Hoya.
Cotto has been fighting regularly and has already beaten a couple of world-ranked fighters in Justin Juuko and Cesar Bazan. This will be his fourth fight this year and he's expected to add Ceballos to his credits.
Ceballos, 30, is 26-4 but has had a tendency to lose when matched with top fighters.
One of the men he lost to, Stevie Johnston, is looking to show he's not over the hill as he fights Juan Lazcano in the other undercard fight that will be part of the pay-per-view telecast.
Johnston, approaching 31, is a former world champion at 135 pounds who is 35-2 and has fought a lot of rounds. He was squarely atop the scrap heap after losing consecutive fights to Jose Luis Castillo three years ago, although he has since rebounded to win each of his five ensuing fights.
"I guess we'll find out Saturday if my time is up," Johnston said.
For more than three years Johnston all but ruled the lightweight division, winning the World Boxing Council title in 1997 and successfully defending the belt nine times. He not only beat Caballos (and Bazan) but Angel Manfredy as well in a reign that was going strong until he came across Castillo.
In his current winning streak Johnston owns victories against James Crayton and Ever Beleno, plus three others.
He and Lazcano are scheduled for 12 rounds in what is described as a WBC "eliminator," meaning the winner will be poised for a title fight with champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the event Mayweather choses to remain at 135 pounds after his Nov. 1 defense with Phillip N'dou.
Lazcano, 28, is 32-2-1 and far more outgoing than the reserved Johnston.
"I'm fighting a guy that's been around," he said of Johnston. "He's proven himself (but) he's got a lot of miles. He's had his time.
"I feel that this is my time. I feel I have what it takes to win."
Lazcano is on an 18-fight winning streak since losing to Golden Johnson five years ago. But he has never beaten anyone of Johnston's caliber, assuming, that is, that Johnston has something left on his odometer.
Two other fights are scheduled on a card that will begin at 5 p.m. and is scheduled to have its main event in the ring by 8:30. In those other preliminary fights, Mark Burse, 11-6-1, takes on Urbano Antillon, 10-0, in a lightweight bout scheduled for eight rounds, and Jose Luis Zertuche, 10-1-1, meets Pat Thompson, 5-1, in a junior welterweight bout scheduled for six.
The headliners are Heriberto Ruiz and Christobal Cruz, a pair of super bantamweights from Mexico. Ruiz is 28-2-2 and Cruz is 26-3-1.
In position to upstage Ruiz and Cruz is welterweight Anthony Thompson, who recently signed with Arum and is 12-0 and loaded with potential.
"Believe me, he's a potential superstar," Arum said.
Thompson will face Sammy Sparkman, who is 15-10-1 and unlikely to upset the Thompson bandwagon, or, perhaps, make it through the fully scheduled eight rounds.
Also scheduled: Arturo Morales, 14-0, vs. Armando Robles, 9-1-1, six rounds, junior welterweights; Larry Mosley, 11-1, vs. Adan Casillas, 16-5, six rounds, junior welterweights; Marshall Martinez, 7-0-1, vs. Chad Lawshe, 7-2, six rounds, junior welterweights; and Eduardo Escobedo, 9-1, vs. an opponent yet to be determined, four rounds, bantamweights. First bell is 5:30 p.m.
In the main event, featherweights Humberto Soto and Luis Fuentes are scheduled for 10 rounds in another all-Mexico pairing. Soto is 28-5-2 and Fuentes is 23-2-1.
Also scheduled: Chikashi Inada, 13-0, vs. Sandro Marcos, 22-11-2, 10 rounds, lightweights; Armando Cordoba, 20-11-1, vs. Hector Velazquez, 36-9-1, eight rounds, featherweights; Arturo Rodriguez, 11-9, vs. Avelino Chavez, 7-0, six rounds, welterweights; and Joey Garcia, 11-6-2, vs. Adam Carrera, 11-1, six rounds, featherweights.
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