Thursday, March 6, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
It sounded like a good idea in casual conversation, so Jeff Mayweather pitched the thought to a higher power.
His proposal: He, his brother Roger and his nephew Floyd -- all residents of Las Vegas -- each would fight on the same card in their native Grand Rapids, Mich.
A key ingredient was Floyd, 19 years old, having just been signed to a promotional agreement with Top Rank.
When presented with the unique family plan, Top Rank matchmaker Bruce Trampler told Jeff Mayweather "that's a good idea."
It took a few months to iron out the details -- Grand Rapids not being a boxing metropolis -- but the Mayweathers will be showcased Wednesday on a DirecTV card from the Stadium Arena in the western Michigan city.
"It's kind of a natural," Jeff Mayweather said. "It'll be fun, but it'll also be some pressure. You want to do so well in front of your hometown crowd that you have to be careful about not going overboard and coming up on the short end."
Mayweather said he "comes from a big family" and they'll all be at the fights, maybe even Floyd Mayweather Sr., who is serving time in a Michigan prison for a drug offense.
"His release date is April 1," Jeff Mayweather said. "It's sort of up in the air, but Top Rank is working on getting him out early. He hasn't been in any trouble in prison, so it looks like it could happen."
The schedule has Floyd Jr., 4-0, taking on Kino Rodriguez, 9-9-2, in a four-round junior lightweight bout; Jeff, 31-10-5, meeting Eric Jakubowski, 12-4, in a 10-round lightweight match; and Roger, 56-12, taking on Carlos Miranda, 16-1, in a 10-round welterweight pairing.
"Roger got a lot more serious about training when he saw he was in with a guy who's 16-1," his brother said. "He was lollygagging again, to be honest, and not training as hard as he should have. But now he and Floyd are sparring, and that's good work for both of them."
Roger, 35, needs a win to extend his career. He has also been approached about facing Greg Haugen later this spring in Washington.
Jeff, 33, hopes to parlay a victory and the accompanying TV exposure into a couple of bigger fights this year, which may be his last as an active participant in the sport.
"I'd hate to put my foot in my mouth," Jeff said, "but I'm leaning toward retiring by the end of the year. I feel better about boxing now that I'm managing myself, and I'm pretty sure I'll be fighting frequently for a while.
"But by next year I'd like to walk away from boxing and feel good about the sport."
Around the ring
With Hector Camacho having something of a renewed marketability, Oscar De La Hoya said he would fight him this fall if Camacho can get down to 147 pounds. That bout is now being given serious consideration and probably will happen, thanks to Camacho having defeated a washed-up Ray Leonard last week in Atlantic City. ... De La Hoya also outlined some other plans this week while meeting with reporters at his Big Bear, Calif., training camp. Assuming he gets past Pernell Whitaker April 12 in Las Vegas, De La Hoya is apt to face David Kamau in June or July. He owes a fight to HBO and can get away with fighting a lesser opponent -- such as Kamau -- that night. The fight with Camacho could follow, with a bout against the winner of the June fight between Terry Norris and Felix Trinidad coming toward the end of the year. "Positively," De La Hoya replied, when asked if he would meet the Norris-Trinidad winner in what would obviously be a big-money fight. ... The date for the Johnny Tapia vs. Danny Romero fight will not be confirmed until the De La Hoya vs. Whitaker fight has been held. The reason: If De La Hoya gets past Whitaker unscathed, he'll fight in June and Tapia vs. Romero will go in July; if De La Hoya loses to Whitaker or is injured, Tapia vs. Romero will go in June.
The Camacho vs. Leonard bout will be replayed April 1 on the USA cable network. ... Las Vegas-based heavyweight Jimmy Thunder has a spot on USA's March 18 card in Flint, Mich., as he'll face Crawford Grimsley. Thunder is 31-7; Grimsley, best known for losing in November to George Foreman, is 20-1. ... Local cruiserweight Arthur Williams, just off a KO-4 win over Rick Roufus for the USBA crown, said he's likely to fight in April for Banner Promotions, with Imamu Mayfield -- ranked No. 24 by the WBC -- the probable opponent. ... James Toney came out of his recent victory over Mike McCallum with a broken hand. ... There's some doubt about Julio Cesar Chavez actually appearing on the next locally scheduled card, March 29 at the Las Vegas Hilton. Chavez supposedly was to have faced a decent opponent, the 35-4-1 Tony Martin. But Martin has said he is not on the card. A source has indicated if Chavez does fight that night it will be against a far easier opponent, Gary Kirkland, whose 26-1 record is very deceiving. (That Hilton card is headlined by the IBF heavyweight title fight between Michael Moorer and Vaughn Bean.) ... Top Rank has added April 4 (site uncertain) and April 9 (Aladdin) cards for Las Vegas. Donald Curry is the likely headliner for the latter show. ... Two rumored shows that now appear to be on for sure: Junior Jones vs. Marco Antonio Barrera April 18 at the Las Vegas Hilton; and George Foreman vs. Lou Savarese April 26 in Atlantic City.
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