Thursday, Aug. 6, 1998 | 10:39 a.m.
DEAN JUIPE is a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. His office phone number is 259-4084. He can be reached on the Internet at [email protected]
Multi-national, multi-lingual Kostya Tszyu was in Las Vegas in 1995, winning a world championship and positioning himself for a lucrative bout with Oscar De La Hoya.
Tszyu, 140 pounds, took the IBF title from Jake Rodriguez at the MGM Grand Garden in January 1995, and three months later De La Hoya won the WBC 135-pound title by mauling Rafael Ruelas at Caesars Palace.
Tszyu signed a promotional agreement with Top Rank, with the understanding he would defend his title against De La Hoya when the Golden Boy was ready to fight at 140.
It had the makings of a terrific fight, with Tszyu -- a Russian who lives in Australia -- every bit as undefeated and as brick-house solid as De La Hoya.
The fight, however, never came off as Tszyu -- seemingly biding his time waiting for De La Hoya -- lost his title when he was upset by Las Vegan Vince Phillips.
It was a devastating setback for everyone involved, except, of course, Phillips. It was especially damaging to Tszyu, who was released by Top Rank.
An update: While De La Hoya is now fighting at 147 pounds and looking to go to 154 next year, Tszyu is facing Ruelas on a pay-per-view card Aug. 15 in El Paso. The winner will face Miguel Angel Gonzalez later this year forthe vacant WBC 140-pound title.
"I can't see it happening, at least for two years," Tszyu said Wednesday during a conference call, referring to the possibility of ever facing De La Hoya. "He's got his own way to go right now and he's doing a very good job for himself.
"If we fight it's a good fight for me and for him because he needs a good challenge."
But it's a fight that isn't going to happen, given the fact Tszyu is comfortable at 140 pounds and is very unlikely to jump two weight divisions.
Instead, unifying the junior welterweight titles is a more reasonable goal and getting past Ruelas is the first step.
"I've seen many of his fights," Tszyu said of Ruelas. "I have good respect for him. He was a great champion and he's a good person as well. He seems like a nice guy."
Ruelas, 52-3, and Tszyu, 20-1-1, are scheduled for 12 rounds on a card promoted by America Presents. Tszyu is a 3-1 favorite in Las Vegas.
(Gonzalez was to have fought on the same card but dropped off due to a lingering hand injury. "He needs more rest," said his trainer, Abel Sanchez. "He wants to be 100 percent healthy when he fights the Tszyu-Ruelas winner.")
Tszyu, 27, admits he's still pained by the loss to Phillips although he said the setback taught him a few things.
"I've changed a lot since then," he said. "My preparation, my mentality have been changed. I'm much, much wiser and 40 percent stronger.
"Vince was better than me that night, but I don't think it will happen again (if there's a rematch)."
A Tszyu-Phillips rematch has been discussed for more than a year without anything coming to pass. Now that fight is at least nine months away.
"You'll never see the Kostya Tszyu who lost that night fight again," Tszyu claims. "I did a lot of things wrong. It was a big experience for me because I never thought I was going to lose in a professional ring.
"It showed I was only human."
Since losing to Phillips, Tszyu has won his only two fights, one over former champion Calvin Grove. Earlier in his career Tszyu defeated a handful of notable fighters, including Juan LaPorte, Sammy Fuentes, Livingston Bramble, Hector Lopez and Roger Mayweather.
Ruelas, 27, has won his last nine bouts after losing to De La Hoya and George Scott in successive fights.
The pay-per-view fee for the card is $25.
Around the ring
WBA/IBF heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield has agreed to fight IBF mandatory challenger Vaughn Bean Sept. 19 in Atlanta's Georgia Dome. Showtime will televise what should be a less-than-scintillating bout. Holyfield said he would begin training in two weeks in Houston. ... Former NABF super middleweight champ Joseph Kiwanuka of Las Vegas survived a close call Tuesday in Auburn Hills, Mich., defeating Jamaica's Glen Johnson by majority decision. Kiwanuka, 26-3-2, won by four points on one judge's card and by one point on another, while the third judge had it even. Kiwanuka suffered an injured right shoulder in the 10th and final round. Johnson, 32-3, didn't like the scoring but did little to win a fight that featured a pair of boxers on two-fight losing streaks. ... On that same card, Oba Carr was a decision winner over Alfred Ankamah and kept his position as a possible opponent for De La Hoya in November. Carr, 46-2-1 despite being down six times in his pro career, started strong but settled into a lull after realizing he couldn't get Ankamah to go down. ... WBA featherweight champ Freddie Norwood of Las Vegas has accepted a Sept. 23 fight in Tokyo with Koji Matsumoto, who is unranked by any of the major organizations.
Las Vegas light heavyweight Miguel Jimenez kept his perfect record intact with a decision win Friday at The Orleans but the victory came with a price. He suffered an injured right thumb and a cut above his right eye and could be sidelined for as long as six months. ... Betting lines at the Las Vegas Hilton for the primary fights on its Aug. 28-29 cards: William Joppy minus 500, Roberto Duran plus 350; Bernard Hopkins minus 600, Robert Allen plus 400; Johnny Tapia minus 700, Carlos Hernandez plus 500; Mauricio Pastrana minus 600, Carlos Murillo plus 400. ... While the Tuesday Night Fights series on USA ends this month, ESPN has announced a 46-week series of Friday night fights beginning Oct. 2. ... Tonight on ESPN, a pair of former cruiserweight world champions square off in Louisiana, as Orlin Norris takes on Nate Miller. Norris is 48-5, Miller 30-5. ... The next local card is Aug. 22 at the Tropicana with Juan Manuel Marquez, 25-1, meeting Luiz Freitas, 13-1, in a featherweight showdown. ... At least one person gives WBC mandatory challenger Zeljko Mavrovic a chance when he faces heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis Sept. 26 in Connecticut. Jolena Balobonic, an astrology writer for a daily newspaper in Croatia, wrote that the stars are lined up in Mavrovic's favor. There's a catch, however, and it's that Balobonic is Mavrovic's girlfriend.
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