Columnist Dean Juipe: Jones 15-1 favorite vs. outclassed Del Valle

DEAN JUIPEis a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter. His office phone number is 259-4084. He can be reached on the Internet at [email protected]

It could be a dull, short-lived fight: A southpaw counterpuncher with only moderate power up against a skilled, strong contender for boxing's pound-for-pound honors.

Lou Del Valle vs. Roy Jones? It's 15-to-1 for Jones in Las Vegas even if Del Valle feels he's up to the challenge.

"I'm not saying I'm a great fighter but I have the right style to beat Roy Jones," Del Valle said this week at a press conference in New York, where he and Jones will fight Saturday. HBO will televise the bout and its companion attraction, Kevin Kelley vs. Derrick Gainer, from the 5,600-seat Madison Square Garden Theater.

Del Valle, 27-1 with 19 knockouts, is the WBA light heavyweight champion.

Jones, 36-1 with 31 KOs, is the WBC champion at 175 pounds.

The unification bout is worth $4 million for Jones and $850,000 -- or six times his previous best purse -- for Del Valle.

"Del Valle has been saying he wants me, but now that he's got me what's he going to do with me?" Jones asked.

That's a good question, although Del Valle says he has the answer. He believes the 38 rounds he sparred with Jones prior to the latter's fight with Antoine Byrd in 1995 will serve him well once the bell rings.

"People in his camp know I held my own against him," Del Valle said. "He hit me with some good shots but I hit him with some good shots. I made him think about it."

Jones disputes Del Valle's recollection.

"The first day of sparring I hit him with an overhand right and almost knocked him out," Jones said. "The last day we sparred, I was supposed to put a beating on him but I went light instead. I didn't want to hurt him.

"I didn't want him to think I was trying to kill him."

Jones, 29, is a three-time world champion at three weights and is coming off a fourth-round knockout of Virgil Hill in April. The lone loss on Jones' record came by disqualification to Montell Griffin last year.

Del Valle's lone loss came to Hill, although he had Hill on the canvas in the second round before losing their 1996 fight by decision. Del Valle -- who turns 30 Monday -- has won five fights since, four by knockout, and is coming off a victory over Eddy Smulders last September that gave him the WBA title.

"Every night I dream about this fight," Del Valle said.

They almost had a prelim Tuesday at the press conference, as Jones made a threatening gesture toward Del Valle as the two discussed the fighting abilities of their Rottweiler dogs.

"That was stupid," Del Valle said of Jones' aggressive behavior. "What if he had gotten hurt? If he was trying to scare me, it didn't work."

The Jones-Del Valle fight was put together last month for HBO when scheduled headliner Naseem Hamed pulled out with an injury. The Kelley vs. Gainer co-feature is a rematch of a 1995 fight in which both men were down before Kelley won by knockout in the eighth.

The winner could go on to fight Hamed, perhaps in Las Vegas Oct. 31 and perhaps at Cashman Field.

Foreman-Holmes

By the time they step into the ring Jan. 23, George Foreman and Larry Holmes will be a combined 99 years old. They'll be two ex-heavyweight champions looking to settle an old score.

And the attraction is significant enough that Foreman will be paid $10 million and Holmes $4 million for a bout that doesn't yet have a site, although one will be announced in September.

Las Vegas, naturally, is in the running for the fight, as is New York City.

"It's one of those things that should have happened a long time ago," Foreman said Wednesday at a press conference in New York. "But I'm happy it didn't because it'll mean more now. This fight will lead the nation into the next millennium."

The hyperbole was typically Foreman.

"I'd like to wake up one morning and be old like everybody else," he added. "Except I keep looking in the mirror and saying, 'Go for it, George.' But I can only take so much money."

Foreman, 76-5, said he'll come into the ring between 227 and 235 pounds.

Holmes, 66-6, figures to weigh around 245.

"I'll go in there as a 50-year-old man who's a conditioned athlete," Foreman said. "If I can get out and really function at 50, people will say, 'Hey, I can do such and such too.' I want to set a good example."

The two have never fought although a 1976 bout was in the works before Foreman broke a thumb during a fight with Roy Williams. At that time, Holmes was a future champion while Foreman was an ex-champion who would go on to regain the heavyweight title.

"It's about pride," Holmes said of taking the fight. "George doesn't want to go out there and lose and either do I. There's a lot of pride at stake here."

Charlie's card

At 27 years old, Alejandro Montiel is looking to re-position himself as a challenger in the flyweight division after losing a title try to IBF champ Mark Johnson last year. With four victories since that decision defeat, he has risen to No. 4 in the WBC rankings.

Montiel, 37-3, headlines Saturday's card at Arizona Charlie's as he takes on Julio Coronel in a 12-round bout. First bell is 6:30 p.m. for a card that includes six other fights.

Montiel has to be encouraged by perhaps his most significant victory, a decision over fellow challenger Ysaias Zamudio March 14 at Charlie's. He has fought once since.

Coronel, 18-12-1, has somehow landed two world-title fights despite his mediocre record. He was beaten by Michael Carbajal in 1996 and Saman Sorjaturong last year.

He has also lost his most recent fight, to one Manuel Herrera in Miami.

The remainder of the card includes: Francisco Espitia, 11-0, vs. Leonardo Gutierrez, 15-8, 10 rounds, junior bantamweights; Gustavo Soto, 14-7, vs. Mario Ortiz, 7-5-1, eight rounds, junior middleweights; Roger Medal, 5-0, vs. William Abelyian, 3-2, six rounds, junior lightweights; Willie Stewart, 3-0, vs. Augustin Montano, 0-3, four rounds, middleweights; Noe Barron, 2-1, vs. Felipe Bautista, 0-1, four rounds, junior welterweights; and a women's match between Copitzi Mendivil, 5-2, and Angela Ramirez, 2-0.

Around the ring

Trainer Kenny Adams on why his man, Kennedy McKinney, has been bypassed as the likely opponent for Naseem Hamed in October: "It would have been a real good fight but I think they know McKinney's right hand is too dangerous. I think they see him as a threat more than anything. I can't think of any other reason Hamed's people wouldn't take it, because it's an attractive fight otherwise." ... Local welterweight Ray Lovato had his fight in Fresno, originally scheduled for Friday, pushed back to a spot later in the month. ... WBA super middleweight champ Frankie Liles of Las Vegas is shopping himself around and looking for a new promoter. His contract with Don King Productions has expired and Liles, 32-1, appears to be headed elsewhere. He last fought in April. ... IBF junior welterweight champ Vince Phillips of Las Vegas is scheduled to defend his title Aug. 6 in Louisiana against Hector Quiroz but that fight -- already delayed once by Phillips' bad knee -- is likely to be delayed again. He has fluid on the knee and may be in need of a longer rest. "His manager says he's OK but I've got someone else ready to go if he can't make it," said Top Rank matchmaker Bruce Trampler. "To be forewarned is to be forearmed." ... WBC junior middleweight champ Keith Mullings has had his July 26 defense against Shibata Flores postponed due to a shoulder injury. That fight, due to be televised by ABC, did not have a site.

The Oscar De La Hoya and Julio Cesar Chavez press tour, which was to have stopped in eight cities, has been reduced to two. They'll be in Los Angeles today and at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on Friday. The expense of the larger tour -- said to be $500,000 -- led to the reduction. ... Has Azumah Nelson retired after losing to James Leija last Saturday in San Antonio? "Maybe yes, maybe no," Nelson said. "I have to go home (to Ghana) to think about it." ... The Reno Hilton hosted a card last Saturday and former world champ Frank Tate won the 10-round main event at 180 pounds, defeating Emmett Hughes in the seventh round. Las Vegas heavyweight Friday Ahunanya was on that same card and took a KO-3 win over Tahavalu Samiu. ... Former amateur star Fernando Sanchez hopes to revitalize his career after running afoul of the law. "He's still got it," said his father, Juan. "He's clean and he's looking good. I think people will see a big difference in him." Fernando, 25, fights at 135 pounds and hopes to have a bout in town yet this summer. ... It's almost unprecedented for a small local card to be delayed a month simply because a main-event participant is injured, but that's what the Tropicana did when Jorge Paez had to have oral surgery last week. So the entire card, to be televised back to Southern California on KCAL, has been bumped from July 25 to Aug. 22 in a sign of respect for Paez's ability to pull down big ratings.

Former world champ Carl Daniels, 40-3, moved himself back into the junior middleweight picture by dominating once-beaten prospect Purcell Miller Tuesday in Mississippi. Daniels won the USBA title in the process. ... A perennial challenger to political office in Reno, Sam Dehne, has filed a complaint with the Nevada Attorney General's office against Nevada State Athletic Commission member Luther Mack. Mack and his fellow commissioners voted unanimously to prevent Dehne from taking part in an exhibition fight with referee Mills Lane. Dehne claims Mack should have excused himself from the voting due to political favors he has received from Dehne's opponent for mayor in Reno, Jeff Griffin. ... Ever wonder what happened to Magic Johnson and his plans to promote fights in Nevada? "I still haven't received his papers yet," NSAC executive director Marc Ratner said, indicating Johnson's application and zest for promoting might not be as strong as he claimed earlier this year. ... Heavyweight bad boy Andrew Golota is back in the ring and on TV Tuesday, as he takes on Corey Sanders in Atlantic City. Golota is 30-3, with two of the losses by disqualification. Sanders is 16-5. ... Local junior lightweight Justin Juuko said he was hopeful of landing a fight in town and he'll get his wish July 31 when Bam Promotions uses him in its main event at The Orleans. Juuko, ranked in the top 10 by all three major organizations, is 32-1-1 and will take on Hector Arroyo, 17-5. He has also signed to face Cuba's Ramon Ledon in September at a site yet to be determined. Unbeaten light heavyweight Miguel Jimenez of Las Vegas adds to The Orleans card.

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