Columnist Dean Juipe: Morales, Kelley top card Arum touts as 'best in year s'

Dean Juipe's boxing notebook appears Thursday. His sports column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at 259-4084 or juipe@ lasvegassun.com

While it quickly became apparent at the press conference that the greatest need was for a capable interpreter, by Saturday night action will be speaking louder than words.

Top Rank has six fights scheduled that night at the Las Vegas Hilton and as promoter Bob Arum admitted, "this card could be called Kevin Kelley and the Hispanics."

Hispanic fighters dominate the pay-per-view show, which is not sold out yet has had its local blackout lifted. Headlining the card is WBC super bantamweight champion Erik Morales, who is in with late replacement Juan Carlos Ramirez.

While TV ads are dated and continue using Wayne McCullough as Morales' foe, it's Ramirez who will take on the man who Arum calls "Mexico's next great star."

That fight, along with the other five, comprise a show that Arum claims "is the best boxing card presented in the last few years. We may see more punches thrown that night than in any other boxing card in history."

That may or may not be an exaggeration, but what is sustainable is Morales' position as a budding superstar. At 22 years old, he's 32-0 with 26 knockouts and is working under a three-year, $10 million contract with Top Rank.

He won the WBC title two years ago when he survived a shaky moment with Daniel Zaragoza to win by 11th-round knockout. None of Morales' five subsequent defenses has gone beyond the eighth round.

He's a minus 800 favorite in the Hilton sports book for this one, with the round proposition at eight. Ramirez is a plus 550.

McCullough, who had to drop out of the fight due to an injured back, predicts Morales will KO Ramirez "within two rounds," yet he may also be underselling the challenger.

Ramirez, 22, is 17-1 and his only setback was a split-decision loss to WBC featherweight champ Luisito Espinosa last year. That fight was stopped in the 11th round due to Ramirez suffering a cut near his left eye, and two of the judges had Espinosa up 105-104 while the third judge had Ramirez ahead 106-104.

At any rate, it was a tough loss and one that hardly blemishes Ramirez's record.

"In a lot of ways, this is a bigger test for Morales than McCullough would have been," Arum said. "We were fortunate to find such a worthy contender."

Morales is taking it seriously, which is typical of his approach. He's also conscientious enough to have converted a recent $10,000 bonus from Top Rank into computer equipment that he donated to schools in his hometown of Tijuana.

"I give all my fights 100 percent," he said. "I know this will be a good fight, even though this is a new opponent. I don't mean to talk bad about him, but I have to win and I know I will win."

Morales not only has to win to retain his title, he needs to win to better position himself for bigger fights in the future. At the top of that list is flamboyant featherweight Naseem Hamed.

"If I could do that fight, I'd scrap all my other plans for Morales," Arum said. "But I don't realistically see Hamed fighting Morales. Hamed's running a scam in a sense in that he's not really willing to fight any really good fighters.

"He likes soft opponents."

Barring an agreement for a Morales vs. Hamed fight, Arum will put Morales in with McCullough later this year.

"That's still an attractive fight," Arum said. "I could see it happening in August."

Of course, Ramirez may interrupt any and all of those plans.

"I know it'll be a difficult fight, but that's when I like it," he said. "Our styles fit together, so it should make for a good fight. But I want to win it not only for myself and my family, but for Tijuana -- which needs a new champion."

That seemed to be a subtle dig at Morales, as Ramirez is from Juarez. Efforts to get the interpreter to elaborate were unsuccessful.

* HILTON UNDERCARD: Kelley may be the only non-Hispanic on the Hilton card, yet what's more noteworthy is that the former world champion will be fighting in Las Vegas for the first time since moving here eight months ago. He's in Saturday with veteran fringe contender Enrique Jupiter.

"People ask if I'm too old and that just inspires me to prove them wrong," Kelley said, referring to his age (almost 32) and the fact he has 54 professional fights under his belt. He won the WBC super bantamweight title in 1993 and lost it in '95, yet he remains competitive and holds a 49-3-2 record that includes 33 knockouts.

"Hopefully I'll get back on top this year," he said. "I feel like I've been pushed out in the cold, and that makes me want to punish some guys now. I'm a new man. I've been sitting back, but I never retired. My motivation is there and I'll be looking to show that desire Saturday."

Kelley is a minus 500 betting favorite, while Jupiter is a plus 350. They're scheduled for 10 rounds at 126 pounds.

Jupiter, 27, is 31-9-1 but has lost his last three fights.

There is also a second super bantamweight title fight scheduled: Nestor Garza, 33-1, vs. Carlos Barreto, 12-0-1, with Garza's WBA belt at stake.

At Wednesday's press conference, each man made reference to having studied the other via videotape. Neither, apparently, is cowering in fear in spite of the fact each is a legitimate world-class slugger.

"I saw a tape of Barreto and I studied it well," Garza said. "I also expect to beat him well."

Garza, 22, has been fighting since he was 17 and has 27 wins by knockout. He won the WBA championship by decisioning Enrique Sanchez last December.

Barreto, meanwhile, is emerging as a dangerous contender and has taken nine of his 12 wins by KO.

"I saw Garza on tape," he said. "I know he's a warrior. But after seeing the tape I think I can do a good job and win a real tough fight."

Further down the card but of considerable interest to local fans is a 10-round bout at 128 pounds between Las Vegas' Augie Sanchez and former IBF champ Jorge Paez. Sanchez is 21-1 and his contract with Top Rank expires after this fight. In all probability, he will have to defeat the 62-12-4 Paez in order to keep his spot in Top Rank's lineup.

"No doubt this is my toughest fight," Sanchez admitted. "But I think I can beat any featherweight in the world."

That remark touched a nerve with Paez.

"No pain, no gain homeboy," he said. "Right now I'm really mad. I don't see this going past five rounds."

Bettors have swung the odds Sanchez's way and he's now a minus 150 favorite after opening at even. Paez is a plus 110.

Rounding out the male portion of the card is an eight-round fight at 122 pounds between Danny Romero, 33-3, and an opponent still to be determined although Top Rank was hoping to import David Vasquez from California to fill the role.

There is also a women's fight, although it looks very one-sided. Mia St. John, 10-0, couldn't ask for an easier foil than Pamela Sepulvado, who is 0-3 and has been knocked out twice.

* QUICK HITS: Arum on his ongoing negotiations with fellow promoter Don King regarding an Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad fight for September in Las Vegas: "I'm giving King until the middle of next week or so. We can't hold up Oscar's career while Trinidad and King fight over the money." Arum has proposed giving King $10 million to keep or distribute to Trinidad as they determine. With that offer now on the table for a few weeks without any reciprocal action, Arum has already started working on a De La Hoya vs. Ike Quartey rematch in the event King and Trinidad continue dragging their feet. "I met with Quartey and his people Sunday in Los Angeles," Arum said. "If we can't do the fight with Trinidad, I know we can do it with Quartey." ... Las Vegas-based junior middleweight Manny Sobral upped his record to 26-0 and protected his No. 10 position with the WBC last Friday in Seattle by taking a decision over Rocky McCray. It was Sobral's first fight in 10 months. "His timing was off a little, but Manny looked really good," said his trainer, Jerome Coffee. "I was happy with his performance. He had McCray hurt on several occasions." Sobral, a native of Canada, will fight for the British Commonwealth title June 23 in Edmonton.

The WBC threatened to strip Roy Jones of his light heavyweight title but decided against it at a recent meeting in Mexico City. A spokesman said that because mandatory challenger Graciano Rocchigiani "didn't press the issue, the WBC has no problem" allowing Jones to fight Reggie Johnson June 5 in Biloxi instead of being forced into an overdue mandatory. ... USA Boxing's first-quarter rankings of America's top amateur fighters includes two Las Vegans: Jason Ingwaldon and Ishe Smith. Ingwaldson, 132 pounds, is ranked third, while Smith, 147, is ranked fifth. ... The next card at The Orleans, May 21, will headline lightweights James Crayton and John Palaki in what could be an interesting main event. ... Ray Olivera dropped out of his scheduled main event May 15 at the Tropicana and will, instead, likely meet world contender Zab Judah July 9 in Rhode Island. R eplacing Olivera in a fight with Hector Quiroz will be Cosme Rivera, who is 16-4-1. Quiroz is 26-3-1.

Former Las Vegas resident Greg Haugen has taken a higher profile fight than what had been coming in his way in recent years, as he'll meet another ex-champ, Tracy Patterson, June 11 in Verona, N.Y. ... Boxing reform update(s): the Muhammad Ali bill passed through its U.S. Senate committee and now goes to Congress for approval; the New York attorney general's report on the sport will require judges to make full disclosure of their personal finances; and New Jersey commissioner Larry Hazzard today will propose a modification in the scoring process that could lead to fractions being used. ... Antonio Diaz, who headlines a Friday card at The All-American SportPark, is being mentioned as a possible upcoming opponent for IBF lightweight champ Shane Mosley. ... Two former world champions coming off losses, Michael Nunn and William Guthrie, tangle Sunday in Minot, N.D., with FSN televising. Nunn is 53-4 and Guthrie is 24-1.

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