Columnist Dean Juipe: Vargas will put title on line against Marquez

Dean Juipe's boxing notebook appears Thursday. His page 1 column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at 259-4084 or juipe@ lasvegassun.com

Two good, young fighters who apparently have failed to impress one another will meet July 17 at Caesars Tahoe, as IBF junior middleweight champ Fernando Vargas has signed to face ex-champ Raul Marquez. That fight, to be held across the street from Lake Tahoe, was announced Wednesday by the televising network, HBO.

Vargas, 16-0 with 16 knockouts, will be defending the title he won from Yory Boy Campas. Marquez, 30-1 with 20 KOs, will try to regain the title he lost when Campas upset him last year.

"I never thought Marquez had great skills," Vargas said. "He has no defense. He gets hit with everything. You can outbox him or you can beat him by going toe to toe."

Marquez, who has had a problem with cuts in his career, didn't care for Vargas' comment.

"He talks a lot of s - - -," Marquez said. "He's overrated. He's gotten where he is because he's had the right opponents and the right people behind him.

"Against Campas, he ran and held. Campas was coming on as the fight wore on, but he couldn't continue because Vargas poked him in the eye.

"Fernando hypes himself too much, saying he's going to unify the junior middleweight crowns. Well, I'm going to be in great shape and I'm going to let my hands do the rest of my talking."

Vargas has already opened training in Big Bear, Calif., while Marquez said he would open training soon near his home in Houston.

* QUICK HITS: Local welterweight Roger Mayweather won his fight last Friday at the Cal-Neva in Northern Nevada, taking a majority decision over Francisco Mendez in a 10-round bout. ... Former WBA featherweight champ Freddie Norwood of Las Vegas will get another crack at the same title when he faces current champ Antonio Cermeno May 29 in Puerto Rico. But Norwood will be doing it without his usual trainer, as Kenny Adams has stepped aside. "He's self-destructing," Adams said. "I just didn't need the headaches." Miguel Diaz has replaced Adams as Norwood's trainer. ... Another member of Adams' stable, WBA super middleweight champ Frankie Liles, finally has a fight scheduled although the site remains to be determined. He'll meet Byron Mitchell on June 12. ... The Tropicana has a fight card Saturday that headlines junior welterweights Hector Quiroz (26-3-1) and Cosme Rivera (16-4-1). Also scheduled is a junior middleweight fight between Tito Mendoza (15-2) and Alfred Ankamah (18-5). First bell is 7 p.m. ... Local amateur star Jason Ingwaldson, 132 pounds, will participate in the U.S. Challenge tournament June 10-11 in Colorado Springs.

A name from the past -- Joe Lasisi -- surfaced this week when it was announced he would fight fellow cruiserweight Terry McGroom June 4 in Chicago. Lasisi, who fought fairly regularly in Las Vegas, albeit almost 10 years ago, apparently is still active at the age of 39. His listed record is 25-2 and he's somehow ranked No. 6 by the WBO -- although that lightly regarded organization misspelled his name in its latest ratings. McGroom is 17-1. ... The national Golden Gloves Championships are being held this week in Syracuse and the two Nevada representatives won their first-round fights. Mario Gaxiola, 106 pounds, of Las Vegas, won Monday, while Reno's Cedric Ferguson, 139, won Tuesday. Competition ends Sunday and each of the weight-division champions will qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials. ... Word is Mandalay Bay remains in the driver's seat for the Evand er Holyfield vs. Lennox Lewis rematch in November, although the fight may not be formally announced "for another seven to 10 days." The Las Vegas Hilton wi ll assist with the financial guarantees.

Bantamweights Johnny Tapia and Paulie Ayala passed through town Wednesday to promote their June 26 fight at Mandalay Bay. Local oddsmaker Herbie Lambeck makes Tapia a 4-1 favorite for a fight that almost assuredly goes its 12-round distance, given each man's lack of power. ... The Orleans has moved its next card from May 21 to May 28 and is hoping to have lightweights James Crayton and Justin Juuko in its main event. That said, its previous main-event hopeful -- Crayton vs. John Palaki -- was never as close to being made as was initially implied. "I don't know where they got the idea Palaki was going to fight him," Palaki's manager, George Chemeres, said from Seattle. "Palaki's not ready to fight right now and, besides, he's going to stay at featherweight." ... Without saying why, IBF bantamweight champ Tim Austin pulled out of his Saturday fight in Miami. Still on the Showtime-televised card is heavyweight contender Henry Akinwande, 34-1-1, who looks to be in easy with the unknown Najee Shaeed.

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