Thursday, Nov. 13, 2003 | 10:05 a.m.
Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4084.
When it opened eight years ago, it was heralded not only for its benefits as a community center and job-training site, but as an outlet for boys and girls looking to learn about boxing or just stay busy during their free time.
But the Nevada Partners facility near the corner of West Lake Mead and Martin Luther King in North Las Vegas has changed hands and evolved, and its association with the sport of boxing is about to come to an end.
"We've got until April 1 to get out," a disgusted Richard Steele said Wednesday. "Can you believe that? I've got 200 kids who come here every week and yet they're throwing us out.
"This is ridiculous. It'll just put kids back out on the street."
Nevada Partners, which opened to considerable public fanfare, was initially built and financed by the nonprofit Lindsay Foundation that was associated with the MGM Grand casino-hotel in Las Vegas. But the foundation has since liquidated this asset and sold it to the Culinary Union.
Last January the union provided Steele with blueprints for a larger, masterplanned complex on the same grounds that would include a new boxing gym -- at a cost of $250,000 -- to be built behind the existing facility. But last Friday the union told Steele that it "didn't have the money" for the new gym and that it not only would not be built, but that it was confiscating the area that is currently serving as a boxing gym and that it will use that area for additional culinary-related activities.
"This is a bad situation and I'm looking for some help," said Steele, a former referee who has run the gym since its inception. "If anything, we've outgrown this gym. But now the Culinary wants to take it from us and not give us anything to replace it.
"This is a place where kids could go not only to stay out of trouble, but to become good citizens. I come across young people all the time who have come through this gym and gone on to obtain good jobs.
"Now all I can do is try to find us a new home."
The boxing gym at Nevada Partners has been the busiest in the city for several years, housing countless professional fighters as well as amateurs.
News of its impending closure was greeted with disbelief by most of its regulars.
"They can't do that to the dreams of so many kids," said former world champion Mike McCallum, who trains pro and amateur fighters at the gym. "Most kids get into trouble because of peer pressure, and this is a place where kids can come to get away from that kind of negative thing.
"If they can't come here, they're not going to have anywhere else to go."
Terry has not provided a bout sheet to media outlets, but one was obtained from the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Scheduled: Romaro Johnson, 7-1-1, vs. Glen Rayburn, 11-2-1, 10 rounds, super middleweights; Rodrigo Aranda, 3-4, vs. Jose Maria Rosas, 4-2, six rounds, lightweights; Yamplier Azcu Diaz, 4-0, vs. Germaine Thedford, pro debut, four rounds, heavyweights; Dante Craig, 8-2, vs. an opponent yet to be determined, eight rounds, middleweights; Anna Maria Torres, 9-0-1, vs. Ada Velez, 4-1-1, eight rounds, women bantamweights; and Marisha Siauw, 20-5-1, vs. Kelly Whaley, 4-11, four rounds, women welterweights.
Eight of the nine fighters scheduled to appear that were listed on a flyer inside the casino last week have been deleted from the card. First bout is 7 p.m.
Jimmy Condon, a boxing referee with 22 years of experience (including 17 years officiating pro fights) has moved to Las Vegas and is hoping to be retained by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. "I'd love to be a referee here," he said. "I'm waiting for the phone to ring to give me the good news." Condon, 46, has interviewed with the NSAC and may get his wish. ... Local heavyweight Cliff Couser says he has taken a Nov. 27 fight in Ukraine. ... Heavyweights Derek Bryant, 17-1, and Jovo Pudar, 21-1, headline the Nov. 22 card at Lake Tahoe promoted by Cedric Kushner. Local heavyweight Sione Asipeli, 17-9, and local super middleweight Joey Gilbert, 4-0, also have spots on the card.
HBO Sports reports last Saturday's Roy Jones Jr. vs. Antonio Tarver fight at Mandalay Bay drew 250,000 pay-per-view buys and generated $11.5 million in PPV revenue. HBO will replay the fight Saturday at 6:45 p.m. ... UNLV's club boxing team had five of its members participate in a recent fund-raising exhibition and head coach Skip Kelp came away heartened by what he saw, particularly with his returning 145-pounder, David Bermudez. "He's my man for this year," Kelp said. "I like the way the team looks and David is our best bet for a national championship."
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