Coggi bows out of bout

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, May 14, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Frankie Randall has seen enough of Juan Coggi in the last year and a half to all but compile a dossier on him. And the common thread between the items is Randall's suspicion that Coggi is, at best, an opportunistic faker.

So a Monday rumor that Coggi, the World Boxing Association junior welterweight champ, was sick and might not be able to fight Saturday at The Mirage failed to amuse the ready-and-waiting Randall.

"You get all kinds of excuses from a person like Coggi," Randall said as his trainer, Aaron Snowell, taped his hands prior to working out at the Golden Gloves Gym. "This being sick business is a big act, too. I'm not paying any attention to it."

But it appears he'll have to. Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Marc Ratner said today the Coggi-Randall bout has been canceled due to sinus infection reportedly suffered by Coggi.

"Dr. (Robert) Voy saw him yesterday. He hasn't trained for 10 days," Ratner said today, confirming cancellation of the WBA championship fight.

The IBF welterweight title fight between Felix Trinidad and Freddie Pendleton moves to the top of the bill.

"What's this about Coggi being sick?" Pendleton asked Randall after completing his Monday workout. Assured that Randall, at least, didn't place any credence in the report, Pendleton made a statement that reflects the beliefs of many boxing observers.

"You're the champion as far as I'm concerned," he told Randall.

Uncrowned as he may be, Randall will have to wait for a chance to rectify that indignity. Randall decisioned Coggi Sept. 17, 1994, at the MGM, then lost the rematch by technical decision Jan. 13 in Miami. The bruising fight ended with Coggi claiming he was unable to continue after an accidental head butt.

"Maybe I should have fell down, too," Randall said of Coggi's post-fourth round hi-jinks last January, when the Argentinian slumped in his corner and said he couldn't continue. Ahead on the judges' cards at the time, thanks to the referee ruling a third-round Randall slip was actually a knockdown, Coggi reclaimed the WBA belt Randall had held since their previous fight.

"The reason he did it was simply that he wanted that title back and he saw the head butt as a convenient excuse," Randall said. "But he was the one initiating all the butting. When he saw a chance, he laid down. He quit. He played dead."

By hook or crook, Coggi has managed to keep his career alive at Randall's expense.

"I've got to get rid of this guy," Randall said. "Aside from putting a damper on my career and doing something that doesn't show any respect for the sport of boxing, I can't make any money fighting him. I need to get him out of the way and get things back in order."

Randall, 52-4-1, was a 4-to-1 favorite over the 70-3-2 Coggi. Each man is 34 years old.

Aside from the fights with Coggi, Randall is best known as the only man who has defeated Julio Cesar Chavez. Unfortunately from Randall's perspective, he was never fully able to capitalize on that historic 1994 victory, suffering a bizarre technical-decision loss in their rematch before being thrust into this informal series with Coggi.

"I've had more than my share of setbacks," Randall said. "But I enjoy what I do and I'm motivated by feeling I still have something to prove."