Columnist Dean Juipe: Some states slow to respect fed law’s punch

Dean Juipe

Thursday, July 24, 1997 | 9:22 a.m.

The bill was passed by both the House and the Senate and was signed into law last month by President Clinton, yet some states have been slow in coming to grips with every aspect of the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1997.

Marc Ratner, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, has taken it upon himself to enlighten the unenlightened -- which was Oklahoma two weeks ago and Tennessee this week.

"I was on the phone with Patrick today," Ratner said Wednesday, referring to Tennessee boxing administrator Tommy Patrick, who was quoted in a story picked up by the Associated Press as favoring a proposed fight there next month with former heavyweight champion Oliver McCall.

One problem: McCall is under suspension in Nevada, and under the recently passed boxing bill that one-year suspension is to be honored in all 50 states.

"I told him simply that Oliver is under suspension here and I expect every state to honor it," Ratner said of his conversation with Patrick. "He said they would."

But that isn't what Patrick told a Nashville reporter a day earlier when approached for a comment about McCall wanting to fight in that state in August. Just as crucial, McCall himself doesn't seem to realize his suspension blocks him from fighting anywhere in the United States.

He was immediately suspended by the NSAC for quitting in the ring during his WBC title fight with Lennox Lewis Feb. 7 at the Las Vegas Hilton. He has since agreed to a one-year suspension and a $250,000 fine, pending receipt by the NSAC of an affidavit from McCall's physician attesting to his mental competency.

Nonetheless, he was talking about fighting next month in Nashville and clearing his tarnished name.

"I'm glad I get a second chance to show I'm a better fighter and a better sportsman than that," he told The Tennessean. "I'm ready to get it behind me."

While McCall apparently is still in for a rude awakening, Ratner has brought Tennessee up to speed.

"Maybe there are just some maverick states out there looking for notoriety," he said. "There are always states-rights issues under federal bills, but this was signed by the President and the states have to adhere to federal law. It's pretty clearcut that it's a law."

That's about what Ratner had to tell Oklahoma boxing commissioner Jim Gasso two weeks ago after that state seemingly made itself available for a Mike Tyson fight or exhibition. Tyson, of course, has had his license revoked in Nevada.

"We'll permit him to do it," Gasso was quoted as saying at the time, referring to a Tyson fight. "I don't think any of the other commissioners would have a problem with this."

He was 100 percent wrong.

"Gasso has only been on the job four or five months and he said he was misquoted," Ratner said. "I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. We spoke and I told him in the spirit of the revocation, Mike Tyson cannot fight anywhere in the United States for at least a year. I told him any type of fight, even an exhibition for charity, was against the spirit of the agreement and he said he understood."

Gasso understood, just as his counterpart in Tennessee would, thanks to a little friendly persuasion.

Around the ring

* CHARLIE'S CARD: Arizona Charlie's has a card scheduled for next Wednesday and the lineup is at least tentatively set. The main event seemingly has only limited appeal as it pits two relatively unknown lightweights, Roberto Cobos and Steve Quinonez, in a 10-round match. Cobos is 19-4-1 with 14 knockouts and Quinonez is 13-2-1 with seven KOs. Also scheduled: Piere Karam, 6-0, vs. Juan Mesa, 10-4, six rounds, super middleweights; Mark Chang, 6-1, vs. Mehlet Kilic, 2-3, four rounds, lightweights; Sherman Williams, 0-1, vs. Alex Desir, 2-2, four rounds, heavyweights; and a four-round women's bout at 134 pounds between Cynthia Pouder and Odelia Rodriguez. Middleweight Frank Williams, 6-1, and lightweight Jason Hall, 1-1, may also be on the card if opponents can be found. First bell is 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $20 and $10.

* QUICK HITS: Heavyweight Cliff Couser, the Mike Tyson look-alike who lives here, thought he had a spot on the July 30 card at Charlie's and was disappointed to learn he did not. "Cross that off, I guess," he said, hoping now that an Aug. 12 date in Phoenix holds up and that he can get his boxing career in motion. He's playing Tyson in an HBO-produced movie on promoter Don King that is due out this fall. ... The WBA will hold its annual convention Oct. 1-4 in Las Vegas. The Rio is the host hotel. ... Heavyweights Lennox Lewis and Andrew Golota are on for Oct. 4 at the Convention Center in Atlantic City. Lewis will earn $7 million and Golota $2 million for the pay-per-view bout. ... Reno-based referee Mills Lane is profiled in the new issue of Sports Illustrated, which is on the stands today. ... WBC junior middleweight champ Terry Norris makes his first fight for Top Rank Aug. 8 in Kansas City when he takes on Danny Trevino in a bout to be televised by ESPN. Norris is 45-6 and Trevino 21-2. ... The next day, Aug. 9, new IBF junior welter champ Vince Phillips, 36-3, of Las Vegas, makes his first title defense. He's in with Mickey Ward, 30-7, in Boston with ABC televising. ... Las Vegas-based WBA super middleweight champ Frankie Liles had a tough time with Zafarou Ballogou before earning a decision win last Saturday in Nashville. "I was never hurt but my corner told me to be careful," Liles said after improving to 31-1. ... On that same card, the IBF bantamweight title changed hands as Tim Austin, 16-0-1, surprised Mbulelo Botile, 21-1, with an eighth-round knockout. ... IBF featherweight champ Naseem Hamed may relinquish his title rather than face mandatory challenger Hector Lizarraga, who recently topped a card at Arizona Charlie's. It's not that Hamed is leery of Lizarraga, said Hamed's promoter, Frank Warren, "it's because Lizarraga is not a good match. He has lost eight fights and drawn five and I don't feel comfortable about promoting it. This is not the type of fight we're looking for. We can say to the IBF, 'Keep your belt' and we'll go elsewhere." ... The periodical Boxing Update reports that a Portuguese featherweight by the name of Manuel Fatima Dias won a recent fight against Romania's Vezetui Marius. It's newsworthy for this reason alone: Dias came into the bout with a record of 0-20-2. ... On TV Monday from Los Angeles: Jorge Eliecer Julio, 36-1, vs. Oscar Maldonado, 17-5-2, for the WBO bantamweight title.