Columnist Dean Juipe: Foreman, 49, takes a risk in fighting Briggs

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Nov. 13, 1997 | 9:03 a.m.

Since his 1987 comeback after a 10-year retirement, George Foreman has been known for carefully choosing his opponents. He's not inclined to take too many risks.

Yet Foreman, now 49 years old, is gambling a bit in his old age. A week from Saturday in Ledyard, Conn., he's in with a dangerous slugger, Shannon Briggs.

HBO will televise.

"He believes in himself," Foreman said of Briggs while attending a news conference in New York. "He believes he can punch. But I've been knocked down and beat up before, so nothing can happen to me that hasn't happened before."

Foreman is 76-4 with 68 knockouts. Briggs, 25, is 29-1 with 24 KOs.

"He's a legend," Briggs said of Foreman. "He's a freak of nature, still boxing and beating younger guys.

"This is a dream come true to fight a guy like Foreman. It can change the rest of my life."

Foreman has one 1997 fight under his belt, a decision win over Lou Savarese. He's being paid $500,000 for taking on Briggs, who was once 25-0 before being upset by Darroll Wilson in March of 1996.

Wilson, a true journeyman, knocked out Briggs in the third round of a fight in which Briggs may or may not have been at full strength. He later claimed to have been winded by an asthma attack.

"If Shannon wins this fight, he'll be one of the top three or four most recognizable heavyweights in the world," said his manager, Marc Roberts. "He's excited to make amends for his loss and he knows this fight will change his life."

Foreman is a two-time former world champion on something of an endless self-promotion tour. He says he's always interested in a title fight although he relinquished his IBF championship in 1995 rather than make a mandatory defense.

"These other guys need to come to me," he said. "I don't need to come to them. I earn my living with pride."

Out of town

Two Las Vegas fighters were in action Tuesday, as lightweight David Sample met USBA champion Isreal Cardona in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and NABF cruiserweight champ Dale Brown took on Robert Folley in Montreal. The final results are mixed.

Brown, 14-0-1, gained a disqualification win at 2:43 of the sixth round when Folley persisted in hitting him behind the ear and was DQ'd.

Sample, 25-5-1, wasn't as fortunate and lost by decision in a bout that appeared closer on TV than it was actually scored. The judges had it 96-94, 97-93 and 97-93 for Cardona, 27-2. Both men overcame a lengthy delay due to a power failure in the sixth round, and the lights were never fully restored until the ninth.

Byrd watching

Opportunity knocks again for Las Vegas heavyweight Jimmy Thunder, as his Dec. 13 fight in Ledyard with unbeaten prospect Chris Byrd approaches. Thunder, 31, is coming off a May loss to Maurice Harris and was beaten by NABF champ John Ruiz earlier.

Thunder is 32-8 with 26 knockouts and is nothing at all like Byrd, 22-0 with 12 KOs. Thunder is a slugger, Byrd a mover.

"Never count a puncher out," warned Thunder's trainer, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, as his man worked out Wednesday at the Top Rank Gym. "They took the fight because they think Thunder has been counted out. But he knows what's at stake here and he'll be ready.

"He's in shape and I want him to work the body. Then he can tag Byrd when he leans forward."

HBO will televise the card, which also has Ruiz taking on Tim Witherspoon in the co-main event.

Tapia switches

It's official: Johnny Tapia has switched promoters and signed with Don King after being handled throughout his career by Bob Arum. The IBF junior bantamweight champion will debut with King Dec. 13 in Pompano Beach, Fla., against an opponent yet to be determined.

"He came to me and said, 'Don, I want to be with you,'" King said of Tapia. "I was shocked and surprised when he walked in the door. But I took care of his request."

Tapia, 30, is 41-0-2. He was in town last week and said "I'm very happy. I think this will only make my career bigger and better."

Arum, however, isn't so sure and said Tapia has been misled if he believes he's entitled to greater purses. "I know we've taken care of him over the years," he said.

Confrontation(s)

USBA cruiserweight champion Arthur Williams of Las Vegas went out of his way to get a word in with new IBF champ Imamu Mayfield following Mayfield's decision win over then-champ Uriah Grant last Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center. Williams, who has a Dec. 2 fight with ex-champ Adolpho Washington on his immediate agenda, is in position to become the mandatory challenger to Mayfield's title.

"I was sizing him up at the fight," Williams said of taking in Mayfield's lackluster victory over Grant. "After it was over and he left the ring, I hollered to him that I was next. He said he didn't think I really wanted a piece of him, and I said 'We'll see about that.' I let him know he's next for me after Washington."

Like most who saw the bout, Williams wasn't overly impressed with Mayfield.

"He has decent power and he's a boxer, but I think if he's pressured he'll fold," Williams said. "I think I can control a fight with him."

Also in a minor confrontation of sorts recently was local trainer Rafael Garcia, who is currently working with Yory Boy Campas. Campas, 68-2, meets IBF junior middleweight champ Raul Marquez, 28-0, Dec. 6 in Atlantic City. The catch is that Garcia and Marquez are acquaintances in that both work out of the Top Rank Gym, plus that's where Campas is now training.

"I've been friends with Raul, but he's mad at me now," Garcia said. "I told him it was nothing personal and that it was a business decision."

Having Garcia in his corner could prove to be very beneficial for Campas, a big hitter.

"I know how Raul fights," Garcia said. "And I know we can beat him. It's going to be a good fight, one way or the other."

Quick hits

As it turns out, nearly one-third of the people at the T&M for last Saturday's heavyweight unification bout between Evander Holyfield and Michael Moorer got in free. According to figures released by the Nevada State Athletic Department, the paid crowd was 9,417 (for a gross revenue of $5.5 million). The announced crowd was 13,200. ... No figures released yet on the pay-per-view numbers from Holyfield vs. Moorer yet it's believed to be in the area of 700,000. It was said that 900,000 was the break-even point. ... Showtime will show the replay of the T&M card Saturday at 8 p.m. ... At the same time Saturday on HBO, the movie on promoter Don King makes its debut. "It's excellent," said Las Vegas heavyweight Cliff Couser, who plays Mike Tyson in the flick. ... Couser is fighting Nov. 21 and Nov. 28 in Virginia. ... The next local card is Nov. 22 at the Tropicana with Oba Carr, 42-2-1, meeting Jesus Rodriguez, 30-10, in a 10-round welterweight main event. ... The new working date for the Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Miguel Angel Gonzalez WBC junior welterweight title fight is Feb. 21 in Mexico City. The bout was postponed from Oct. 25 due to Chavez incurring an elbow injury. ... A correction: It was erroneously stated in this space last week that heavyweight Michael Grant was once a "house fighter" for the MGM Grand. Grant was never associated with the MGM.