Columnist Dean Juipe: Douglas, Toney injuries cut Top Rank stable

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Oct. 9, 1997 | 8:09 a.m.

First Buster Douglas goes down.

Then James Toney.

Add in renewed rumors concerning Johnny Tapia's unhappiness and it's a good thing Top Rank's stable of professional fighters is deep. Douglas is out of his Saturday fight, Toney is out of his Tuesday fight and Tapia is balking at accepting a Nov. 7 date, leaving Top Rank not so much on the ropes but temporarily shorthanded.

Douglas, the former heavyweight champion, was scheduled to face NABF champion John Ruiz in Connecticut but that HBO-televised fight was called off when Douglas suffered ligament damage in his right hand while sparring in Ohio last Thursday. If nothing else, it's a minor setback that delays promoter Bob Arum's plans to get Douglas in with a world champion like Lennox Lewis or Evander Holyfield.

"We're so disappointed," Arum said. "He got hurt on his last day of serious training. It's a real blow because we figure he beats Ruiz and then we can go after Lewis.

"All that's off at least for now."

Arum said Douglas' condition would be assessed again in three weeks and perhaps the fight with Ruiz can be rescheduled for December. For his part, Douglas continues to angle for a fight with Holyfield even though one with Lewis may be more realistic.

"I gave him a chance when I had the title," Douglas said of Holyfield, who needed only three rounds to knock out then-champion Douglas in 1990. "I could have defended against a chump back then but I didn't. I gave him a chance and now I'm hoping he stands up and does the same for me."

No sooner had the shock of Douglas' injury been absorbed in the Top Rank offices when news arrived earlier this week that Toney had broken his right hand while sparring in preparation for his Tuesday USA-televised fight in Idaho with fellow cruiserweight Kenny Keene. No definitive word yet on the former light heavyweight world champion's recovery prospects.

There's also no definitive word on whether Tapia will continue to fight for Top Rank -- Arum says his contract with the IBF junior bantamweight champion is good through March -- or bolt to rival promoter Don King, a prospective move a Tapia confidant reiterated this week.

"I don't know if we've reconciled because as far as I'm concerned there wasn't a need for reconciliation," Arum said of the situation with Tapia (and his manager/wife, Teresa). "I know I have a contract with him and I know no one is going to pay him any more than I've been paying him."

Arum is working on getting Tapia on an ESPN show in Albuquerque Nov. 7.

Around the ring

The undercard for the Nov. 8 show that headlines with Evander Holyfield vs. Michael Moorer at the Thomas & Mack Center is finally taking shape. A spokesman for Don King Productions said three bouts were secure: Nate Miller, 30-4, vs. Fabrice Tiozzo, 36-1, for Miller's WBA cruiserweight title; Uriah Grant, 26-12, vs. Imamu Mayfield for Grant's IBF cruiserweight title; and Wilfredo Vasquez, 50-7-3, vs. Genaro Rios for Vasquez's WBA featherweight title. ... NABF cruiserweight champion Dale Brown of Las Vegas improved to 13-0-1 with a first-round knockout of Bobby Crabtree last Saturday in Calgary. Crabtree, 52-30, was stopped at 2:09. ... Ex-heavyweight champ Michael Dokes of Las Vegas fights Rocky Phillips Saturday in Erlinger, Ky. ... Another ex-heavyweight champ, Leon Spinks, is signing autographs Saturday and Sunday at the Fiesta casino hotel. He'll be there from noon to 2 p.m. each day; there is an autograph fee. ... Las Vegas cruiserweight John McClain is recovering from a broken ankle. He hopes to be back in the ring by December. ... Las Vegan Sterling McPherson on heavyweight contender Frans Botha filing for arbitration to dissolve their manager-fighter relationship: "All I can say is that he obviously doesn't feel management was doing all it could for him, but I think it'll work itself out." ... McPherson, who also has WBC middleweight champ Keith Holmes, said he's looking to get his man's mandatory with Hassine Cherifi of France out of the way before re-signing to fight ex-champ Paul Vaden. (The Holmes-Vaden fight was set for Oct. 25 in Mexico City but was scrapped when the Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Miguel Angel Gonzalez main event was postponed.) "I've got to keep Keith busy," McPherson said.

Bam Promotions has heavyweight Jeremy Williams scheduled to headline its next card, Oct. 28 at The Orleans. ... The Nevada Partners Gym will host a Nevada vs. Utah amateur card Saturday at 6 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children under 12. ... One fight, different numbers: Caesars Palace has Oscar De La Hoya up at a --1000 for his Dec. 6 fight in Atlantic City with Wilfredo Rivera, while Leroy's has the WBC welterweight champ at a --1500. Rivera is +750 at Caesars and +1000 at Leroy's. "This is the first time I've seen a guy who's coming in to beat him," De La Hoya's trainer, Emanuel Steward, said of Rivera. "I've seen enough of him to know he can fight." ... Terry Norris will take on Keith Mullings on the Dec. 6 undercard and if he and De La Hoya both win, promoter Bob Arum confirmed this week they'll fight next April at Caesars Palace. ... Also on that undercard is the once-delayed Raul Marquez vs. Yory Boy Campas bout. ... HBO will rebroadcast the Lennox Lewis vs. Andrew Golota fight Saturday at 11 p.m. Lewis won the Atlantic City bout last Saturday with a first-round TKO. ... WBC light heavyweight champ Roy Jones has shifted his attention to former WBO champ Steve Collins and is trying to arrange a bout that likely would be held in Great Britain. "The fight can be made," said Jones' publicist, Greg Fritz. ... The next Las Vegas fight card is Oct. 18 at the Tropicana with junior welterweights Hector Lopez and Angel Beltre headlining.