Thursday, April 9, 1998 | 9:42 a.m.
DEAN JUIPE is a Las Vegas SUN sportswriter. His office phone number is 259-4084. He can be reached on the Internet at [email protected]
He's a new father, the contract dispute he had with his manager has been settled and Wayne McCullough finally has a fight scheduled. That's all good and welcome news for the former IBF bantamweight champion from Las Vegas.
Yet ... he's not crazy about the way he has been treated by his manager, Mat Tinley of America Presents, and he's less than ecstatic about his lack of input in choosing his opponent for his first fight in 15 months, April 17 in Uncasville, Conn.
As it stands, McCullough apparently will face Hartford's Luigi Camputaro in a 10-round fight to be televised by Fox Sports Net.
"I guess it's Camputaro," McCullough said this week before working out at the Nevada Partners gym. "He's not really a tough guy but he's good enough that we were once scheduled to fight and I was going to get $500,000."
An injury to his eardrum prevented McCullough from taking that original fight with Camputaro, and an additional injury to his jaw has played a role in keeping him sidelined since January of last year. Needless to say, his purse for his fight next week won't be anywhere near a half-million dollars.
"You never know what's going on behind the scenes," McCullough said, "but I think America Presents doesn't want to pay any money to fly anyone in to fight me.
"Really, I think Mat should be looking out for me. I wish he would have said to me, 'here's a list of three potential opponents and you pick one.' I don't need to be taking any chances. I want to fight once a month for three or four months and then face (WBC 122-pound champ Erik) Morales.
"I don't need to go 10 or 12 hard rounds with anyone and get cut or hurt my hands. I have bad hands anyway, and any fighter going 12 rounds is going to hurt his hands."
That said, he's anxious to fight after a long layoff -- one made longer by a contract dispute with Tinley that McCullough says is "OK" for now although "things will have to change if he wants to keep me in two years" when the contract expires.
"I've done enough sparring to last me 10 fights," he said, adding with a laugh that "I've been in the gym and sparring so long I need a vacation."
He admits "I'll be hyper" when the bell rings at the Connecticut Indian resort and he fights for the first time since his lone professional loss, to Daniel Zaragoza in January of '97.
"I need to get the feel of the ring and get my confidence back," McCullough said. "I need three or four fights with the right opponents to be ready for Morales."
With a victory next week, the 20-1 McCullough -- whose wife, Cheryl, presented him with a baby daughter last week -- will fight again May 18 at a site and against an opponent still be to determined.
The Adams Family
The number of legitimate and current world champions living in Las Vegas is up to four after Freddie Norwood claimed the vacant IBF featherweight title with a decision win over ex-champ Antonio Cermeno last Friday in Puerto Rico. Norwood, originally of St. Louis, joins WBA super middleweight Frankie Liles, IBF junior welterweight Vince Phillips and IBF junior bantamweight Johnny Tapia as world champions who live here.
Norwood, Liles -- who defended his title on that same card in Puerto Rico -- and Phillips are trained by Kenny Adams. His men have now won an almost unbelievable 17 straight title fights.
Adams had his hands full in Puerto Rico, however, as Norwood had only two weeks' notice for his fight with Cermeno, and Liles had to lose six pounds the day of the weigh-in for his fight with Andrei Schkalikov.
"Freddie was only about 60 percent physically," Adams said. "But he used his strength well and worked the body and put some pressure on Cermeno. It all worked out and it was a pretty one-sided fight."
Norwood, 28-0-1, and Cermeno, 29-2, were contesting a title that came open just last month when Wilfredo Vazquez relinquished his belt.
Liles, 32-1, recovered from his weight-loss troubles and survived tough third and 10th rounds to defeat Schkalikov, 29-4-1, by 8, 1 and 1 points on the judges' cards.
"He had some difficulties and I can blame myself too," Adams said of Liles. "He's having a hard time making 168 pounds these days. He may have to go up to 175 or, if we stay at 168, he'll have to start earlier in making weight.
"The way it went, he had no snap on his punches. Losing the weight definitely took a toll on him, although he did win the fight."
The Foul Pole
Poland's Andrew Golota -- known as the Foul Pole for his two disqualification losses (in fights he was winning) against Riddick Bowe -- is back in the ring Tuesday on the USA cable network. It's Golota's first fight since a first-round knockout loss to Lennox Lewis in October in Atlantic City.
Golota, 28-3 with 25 knockouts, will face Eli Dixon, 19-3-1 with 14 KOs, in a 10-round heavyweight bout in Ledyard, Conn.
During a recent conference call, Golota said he made a mistake in taking an injection of the painkiller lidocaine the afternoon of his fight with Lewis.
"I was in a dream," he said of how he felt in the ring. "I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know it was going to have that much effect on me."
Aside from losing and further damaging his reputation, Golota was also fined $5,000 by the New Jersey Athletic Control Board for secretly taking the lidocaine.
"We still believe he's one of the best heavyweights in the world," said his promoter, Dino Duva. Should Golota win -- and he should, given Dixon's borderline talents -- he'll go again May 8, perhaps in his native Poland.
Around the ring
Preparing for his April 18 fight in Los Angeles, unbeaten Las Vegan Floyd Mayweather has been getting some serious sparring with his uncles, Roger and Jeff, at the Ringside Gym. The give-and-take rounds with Roger have prompted the 36-year-old former champion to consider un-retiring. "I can see I still have the skills I always had and I feel like a young man again," he said. Added his trainer, Tyrone Boone: "Roger can definitely be a world champion again. I'd say he's almost sharper than ever." ... Jeff Mayweather was to have headlined that Los Angeles card against Antonio Diaz, but he pulled out when he knew he couldn't make the 140-pound weight limit. "I'm too heavy," he said. "I'm not fooling myself and taking some fight just to be fighting. I'm at the point in my career where I'm not going to take any stupid risks. What I'd like is one more good fight." ... Another local fighter working toward a comeback is heavyweight Mike Hunter. "I've been off two years but I can still beat anyone in the division," he said. "I'm begging for a fight. I feel good and I needed to take a hiatus from the sport after being in it for 25 years." ... Still another local heavyweight on something of a comeback is B.J. Bonkavich, who is hoping to fight on the next Bam Promotions card, April 17. "I'm looking for 10-round fights," he said. "There are some guys out there I know I can beat," he added, mentioning Ed Mahone, Michael Grant and Lance Whitaker by name. "I'll beat 'em all," Bonkavich said. "I used to spar with Grant and I'd always drop him in the gym."
In a career-saving fight Tuesday night in Cherokee, N.C., Las Vegas-based heavyweight Jimmy Thunder took a convincing unanimous decision over ex-champ Tim Witherspoon. Thunder, 32, improved to 33-9 after losing three of his previous four fights. Witherspoon, 40, dropped to 46-7 and may be forced into retirement. ... The Orleans will host regional Golden Gloves competition Friday and Saturday, 6 p.m. each day. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children. ... Heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield is on ESPN at 10 p.m. tonight talking about his career on the Classic Sports Network show. ... Local light heavyweight Rocky Gannon, 29-7, has taken a May 16 fight in Boise with Kenny Keene, 41-3. ... IBF junior middleweight champ Yory Boy Campas, mentioned as a possible future opponent for Oscar De La Hoya, had a change of heart and backed out of a June 25 fight in Connecticut with Dana Rosenblatt. ... De La Hoya, incidentally, has jury duty this week in Downey, Calif. ... Current odds at Caesars Palace for upcoming fights of interest: Naseem Hamed minus 600, Wilfredo Vazquez plus 475, April 18 in England; Roy Jones minus 600, Virgil Hill plus 475, April 25 in Mississippi; Shane Mosley minus 450, John John Molina plus 350, May 9 in New Jersey; and Evander Holyfield minus 550, Henry Akinwande plus 425, June 6 in New York. ... No word yet on the participants in the next local card, April 17 at The Orleans, but the Arizona Charlie's card the following night, April 18, has taken shape and will headline with cruiserweights Rudy Nix, 17-3-1, and Cesar Rendon, 9-8-1. Light heavyweights Derrick James, 15-3, and Juan Meza, 9-7-1, are in the semi-main event. The remaining four bouts are women's matches.
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