Las Vegas fighter cruising for Title

Dean Juipe

Friday, Jan. 2, 1998 | 10:09 a.m.

They have almost identical records and they're virtually the same age.

But what separates Arthur Williams and his Tuesday opponent in Bay St. Louis, Miss., Adolpho Washington, is the little matter of a world championship. Washington, 31, has had one. Williams, 33, has not.

And the loser next week can forget about ever ascending to the top of the cruiserweight division.

"I'm underpaid and overdue," Williams said, taking up his own cause. "I've fought for a long time and never ducked anybody. I think I deserve a world championship, or at least another shot at one."

Williams, a Pensacola, Fla., native who has lived in Las Vegas for almost a decade, is 27-4-1 and holds a respectable minor title. He's the USBA champion, which ordinarily leads to a shot at the IBF champion, currently Imamu Mayfield.

Washington, a former IBF champ, is 26-4-2 but coming off perhaps a telltale performance when he was defeated by Uriah Grant last summer.

"Grant was definitely on the way out and if he can beat Washington, I don't feel I should have a problem," Williams said. "Besides, he's trying to take something from me and I won't let it happen."

The 12-round bout is the main event of a card to be televised by the USA cable network. Local air time is 9 p.m.

Williams will leave this weekend for Mississippi and said he expects to have more than a few friends and relatives make the trip from Pensacola to the casino port of Bay St. Louis.

There is no Las Vegas betting line on the fight but it figures to be a close one unless Washington is, in fact, over the hill.

"One thing about Arthur, he can punch," said his trainer, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. "I think he's the hardest punching cruiserweight out there. I think he wins this fight handily."

But it's an especially risky fight for Williams, given his position as the USBA champ and its link to the IBF. A loss would be devastating and would clearly bump him from consideration for a 1998 fight with Mayfield.

"I know that," Williams said. "But I feel I'm a better fighter than I ever was. Physically, and mentally too, I'm at a peak."

He has had two world-title fights but was turned back both times by Orlin Norris. Their first meeting was very close and a rematch was called for, although Norris won that fight convincingly.

Williams has since regrouped, and noteworthy victories over Rick Rufus and Steve Little rejuvenated him.

"Arthur's been on a high ever since beating Rufus," Muhammad said. "The bottom line with this fight is to win and look good doing it."

Neither Muhammad nor Williams quite knows what to expect from Washington.

"I always thought of him as a front-runner," Muhammad said. "He'll try to bully you around if you let him. But if Arthur stays busy and applies pressure, it'll take the fight out of him."

While Williams said he prefers to mix it up with Washington, he feels he's prepared to go a few rounds if need be.

"I've worked hard for this fight and trained the right way," he said. "If he wants to try and put some pressure on me, we'll go home early. If not, I'll pace myself a little bit and try to set him up with certain combinations.

"Either way, I feel I'll take him out at least by one of the later rounds."