Columnist Dean Juipe: De La Hoya won’t find much of a test against Charpentier

Dean Juipe

Thursday, June 11, 1998 | 10:48 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 juipe@lasvegassun.com

His schedule is set, as if he's on a concert tour.

The first leg is Saturday in El Paso, as Oscar De La Hoya takes on Patrick Charpentier. Assuming, of course, that he doesn't lose and doesn't suffer any injuries at any of these stops along the way, De La Hoya is also booked for Sept. 18 in Las Vegas with Julio Cesar Chavez and Nov. 21 in Las Vegas with Yory Boy Campas. The dates are tentative beyond that but De La Hoya will face either Frankie Randall or Oba Carr in February and, at long last, Felix Trinidad next May.

One certainty: Charpentier won't sidetrack the De La Hoya locomotive. The Frenchman is 27-4-1 yet some Las Vegas sports books are refusing to post a betting line on the fight as they feel it's too one-sided. Where it is available, De La Hoya is apt to be found at a minus 1700.

In a telltale remark that reflects De La Hoya's confidence, he said "we have video (of Charpentier) but I haven't watched it."

Obviously, he's not too worried about this defense of his WBC welterweight title or blemishing his 27-0 record.

"I've had a very smooth training camp," De La Hoya said during a conference call. "I'm injury-free and I feel pretty good. I've had six weeks to get ready for this guy and I've sparred about 60 rounds."

What he knows of the 27-year-old Charpentier has been gleaned from sources outside his video library.

"He's supposed to be game," De La Hoya said. "He's short and stocky and very strong. He can be dangerous if I stay right in front of him.

"The key for me is going to be the jab and throwing a lot of feints. I'll try to confuse him."

Gil Clancy has joined De La Hoya's training team and will assist lead trainer Robert Alcazar in the corner. De La Hoya already knows what Clancy will tell him.

"He'll say, 'Box this guy and stay on your toes and stick and move,'" De La Hoya said. "His presence there will give me confidence."

HBO will televise the bout and the accompanying semi-main event between WBC lightweight champion Stevie Johnston (24-0) and Cesar Bazan (31-2-1). The event at the Sun Bowl is expected to attract a crowd of 50,000.

"It's a sign of Oscar's tremendous popularity," promoter Bob Arum said. "It also reflects Oscar's insistence that the ticket prices ($30 to $350) be reasonable."

De La Hoya, 24, says he's a lightning rod for boxing fans.

"Fifty thousand (fans) goes to show boxing is revived because of my presence," he said. "I have a good image and people are noticing that. The people who are going to boxing events are Mexican or Latin and those people are behind me."

Those same people also want to see De La Hoya in a significant fight, and that's where Trinidad comes into play.

"I'm optimistic," Arum said of closing a deal for a May showdown in Las Vegas. "But as of now, they haven't accepted or rejected our proposal."

While De La Hoya referred to Trinidad as just "another fighter," the IBF welterweight champ is the type of opponent who would bring out the best in De La Hoya.

"I just need more time," he said of reaching his personal peak. "I'm getting close to my goal of being able to call myself the pound-for-pound champion. In time, I'll be the complete fighter I want to be."

Campas keeps pace

Fighting last Friday in Tijuana, Campas kept his November date with De La Hoya by getting past an unheralded challenger to his IBF junior middleweight title, Pedro Ortega. Campas won by technical knockout in the 11th round.

"Ortega had a lot of guts but only had limited ability and he took a terrible, terrible beating," said Campas' trainer, Las Vegan Miguel Diaz. "The scoring and everything went Yory Boy's way."

That said, Campas didn't come out of the bout unscathed.

"He hurt his shoulder in the eighth round and his nose opened up and the knuckles on his left hand are sore," Diaz said. "He could use some time to recover."

Campas may fight on the De La Hoya vs. Chavez undercard in September, although Diaz said that was far from certain. Campas, who weighed 153 for Ortega, will drop down to 147 to face De La Hoya.

Around the ring

With the follow-up blood test also indicating Henry Akinwande has hepatitis B, it appears as if his fight with Evander Holyfield may be permanently shelved. "He won't fight any time soon," his doctor, Fred Lewerenz, told USA Today. Akinwande, who was to have fought Holyfield last Saturday in New York, could be dropped from Holyfield's plans and be replaced by IBF mandatory challenger Vaughn Bean. That fight could go to Holyfield's hometown, Atlanta. Bean has a misleading 30-1 record in that the cumulative record of his 31 opponents is a very unflattering 155-387. ... Induction is Sunday in Canastota, N.Y., for the 1998 Hall of Fame class, topped by veteran trainer Lou Duva. ... Trainer Kenny Adams on the prospect of Kennedy McKinney taking an interim fight as he awaits a once-postponed bout with Naseem Hamed that's now set for Oct. 31: "He could use a tuneup, but, if he takes one, the opponent has to be a duck. He can't take any chances; there's too much money at stake." ... USA Boxing vice president Dr. Robert Voy says the Ali Cup, which debuted last year in Louisville and featured Americans in amateur competition against an international field, has been dropped from the 1998 schedule. "It's a real disappointment," he said. "It hurts from every perspective." He said the event could return next year although the site may change to Atlanta or Detroit.

No date yet but Gabe Ruelas will travel to Australia to take on ex-IBF junior welterweight champ Kostya Tszyu later this summer. That fight went to purse bid and was won by Australian promoter Bill Mordey, although he'll let America Presents handle the event due to his close association with Tszyu. ... Seven Las Vegas-based fighters are scheduled for bouts outside the state between tonight and Sunday. The most prominent of the group, WBA featherweight champ Freddie Norwood, headlines an ABC-televised card Saturday, while rising star Floyd Mayweather is showcased Sunday on ESPN2. Mayweather, 15-0 with 13 knockouts, appears to be in with his toughest opponent to date, ex-contender Tony Pep, who is 39-6 with 21 KOs. He's 33 years old but has won 21 of his last 23 bouts, including one over ex-champ Louis Espinoza. (Mayweather's proposed fight with WBC junior lightweight champ Genaro Hernandez is now tentative for Oct. 3 in Las Vegas with an Erik Morales vs. Junior Jones companion main.) Also in a bout of great personal significance is cruiserweight Tiwon Taylor, who has risen to No. 7 in both the WBA and IBF rankings with a 21-4-1 record. He's matched with Ezra Sellers, 14-2, in a TV bout Friday in Baton Rouge. ... Next up locally: June 19 at The Orleans with Bam Promotions offering junior middleweights Fidel Hernandez, 14-1, and Aaron Mitchell, 12-1-1, in the main event.