Columnist Dean Juipe: Reid not bothered by quick turnaround

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Aug. 5, 1999 | 9:45 a.m.

Dean Juipe's boxing notebook appears Thursday. His sports column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at 259-4084 or juipe@lasvegassun.com

A mere six weeks after something of a grueling fight with Kevin Kelly, David Reid will return to the ring to defend his WBA junior middleweight title against Keith Mullings at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas.

Reid vs. Mullings is on for Aug. 28, with HBO televising the first boxing card from the local hotel, casino and entertainment site.

For Reid, it's out of the fire and into the frying pan, yet he's looking forward to the challenge and isn't preoccupied with the quick turnaround.

"Fighters did it all the time in the old days," Reid said during a brief visit to Las Vegas late last week. "If they did it back then, I'd like to think I can do it.

"The main thing is that I want to stay really, really busy. To me, that's the only way to gain more knowledge."

Reid, 25 and an Olympic gold medalist in 1996, won the WBA championship in only his 12th pro fight, decisioning titleholder Laurent Boudouani in Atlantic City. Reid made his first defense against Kelly, July 16 at the same site, and was taken the full 12 rounds in a fight in which he was knocked down by a left hand in the fifth round.

It was the third time Reid had hit the canvas in his pro career, as James Coker had him down twice while losing a decision late last year.

"Kelly didn't hurt me physically," Reid said. "I mean, I was a little sore after the fight for a few days, but I'm ready to fight again."

Reid, whose greatest concern is a droopy left eyelid that has been surgically repaired yet seemingly will never be right, is 13-0 with seven knockouts and is up as a minus 300 betting favorite at the Hard Rock sports book for his fight with Mullings. The ex-champ is 16-5-1 with 11 KOs and a plus 225 underdog.

"Those five losses he has don't really matter," Reid said respectfully. "Mullings is a threat and he has a chance to win this fight. He came up the hard way and he's not a quitter.

"Most guys, if they lose two or three fights, they quit. But he's just as tough as he ever was."

An even bigger fight for Reid is on the docket for 2000, as he and fellow 154-pound champion Fernando Vargas are on a collision course -- but only if the temperamental Vargas can stay out of jail, where he recently spent a weekend on an assault charge.

"We'll fight if he can stay out of trouble that long," Reid said. "I hope he does and I hope he gets out of the current problem he has. If we fight, I think we'll make history."

While Reid comes across as confident and has the tools to become a great champion, he is alert enough to know every fighter is susceptible and few, if any, remain undefeated.

"You can't win 'em all," he said. "People might think you can, but you can't. You just can't."

* QUICK HITS: Las Vegas amateur star Jason Ingwaldson failed to get the Pan American Games gold medal he was seeking, as he was beaten by Argentina's Fabricio Nieva when the referee stopped their Saturday fight in the second round. ... Former world champ Simon Brown was a split-decision loser to Kenny Lopez in their main event last Saturday at the Cal-Neva on the north side of Lake Tahoe. ... A pair of local heavyweights may be matched on the Oct. 2 Mike Tyson undercard at the MGM: Jorge Luis Gonzalez and Bronco Billy Wright. ... Local welterweight and former champion Livingstone Bramble has taken an Aug. 26 fight in Atlanta with Theo Holland. "I know this guy's crafty because I was supposed to fight him once before," Bramble said. "I'd rather had a tomato can, because Holland's not made to order for me, but he is the kind of guy I need to beat to move bac k into the title picture." ... Prominent heavyweights Michael Grant and Andrew Golota are talking about fighting Nov. 20 on HBO.

Las Vegas gained one fight card Wednesday and lost another. Added to the schedule is an Aug. 30 show at the Hard Rock that will offer local super bantamweight Wayne McCullough in the main event, with junior welterweight Hector Camacho Jr. and light heavyweight Derrick Harmon in support roles. No opponents solidified for any of those fights. Scratched from the local schedule and moved to Miami is the Aug. 21 Kostya Tszyu vs. Miguel Angel Gonzalez card that had been tentative for the same date at the Las Vegas Hilton. ... Undefeated heavyweight Ike Ibeabuchi, who was arrested at The Mirage July 22 and charged with attempted sexual assault, kidnapping and battery, faces arraignment Friday. An earlier attempt to arraign him, last Friday, was postponed when the fighter went ballistic in the courtroom after prosecutors asked for bail to be set at $5 million. Ibe abuchi, 20-0, also has a preliminary hearing set for Aug. 25. He's charged with assaulting a call girl he summoned to his hotel room.

Former junior welterweight world champ Vince Phillips of Las Vegas is through at 140 pounds and will move to 147 or even 154 when he returns to the ring in October. "He came back to me at 170 and I didn't like it," said his trainer, Kenny Adams. "I chewed him out about it and told him he talks a good game, but he has to learn to start walking it. But he's definitely done with 140 and we'll put a little bulk and maybe power on him and see if he feels good at 147." ... Topping Saturday's undercard in Atlantic City for the Shannon Briggs vs. Frans Botha main event is junior lightweight star Marco Antonio Barrera, who is in line to fight Erik Morales next spring in Mexico. First up, Barrera faces Argentina's Pastor Maurin in New Jersey. Barrera is 48-2 and Maurin is 42-1. Morales is 34-0 and Barrera says "in the interest of boxing, I have to fight him."