Columnist Dean Juipe: Reid’s eye problems prompting concern

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Aug. 19, 1999 | 9:57 a.m.

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

David Reid is a great fighter, albeit one with a potentially significant problem that does not appear to be correctable.

Reid, who will defend his World Boxing Association junior middleweight title Aug. 28 at the Hard Rock, is the victim of a droopy left eyelid. Surgery has not alleviated the trouble and there is an informal consensus -- at least within the media -- that the eye, if not Reid's questionable chin, will eventually be his undoing.

In a pair of conference calls this week, Reid's eye was the focus of considerable discussion.

While Reid and his trainer, Al Mitchell, denied a problem even exists, his opponent at the Hard Rock, Keith Mullings, indicated he was very much aware of it. In addition, Reid's promoter, Dan Goossen, said he believes he knows the cause of the problem.

"It's TV lights," Goossen said. "When light and heat hit it, it droops down. It's something he's got to overcome in the ring."

Goossen at least acknowledges the obvious: "From the get go, people have been targeting the eye."

Mullings will be, too, although he cleverly has alternate priorities.

"You want to exploit any weakness a fighter has," Mullings said. "If his eye is going to be a problem, I'm going to hit it.

"But he's also going to find a way to protect that area the most, so let's hit the other eye first. That would seem to be the smart thing."

If Mullings has his way, he'll go to Reid's right eye, then his chin, then the left eye.

"I'm going to hit his chin more than anything," Mullings said. "His chin is more suspect than his eye."

Reid, 25, is 13-0 with seven knockouts although he has been knocked down three times in his three most recent fights. He was down twice against James Coker last October, and down once against Kevin Kelly in July.

Between the knockdowns and the eye, Reid is vulnerable in spite of his many skills and Mullings would like to capitalize and regain the championship status he enjoyed for 13 months prior to losing his International Boxing Federation title to Javier Castillejo in January.

"Reid has the potential to be one of the best fighters in the world one day, but I don't think that day is here," Mullings said. "The man has a lot of skills, but I'm going to make him fight and break his will.

"I plan not to leave it in the judges' hands."

Mullings, 31, is a deceiving 16-5-1 with 11 KOs. He's a tough guy although one who has won only three of his last nine fights.

"I don't think I've had the support other fighters have had, that David Reid has had," Mullings said. "Sometimes politics plays a big part in boxing; that's nothing new. With the losses I've had, four of the five have been split decisions on the other guy's turf."

Reid remains the betting favorite at the Hard Rock yet Mullings says he's primed for the upset.

"I like being the underdog," he said. "I'm glad I am. I like proving people wrong.

"I'm rested. I've got a fresh body and I'm going in with a lot of will. Usually training camp (at Pensacola, Fla.) has a lot of obstacles but everything has gone well in this one.

"I'm coming after the recognition I deserve."

Reid feels Mullings won't get it at his expense.

"I know he has it all and he's very high on himself," Reid said. "He has great pride and will and I'm quite sure he's going to be tough.

"But I've been fighting real guys at a high level of competition. I've been fighting at a more elite level."

Reid says his eye "is doing great. It's been the way it is since I've turned pro and it hasn't been a problem."

Likewise, his trainer, Mitchell, sees it the same way.

"It's no problem," he said, before going on to grade Reid's development since the Olympic gold medalist turned pro in 1997.

Offense: "B plus."

Defense: "B."

Intelligence in the ring: "C minus. That's where we've had a problem. It's the only thing he's weak in, but he lets his macho side come out and sometimes doesn't listen."

Stamina: "A minus."

* GONZALEZ-TSZYU: A much-anticipated fight that was delayed three times finally will be held Saturday in Miami when WBC junior welterweight champ Kostya Tszyu takes on mandatory challenger Miguel Angel Gonzalez. The Showtime cable network will televise.

Tszyu, 29, is 22-1-1 with 18 knockouts. He turned pro in 1992 after posting an amateur record of 259-11 and went on to earn the IBF 140-pound title before losing it to Vince Phillips.

Gonzalez, 28, is 43-1-1 with 33 KOs and is a former WBC lightweight champion who made 10 successful defenses before relinquishing his title and moving up in weight. Gonzalez, who turned pro in 1989 and has never been knocked down, will have a three-inch height advantage on Tszyu. His only loss was by decision to Oscar De La Hoya and the draw on his resume, with Julio Cesar Chavez, should have been a victory as the master score sheet was misread the night of the fight.

"I feel very, very good," Gonzalez said Wednesday through interpreter and trainer Abel Sanchez. "Now I just have to get through the anxious moments before the fight."

He added that he would pay particular attention early, as Tszyu "has a kamikaze style in the first few rounds."

* QUICK HITS: New WBA bantamweight champ Paulie Ayala will take care of his mandatory defense and bypass an immediate rematch with Johnny Tapia. Ayala (28-1) will fight Thailand's Saohin Sorthanikul (17-6) Sept. 25 in Fort Worth, while Tapia will take on Jorge Elicier Julio at a site and on a date yet to be determined. ... Tapia said this week that he's anxious to locate the father who abandoned him as a child. "I really want to find out who my father is," he said. "I'm trying to settle something that's been in my life a whole lot of years." ... Local heavyweight Cliff Couser, who will fight in North Carolina Sept. 25, not only worked in a Mike Tyson-like role at a pro wrestling card in North Las Vegas two weeks ago, he also attended an Arena Football League tryout camp in St. Louis. "I want to fight for two more years, but I might get back into football," Couser said.

Top Rank's Sept. 17 card at the All-American SportPark seems to undergo daily revisions, but it now appears the main event is settled with junior welterweights Antonio Diaz (27-2) and Emanuel Burton (21-13-4). ... Former featherweight world champion Kevin Kelley, who has a home here, was an unexpected loser in a fight last Friday in Bossier City, La. Kelley, 50-4-2, dropped a decision to journeyman Benito Rodriguez, whose unflattering record is 30-27-2. ... Caesars Tahoe has Bolillo Gonzalez (48-4-1) and Cosme Rivera (17-4-1) scheduled to headline its next card, Sept. 25. ... The Orleans has, once again, canceled its monthly card due to promoter Tony Trudnich's financial difficulties.

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