Columnist Dean Juipe: Arum concludes he doesn’t like Ike

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Dec. 9, 1999 | 10 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@vegas.com

Although he remains committed to paying the man's legal fees, promoter Bob Arum came away from his initial meeting with controversial heavyweight Ike Ibeabuchi less than pleased.

While Arum had expressed an interest in promoting Ibeabuchi after his legal situation in Las Vegas is resolved (with either an acquittal or jail time on a sexual-assault charge), the Top Rank chief executive now is leery of extending the relationship.

"I'm having second thoughts about it," Arum said of his Monday meeting with Ibeabuchi, who is under house arrest in Las Vegas and awaiting a Feb. 22 trial in Clark County district court on charges he assaulted an out-call girl in a hotel room at The Mirage July 22.

"His attitude is sort of bizarre," Arum said of Ibeabuchi, a 6-foot-2, 240-pound slugger from Nigeria with a record of 20-0. "The kind of money he says he wants to fight is so far out of line that it's completely unrealistic.

"On top of that, he wants a bonus and he didn't seem to care what may happen if he doesn't beat the criminal case.

"I told him all the things I could do for him, but he didn't seem to grasp any of it. The way I look at it now, I'm not going to put good money after bad.

"I think I'll cut my losses."

Without first meeting Ibeabuchi, Arum committed what he said would be "$150,000 to $175,000" in legal fees toward the fighter's defense. Noted criminal defense attorney Richard Wright of Las Vegas has been hired to defend Ibeabuchi.

Arum was approached about posting Ibeabuchi's $750,000 bail but said he refused. Nonetheless, the money was raised and terms of Ibeabuchi's release include an ankle bracelet and multiple restrictions pertaining to his freedom.

Ibeabuchi has a history of legal problems and has also alienated a number of influential boxing people, including HBO's Lou DiBella.

"I want to do fun things with the time I have left in boxing," said Arum, who turned 68 Wednesday. "If I had a top heavyweight contender, that would be fun. But this guy seems like one big hassle.

"Why should I get more involved with him than I already am when it probably only leads to trouble?"

* TYSON FIGHT: Julius Francis, and not the earlier mentioned Lou Savarese, will be Mike Tyson's opponent for a Jan. 29 fight at the M.E.N. Stadium in Manchester, England.

Francis' credentials are even less impressive than those of the journeyman Savarese, which may explain why he got the assignment.

Francis is 35 years old and owns a record of 21-7. Scouting reports from his native England describe him as a light hitter with a glass jaw who comes from a troubled background; in that regard, he and Tyson may have more in common than they realize.

While Francis has won three straight fights, including one over Danny Williams that many in England called the fight of the year there, he is 0-3 against high-profile opponents, having lost to Axel Schulz, John Ruiz and Vitali Klitschko.

Tyson is 46-3 and coming off a no-decision with Orlin Norris Oct. 23 at the MGM Grand Garden.

Showtime will televise the fight on a delayed basis in the United States.

* USELESS LEGISLATION: For all the hype given to boxing legislation the last few years, it's easy to look at the sport and wonder if anything has changed.

On one hand, the vaunted Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act was, for a third consecutive year, tied up in the U.S. Congress and, in essence, killed. Passed twice by the House of Representatives, the bill did not make it to the Senate floor prior to its adjourning last month. The sponsoring senator, John McCain of Arizona, said he would attempt to resurrect the bill again next year.

Also, if boxing officials in South Carolina and New Jersey had been adhering to the spirit of the Professional Boxing Safety Act of 1996, boxer Stephan Johnson may not have been allowed to fight Nov. 20 in Atlantic City and may not have died Sunday.

Johnson, 31, passed away after lapsing into a coma following a fight with Paul Vaden. Johnson also fought Aug. 7 in South Carolina even though he remained under medical suspension from an April fight in Ontario, Canada.

The Professional Boxing Safety Act requires states to adhere to each other's suspensions, although it does not specifically require a state to honor a suspension handed down in another country. Nonetheless, the president of the Association of Boxing Commissioners, Greg Sirb, said the state should have honored the suspension even if it wasn't required to under federal law.

A loophole in the Safety Act's wording allowed the South Carolina Athletic Commission to license Johnson in spite of his suspension, and in spite of the fact it was aware he was under suspension in Canada for a head injury and a history of medical problems.

* FELIX & OSCAR: Claiming "King came to me," Arum and counterpart Don King have reopened negotiations for an Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad rematch that could be held June 17 in Las Vegas.

Arum said he told King that De La Hoya was fighting Derrell Coley Feb. 26 in New York's Madison Square Garden, and that King responded by saying Trinidad could make 147 pounds for one more fight and would wait for the June date and De La Hoya without taking a fight in between.

Trinidad had an announced fight with David Reid at 154 pounds set for March 4 at Caesars Palace, but that fight has since fallen through.

Top Rank will request the June date from the Nevada State Athletic Commission and plans to have De La Hoya fighting either Trinidad or Shane Mosley that night.

Trinidad handed De La Hoya his first professional loss Sept. 18 at Mandalay Bay.

Arum and King will meet Monday in New York to discuss the financial details of the rematch, and Tuesday De La Hoya's fight with Coley will be formally announced in the same city.

* OTHER FIGHTS: Aside from De La Hoya vs. Coley, at least three other significant fights appear close to being officially announced.

March 4 in Denver, WBC lightweight champ Stevie Johnston will defend his title against Ivan Robinson, and April 4 in Tampa IBF junior lightweight champ Diego Corrales will defend his title against Derrick Gainer.

Also, April 15, perhaps at the Las Vegas Hilton, IBF junior middleweight champ Fernando Vargas -- fresh off a Saturday win over Winky Wright -- will meet ex-champ Ike Quartey. Hilton vice president Art Manteris said he would post Vargas as the betting favorite at either 2 to 1 or 9 to 5.

* ORLEANS CARD: The Orleans has put its Dec. 17 card in order and will offer middleweights Pedro Ortega and Tim Pilant in the main event. Ortega is 27-5 with 18 knockouts, while Pilant is 17-1 with five KOs.

Also tentatively scheduled: Antonio Mesquita, 14-0, vs. Victor Mendoza, 9-5, eight rounds, featherweights; Mahan Washington, 11-3, vs. Sevano Perales, 7-5, six rounds, lightweights; and four-round fights between Carl Cockerham (3-1) and Jeremy Morrison (8-3), Kevin Cestone (5-0) and Steve Virgil (2-2), and Rafael Ramirez (1-0) and Arthur Petrasyn (1-0). Tickets are $15 to $40.

* QUICK HITS: Co-headlining a Showtime card Saturday from Tunica, Miss., is heavyweight John Ruiz, who is 35-3 and ranked No. 1 by the WBC, No. 2 by the WBA and No. 3 by the IBF. He's in with 25-3 Jade Scott this weekend and is willing to fight fellow contender Michael Grant for the right to take on undisputed heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis. "It's time for people to step up to the plate," Ruiz said Wednesday on a conference call. "I'm the only one who wants to go out and prove I'm a heavyweight contender. There's no other way to be a great champion than to fight the best opponents." ... Angel Belgre, 29-12 with 14 knockouts, is Las Vegan Vince Phillips' opponent on the Ruiz undercard. ... IBF junior welterweight champ Terron Millett has a broken hand and will not make his mandatory defense against Zab Judah for several months.

Paulie Ayala, Fernando Vargas, Derrell Coley and Paul Spadafora will be Pedro Fernandez's guests Saturday at 8 p.m. on KRLV 1340 AM. ... K.O. Casino Gaming Concepts will host an expo Dec. 30 at the Stratosphere that will include a number of local boxers and trainers as special guests. Among those scheduled to appear are Phillips, Floyd Mayweather, Wayne McCullough, Livingstone Bramble, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and Kenny Adams. Admission is $100. Call 869-8352 for more information. ... Fox Sports Net will televise a potentially excellent fight between IBF middleweight champ Bernard Hopkins and mandatory challenger Antwun Echols Sunday from Miami. Hopkins is 35-2-1 and is making his 10th title defense, while Echols is 22-2-1 with each win by knockout.