Columnist Dean Juipe: Unbeaten Jones wants Vargas — again

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Dec. 23, 1999 | 9:04 a.m.

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

Fernando Vargas was 100-5 as an amateur, is 18-0 as a pro and has quickly established himself as a potential superstar for the new millennium.

He'll fight Ike Quartey April 15 at Mandalay Bay, a date and site that were confirmed Wednesday.

Among those who are likely to be in attendance that night is another young fighter who knows Vargas well and has his eye on fighting him within the next year or so.

His name may not be overly familiar just yet, but by all accounts Gary Jones would be a handful for Vargas or any other junior middleweight.

Fact is, Jones owns a victory over Vargas at the amateur level and was a disputed loser to him in the 1996 Olympic Trials.

"He knows I'm coming for him," Jones said after completing a workout at the Nevada Partners gym, where he has spent the past two months toiling under noted trainer Eddie Mustafa Muhammad. "I've beaten him and I think he knows I can do it again."

Jones, a native of Washington D.C. who now calls Las Vegas home, is also 18-0 as a pro. But while Vargas has performed in the limelight, Jones has stayed in the background.

For instance, while Vargas has a lucrative, million-dollar date with Quartey at Mandalay Bay, Jones' next fight will be Jan. 19 in Charlotte, N.C.

"I'm still learning," he admits. "And I know there's still more to learn.

"Give me two or three more fights and I'll be ready for Vargas."

Muhammad is elated to have the 21-year-old Jones under his wing and eagerly refers to him as a future champion.

"I know what he's got and he's going to be a world champion, there isn't any doubt about it," Muhammad said. "He's got hand speed and he can go. My job is to refine his talents and I'm pushing him hard to reach his potential."

Jones seemed to agree.

"Oh, we work hard, we work very hard," he said in reference to Muhammad cracking the whip in the gym.

Sugar Ray Leonard is Jones' manager. Leonard and Jones have not signed with a promoter, although Muhammad said there is no shortage of interest.

"You should see the promoters come after him," Muhammad said. "Everybody wants to sign him, but things are fine right now just the way they are. He's being handled just perfectly."

* VARGAS, MOSLEY: Vargas' April 15 fight with Quartey at Mandalay Bay is just one of two fights headed for Las Vegas that were solidified Wednesday. The other: Shane Mosley vs. Willie Wise Jan. 22 at the Hard Rock.

Mosley vs. Wise had been up in the air and in pursuit of a home for two or three weeks. The Hard Rock proved to be the choice when two items fell into place: Top Rank moved a card for the same date to another site, and the hotel anted up a site fee that was said to be $100,000.

Top Rank's Jan. 22 show, currently featuring lightweight Israel Cordona in its main event, will now move to another, out-of-state location. Initially it had been pencilled in for the Hard Rock.

In its place is an HBO-televised card that is built to feature Mosley, plus has a potentially interesting primary undercard bout in Vince Phillips vs. Vernon Forrest.

Mosley is a former IBF lightweight champion now fighting as a welterweight. He's 33-0 and may face Oscar De La Hoya June 17.

Wise is 24-6-4 with a mere seven knockouts and has this fight as a result of defeating Julio Cesar Chavez Oct. 2 at the Las Vegas Hilton. Wise upset the legendary ex-champion by 8, 6 and 4 points on the judges' cards.

Phillips vs. Forrest matches a former world champion against a budding star and figures to be Forrest's sternest test as a professional. Phillips, a former IBF junior welterweight champion, is 40-4 and is now campaigning as a welterweight.

Forrest is 30-0 and holds the NABF welterweight title.

"Phillips is a good fighter, a polished fighter," Forrest said via his publicist. "But my advantage is my natural attributes: my height and my reach.

"I'm excited by fighting on HBO because it's seen in 90 million homes. Their broadcasts reach more than the typical boxing fan, which means that more people will have the opportunity to appreciate what I do."

As for the Vargas vs. Quartey fight in April, look for even betting action in a bout that could go either way.

Vargas may have been fortunate to get the judges' nod over Winky Wright Dec. 4 in Lincoln City, Oregon, but he has looked strong otherwise and has significant knockout victories over Raul Marquez (July 17 at Lake Tahoe) and Yory Boy Campas (last December).

Quartey, 34-1-1, is currently in his native Ghana and will begin training next month in Florida. He has been very inactive of late and whether he's stale or merely well rested for his fight with Vargas may determine the bout's outcome.

* CRAYTON PREPARES: Local lightweight James Crayton is working out daily in hopes of landing a fight with either of two opponents who already have dates scheduled.

With both Israel Cordona (Jan. 22 at a site to be determined) and Angel Manfredy (Jan. 28 at a site TBA) looking for an opponent, Crayton is lobbying for either assignment and has incentives for each.

"Cordona turned me down in 1997 because he said he didn't like what happened to John Montantes," Crayton said, referring to a 1996 fight in which Montantes died following a sixth-round knockout loss to Crayton at The Orleans. "If he'll fight me now, it'll be detrimental to his own health."

As for the higher-profile Manfredy, Crayton said "I've been trying to fight him for five years. We were supposed to fight in 1995 in Boston when I was 18-2, but he said he wasn't ready for me yet.

"It's been a long time coming, so I hope he accepts this time."

Crayton, 31-11-2 and a regular in Las Vegas "club" main events, said he has returned to 135 pounds after flirting with 140. He also said he is willing to fight antagonist and fellow Las Vegan Livingstone Bramble, yet he doesn't believe Bramble, 40-21-3, can drop a division to 135.

"I'm certainly not ducking him," Crayton said. "If Bramble can make 135, I'd be glad to knock him out."

* QUICK HITS: A Prince Naseem Hamed vs. Junior Jones featherweight fight has been signed for March 11 in London. Hamed is 32-0 while Jones, coming off a victory over Tracy Patterson in Las Vegas, is 46-4. ... Local cruiserweight Arthur Williams has accepted a main-event fight Jan. 29 in Atlantic City, with Valery Vikhor providing the opposition. ... Julio Cesar Chavez returned to the win column last Saturday in his native Culican, Mexico, defeating journeyman Buck Smith by third-round knockout. Chavez, 104-4-2, had Smith down in both the second and third rounds. ... Chavez remains in line for a fight with WBC junior welterweight champ Kostya Tszyu, but just this week a Feb. 12 fight in Australia between Tszyu and Ahmed Santos was announced.

Undisputed heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis has sent a proposal to the three major sanctioning bodies, requesting a box-off between the leading contenders in order to determine "a legitimate and universally accepted No. 1 contender." Henry Akinwande (WBA), David Tua (IBF) and John Ruiz (WBC) currently top those organization's ratings. Lewis' proposal includes adding a fourth contender in order to make a round-robin tournament of the box-off. The point of Lewis' appeal is to avoid facing "mandatory after mandatory, sometimes against unworthy opponents," a practice which in the past "has led to disenchantment by the public with the system." ... Local heavyweight Jimmy Thunder, coming off a Nov. 18 TKO win over Eli Dixon in California, is in Detroit and serving as a sparring partner for vaunted prospect Derrick Jefferson. In exchange, Thunder may receive an und ercard spot on the Jan. 15 show in New York that includes Jefferson's fight with David Izon.

Ex-heavyweight champ Michael Moorer prevailed this week in a lawsuit filed by his grandfather, who was seeking more than $1 million in compensation for services rendered. Jurors only briefly deliberated the suit filed in Pittsburgh. ... Another former heavyweight champ, Tommy Morrison, is back in trouble with the law and will have his competency examined to determine if he's fit to stand trial. Morrison is being held without bail in Fayetteville, Ark., on gun and drug charges that stem from an arrest on Thanksgiving. He was also arrested in September on similar complaints. Morrison had his bail revoked after prosecutors successfully argued he was a flight risk and that he had fake identification on his person. He is also HIV positive.