Columnist Dean Juipe: Rejeuvenated Randall has tough test in Carr

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Feb. 11, 1999 | 10:46 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

Five years ago, Frankie Randall seemed to be at the top of his game.

Overcoming 17-to-1 odds, he handed Julio Cesar Chavez his first defeat and he deserved better than a technical-decision loss to Chavez in the rematch. Randall also defeated Juan Coggi that year to win the second of his two world titles.

That was 1994.

Now here it is 1999 and Randall is figuratively back from the grave. At the age of 37, he's facing Oba Carr on Saturday's undercard at the Thomas & Mack Center and the winner has been promised a fight with Oscar De La Hoya in May.

"I'm still hungry," Randall said effervescently, happy to be back in the limelight after all but slipping from view following a Jan. 11, 1997, loss to WBA junior welterweight champ Khalid Rahilou. "I'm still eager to look my best and give my best effort in a big fight.

"I know I'm still marketable."

Randall, a part-time resident of Las Vegas, revitalized his career when he hooked up with Top Rank last year. Promoter Bob Arum matched him easily for two wins, which raised Randall's record to 55-5-1, and then positioned him for a possible bout with De La Hoya.

But first he has to beat Carr, who is 11 years younger and holds a 47-2-1 record.

"I'm going to have to get Carr out of my way," Randall said. "I feel I'll do it. He's boxed for a long period of time and has been banged up a lot. He can't fight going backward and his defense is terrible. The last couple of times I saw him on TV, he looked overweight and out of shape."

While Randall said "Carr has been talking a lot of smack" behind his back, the two were cordial during a brief face-to-face meeting Wednesday. Carr even patted Randall on the back as they went their separate ways.

Carr is a minus 280 betting favorite at the Las Vegas Hilton. Randall is a plus 220.

Each man is being paid $100,000 for the fight, with the winner assured of at least $2 million when he faces De La Hoya at Mandalay Bay. Of course, De La Hoya has to defeat Ike Quartey in Saturday's main event for the May title defense to materialize.

"I have no doubt Oscar will win," Randall said, offering his support. "Quartey is strong and has some skills, but he's just the opponent here because Oscar is prepared to prove his ability with this fight."

Likewise, Randall will be looking to prove he still has championship abilities when he faces Carr in a 10-round bout at 147 pounds.

"The last fight I lost (to Rahilou) was because I couldn't make 140 pounds," he said. "I'm much more comfortable at 147. My body has matured."

His outlook also has the advantage of maturity and 16 years of professional boxing experience.

"If I can win this fight, let alone the next one, it would change my life in so many ways," he said. "I think I'm one of the few guys who could take a fight to Oscar. But I have to get there first, and that's why this fight with Carr is so important."

Both men have had their struggles and recognize what's at stake.

"I made it back to championship competition," said Carr, whose only two losses came in world-title challenges. "I've spent a long time trying to get back to this elite position, so you'll see me at my best."

Randall all but echoed those sentiments, saying "I want it to happen for me again like it did a few years ago."

Ah, those were the days. But can they can be reprised?

* T&M UNDERCARD, NOTES: There will be a second world-title defense on Saturday's Thomas & Mack card, as WBC super bantamweight champ Erik Morales takes on Angel Chacon. "This is great exposure," Morales said of defending his title and his 31-0 record on pay-per-view. His opponent, Chacon, is 24-2 and lost an earlier title try to Antonio Cermeno. Chacon, a plus 700 underdog, is receiving $30,000, while Morales, a minus 1000 favorite, gets $100,000. ... Four-round heavyweight specialist Butterbean Esch is also appearing and will face an easy target, Pat Graham. Esch, 40-1-1, is being paid a handsome $40,000 for meeting the inexperienced Graham, who is 5-3-1. "I'm going to fight as hard as I can," Esch said with his typical bravado. ... The local pay-per-view blackout has been lifted and the card is available through Cox Communications for $40. ... Promoter B ob Arum said 12,000 tickets have been sold and that "it's my feeling we'll have 15-, 16,000 in attendance." Nationwide, he expects the pay-per-view buys to

be around 700,000. ... Arum also said rival promoter Don King has been in contact with him concerning a De La Hoya fight with Felix Trinidad, which Arum had been saying wouldn't happen this year. "King says not to worry about it, so maybe it'll happen this fall," Arum said. ... Arum has also entered into an agreement with De La Hoya in which the fighter shares in both the risks and the profits of his fights. "It takes the demand for outrageous guarantees for the fighters off me," Arum said. As for whether it also binds De La Hoya a little closer to Arum, the promoter said "it does that too."

* LITTLE LIVINGSTONE: Las Vegas resident Livingstone Bramble, a former WBA lightweight champ perhaps best remembered for two victories over Ray Mancini, is still fighting. But it's his son, Aluja, who seems to be giving him a tougher time in the ring than anyone else Livingstone faces. "I got a champion on my hands," he said of 16-year-old Aluja, a Valley High student and a regular at the Golden Gloves Gym. Monday, Livingstone held his own in sparring with IBF junior welterweight champ Vince Phillips, but he took some licks from Aluja when they went a few rounds a little later.

* ORLEANS CARD: Friday at The Orleans, Top Rank has promising junior welterweight Antonio Diaz in a main event with Mauro Lucero. Diaz, 22, is 24-2 and is coming off effective wins over Cory Spinks and Hector Quiroz. Lucero, 26, is 32-4-1 and is coming off a loss to WBC lightweight champ Cesar Bazan. Also featured on the card is junior middleweight Bronco McKart as well as Tony Marshall, who is now ranked No. 1 by the WBC at 154 pounds.