Columnist Dean Juipe: Norwood gets second chance for featherweight crown

Dean Juipe

Thursday, May 27, 1999 | 10:14 a.m.

Dean Juipe's boxing notebook appears Thursday. His page 1 column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at 259-4084 or juipe@ lasvegassun.com

Las Vegas-based former world champion who lost his title because he couldn't make the weight and then lost his trainer because of outside distractions, gets a shot at redemption Saturday in Puerto Rico.

Freddie Norwood, a native of St. Louis who has been living here for a few years, will attempt to win back the title he lost when he faces WBA featherweight champ Antonio Cermeno in the primary undercard fight beneath the Felix Trinidad vs. Hugo Pineda main event.

Norwood vs. Cermeno is a rematch of an April 3, 1998, fight at the same site in which Norwood claimed the vacant championship with a decision victory. The title was vacated again when Norwood could not make the 126-pound weight limit, and Cermeno earned the crown by defeating Genaro Rios last October.

This is a mandatory defense for Cermeno.

"I've got no complaints with Freddie," said his new trainer, Miguel Diaz. "He's been working hard and looking very good. He's in shape."

Norwood's earlier trainer, Kenny Adams, recently gave him the boot and said he "didn't need the headaches." Diaz said he took the job on a temporary basis but hit it off with Norwood and looks to have the position permanently.

"His management people came to me," Diaz said. "We worked for a week without a problem before we made any commitment to one another. I can't say why Kenny said what he did, but Freddie knows he can't blow this fight and has been training very seriously for it (at Barry's Boxing gym)."

Norwood is 33-0-1, while Cermeno is 30-2.

"I know Freddie's private life has had its ups and downs," Diaz said. "But as a boxer he has a lot of savvy and skills. He brings a lot of knowledge into the ring. There's no question about his boxing ability."

* WAYNE SKIPPED: Top Rank is looking to put WBC super bantamweight champ Erik Morales into a July 31 fight in Tijuana, although it apparently will not offer the fight to Wayne McCullough. The Las Vegas resident had been scheduled to fight Morales earlier this month but had to pull out due to an injured back.

A provision is his contract indicates the fight will be rescheduled at a later date, and, by the looks of things, it will come after Morales' July 31 outing.

"I know I haven't been offered anything," McCullough said Wednesday by phone from Belfast, Northern Ireland. "Top Rank has always treated me fine, so I don't worry about that. But I'd go down to Morales' back yard if that's what it takes to get a fight with him."

He said he has started running and will resume training next week when he returns to Las Vegas.

"I'm about 90 percent right now," he said. "I'll be ready to fight by the end of July."

Obviously, McCullough wishes he were still first in line to face Morales.

"To me, it's not fair that someone else is going to fight him," he said. "But I've got a solution: They can put us on Oscar De La Hoya's September (18) card (at Mandalay Bay, vs. Felix Trinidad). That would be good."

* BRAMBLE WINS: Former world champ Livingstone Bramble of Las Vegas fanned the flames of his comeback hopes with a second-round knockout victory over Paul Nave last Friday in San Rafael, Calif. Bramble, 38, improved to 40-14-3 by flattening the 16-7-3 Nave in the first round and then forcing the referee to intervene with Nave trapped along the ropes in the second.

"I whacked him pretty good," Bramble said. "It was a good fight for me. I did great and I hardly got touched. Everything went my way."

He said he had no immediate plans but has been offered a fight with Greg Haugen for later in the year.

"I've got to be patient and pick the right fights for me," Bramble said. "I'm getting a lot of calls, but there's still work to be done. Beating Nave was a huge victory for me, but I still need a couple of fights before I'll be where I want to be."

* QUICK HITS: Roger Mayweather said his recent victory in Reno over Francisco Mendez led to him being asked to headline at the Cal-Neva's next show, June 12. "I don't want to fight all that much, but it is something I like to do," the former world champion said. "Last time I didn't get enough sparring. I'll take this next fight and be better prepared. If something good happens for me after that, fine." ... Another local fighter, lightweight David Sample, apparently will step in and face Zab Judah July 9 in Rhode Island on ESPN2. Two earlier announced opponents for Judah withdrew. ... Former ESPN broadcaster Charley Steiner in the current issue of Sport magazine, on why he has pulled away from boxing assignments: "While boxing has been good for my career, bringing me a lot of recognition, I did not want my career to be that of social director of the Titanic." He feels the sport has seen its better days. ... Oscar De La Hoya is up as a minus 140 betting favorite at the Las Vegas Hilton for his proposed Sept. 18 fight with Felix Trinidad at Mandalay Bay. That fight will be solidified after Trinidad disposes of Hugo Pineda on Saturday's card in Puerto Rico. "It will be the fight of the century," De La Hoya predicted of his meeting with Trinidad.