Columnist Dean Juipe: Holyfield not spouting predictions this time

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Nov. 11, 1999 | 10:26 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.

Before Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis fought to a draw March 13 in New York, Holyfield hogged the headlines by making a prediction that was marginally bold and somewhat outrageous.

He said God had implied -- not told him, but implied -- that he would win by third-round knockout.

It was a forecast he came to regret -- and one Lewis has since mocked him for making.

"You notice he's not making any predictions this time," Lewis said Wednesday moments after Holyfield declined to offer a prediction for their heavyweight unification fight Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Holyfield sheepishly admits he erred in making the first one.

"I shouldn't have said it but I did," he remarked. "I tried but I wasn't successful. I bit off more than I could chew ... although it didn't cause me to not have a good performance."

The fight ended in a disputed draw, with Lewis admitting he was leery of Holyfield as they came out for Round 3.

"He actually fooled me," Lewis said. "I didn't know whether to be cautious or to meet him head on. But I knew the worst thing for me would be if his prediction came true."

It didn't because that round, like much of that fight, was relatively uneventful.

"There was no way Lennox was going to let me knock him out in the third round," Holyfield said. "He was covering up and it would have been impossible to knock him out.

"But I've learned my lesson. I talked too much last time."

* T&M UNDERCARD: Aside from the main event, there are eight other fights scheduled with a 4:30 p.m. opening bell. The lineup from top to bottom includes: Fabrice Tiozzo, 38-1, vs. Ken Murphy, 21-1-1, 12 rounds for Tiozzo's WBA cruiserweight title; Sharmba Mitchell, 45-2, vs. Elio Ortiz, 17-3, 12 rounds for Mitchell's WBA junior welterweight title; Stefano Zoff, 29-6-2, vs. Gilberto Serrano, 17-4-2, 12 rounds for Zoff's WBA lightweight title; Felix Flores, 13-1, vs. Servando Perales, 7-3, 10 rounds, junior welterweights; Andy Tabanas, 36-3-1, vs. Gustavo Andrade, 8-11, eight rounds, strawweights; Juan Gomez Trinidad, 16-2, vs. Duron Wilson, 4-4, eight rounds, junior lightweights; Josue Blocus, 8-0, vs. Clarence Goins, 4-3-1, six rounds, heavyweights; and Friday Ahunanya, 8-0, vs. Donald Macon, 3-1-1, four rounds, heavyweights.

Despite the three title fights, the undercard is fairly drab and only one of the three challengers is coming off a win. Murphy, in with Tiozzo for what the Frenchman says is his final fight as a cruiserweight, was beaten by Alex Gonzales last time out; Serrano, the opponent in Zoff's first defense, was held to a draw with Jose Zuniga in his most recent outing; and Ortiz won his last fight but lost the one before it.

That said, none of the reigning champions qualifies as a heavy favorite in the Las Vegas Hilton sports book. Tiozzo is a minus 600 and Murphy a plus 400; Zoff is a minus 220 and Serrano a plus 180; and Mitchell is a minus 500 and Ortiz a plus 350.

* T&M TIDBITS: The official total will not be released until next week, but Saturday's card may set the all-time record for live gate income. Promoter Don King has talked in terms of $19 million in ticket sales, although a source says the promoter is exaggerating. Nonetheless, the Nevada (and world) record of $14 million (for the Holyfield vs. Mike Tyson rematch in June of '97) is in jeopardy. ... All but 6,500 of the 18,500 tickets available were purchased by local casinos. Of the 6,500, 500 were put on sale to locals and 6,000 were earmarked for sale in England. "That's going to help me a lot and give me a lot of strength," Lewis said of having his countrymen's support.

While the first Lewis vs. Holyfield fight in New York attracted 1.2 million pay-per-view buys and ranks eighth all time in that regard, this one is not expected to do as well in spite of TVKO's extensive -- and expensive -- advertising. The PPV carrier will not disclose what it has spent to hype the fight, but estimates put the figure at $10 million. Seth Greenburg of HBO, which operates TVKO, said he is hoping for 800,000 buys for the rematch, which cost $50 to purchase in your home. ... Sixteen Las Vegas casinos will have the fight on closed circuit, with most charging a $50 entry fee. The list includes: Paris, Bally's, Mandalay Bay, Caesars Palace, the Las Vegas Hilton, the Monte Carlo, Circus Circus, the Excalibur, the Luxor, the Beach, the Four Queens, the Gold Coast, the Plaza, The Orleans, the Flamingo Hilton and Sam's Town.

The official website for the fight (sports.excite.com) will have an interactive scoring feature during the bout and participants can choose the winner of each round and have it tabulated by computer. "It should create a whole new experience for the avid boxing spectator," said Excite Sports Channel senior vice president Fred Siegel. ... Each of the officials assigned to the main event is a Las Vegas resident, as Mitch Halpern will referee and Jerry Roth, Chuck Giampa and Bill Graham will serve as judges.

* ORLEANS CARD: The cable network ESPN2 will televise a Friday card from The Orleans that has former champions Junior Jones and Tracy Patterson in the 10-round featherweight main event. Jones, 46-4 with 27 knockouts, is trying to regain his footing after consecutive losses in 1997-98 to Kennedy McKinney and Erik Morales. Patterson, 62-6-1 with 43 KOs, has a similar goal after recent losses to Goyo Vargas and Arturo Gatti.

As competitive as that fight may be, most fans will be at least as anxious to get a look at Ukraine heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko. He's 29-1 with 27 KOs and is paired with U.S. journeyman Phil Jackson, a once-passable opponent who is in decline and has lost his last two fights to drop to 42-8. Klitschko, whose brother Vitale is 26-0, is coming off a career-ending knockout of Axel Schulz. He's ranked No. 5 by the WBA and is making his U.S. debut.

* QUICK HITS: Negotiations are under way for a Mike Tyson vs. Lou Savarese fight in January in London. Tyson's promotional firm, America Presents, has surrendered the Dec. 11 date it had requested from the Nevada State Athletic Commission and is looking, instead, to put Tyson in with Savarese in England. ... Las Vegas heavyweight Jorge Luis Gonzalez has a Sunday fight in Portland with Jameel McCline that will be televised on the Fox Sports Network. Gonzalez, 29-5 with 27 KOs, is on a four-fight winning streak. McCline is 20-2-1 and has an 18-fight winning streak. ... Embattled former champion Julio Cesar Chavez told Mexico City's TV Azteca "I'm not happy. At times I've wanted to end my life."

Marco Antonio Barrera has been dropped from the Hard Rock's Nov. 20 show, due to the flu. ... WBA welterweight champ James Page was arrested early Monday in Concord, Calif., after allegedly striking a woman in the face and pulling her hair. ... Super bantamweight Wayne McCullough left this week for a month-long stay in his native Ireland. The Las Vegas resident, coming off a decision loss to Erik Morales Oct. 22 in Detroit, said he injured his left eardrum during the fight. He's going to spend his R&R time golfing and looks to return to the ring in February.

Former Las Vegan Kennedy McKinney, 34-4-1, has taken a just-announced Nov. 19 fight in Tunica, Miss., with fellow featherweight Luis Barroso, 14-2. ... In another just-announced fight, Tony Ayala continues his comeback Dec. 11 in San Antonio with ex-middleweight contender Tony Menefee providing the opposition. Ayala, 36, is 1-0 since completing a 16-year prison stay and 24-0 overall. Menefee is 64-6. ... The Nevada state Golden Gloves champions will take part in regional competition Nov. 20 in San Diego. Winners will advance to the nationals Jan. 10-15 in Colorado Springs.