Columnist Dean Juipe: Tyson, Norris trainers exchange verbal jabs

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Oct. 7, 1999 | 10:34 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

Aside from when David's trainer put a few misguided shillings on Goliath, every trainer in the history of combative sports has believed his man would emerge victorious and win even the toughest battle.

With each of the trainers in the Orlin Norris vs. Mike Tyson fight Oct. 23 at the MGM Grand Garden having weighed in on the subject, it comes as no surprise that Norris' handlers feel he'll pull off the upset and Tyson's handlers feel he'll look better than ever.

A pair of conference calls within the last week, the latter one Wednesday with the Norris side, underscored the obvious.

"If you play back the last three (Tyson) press conferences, they've said the same thing all along," Abel Sanchez, who trains Norris, said of the Tyson camp's claims that the former heavyweight champion has never looked better.

And he's right. It's an old boxing ploy to say your man is steadily improving, regardless of reality and regardless of any extenuating circumstances.

Neither the Tyson nor Norris camp disappointed on that count.

"They think they're getting Orlin at a ripe old age," Sanchez said of Norris, who turned 34 Monday. "But they made a big mistake. Orlin has matured and he's more patient than he once was. We expect to go 10 rounds and win a decision, but we'll take a knockout if it comes earlier."

Joining Sanchez with Norris are Eduardo Garcia and his son, Danny.

Training Tyson are Tommy Brooks and Jay Bright.

"I think Mike is in a state of mind where he knows what he has to do, and that is what he is trying to do right now," Brooks said. "He's doing a lot of things that he used to do in the past, and I think he is mentally prepared to jump on board and handle his business.

"There's no doubt in my mind about the outcome of the fight, it's just a matter of how (Tyson) does it. If Mike does what we've been working on in the gym, the fight lasts three rounds."

Tyson is 46-3 and Norris, a former cruiserweight champion, is 50-5.

"Mike is maturing as a person and as a fighter," Bright said. "Getting older and maturing means that in your heart you accept certain things. In Mike's case, you become much more of a professional. You learn how to block out the distractions that inhibit your abilities from peaking.

"Mike has a lot more discipline and it shows, and it will show as his fight career goes on."

Tyson is training in Las Vegas, while Norris will train in Big Bear, Calif., through Oct. 17.

"I see this fight as even, with both being experienced champions," Eduardo Garcia said. "But Orlin is going to look great in the fight."

Norris is sparring with two journeyman heavyweights, Bernard Brown and Jermaine Woods, plus cruiserweight Saul Montana. It's said he weighs 218 pounds and is in fighting condition.

"Orlin beat Mike when they were 16 or 17 years old in an amateur tournament in Texas," Sanchez said. "So, in the back of his mind, he knows he can beat him again. He won't have any fear, knowing he can defeat this man again."

He added that training for Tyson isn't all that difficult, given the man's predictability in the ring.

"Mike only knows one way," Sanchez said. "No matter what happens, he's going to go back to being Mike Tyson. Mike's going to come at Orlin, we understand that. He only knows one way to fight and that's straightforward.

"So if we can nullify that with the jab, I think we can knock him out. You can't stand in front of Tyson; you have to box and give him angles. Mike gets frustrated when you box him."

But that's the old Tyson, the one who was susceptible to such things, his trainers say.

"Now he's putting his punches together, he's stepping around guys and not making himself a target," Brooks said. "That's what we're working on in the gym. Mike knows what he has to do."

* OUT OF TOWN: Both of the former world champions from Las Vegas who were fighting out of town last week won their bouts.

Last Friday in Tunica, Miss., former IBF cruiserweight champ Arthur Williams stopped Dan Ward in the seventh round of a fight scheduled for 10. And one night later, in Albany, Ga., former WBA lightweight champ Livingstone Bramble gained an eight-round decision victory over Benji Singleton.

"I surprised myself," Williams said of handling Ward and improving to 31-5-1. "My jab controlled the fight and everything I threw was on the money. I was in good shape and performed pretty good."

Williams was happy to get a few rounds in, but happier yet to win by knockout.

"The guy was tough and I had to break him down," he said. "I started going to the body and then I connected more upstairs.

"I saw him weakening and in the seventh round I had him on the ropes, and he was staggering. It felt like I threw 50 or 100 punches, and then the ref stepped in and was going to give him a standing eight count.

"But then I looked back around and he just quit. I was kind of glad to get it over with right then."

Promised a rematch with current IBF champ Vassiliy Jirov, Williams is hoping to see that fight fall into place soon but realizes it may not come off until next year. "I might have another fight first," he said.

Bramble gained his victory over Singleton when each of the three judges scored the fight 78-74.

"But it wasn't that easy," Bramble said. "It was a nice decision win and I came out of it safely, so it did me some good."

Career victory No. 40 puts Bramble at 40-14-3 and keeps his comeback alive.

Asked about the prospects of facing someone like Julio Cesar Chavez, who lost a Saturday fight in Las Vegas, Bramble was enthusiastic yet guarded.

"I approached Don King about doing just that (in August)," he said. "I put my name in the hat and they didn't want any part of me.

"But I'd welcome a fight with Chavez. It seems perfect. He needs to fight guys like me because we appeal to the same age group."

* TYSON UNDERCARD: There will be at least four fights on the Tyson-Norris undercard and at least two of them look interesting.

Local featherweight Augie Sanchez, 23-1, takes a huge step up in competition as he's in with former world champ Luisito Espinosa, who is 44-8 yet is still regarded as a formidable contender. They're scheduled for 10 rounds.

Also of special interest is the IBF junior lightweight title fight between Robert Garcia and Diego Corrales. Garcia, 32-0, will be fighting in Las Vegas for the seventh time, while Corrales, 27-0, trains and lives here. This is a mandatory defense for Garcia and it's scheduled for 12 rounds.

Also scheduled are a pair of fights designed to showcase the favorites, as junior welterweight Zab Judah looks to add to his 21-0 record at the expense of Manuel Gomez, and heavyweight David Tua expects to improve on his 34-1 record after meeting Shane Sutcliffe. Both of those fights are scheduled for 10 rounds.

* JOE'S BACK: Saying he's rejuvenated and looking like it as well, Joseph Kiwanuka returned to the gym this week after a lengthy layoff brought on by fatigue and the need for surgery on the retina in his right eye. Kiwanuka, once the NABF champion at 168 pounds, said he would resume his career as a light heavyweight and fight at 175.

He's 26-4-2 and hopes to have a fight near the end of the year. He last fought in April.

"The eye never bothered me but I wanted to get it done before it got any worse," he said Wednesday. "It was good for me to take some time off and have a rest. I'm happy to be back and I feel very strong.

"I think I'll be better at 175 because it got to where I had to lose too much weight to fight at 168."

* QUICK HITS: Forum Boxing of Los Angeles still exists, yet the promotional firm has put on its final show at its home base in Inglewood, Calif., the Forum. In operation since 1978, Forum Boxing has presented 407 shows and will now work out of the Anaheim Pond and other venues. ... America Presents is opening a permanent office in Las Vegas and promoter Dan Goossen, who turned 50 on Monday, has moved from Denver to coordinate and handle the new facility. ... One of America Presents' standouts, WBA junior middleweight champ David Reid, apparently will not face fellow champ Fernando Vargas anytime soon. There had been speculation that the two would square off by next spring, yet HBO's Lou DiBella said this week that "it appears Reid's promotional firm doesn't want a Vargas fight right now." As a result, DiBella is eyeing a Vargas vs. Ike Quartey fight instead.

Heavyweight Ed Mahone, a Las Vegas regular, figures to have his hands full Saturday in Oberhausen, Germany, with Vitale Klitschko. Mahone is 21-0-2 with 21 knockouts, but Klitschko is 25-0 with 25 knockouts and is looking to keep pace with his equally opportunistic brother, Wladimar, who sent Axel Schulz into retirement two weeks ago. "Only knockout victories are real victories," Vitale Klitschko said through his publicist, indicating he expects to pick up another one at Mahone's expense. Yet Mahone thinks otherwise, saying "Klitschko's not the best boxer. He is a threat because of his (6-foot-8) size, but just as tall guys can cause confusion, short guys can too. The only problem I see is getting my punches over the belt. I can't come up with an uppercut as I would on an average guy." ... Las Vegas lightweight James Crayton, 30-11-2 and coming off a tough loss to Ivan Robinson with the NABF title at stake, had hoped to get a fight with undefeated prospect Cory Spinks and headline the Oct. 22 card at The Orl eans . But that fight fell through Wednesday and the particulars on the cardremain uncertain.