Columnist Dean Juipe: Contenders are singing same old song to Byrd

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Oct. 21, 1999 | 9:52 a.m.

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

Chris Byrd has grown tired of hearing his fellow up-and-coming heavyweights say they'll fight anybody, anytime, as if they're fearless and ready for any challenge.

He knows better, having battled a certain anonymity during the course of a seven-year pro career that has led to a 27-1 record without even a hint of a title fight or stature-raising showdown.

"It's funny, but I'm the odd man out," Byrd said this week from his home in Flint, Mich., where he was training for a Friday fight in Detroit with journeyman Val Smith. That bout is on the undercard of the Naseem Hamed vs. Cesar Soto main event at Joe Louis Arena.

"There are a bunch of young heavyweights out there and they all say they're willing to fight each other, but if you bring my name up they all say 'no,' " Byrd said. "Like David Tua (who's fighting in Las Vegas on the Mike Tyson undercard Saturday night). I've tried three times to get a fight with him and he knows I'm here, but he just won't do it.

"It's discouraging."

Byrd, a pleasant and well-spoken former U.S. Olympian and silver medalist in the 1992 Olympics, is repetitively bypassed by his contemporaries for two intertwined reasons: He's left-handed and very elusive.

But give him credit for this: At the age of 29 he has bulked up to 225 pounds and is altering his approach to the sport. He realizes his victories haven't been widely appreciated and is willing to sacrifice movement for a power he has rarely shown.

"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," he said. "Boxing purists always loved my style and people used to watch Muhammad Ali go 15 rounds all the time, but this is a different era. Seeing a fight go the distance seems boring now, so I've tried to add some power and weight."

As an amateur, Byrd made his mark as a middleweight (going 267-24) and that's where he started his pro career. But he has fought as a heavyweight for five years and may only now be coming into his own despite a loss last year to Ike Ibeabuchi.

"I'd been passed by so often I actually thought the loss would help me get fights," he said. "But it hasn't happened like that; it's only gotten worse for me.

"Part of it is the business side of boxing and is understandable, but with things not working out for me I really had to decide how badly I wanted to box anymore."

With a renewed commitment, he's hoping to open some eyes.

"I've been a contender for five years without getting a big fight, so I had to do something (different)," he said. "I used to be told I couldn't trade with the big heavyweights because I couldn't last, and that damaged me. But now I'm stronger and even though my power may not be devastating, it's sufficient."

His Friday opponent, Smith, is only 10-11 and Byrd is already looking ahead. Asked who among his peers he'd like to fight, aside from Tua, he surprisingly picked 6-foot-8 Vitali Klitschko.

"But the truth is I'll fight any contender," he said. "Tell them for me: I won't back down."

* DETROIT ADDENDUM: Also fighting Friday in Detroit on the Hamed card is Las Vegas super bantamweight Wayne McCullough, who returned a call Wednesday to say he was primed to upset WBC champion Erik Morales.

"I feel strong and I made weight yesterday," he said. "I was a bit shaky that I couldn't make the weight, but I'm there and that makes me more relaxed."

At a press conference earlier in the day Morales reiterated his earlier prediction that he would win the title fight by knockout.

"That didn't bother me," McCullough said. "I came here to become a champion again and there isn't anything he could say that would affect me. Besides, I think he was just trying to impress Hamed."

McCullough, 23-2, will, as always, be aggressive and attempt to take the fight to Morales, who is 34-0 with a hearty 28 knockouts.

"He's going to come out with his big right hand and start quick," McCullough predicted. "If that doesn't land, he tends to fall into a rut. I figure I can block his best punch by keeping my left up, and he doesn't have much else."

McCullough added that Hamed told him "I can't believe this guy's a big favorite to beat you," and he shares the same outlook.

"I saw where it was 20-1 against me," McCullough said. "But that works for me because I have nothing to lose. I'm not supposed to win this fight, so all the pressure is on Morales."

* ORLEANS CARD: The Orleans will host a Friday card that has light heavyweights David Telesco and Will Taylor in a 12-round main event for the USBA title.

Telesco, 22-2, has overcome two losses early in his career -- as well as a four-year prison sentence -- to steadily increase his stock. A TKO-4 win over Frank Tate a year ago is his biggest victory to date.

Taylor is 15-2 and lost to then-IBF champion Reggie Johnson in his most significant fight.

Also scheduled: James Crayton, 30-11-2, vs. Pedro Saiz, 23-5-3, 10 rounds, junior welterweights; Freddie Neal, 12-0-1, vs. Justo Sanchez, 9-9, 10 rounds, junior lightweights; Mahon Washington, 10-3, vs. Gihat Salman, 16-2-1, eight rounds, junior welterweights; and a women's bout between Summer DeLeon and Victoria Lara.

* QUICK HITS: Las Vegas heavyweight Cliff Couser says he has been approached about meeting Vitali Klitschko Dec. 13 in Germany. ... Las Vegas cruiserweight Arthur Williams raised his record to 32-5-1 by dominating former Las Vegan Daren Zenner last Friday in Pensacola, Fla. Williams won all 10 rounds on each of the three judges' cards in dropping Zenner to 24-4-2. "Zenner was the perfect opponent," said Williams' trainer, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, "because he never moved his head." ... The Orleans has picked up the Junior Jones vs. Tracy Patterson fight scheduled for Nov. 12. ... A Dec. 4 fight once pencilled in for Las Vegas that has IBF junior middleweight champ Fernando Vargas defending against Winky Wright has, instead, gone to an Indian reservation in Oregon. ... Hall of Famer "Doc" Broadus of Las Vegas celebrated his 80th birthday Monday and remarked " I'm the oldest active coach in boxing." ... The UNLV club boxing team will host a four-team tournament Nov. 6 at The Sporting House. Twelve fights are scheduled and admission ranges from $5 to $20 for the fund-raising event that will benefit the Rebels.