Garcia foe fails to show, but Mayweather makes appearance

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Oct. 21, 1999 | 10:03 a.m.

Who was in attendance, as well as who wasn't, caught Robert Garcia's eye.

The International Boxing Federation junior lightweight champion is defending his title Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden on the undercard of the Mike Tyson vs. Orlin Norris main event, taking on mandatory challenger Diego Corrales.

Yet Corrales failed to show at Wednesday's prefight press conference and he took some abuse for it.

Meanwhile, sitting in the audience as nothing more than an interested observer was World Boxing Council 130-pound champ Floyd Mayweather, and he and Garcia seem agreeable to a unification fight that should materialize next year.

Corrales' absence, blamed on medical tests he needed to take, caught everyone by surprise. As did Mayweather's presence.

"I don't know his reasons, but this is something we're supposed to attend," Garcia said of Corrales, who trains regularly in Las Vegas. "I hope he at least shows up at the fight."

Garcia, 32-0 with 24 knockouts, is receiving $200,000 for a fight that had been discussed for some time.

Corrales, 28-0 with 23 KOs, gets $60,000 and was, in fact, due to arrive in Las Vegas on Sunday and stay at The Orleans although he had yet to show by Wednesday afternoon.

"I wish he was here so he could stand up for himself," Garcia's co-manager, Sterling McPherson, said of Corrales. "All I can tell him is that he's earned the right to meet the champion, so he'd better be ready."

Corrales, 22, could disrupt Garcia's plans, yet the 24-year-old champion is already looking past him to Mayweather.

"We're friendly," Garcia said of his relationship with Mayweather. "I know Corrales is a good fighter but I'm the champion and I'm looking for bigger fights down the road.

"I saw that Floyd showed up today and he's as interested as I am in unifying the titles. We've talked about fighting each other and it looks like it's going to happen.

"I don't have anything against him and it'll make for a good fight."

Garcia will be fighting for the first time since a January decision win over John John Molina in Las Vegas. He gained the IBF championship a year earlier by taking a decision over Harold Warren, and he has an addition successful defense against Ramon Ledon under his belt.

Corrales will be making a significant step up in competition, as he has never faced anyone at or near Garcia's skill level. Nonetheless, the Sacramento native has had his moments of brilliance and moved into the IBF's mandatory position quite some time ago.

"Garcia likes guys who just stand in front of him and throw punches," Corrales said during training camp for this fight. "I'm not going to fight his fight. I'm going to fight smart, stay within myself, box, and make him fight my fight."

* MGM UNDERCARD: Two changes for the worse this week have reduced the stature of the MGM's Saturday undercard.

Former WBC champion Luisito Espinosa has withdrawn from his 10-round fight with local featherweight Augie Sanchez, as he is suffering from a contagious eye infection. Espinosa has been replaced by Daniel Jiminez in a move that came as a blow to the upwardly mobile Sanchez.

"Now I have to psych myself out," Sanchez said of the late shift in opponents. "I have to go in there and think it's still Espinosa."

Sanchez is 22-1 and was hoping to add a second victory over an ex-champ, having knocked out Jorge Paez earlier this year.

"I don't know anything about Jiminez," he said. "I'd like to find a tape of him, but, if we can't, I'll have to feel him out. I'm ready for anybody but this was a real change of plans."

Jiminez is 27-7-1 and took a fight on short notice that a pair of ex-champions, Kevin Kelley and Kennedy McKinney, declined.

Also losing some of its luster was an outing that features rising junior welterweight star Zab Judah. While Judah, 19-0 with 14 knockouts, was to have met journeyman Manuel Gomez in a 10-round bout, that fight has been deleted and Judah will, instead, only spar in an exhibition that has the potential of drawing catcalls.

Gomez, 17-10, has been scrapped and Judah will spar with Juaquin Gallardo, plus another sparring partner yet to be determined. Judah will go three rounds with each.

Also scheduled: David Tua, 33-1, vs. Shane Sutcliffe, 21-8-1, 10 rounds, heavyweights; Duncan Dokiwari, 14-1, vs. Agustin Corpus, 7-3-2, eight rounds, heavyweights; and a women's welterweight fight between Isra Girgrah, 11-2-1, and Maruscha Sjauwenwa, 5-4.

Of note on the Tua vs. Sutcliffe fight: Tua is ranked No. 1 by the IBF and has been mentioned as a possible opponent for Tyson on a Dec. 11 card that's tentatively scheduled for the MGM; Sutcliffe has lost three consecutive fights by knockout, falling to Trevor Berbick, Oleg Maskaev and Brian Nielsen.

Doors open Saturday at 4 p.m. and the first fight is an hour later. The Tyson vs. Norris main event will not start until Game 1 of the World Series is over, or 9 p.m., whichever comes first.