Columnist Dean Juipe: Trainer shortage deals a blow to amateurs

Dean Juipe

Thursday, April 6, 2000 | 9:26 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.

Nevada's amateur boxing program may have hit rock bottom.

At the regional Golden Gloves tournament last weekend at the Orleans, the state produced only a single champion and he was uncontested in the final. That winner, 112-pound Raul Galvan, advances to the national tournament April 30-May 7 in Detroit.

Nevada representatives competed against counterparts from Arizona, Oregon and Washington at the regional level.

"It's getting worse," lamented Richard Steele, the famed referee who operates the gym at Nevada Partners. "We have some work to do." Steele, speaking after working out in the ring with one of his amateur fighters, said the culprit in the state's decline can be traced to a lack of trainers.

"We don't have the teachers like we used to," he said. "I've got five at this gym for about 60 kids, and Pat Barry has three at his gym for about 50 kids.

"He and I have talked about this and we know what we have to do: We each need about four more trainers and we've thought of running some sort of community service ad. We've also talked about going to the police department, or to probation officials who work with kids, and see if we can't appeal to a few of them to volunteer just one day a week for two hours a day.

"We're losing kids because we're not giving them enough attention."

In addition, Steele says Las Vegas' position as the boxing capital of the world has a flip side to it when it comes to amateur boxing.

"It's good that we're the boxing capital when it comes to the pros," he said. "But it's a bad thing in a way because all the trainers want to work with professional fighters. Plus, we get trainers who might have a good amateur fighter but they're pushing him to turn pro."

Faye Miller at the Golden Gloves Gym agreed there's a shortage of trainers and appealed to retired fighters to fill the void.

"I need trainers so bad," she said. "We've got 40 kids in here any given day and I'm lucky if I have two trainers, or sometimes three.

"What I'd like to see is some of the old fighters, who once had someone help them when they were getting started, come back and give something back. There's a definite need."

* BYRD-TYSON? With World Boxing Organization heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko needing an opponent for a fight scheduled last Saturday in Hamburg, Germany, promoter Dan Goossen released Chris Byrd from his Las Vegas obligation so that Byrd could fight Klitschko. Byrd, who was to have received $25,000 to fight last Saturday at Regent Las Vegas, instead earned a reported $250,000 to meet Klitschko.

Finances aside, it worked out well for Byrd when Klitschko quit after the ninth round due to a tendon injury in his left shoulder. Although Byrd was losing by scores of 89-82, 88-83 and 88-83, he was declared the winner.

With Goossen serving as Mike Tyson's promoter, it's not out of line to expect him to match Tyson with Byrd this summer. Byrd certainly wouldn't object, as the money would be fantastic and, even if he was reluctant to do it, it can be argued he "owes" Goossen for letting him out of his fight here.

"That's true," Goossen said Wednesday. "But what I'd first like to do is have Chris finish what he started with Lawrence Clay-Bey."

Byrd and Clay-Bey were to have fought in Las Vegas until the latter needed eye surgery. He's expected back in the ring by August.

"I'm happy for Chris because I know how tough it is for him to get quality opponents," Goossen said. "And he doesn't have any contractual responsibility to us. But I'd like to see him fight Clay-Bey first."

As for Tyson, who fights Lou Savarese May 20 in Milan, Italy, Goossen said Tyson is more likely to face another Savarese-type opponent this summer before considering someone like Byrd.

"Mike has said he needs two or three fights at that level before he's ready for any of the world champions," Goossen said. "Quite frankly, as much as we may feel he's ready to reclaim the heavyweight title, he wants to fight some other people first."

And as for Klitschko, who embarrassed himself by not finishing the fight regardless of his injury, he's scheduled for surgery today.

"I know I disappointed many of my fans," he said via his publicist. "After the fight people questioned my heart. That hurts me deep. But I made my decision. Health is more important than a victory."

* HARMON-IZED: Las Vegas-based light heavyweight Derrick Harmon raised his record to 20-1 last Saturday in Laughlin by taking an eight-round decision over Wesley Martin, who took the fight on short notice and was allowed to exceed the division's weight limit. The fight was the first for Harmon -- who is ranked No. 5 by the WBA and No. 8 by the IBF -- since August and since taking part in a movie being shot in London that features actor Michael Caine.

Harmon is part of a division that has but a single star -- undisputed champ Roy Jones -- and his manager agrees that there is a shortage of upper-level fighters at 175 pounds.

"There's no middle class in the division," said Arnie Rosenthal. "You're either fighting for no money or you're fighting Jones for good money and a world title.

"In Derrick's case, I think his career is as bright as ever and it's just a matter of keeping him busy. Sooner or later Jones is going to vacate one or all three of his titles and all of a sudden we could get a title fight.

"I think that will happen before the end of the year."

* SHOWTIME CARD: The Showtime cable network has a tripleheader scheduled for Saturday in Paris, France, with the lineup including Fabrice Tiozzo, 41-1, vs. Valery Vikhor, 23-7-4; Randall Bailey, 20-0, vs. Rocky Martinez, 32-3-1; and Byron Mitchell, 20-0-1, vs. Bruno Girard, 36-2-1. All are title fights but only one -- Mitchell vs. Girard -- could go either way, as Tiozzo and Bailey may win their fights with some ease.

Mitchell and Girard, who took part in a conference call this week, fought to a draw Dec. 11 in Tunica, Miss., and this time it's the challenger with the home-court advantage.

"I was worried about it at first," Mitchell admitted. "But it's going to take a lot more than Bruno Girard to beat me."

He likes the Frenchman however and feels their earlier draw may work to his benefit.

"Bruno's a very nice guy, he's cool," Mitchell said. "I'm glad the (first) fight turned out the way it did. If I'd have knocked him out I would have kept going the way I was and someone would have caught me somewhere down the line."

Saying he has learned from his mistakes, Mitchell is looking to be a smarter fighter.

"I underestimated him," he said. "I watched three of his prior fights and thought, 'He's never been in with anyone who hits like me' and that he'd be lucky to go four rounds.

"Every punch I was coming from the beach, from the coast, and he had time to adjust. I got caught up in the heat of the moment. Bruno wobbled a couple of times and I just wanted to get rid of him.

"But now I'm going to throw straighter punches. They get there much faster."

* QUICK HITS: IBF junior lightweight champ Diego Corrales, 31-0, has taken a 10-round, nontitle fight with Ubaldo Hernandez, 13-4-2, scheduled for April 29 at the Peppermill in Reno. ... Las Vegas junior welterweight David Sample improved to 28-6 with an eight-round win over Tony Duran in Santa Fe, N.M. Sample prevailed in spite of the fact he dislocated his left shoulder during the fight. "The referee didn't know what to do," he said. "He gave me a standing eight count but I told him I was OK. I turned right-handed and my defense was still there." It was Sample's third fight this year and he's scheduled for another May 6 in Las Cruces, N.M. "I've got the hunger back," he said. "Inactivity has been my downfall."

Supposedly, 21,000 of the available 24,000 tickets for Tyson's fight in Milan have been sold. The prices ranged from $55 to $1,639. ... Former champ Wayne McCullough expressed his unhappiness with Goossen last week in this space, but the promoter says things are being ironed out. "We've made progress and done it without attorneys being present," he said. "We've made mistakes in communication with Wayne, but we don't want to lose his loyalty and I think he doesn't want to lose ours." ... Goossen on Freda Foreman pulling out a day before her scheduled debut last Saturday: "She wasn't medically fit to fight," he said. Asked to expand, he said only that it was "a medical problem, some type of infection" and denied that Foreman withdrew because of cold feet.

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