Columnist Dean Juipe: Controversy surrounds heavyweight fight

Dean Juipe

Thursday, April 27, 2000 | 9:09 a.m.

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

In that it wouldn't be boxing if there wasn't controversy involved, Saturday's heavyweight championship fight in New York between Lennox Lewis and Michael Grant is anything but an exception to the rule.

First it was a court order stripping Lewis of the WBA portion of his undisputed championship, although that action is being appealed.

Then it was Lewis' unhappiness with the appointed judges.

Now it's Grant's unhappiness with the Reyes gloves that the fighters are contractually obliged to use.

In each case the fight was jeopardized, although not postponed.

Perhaps the money involved -- $10 million to Lewis and $4 million to Grant -- was enough to keep the fighters from following through on their promises to pull out if they weren't satisfied with every little thing.

"I'm expecting a very tough fight," Lewis' trainer, Emanuel Steward, said. "It's the first time I've seen two guys of this size who have talent and have dealt with adversity and have shown they can weather the storm."

Lewis, 35-1-1 with 27 knockouts, stands 6-foot-5 and will weigh-in today at around 242 pounds.

Grant, 31-0 with 22 KOs, is 6-foot-7 and a solid 250 pounds.

They're paired at Madison Square Garden with at least two-thirds of Lewis' titles on the line in a pay-per-view bout that is also available via closed circuit at several Las Vegas casinos.

"Whether people are giving me a chance to win this fight or not is irrelevant," Grant said. "They're not the ones fighting."

Grant is a slight betting underdog for a fight that has the potential to be either very good or fairly mediocre. The drawback: Both men have been involved in fights in which they didn't shine.

"Michael's going to win," Grant's trainer, Don Turner, said. "Lewis is looking ahead and that's a mistake on his part."

Turner is referring to Lewis already having signed for a July 15 fight in London against an opponent yet to be determined. But Lewis maintains he's focused.

"Every time I step in the ring it's a serious fight," he said at Wednesday's press conference in New York. "When you have a man weighing 250 pounds trying to take your head off, you've got to be serious."

Lewis, who also has the WBC and IBF portions of the championship, believes he's coming into his prime at the age of 34.

"I'm at the top of my game right now," he said. "There are some young guys ready to come at me and Michael Grant is just the first, although he won't be the last. I plan to be the champion for a long time."

Grant, 27, is ranked No. 2 by the WBC, No. 2 by the IBF and No. 6 by the WBA. Having won three straight fights in the 10th round, he's predicting he'll win this one in 10 -- providing those Reyes gloves don't hinder his performance.

"I've tried on 16 pairs," he said. "My right hand fits well but my left is uncomfortable. Maybe they have 16 others I can try on; if not, we have a problem."

* QUICK HITS: The Mike Tyson vs. Lou Savarese fight has been rescheduled for June 24, with Milan, Italy, the likely site. Twice postponed by Tyson's indifference, the fight may yet land in Glasgow, Scotland. "We'll know something in a few days," Tyson's promoter, Dan Goossen, said of the uncertainties that remain. ... IBF junior lightweight champ Diego Corrales withdrew from a fight scheduled for Saturday in Reno, and, instead, will fight Las Vegas resident Justin Juuko on the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Shane Mosley undercard June 17 in Los Angeles. Replacing Corrales in Reno is the ring-weary Jorge Paez, 63-14-4, for a fight with fellow Mexican Angel Aldama, 29-19-1. ... On that same Los Angeles card, WBC super bantamweight champ Erik Morales will vacate his title and fight as a featherweight for the first time. He'll face Mike Jaurez, 22-8-1, in what should be an easy debut at the new weight.

Floyd Mayweather's failure to sign a contract extension with HBO in a timely fashion has led to the cable network withdrawing its $12 million offer. The offer had been on the table since August. ... WBA welterweight champ James Page has left Don King Productions and signed with James Prince, who also manages Mayweather. Page is scheduled for a title defense against Andrew Lewis on a June 10 card in Las Vegas. ... WBA featherweight champ Freddie Norwood of Las Vegas has had his mandatory defense with Argentina's Julio Pablo Chacon go to purse bid, with Don King Productions prevailing. No date or site yet for the fight. ... Former IBF cruiserweight champ Imamu Mayfield has replaced James Toney as WBC champ Juan Carlos Gomez's opponent May 6 in Germany. ... Sam's Town will host an amateur card May 6.