Columnist Dean Juipe: Forbes becomes LV’s newest world champ

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Dec. 7, 2000 | 10:30 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.

Las Vegas has a new world champion in its midst, as Steve Forbes acquired the International Boxing Federation's junior lightweight championship Sunday in Miami when he prevailed in a title fight with John Brown.

Forbes and Brown were matched for a championship that came vacant this fall when Diego Corrales -- perhaps prematurely -- relinquished his belt at 130 pounds.

Corrales is still fighting at 130 and will face Floyd Mayweather Jr. at that weight, but now it's Forbes with the IBF title.

"I've dreamed of this since I was 10 years old," Forbes said of becoming a legitimate world champion. "It's even better than I thought (it would be). I'm so happy."

He won the fight when Brown suffered a perforated eardrum and the bout had to be stopped at 2:22 of the eighth round. Brown was bleeding profusely from his left ear at the time of the doctor's stoppage.

The nationally televised fight was closely contested, although Forbes' superior quickness may have given him the inside track in the event it went the fully scheduled 12 rounds.

Coming off an equally impressive win over David Santos, Forbes is now 19-1 and is in the mix of an attractive weight class. A pro -- and Las Vegas resident -- since 1996, Forbes was fighting for the eighth time this year and earned his fifth overall knockout.

He's a six-time former Golden Gloves champion as well.

"I'm a lot better puncher than I once was," he said of his relatively low knockout ratio.

Brown dropped to 22-8.

"The judge has put the case on a fast track," Arum said. "I think it'll go to trial in April."

Arum maintains his contract with De La Hoya runs into 2004 while De La Hoya's legal position is that Arum was his de facto manager and, consequently, not entitled to a promotional contract with the fighter under California law.

"That's their position and it's absurd," Arum said. "They don't know boxing with a statement like that."

Arum is willing to let De La Hoya out of his contract in exchange "for just compensation." De La Hoya has offered $3 million, which Arum rejected.

It's believed Arum is looking for at least $10 million to allow De La Hoya to go free.

But the fight was anything but what Mahone imagined, as Bostice rose to the occasion and won a 10-round unanimous decision.

Now, while Mahone stews and drops well back into the heavyweight ranks, Bostice advances and will face Al Cole in the main event Friday at the same site.

"I heard that Mahone was saying he could beat me in three or four rounds," Bostice said Wednesday. "But I just stood right there and fought him. As the rounds progressed, I threw caution to the wind.

"I got hit more than I usually do, but I knew with my conditioning that he couldn't keep going. I knew he couldn't hang."

The victory upped Bostice's record to 24-2-1 with 13 knockouts and enabled him to land this fight with Cole, a former cruiserweight world champion who is 31-6-2 with 16 KOs.

But Cole is only 5-5-2 as a heavyweight.

"I met him once before but I don't know much about him," Bostice said of Cole. "One thing I do know is that he's going to lose this fight. I'm going to take him out."

Cole, 36, has won only one of his six most recent fights and does not own a victory over a highly regarded heavyweight.

Bostice, 28, will be fighting for the sixth time this year and has put an April knockout loss to Wladimir Klitschko behind him.

"Things are going great," he said. "I took the Mahone fight to let everyone know I'm a different fighter than I showed against Klitschko. I took it to show I always come to fight and that I'm not afraid of anyone."

Five other heavyweight bouts are on the card, including: Attila Levin, 16-1, vs. Russell Chasteen, 14-2, six rounds; Kelvin Hale, 11-1-1, vs. David Vedder, 20-18-3, six rounds; Talmadge Griffis, 14-1-2, vs. Howard Alston, 15-2, 10 rounds; Davarryl Williamson, 3-1, vs. Al Lassiter, 3-2, four rounds; and Dominick Guinn, 5-0, vs. Anthony Moore, pro debut, four rounds.

First bell is 7 p.m.

"The secret to taking good fight action is anticipation," he said.

The issue is due on newsstands today.