Sanchez vows to fight the best

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Dec. 14, 2000 | 10:46 a.m.

As a young man coming off a vicious fight, Augie Sanchez is entitled to return to the ring against someone less than world-championship caliber.

But the Las Vegas featherweight is going against the accepted grain and on Jan. 6 at Texas Station he'll face former two-time world champion Luisito Espinosa in a 10-round featherweight bout beneath the Joel Casamayor vs. Roberto Garcia main event.

Espinosa, of the Philippines, is clearly a fighter in decline yet he's 44-9 and was among the finest fighters in the world five or 10 years ago.

"Now's as good a time as any to fight him," Sanchez said of agreeing to the bout. "My peak years are just starting to begin and I want to fight the best. I don't want to dodge anybody."

Sanchez vs. Espinosa has been on the boxing schedule before but the fight never came off.

"It seems like I was supposed to fight him a few times," Sanchez said, injuries and assorted contractual disputes having prevented the earlier fights from actually coming to pass.

Sanchez, 22, is 26-2 with 23 knockouts but is only five months removed from a tough loss to Prince Naseem Hamed.

On Aug. 19 in Mashantucket, Conn., with a national TV audience watching on HBO, he brawled with the undefeated Hamed before losing by fourth-round knockout. Both men were up and down throughout the fight, Hamed sent to his backside in the second round and Sanchez KO'd by a three-punch combination in the fourth.

At the time of the stoppage, Hamed led by 29-28 scores on each of the judges' cards.

"Why did everyone underestimate Sanchez?" Hamed asked after the fight, his eyes blackened and his nose still bleeding. "He seemed to be very strong."

Equally bruised, Sanchez was carried out of the ring on a stretcher and with an oxygen mask attached. He made a brief hospital visit but was quickly cleared and, amazingly, one week later was back in Barry's Boxing gym in Las Vegas.

"It wasn't just a loss, it was a loss to the No. 1 guy in the world," Sanchez said. "I didn't win the fight but I exposed a lot of his faults."

Asked what he would do differently in a rematch, Sanchez said "I would keeping boxing him instead of trying to slug it out."

While the result went against him, Sanchez came out of the affair with his pride intact and his reputation none the worse for wear. He actually gained some respect, not only from Hamed, but from the boxing community at large for banging with a renowned big hitter.

Now he's headed back into the ring against a lesser man yet a man who has been around and won his share of significant fights. Espinosa, 33, became the World Boxing Association bantamweight champion in 1989 by defeating Kaokar Galaxy and held that title for two years. In 1995 he returned to championship status by beating Manuel Medina with the World Boxing Council featherweight belt on the line.

But he has lost his last two fights, albeit to solid competitors in Cesar Soto and Guty Espadas, and his chin is in question.

"I'm going to try and out-smart him," Sanchez said. "I'm going to take it to him and put pressure on him. What it boils down to is that I'm looking to knock him out.

"Instead of being 'Kid Vegas' I'm want to be 'Mean Vegas.' "

He's hoping the experience of having faced Hamed will pay off not only against Espinosa but throughout the remainder of his career.

"Espinosa could be a tough fight, but only if I make it difficult," Sanchez said. "If everything goes right, I'll make the rest of my fights look easy."

An accomplished amateur champion who holds wins over Diego Corrales and Floyd Mayweather Jr., Sanchez has his sights set on the grand prize in 2001. But on deck first is a man with 12 world title fights under his belt.

"I really want to become a world champion," Sanchez said. "To do that, I'll fight anyone who steps up to the plate."

Batter up.