Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Columnist Dean Juipe: Bramble’s toughest challenge: Finding someone who’ll fight him

Dean Juipe's boxing notebook appears Thursday. His sports column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4084.

Livingstone Bramble wouldn't feel so bad about his meandering career if he wasn't in such good shape.

But the fact that he's stoked and ready to go only adds to his dismay when scheduled fights are dropped and potential opponents keep him at arm's length.

Bramble, a former World Boxing Association lightweight champion, is finding it difficult to locate capable sparring partners and just as difficult to find quality fights. A keep-busy type of fight with Bruce Corby had been scheduled for last Sunday in Scranton, Pa., but was called off on short notice when the promoter -- who doubles as Corby's manager -- cited "paperwork" problems in killing the bout.

"I can't seem to get a break," Bramble lamented Wednesday. "It's really disappointing, especially at my age, that I can't get the kind of fights I want."

Bramble, 39, 40-14-3 and long known for his iron chin, believes Corby's people got wind of his excellent condition.

"It's pretty terrible when you feel a scouting report cost you a fight," he said. "I'm trying not to let it depress me and I'm definitely not going to quit.

"The truth is, I'm ready once again to fight the ranked guys. I'm in as good a shape as I've been in for 10 or 12 years and the guys I do spar with say it's like hitting a stone wall."

The Las Vegas resident, who defeated Ray Mancini for his WBA championship in 1984 and who successfully defended that title against Mancini a year later in a well-remembered fight in Reno, has switched gyms and is begging for a local fight.

"I know there are a lot of people in Las Vegas who want to see me fight," he said, "and it only makes sense that I get a fight here."

Now training at the Ringside Gym after a lengthy stay at the Golden Gloves Gym, Bramble manages himself and says he receives inquiries for fights -- yet few takers.

"I get all kinds of calls," he said. "But nothing much has come through."

A bout with fellow former champion Miguel Angel Gonzalez on the Kostya Tszyu vs. Julio Cesar Chavez card July 29 in Phoenix may yet fall into place for Bramble.

"They told me it was 90 percent for sure," he said. "But now I haven't heard anything back from them in days. I think the trouble is, I want to fight only at 140 and they might be looking for a welterweight."

At 140, Bramble has at least two prominent fellow Las Vegans he could fight: Vince Phillips and/or James Crayton.

"Phillips would be perfect," Bramble said. "Crayton, we've talked about it. In both cases, if somebody here in town could make the match all they have to do is call me up.

"I can't believe how good I feel. Now I just need a real fight."

Neither man did the usual prefight conference calls and, if anything, Lewis seems preoccupied with arranging a fall fight with Mike Tyson. Reports from his training camp earlier this week indicate a bout with Tyson is all Lewis has on his mind.

Lewis is 36-1-1 and Botha is 40-2-1.

In Las Vegas, Lewis ranges from a minus 1500 to a minus 1800 betting favorite, with Botha ranging from a plus 1000 to a plus 1200 underdog. Gene Kivi, the sports book director at Mandalay Bay, checked his computer records Wednesday and said very little action has been taken on the fight.

"No, we haven't had much," he said. "Personally, I think it's going to be a great fight and, as we all know, anything can happen with the heavyweights.

"I was hoping this fight would be in Las Vegas, because we'd do a lot more business if the fight was anywhere in town. But it's not only not here, it won't be on live TV and that hurts the books, too."

He gives Botha a decent chance.

"Botha's a big guy and he's hard to hit," Kivi said. "And the uncertain thing about Lewis is that he can be hit and he has been hurt. I think it's a good fight."

HBO will televise the bout -- and its 10-round heavyweight companion feature, Wladimir Klitschko (33-1) vs. Monte Barrett (23-1) -- on a delayed basis, at 9 p.m.

He was certified as a referee at last Friday's meeting of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

"I sure did appreciate Nevada while I was gone," he said. "I worked a few fights in Ohio but it's nothing like it is here. Most of the fights there are four and six rounds, and the judges keep their cards until the very end.

"It was an experience, to put it mildly."

Gibson, 52, moved back to Las Vegas three weeks ago. Prior to making this latest move, he was here a month ago and had lunch with fellow referee Mitch Halpern.

"God moves in strange ways," Gibson said. "I came back to Vegas a month ago to test the waters and I had lunch with Mitch. He said something to me -- he said 'I see a big, big difference in you; you're calmer and more at ease with yourself' -- and I feel the same way.

"I feel like I took the negative of going to Ohio and turned it into a positive. It's great to be back."

A shift supervisor at the Excalibur before moving to Ohio, Gibson has taken a security position at the Texas Station hotel-casino.

A proposed title defense against mandatory challenger Antonio Cermeno has been delayed and should take place later this year.

"Cermeno has some legal troubles," said Adams' booking agent, Cameron Duncan. "He was arrested on a murder charge (in Venezuela) although he has since been released. But he wasn't ready to fight in August."

Adams, 39-3-3, is unlikely to struggle with Fernandez, who is 15-4. The fight with Cermeno should follow on Adams' schedule.

The Regent Las Vegas sports book is limiting its Tua vs. Daniels action to round propositions, presumably the result of believing Tua is certain to win the fight by knockout. There are odds up on each round, with the primary prop a minus 180 that the fight does not go past the 1:30 mark of the fourth round. It's a plus 140 that it will. ... Due to a lack of proper sparring, local super bantamweight Wayne McCullough has pulled out of his spot on the Tua vs. Daniels undercard. "I want to be 100 percent and I'm not," he said. "They don't really need me for this show, so we're shooting for an early September card at the Regent." ... Non-Showtime subscribers interested in seeing the Aug. 12 WBA heavyweight title fight between Evander Holyfield and John Ruiz at Paris Las Vegas can get the fight on pay-per-view for $20. ... A July 29 card that had been offered ar ound town has landed at Caesars Tahoe and will feature super bantamweights Nestor Garza and Daniel Jimenez.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission will hold a hearing on proposed rules changes Aug. 16 at 9 a.m. at its offices on East Washington St. Among the changes: bumpers on the ring apron that usually serve as advertising for the host site will be outlawed. "That was a safety issue we needed to address," said NSAC executive director Marc Ratner. "Fighters were stepping on them and there was a chance of injury. Some of our commission people couldn't see over them, either." Another regulation being modified would prevent the sale of tickets to a fight card until the card's date is approved by the commission. Anyone wishing to address the NSAC on the issues up for discussion at the hearing will be allowed to do so. ... Roy Jones' defense of his undisputed light heavyweight titles is set for Sept. 9, with Eric Harding providing the opposition and New Orleans appar ently getting the card.

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