Columnist Dean Juipe: Norwood captures decision despite ruckus in Argentina

Dean Juipe

Thursday, June 1, 2000 | 10:40 a.m.

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

The level of predictability lessens considerably anytime a fighter leaves his home region, let alone his home country, for a fight. And while Las Vegas resident and World Boxing Association featherweight champ Freddie Norwood won his bout with Julio Pablo Chacon last Thursday in Mendoza, Argentina, he didn't leave unscathed.

In fact, to hear trainer Kenny Adams tell it, the scene was downright riotous.

"There were 17,000 people there and they were throwing all kinds of s--- at us," Adams said. "We were never in harm's way, yet they were throwing rocks, apples, oranges and plastic soda bottles. We needed a complete police escort to get out."

Aside from defeating the fans' hometown hero, Norwood incensed the crowd with his antics.

"Freddie was taunting the crowd so much," Adams said. "Chacon would hit him and Freddie would just smile or shake his head or beat his chest."

Norwood, 37-0-1, won convincingly as the judges scored it 118-109, 117-111 and 116-112 in his favor. Chacon, 35-1, was down in the third round and survived, in part, because Norwood let him.

"Freddie took care of business all the way, yet there was one time when I asked him if he thought it was time to finish him off," Adams said. "Freddie said 'No, I want to punish him and make him pay' because of the way the crowd was acting."

Chacon was the WBA's mandatory challenger and the fight went to his hometown via a purse bid.

"It was a pretty one-sided fight," Adams said. "This cat didn't have the experience to hang with Freddie and I'm not sure how he got to be ranked No. 1."

While Norwood isn't known as the most marketable of fighters, Adams made it a point to hype his man now that Naseem Hamed is still looking for an opponent for an Aug. 19 fight in Las Vegas.

"The Prince is scared of him," Adams said. "Freddie beats him. He's the only guy who has the strength, speed and power to do it.

"I don't know if the fight will happen, but Freddie's doing his part. He's already called Hamed a punk."

Selected to referee Saturday's main event at the MGM between David Tua and Obed Sullivan was Joe Cortez, with Chuck Giampa, Bill Graham and Patricia Jarman-Manning serving as judges.

For the June 16 main event at Mandalay Bay between Andrew Golota and Orlin Norris, Mitch Halpern will referee and Carol Castellano, Ford and Jarman-Manning will judge.

And Kenny Bayless was picked to referee the June 18 main event between Hector Camacho Jr. and Manard Reed at Regent Las Vegas, with Castellano, Ford and Dick Houk selected as judges.