Ayala a big favorite to beat Bredahl

Dean Juipe

Friday, March 3, 2000 | 10:40 a.m.

Upstaged to some extent by the presence of Felix Trinidad and David Reid fighting in Las Vegas one day before his title defense, Paulie Ayala was at least spared the uneasiness of having promoter Bob Arum announce an Oscar De La Hoya fight at a Thursday press conference.

While Arum had considered announcing De La Hoya's June fight with Shane Mosley at a press conference at Mandalay Bay, he held back out of respect for Ayala.

"It wouldn't be appropriate," Arum said afterward. "But I'll tell you that (De La Hoya vs. Mosley) is on."

Arum said the exact date and site will be nailed down "next week," but that De La Hoya and Mosley will fight either June 10 or June 17 in either Los Angeles or Las Vegas.

That housekeeping item out of the way, Arum reveled in presenting the particulars for his Saturday card in the Mandalay Bay Events Center that has Ayala meeting Johnny Bredahl in its main event. While Ayala vs. Bredahl doesn't carry the significance of tonight's main event at Caesars Palace that has Trinidad and Reid in a high-stakes showdown, there is little question Arum's card has a quality and balance to it that the Caesars show will lack.

"Top to bottom this is one of the best boxing cards ever assembled," Arum said, and his assessment wasn't totally self-serving. "I know for a fact more people will see this card (on pay-per-view) worldwide than will see Friday's fights from Caesars."

For Ayala, it's a second assignment as a headliner on a major boxing card in Las Vegas, and he took full advantage the first time when he upset Johnny Tapia last June at Mandalay Bay.

Now he's back at the same site to face Bredahl, a European champion who will be fighting for only the third time outside his native Denmark.

Bredahl, 45-1 with 23 knockouts, isn't being given much of a shot by the betting public, as he's a plus 800 underdog in the Mandalay Bay sports book.

Ayala, 29-1 with 12 KOs, is a minus 1200 favorite for the 12-round bout at 118 pounds.

With neither man a noted puncher, the "will go" proposition bet is a minus 150.

Ayala will be defending the World Boxing Association bantamweight championship he took from Tapia last year.

"I've worked too hard to get that title and I'm not going to give it up," Ayala said. "Bredahl can't show me anything I haven't already seen in the ring.

"This is a great card and there's easily a chance for some upsets, but there won't be one in the main event."

Bredahl, 31, has been working out in Las Vegas for almost two weeks, yet, curiously, hasn't been sparring. Nonetheless, he maintains he is fit and prepared for a fight that clearly is the most significant in his 11-year career.

Perhaps fancifully, he admits to dreaming about a win.

"I've had this dream for about 12 years," he said. "Paulie's a nice guy, but he knows he's going to lose. It's my dream and I know it's going to come true."

Predictably, Ayala dismissed Bredahl's claim as wishful thinking.

"Dreams can easily turn into nightmares," he said in a line that was apropos, if not taken directly from the script. "He really doesn't know what he's in for."

Ayala, 29, not only handled Tapia last year but is coming off an equally rigorous fight in October when he withstood the challenge of tough guy Saohin Sorthanikul of Thailand. Those two wins allowed Ayala to claim Ring Magazine's "Fighter of the Year" award for 1999.

"He's close to becoming a legitimate superstar," Arum said. "There are some good fights out there for him and we've already found out that the more people see him, the more they like him."

Conversely, no one in the United States has seen Bredahl and his stay here could be a short one if he isn't up to the task of defeating Ayala. Bredahl's best win may have been his most recent one, when he knocked out England's Paul Lloyd in the first round, but in his only other fight of note he lost to Las Vegas resident Wayne McCullough five years ago in Ireland.

In the event Ayala vs. Bredahl fails to overwhelm the fans, at least they'll be compensated with a strong undercard.

Topping that segment of the show is WBA super bantamweight champ Nestor Garza taking on Las Vegas newcomer Bones Adams in a fight that has the titleholder a 5-1 betting favorite.

Garza, 37-1 with 29 knockouts, violated protocol by admitting he's looking past Adams and that he wants a fight with either Erik Morales or Marco Antonio Barrera.

"Good, I'm glad he said that," Adams replied. "If his mind is somewhere else -- and I actually think it is -- that's all the better for me."

Adams, 38-3-3 with 18 KOs, said he is healthy -- which hasn't always been the case -- and jazzed for an opportunity that came his way when Danny Romero declined the fight with Garza.

"I know this is a tough fight," Adams said. "But I'm going to be the new champion."

Sharing the undercard spotlight is a 10-round bout at the off weight of 151 pounds between Oba Carr and Yory Boy Campas. This one clearly could go either way and that's reflected in the odds, which have Carr at a minus 140 and Campas at even.

"This is very important to my career," Campas said. "If I win this, there are some other good things out there for me."

He's 74-3 with 63 KOs, while Carr is 49-3-1 with 29 KOs.

"I've been through a lot of adversity," Carr said. "But I want to show I can still do the job, and I'm going to finish my career in a glamourous fashion."

Rounding out the card: Romero, 37-3-1, vs. Adarryl Johnson, 11-3-2, 10 rounds, super bantamweights; Butterbean Esch, 52-1-2, vs. George Linberger, 18-4-1, four rounds, heavyweights; Mikkel Kessler, 14-0, vs. Israel Ponce, 15-12, six rounds, middleweights; Simon Welms, 1-0, vs. Juan Maldonado, 3-2, four rounds, heavyweights; and a four-round women's featherweight fight between Nina Ahlin, 5-1-1, and Tracey Stevens, 1-3.