Columnist Dean Juipe: Casamayor could shake up 130-pound class

Dean Juipe

Thursday, May 25, 2000 | 10:10 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.

Boxing's most appealing division, the junior lightweights at 130 pounds, looks even more imposing now that Joel Casamayor has claimed the World Boxing Association title.

Fighting Sunday in Kansas City on national TV, Casamayor reinforced his position as a solid and potentially great champion by overwhelming reigning titleholder Jongkwon Baek of Korea. Casamayor dominated from the outset and forced referee Mitch Halpern of Las Vegas to seek a medical opinion from the ringside physician as Baek wilted during the fight.

The bout was stopped in the fifth round and it was the correct call, as Casamayor, 21-0 with 13 KOs, was routinely beating Baek to the punch.

In case there was any doubt, add Casamayor's name to those of Floyd Mayweather, Diego Corrales, Roberto Garcia, Acelino Freitas and Jesus Chavez as junior lightweights offering both speed and power.

"It's going to be tough for anyone to beat Casamayor," said his promoter, Dan Goossen. "A lot of people feel he's the one man who can beat Mayweather and Corrales."

But potential showdowns with those world champions will have to wait, as Casamayor is apt to make his first defense -- or at least his first significant defense -- against Garcia, the former IBF champion who lost to Corrales last year. Goossen's America Presents promotes both men.

"This is something we've promised both fighters," Goossen said Wednesday. "The only way for me to stay behind my word is to follow through and make the fight. It might not have been the norm in recent years for a promoter to put two of his own fighters together, but that's something in boxing we've got to overcome. If the opportunity and the money is there, why should I as the promoter hold the fight up?"

Garcia, 32-1, is fighting Ben Tackie June 3 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. While that bout is at 135 pounds, Garcia has told Goossen he'll get down to 130 for Casamayor.

"He wants the fight and he said making 130 won't be a problem," Goossen said. "When a former champion like Garcia wants his title back, he'll do what it takes. He understands what he needs to do."

As for the title fight's specifics, Goossen said they may be ironed out "within a few days" or at least within the month.

"Casamayor wants the fight, too," he said. "I've told them both we'll get it done by the end of the year, but the sooner the better."

Affiliated with both men as he is, Goossen can't take sides. Yet he senses Casamayor, a 28-year-old native of Cuba who had an almost unbelievable amateur career, has more to gain in the event he wins the showdown with Garcia.

"It gives Casamayor, or even Garcia if he wins, the opportunity to make a statement," Goossen said, "sort of like Corrales did when he beat Garcia."

That goal -- to reclaim the undisputed championship he held in 1990-92 -- may be beyond Holyfield's reach, yet he'll get a shot at the WBA portion when he faces John Ruiz (36-3) June 10 at Caesars Palace. "My job is to fight whoever is there," Holyfield, 37, said, referring to Ruiz's position as the WBA's No. 1 contender. "Whoever I fight I must be the best I can be."

"Finally, a title fight," Sanchez said of landing the bout with Rodriguez, who is 12-5-2 but a loser in three of his five most recent fights. "I don't know anything about the guy but it's a fight for a title that's only one step down from a world championship. I've been waiting patiently for something like this to happen and I'm going to go after whoever is on the other side of the ring."

Sanchez, 22, is 26-1 with 23 knockouts and will be fighting for the 22nd time in front of his hometown fans. "You know me," he said. "I like it any time I'm fighting in Las Vegas."

Three other fights are scheduled on the card, including separate bouts with Freeda Foreman and Maria Johansson, the daughters of former heavyweight champions George Foreman and Ingemar Johansson, respectively.

Losing at the regional finals level were Timothy Coleman (139 pounds) and Davon McClodden (147). Coleman dropped a decision to Steven Martinez, while McClodden lost a decision to George Lopez; both of those winners represented Southern California.

Regional competition was also held among those in the Intermediate (ages 13-14) Division, although those winners do not advance. Gilberto Martinez (90 pounds), Daniel Aguilar (112) and Julio Diaz (139) were locals who won, while Teddy Padilla (75 pounds) and Jimmy Saldana (106) lost.