Columnist Dean Juipe: Pair of undercard boxers fighting for their careers

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Nov. 9, 2000 | 3:52 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.

Their careers do not create a mirror image. Nor have Ivan Robinson and Jesse Leija followed exactly the same path.

Yet for all but the fighters, their friends and relatives, their achievements are blurred. Robinson is 29-4-1 and lost his only world title fight, while Leija is 40-5-2 and has won only one of five world title fights.

They're good fighters but maybe not great ones.

And both continue to grasp -- or is it gasp? -- for life in a sport that has treated them well yet will inevitably dismiss them when their talents are no longer marketable.

Robinson, 29, and Leija, 34, are paired in a 10-round lightweight fight Saturday at Mandalay Bay on the undercard of the Lennox Lewis vs. David Tua main event. The loser can, in essence, consider himself through.

"He's an old war horse," Robinson said Wednesday of Leija. "He's got a lot of mileage on him."

When told Leija could say the same thing of him, Robinson took it in stride.

"I know," he admitted. "We're just about even in many respects. He could say he's fought all the great ones, but I've never turned down a fight and the two I had with Arturo Gatti just about equals all of his.

"We could both look at this fight as a crossroads fight, although the last four fights I've had basically were crossroads fights."

Robinson, of Philadelphia, rose to leading contender's status with the two wins over Gatti plus victories over Demetrio Ceballos and James Crayton. Mixed in, however, were losses to Philip Holiday in an IBF title fight, Angel Manfredy and, last April, Antonio Diaz.

Leija, of San Antonio, came to public attention with early wins over Steve McCrory and Troy Dorsey, then fell into a win-some, lose-some stretch in fights with Louie Espinoza, Azumah Nelson, Gabe Ruelas, Oscar De La Hoya and Shane Mosley. He made a good living out of the series even if he only beat Espinoza and Nelson (once in three tries, with the WBC featherweight title at stake in each).

"I know a loss here could really hurt me," Robinson said. "It could damage my career. I could continue to fight but I probably couldn't get the kind of money I've been used to.

"But they thought it was a good fight to put me and him together and, like I said, I've never turned down any fight."

Also on Saturday's undercard: Cliff Etienne, 18-0, vs. Lawrence Clay-Bey, 12-0, 10 rounds, heavyweights; Ben Tackie, 21-1, vs. John Molina, 51-6, 10 rounds, junior welterweights; Phillip Ndou, 20-1, vs. Manuel Sepeda, 11-3-1, 12 rounds, featherweights; Travis Sims, 15-0, vs. Kevin Kelly, 25-6-3, 10 rounds, junior middleweights; and Dominick Guinn, 5-0, vs. James Lester, 5-4-2, six rounds, heavyweights.

"I do have a cyst," he said upon his return from Los Angeles, "but there's a possibility I was born with it and it's not a big deal.

"I'll get the definitive answer and find out if it's dangerous for me to fight. I was already told it wasn't life threatening and that I don't have to worry about getting hit by accident."

McCullough, 30, is 23-3 in what has become something of an injury plagued career. He said he would not fight again unless the report from UCLA "comes back and clears me 100 percent."

* QUICK HITS: There is also a Friday card at Mandalay Bay, to be held inside the House of Blues, but promoters are treating it as an afterthought in spite of the fact it will be nationally televised by ESPN2. The main event matches flyweights Irene Pacheco, 25-0, and Masibulele "Hawk" Makepula, 18-0, with Pacheco's IBF title at stake. First bell is 5 p.m. ... A Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Jorge Monsalvo super bantamweight fight has been added to the Dec. 1 card at the Venetian. Barrera is 51-3, Monsalvo 28-1. ... Regent Las Vegas has picked up a Nov. 26 card that will headline David Reid, 14-1, vs. Kirino Garcia, 28-20-1. ... The next card at the Orleans, Nov. 18, will have Pedro Ortega meeting Dwain Williams in the main event. ... Saturday's Lewis vs. Tua card can also be seen on closed circuit at 13 local sites, including: Mandalay Bay, Caesars Palace, the Luxor, Paris Las Vegas, Bally's, the Monte Carlo, the Flamingo Hilton, the Gold Coast, the Excalibur, Circus Circus, Boulder Station, the San Remo and the Beach. Admission is $40 at each locale.