Columnist Dean Juipe: Joppy now first in line to face Trinidad

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Nov. 30, 2000 | 12:45 p.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.

As recently as his last fight, Sept. 16 in Las Vegas with ex-champ Hacine Cherifi, World Boxing Association middleweight champion William Joppy talked wistfully of a bigger fight with Bernard Hopkins.

Terms such as "inevitable" and contingencies like "if the money is right" dotted his prose.

Now, 10 weeks later, Joppy has left Hopkins at the altar. By chance, it seems, Joppy, 31-1-1, has moved to the front of the line to face Felix Trinidad in the event Trinidad gets past Fernando Vargas when they clash Saturday night at Mandalay Bay.

With far more money to be made fighting Trinidad than Hopkins, Joppy is agreeable. The fight he once said he "needed to get over the hump" is one with Trinidad, not one with Hopkins.

Trinidad, to clarify, will vacate the 154-pound division and move to 160 if he defeats Vargas. Negotiations are already under way to put a Trinidad vs. Joppy fight together, it was said Wednesday at a press conference to promote Saturday's card, which includes a Joppy title defense against unsung Jonathan Reid.

Reid may be 27-0 with 16 knockouts but he's the third scheduled opponent for Joppy within the last 10 days and maybe the weakest of the lot. Originally scheduled opponent Guillermo Jones backed out due to weight issues, and initial sub Julio Garcia -- a Las Vegas-based Cuban with a 21-0-2 record and a big punch -- was jettisoned when Reid became available.

Hopkins, who is fighting Friday night in Las Vegas and defending his International Boxing Federation title at 160 pounds, has said he will attend the card at Mandalay Bay and will call out Trinidad -- should he win -- to fight him instead of Joppy.

All these years without a unification fight in the middleweight division and, today, the champions are no closer than ever to getting it done.

Weigh-ins are Friday at 3 p.m. in the Events Center and are open to the public. ... Trinidad won a toss of a coin and Vargas will enter the ring first. ... Jay Nady referees the main event with Stanley Christodoulou, Glen Hamada and Duane Ford judging. ... Tickets are $50 to $1,500. ... The local pay-per-view blackout remains in effect. ... The fight is also available at 11 local sites on closed circuit, including Mandalay Bay, Caesars Palace, the Luxor, the Stardust, Circus Circus, the MGM Grand, the Aladdin, the Excalibur, New York New York, The Beach and the Primadonna. Admission is $50 with a 6 p.m. start.

Echols is 24-3-1 with 23 knockouts and, for the second time in his career, holds the only two minor belts of any significance, the North American Boxing Federation and United States Boxing Association titles. He's surrendering those belts to challenge Hopkins for his world title.

Tony Weeks will referee the main event with Bill Graham, Robert Byrd and Dave Moretti judging.

Also scheduled: Marco Antonio Barrera, 51-3, vs. Jesus Salud, 62-9, 12 rounds, super bantamweights; and Roshii Wells, 13-0-1, vs. Angel Hernandez, 18-1, 10 rounds, junior middleweights.

Also scheduled: Jose Luis Lopez, 43-4-2, vs. David Lewter, 18-3, 10 rounds, middleweights; Daniel Judah, 7-0-1, vs. Eric Howard, 7-3-1, six rounds, super middleweights; and bouts featuring super middleweight Anthony Hanshaw (8-0), lightweight Juan Diaz (5-0) and super middleweight Roger Vargas (pro debut) against opponents yet to be determined. Vargas is the brother of Fernando Vargas.

The remainder of this card has yet to take shape.