Tapia ready to release his fury

Dean Juipe

Friday, Oct. 6, 2000 | 10:21 a.m.

It's usually routine and it concludes virtually every boxing press conference.

The procedure: The main-event participants pose together, almost always with fists raised and frequently with mock indignation, for the benefit of photographers and historians.

But Thursday at the MGM, Johnny Tapia declined to pose with his Saturday opponent in the Grand Garden Arena, Paulie Ayala. Without dusting off the exact cliche, Tapia said later it was a matter of wanting to be safe as opposed to sorry.

"I got too much in me right now," he said, cocking his fist for emphasis, although he and Ayala posed rather chummily when the fight was announced in August.

"I don't even want to see him," Tapia added, and he didn't allow himself as much as a glance at Ayala during the hour-long session conducted by promoter Bob Arum.

It's clear Tapia has worked himself into a good lather. Whether that's enough to avenge his 1999 loss to Ayala won't be known until the fight plays itself out before a Showtime cable-TV audience and a live crowd anticipated to be around 7,000.

Tapia may have lost by majority decision the first time around yet he's getting more money and is the betting favorite for the rematch. He'll receive $600,000 as part of his contract with Showtime and he remains a minus 175 in the MGM sports book.

Ayala is getting $400,000 and is a plus 155.

Tapia, of Albuquerque, is 48-1-2. Ayala, of Fort Worth, is 30-1.

By flip of a coin, Ayala will be the first to enter the ring and the last to be announced. Tapia will come in second and be introduced first.

Tapia also said not to worry about a final potential stumbling block, as he said he will make the fight's 124-pound weight limit at today's 4 p.m. weigh-in.

"It hasn't been hard," he said. "I've been around 126 for two weeks."

The six-bout card opens at 5:30 p.m. and includes a World Boxing Association flyweight title defense by Eric Morel. He's in with a late-replacement, Gilberto Keb, after his initial challenger, ex-champ Jose Bonilla, backed out.

Because of its "in-between" weight, Ayala vs. Tapia will not have a legitimate title at stake and Ayala will retain his WBA bantamweight belt regardless of the fight's outcome.

"This will be a better fight than last time," Ayala's lead trainer, Henry Mendez, predicted. "Paulie's been in the gym a long time and we're ready."

Conversely, Tapia's trainer, Jesse Reid, is confident in his man and happy to be back with him for a third time.

"Johnny's a special individual, he's somebody a coach dreams about," Reid said. "He's like a son to me. All the knowledge I've picked up in the game is going to be passed on to him."

Ayala is ready for that type of career-defining challenge.

"I've been looking forward to this fight since I won the first one," he said. "It's definitely going to be intense. It'll be the best show in Las Vegas on Saturday night."

For complete fight information go to:

http://www.vegas.com/shows/ayalatapia.html