Four fighters ready to rumble

Dean Juipe

Friday, Aug. 3, 2001 | 10:38 a.m.

There was no sign of a fight breaking out, even though a couple of them are inevitable.

Gathered Thursday for a press conference, each of the four principal participants for Saturday's fight card at the Mandalay Bay Events Center was receptive and congenial, even toward each other.

Hostilities? There were none to be found.

But come fight time, the stakes should be sufficient to prompt first-rate efforts from everyone involved.

Scheduled: Wladimir Klitschko vs. Charles Shufford in a 12-round heavyweight bout, and Paulie Ayala vs. Bones Adams in a 12-round super bantamweight pairing.

Each is healthy and ready to go.

"Everything's perfect," said the focal point of the show, Klitschko. The German has spent four weeks in Las Vegas training for his fight with Shufford and he says the experience has been fun.

"This is a great city," he said. "My first week here was sort of difficult because of the climate, but since then everything has gone so good.

"I saw a lot of things and did a lot of things the typical tourist doesn't do."

Klitschko is 36-1 with 33 knockouts and is a minus 1200 betting favorite in the hotel's sports book. Shufford, a native of Las Vegas, is 17-1 with nine KOs and a plus 900 underdog.

A proposition bet has been added, and it's even money that the fight goes more than 5 1/2 rounds and a minus 130 that it won't.

Klitschko is getting $212,500 (plus a few deutsche marks for the German TV rights), while Shufford is receiving a career-best $100,000.

"He's a big, strong guy, and I've got to stay smart," Shufford said. "I've got an idea of what he can do in there, and he holds -- and hits and holds -- a lot. He throws elbows, too, so I've got to be ready for some dirty things."

With Klitschko and his people assuming a victory over Shufford and already making plans for another fight in November or December, Shufford hopes to capitalize on the distraction.

"I don't know what he's doing and it doesn't matter to me," Shufford said. "But if he is looking past me, that's great for me."

While Shufford was selected for this fight because he seemed ideal for Klitschko, the opposite could be true.

"He could be the perfect opponent for me," Shufford said. "I've got speed and foot movement that he's never seen. We'll find out, but I don't think he's fast enough to hit me."

Klitschko says he's ready for anything.

"Every fight is like a chess match," he said. "I have some experience in this business and I've learned that every opponent presents a different style. I have to change my style for each opponent.

"I've seen videos of Shufford, and I think I know what to expect. If I have to change or adjust during the fight, I will."

Ayala vs. Adams will be at least as interesting, pitting two diligent and hard-working fighters who have similar styles. Ayala is 32-1 with 12 KOs and Adams is 41-3-3 with 19 KOs.

Adams is a slight betting favorite at a minus 150, with Ayala a plus 120. It's a minus 280 that the fight goes the full 12 rounds and a plus 240 that it won't.

Each man is receiving $500,000.

"He might think he can out-work me, but I can fight at his pace for the whole 12 rounds," Adams said. "I average 80 to 100 punches per round, so there can't be much difference between us."

With both men likely to be active, the stronger puncher -- whoever that may be -- is apt to prevail.

"He may land a few more punches than me, but he'll feel mine more than I'll feel his," Adams predicted. "Everyone underestimates my power, but that's good because they might walk into something stupid."

The fact that Ayala is a southpaw is of little concern to Adams, who says he has faced and beaten several left-handers, including former world champion Kevin Kelly.

"It's never been a problem before, although I'll admit I've never fought a guy like Paulie before," Adams said. "Either way, I'm expecting a long fight with a lot of action.

"The fans that come out will see something good."