Abelyan pulls off stunner against Espadas

Dean Juipe

Monday, Aug. 6, 2001 | 10:07 a.m.

In the rush to get William Abelyan signed and into a fight, someone forgot to give him a copy of the script.

That omission contributed to one of the biggest upsets in recent Las Vegas boxing history.

Expected to go only a few rounds with No. 1 featherweight contender Guty Espadas Sunday afternoon at the Plaza, Abelyan, instead, all but dominated his better-known opponent and walked off with a unanimous decision victory that left everyone in attendance stunned.

"It shocks me," even Abelyan admitted afterward.

This from a man who wasn't approached about the fight until last Wednesday and who wasn't supposed to give Espadas much of a test. Had Abelyan gone five or six rounds and acquitted himself well, most involved in the Top Rank promotion would have been satisfied.

He was, after all, coming in on short notice to take on a former world champion, and he was only doing it because Espadas' originally announced opponent -- Mexico's Sergio Sanchez -- didn't have his papers in order and was turned back at the U.S. border at El Paso.

"I just thought he'd be another opponent," Espadas said. "I didn't think much of him."

That impression changed as the fight wore on and Espadas fell further and further behind.

"He surprised me with his quick left hands," Espadas said. "No question about it: He got me real good with his left."

Abelyan, a 22-year-old southpaw from Armenia who has lived in California and Las Vegas in recent years, twice knocked Espadas down en route to a victory that the judges saw in virtual agreement. Chuck Giampa scored in 97-90, while Carol Castellano and Glen Trowbridge each had it 98-90. The Sun card had Abelyan up 97-91.

"I'm always ready to fight," Abelyan said of stepping in with only four days' official notice, although he said he had been training to fight Aug. 24 in the next card at the Orleans. "I'm strong inside ... I have a strong heart. I want to be known as a good fighter."

His reputation will certainly benefit immediately, if not his checkbook. Abelyan, who was allowed to come in almost five pounds over the featherweight limit, was paid $6,000 for his spot in the televised bout.

He's now 17-4-1 and has won seven straight fights, most of which were in undercard positions at the Orleans.

"I've gone from here to here," Abelyan said, raising his arm from his waist to his shoulders in one motion as he referred to his stature in the game.

Espadas fell to 34-4, and, while he wanted to blame a right hand he said was partially injured coming into the fight, he really only needs to look in the mirror. He did absolutely nothing constructive to win the bout and even when he should have sensed the situation and gone at Abelyan with some urgency, he never mounted a serious rally.

Beaten in February in a close fight with Erik Morales at the MGM, Espadas will certainly fall from the big picture and may even be looking at the end of his career. The son of a former WBA flyweight champion of the same name, Espadas is still only 26 years old but he has a good deal of mileage on him, having fought professionally since 1992.

He was down in the sixth and eighth rounds, and he failed to capitalize on a bad cut near Abelyan's left eye that opened when the latter took Espadas' best punch of the fight -- a solid right -- late in the third round.

"It seemed like Espadas was coasting," said Abelyan's trainer, Kenny Adams. "He seemed confused, or like he couldn't believe what was happening."

In other results: Liborio Romero, 3-0, stopped Ramon Hurtado, 14-5, in the second round of a junior bantamweight fight scheduled for six rounds; Jose Aguiniga, 8-0, was awarded a TKO victory when Jacob Gomez, 8-7-2, couldn't come out for the fifth round of a super bantamweight fight scheduled for six; Arturo Morales, 6-0, took a six-round decision win over Alejandro Jimenez, 11-17-2, in a junior welterweight pairing; and Luis Fuentes, 17-1-1, won by split decision over Marcos Badillo, 16-18-1, in a six-round featherweight bout.

Dean Juipe covers boxing for the Las Vegas Sun. Reach him at juipe@ lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.