Abelyan now basking in spotlight

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Aug. 23, 2001 | 9:51 a.m.

Had William Abelyan's phone not rang Aug. 1 with the opportunity of a lifetime, he would have been fighting Friday night at the Orleans.

Instead, if he chooses to make an appearance at the Orleans show it will be as something of a celebrity. He is, after all, the man who upset No. 1 featherweight contender Guty Espadas Aug. 5 at the Plaza, taking the fight on extremely short notice and pulling off one of the greater upsets in recent boxing history.

"I'm still shocked," Abelyan said Wednesday. "I wasn't even ready to fight and I had a sore left shoulder.

"But I always knew something good was going to happen in my boxing career, and there it was."

Abelyan, 22, had been in light training for a promised fight at the Orleans when the call came to see if he could step in and replace a border-detained Sergio Sanchez for the fight with Espadas. When Abelyan accepted, it set in motion a series of events that have increased his stature in the sport tenfold.

"William might not be a great fighter but he's a very tough fighter to beat," said his agent, Cameron Dunkin. "Early in his career he got thrown in with some tough fighters and he never had the right trainer.

"I looked at him as a guy who could make the top 10, and we took the fight with Espadas feeling we could win.

"Well, guess what? Boom ... just like that ... he's in the top 10."

Now trained by Kenny Adams, Abelyan is a southpaw who has lived in Las Vegas the past three years while compiling a record of 17-4-1 with nine KOs. But until the win over Espadas, he was relegated to the club-level fights that are the forte of venues such as the Orleans.

"I've talked to several promoters -- Lou DiBella, Cedric Kushner, (Top Rank's) Todd duBoef -- about William's next fight," Dunkin said. "He's a free agent, so he can fight for anyone.

"What I'd like to do is get him into some kind of title eliminator. I've got to pick the right shot for him."

Abelyan was an off-the-board underdog for his fight with Espadas, who came into their fight 34-3 with 33 knockouts and looking only to stay active as he awaited a likely return bout with WBC champ Erik Morales. And by the end of the third round, with Abelyan's left eye bloodied, it appeared as if the fight was going as planned and Espadas' way.

Yet Abelyan's corner got the cut -- which later required 14 stitches -- under control and he shocked Espadas in the sixth round with a picture-perfect left that sent the former WBC interim champ to the seat of his pants.

"That one just happened," Abelyan said. "I didn't see it coming but it was right on time."

The fight then swung decisively and Abelyan was in control, especially after putting Espadas down again in the eighth.

"I remember seeing his body was open and I hit him with a right hook and then a left to the chin," Abelyan said of the second knockdown. "He was wide open."

Amid the pandemonium, Abelyan noticed his opponent's reaction and gauged the implications.

"He was looking over to his corner like he was ready to quit," Abelyan said. "I think he did quit after that. I had hurt him and he really didn't want to go on."

Espadas, rather meekly, finished the fight and lost by 8, 8 and 7 points on the judges' cards. "He told me later, 'I never fought this kind of fight,' " Abelyan said of surprising the heavy favorite.

"If a guy's not ready for a southpaw, it gives you a chance to win," Dunkin said. "When I heard that Espadas was going to come in (over the featherweight limit) at 129, it told me he was out of shape.

"Still, William had some things to overcome and it was Kenny who made him believe he could do it. They both did a great job."

Abelyan, who was paid a mere $6,000 for the fight with Espadas, wasted no time getting back in the gym even if his immediate future has yet to be determined. While saying he prefers fighting at 122 pounds, it appears as if he's a featherweight with some promise.

"Espadas came to win and thought he was going to knock me out," Abelyan said. "But I told him 'No.' "

He laughed, perhaps at the simplicity of it all. One phone call, one great fight, one upward surge of momentum.