Columnist Dean Juipe: America Presents fighting through tough times

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Aug. 23, 2001 | 10:01 a.m.

Dean Juipe's boxing notebook appears Thursday. His sports column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Reach him at 259-4084 or juipe@lasvegassun.com.

It's probably cyclical, a bump in the road that will someday pass.

Yet no promotional firm would seem to deserve the rash of misfortune, bad luck and losses that have plagued virtually every fighter in the America Presents stable in recent weeks.

If something untoward could happen to an America Presents fighter, it probably did.

"We're not bad people," said promoter Dan Goossen of the Las Vegas-based firm. "I certainly feel we can get things turned around.

"Maybe then people will look at us and say we're overnight sensations."

Right now those same people are saying America Presents is snakebit.

From David Tua to David Reid to Hector Camacho Jr. to Wayne McCullough to Augie Sanchez, and to a lesser extent to Joel Casamayor and Steve Forbes, America Presents has suffered through a period of more losses and public relations disasters than wins. And that's not even including Lance Whitaker's decision to bolt the firm after finally being positioned as a leading heavyweight contender.

The following is a look at what each of these fighters presently faces.

"One thing I've learned is that I'll never put David in with another southpaw, especially one that can move like Chris Byrd," Goossen said this week. "He tried and I certainly saw some better offensive and defensive looks, but I also feel David's better than he has shown.

"You deal with reality when you lose a fight like this. If you lose, you regroup and go on.

"We're regrouping. And something to remember about the heavyweight division is that you're always in the picture. Your sins can be forgiven."

In an attempt to revive Reid's career -- and, arguably, get him one big payday before his career is over -- Goossen has been pleading with Oscar De La Hoya's people for a December fight in Las Vegas.

"I've spoken with them several times," he said. "I'd say we're in line, but we're not necessarily their first choice.

"But it would be a good fight for David because he needs to have an incentive. I think the reason people say they haven't seen the talent they expect from David Reid in his recent fights is that he's lacked motivation.

"I'm trying to provide that for him with a significant fight."

Camacho, a junior welterweight who is 33-0, initially won that five-round fight by 1, 3 and 3 points on the judges' cards, although the result was later changed to a no-contest. In the aftermath Camacho was on the receiving end of considerable abuse, which led to an agreement for an October rematch. But now Camacho has pulled out of that fight, claiming his doctor says the cut is insufficiently healed at this time.

"He's got to get back in the ring with Leija in front of him," Goossen said. "Right now the doctor says he shouldn't go forward, but Hector will fight Leija in his next fight as long as Leija still wants to do it."

"We want him to fight in October or no later than November on Fox, and then maybe in Dublin," Goossen said of the Irish-born McCullough, who is 23-3. "He needs to get back in action and let the people know he's still out there."

"I know he wouldn't pull out if he wasn't hurt, and now I think it's obvious the two times he had to pull out were related," Goossen said. Sanchez's mother-in-law, Dawn Barry, agrees.

"We took him to UMC but they only X-rayed him," she said, going back to a scheduled early summer fight in San Antonio that never came to pass. "They said they thought it was a muscle pressing against a kidney, so we got a sports therapist and thought he was feeling better.

"This week we've had him at Valley (hospital) and they did an ultrasound and saw (the kidney stone) right away. This has been going on for two months, but I guarantee you we're going to get this taken care of, period."

"My best position is to let Rock find some other way to get publicity aside from me ripping him or saying how much I cheated Whitaker," Goossen said, attempting to put an end to an ongoing verbal battle that has spilled into the papers with the fighter's new manager.

Also scheduled: Mark Burse, 8-1-1, vs. Juan Carlos Garcia, 5-3-1, eight rounds, junior lightweights; Francisco Corrales, 4-1, vs. Servando Perales, 9-5, six rounds, junior welterweights; Cedric Fergusen, 2-0-1, vs. Juan Pablo DeOca, 0-1, four rounds, junior welterweights; Eddie Salas, 2-0, vs. Nicholas Valentine, 0-4, four rounds, junior middleweights; and a four-round women's bout between Raquel Tebo, 1-1-1, and Roberta Baldeagle, 0-2. First bell is 7 p.m. and tickets are priced from $15 to $40.