Upstart looking to upset Jones

Dean Juipe

Thursday, July 26, 2001 | 9:26 a.m.

Julio Gonzalez has been studying Roy Jones for quite a while and has even compiled a video highlight package of the light heavyweight world champion.

Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, boxing fans will find out if he has learned anything.

Gonzalez, relatively unheralded yet 27-0 with 17 knockouts, is being rewarded for a grueling victory over Julian Letterlough with a shot at a potentially legendary champion.

"I'm excited and proud," Gonzalez said during a conference call. "Hardly a day goes by that I don't say 'Wow, I'm going to fight Roy Jones.' "

Jones is 44-1 with 36 KOs, with the loss by ninth-round disqualification to Montell Griffin in 1997. But he's also 32 years old and, arguably, susceptible to be upset by a younger, more aggressive challenger.

"He's getting older and losing his speed," Gonzalez maintains. "Back then, he used to have a lot more speed ... (now) he doesn't go after his opponents as much."

Promoter Bob Arum anticipates a crowd of around 16,000 and he's talking up Gonzalez's chances even as he negotiates to handle another deal with Jones.

"The naysayers have never seen Julio fight," Arum said. "He's got great skills and determination. He has a real chance to upset Roy Jones."

The pay-per-view fight will be available in Las Vegas at three public sites: Caesars Palace, Mandalay Bay and the Flamingo Hilton. Tickets are $30 at each location and the first undercard bout is at 6 p.m.

"I know I have something very big in front of me, and I'll have to work hard to defeat Roy Jones," Gonzalez said. "But I'm not a quitter, I'm a winner."

A 1996 Olympian from Mexico who works out of a gym in LaHabra, Calif., Gonzalez got this fight on the strength of defeating Letterlough Feb. 2 in Columbus, Ohio. But before Gonzalez won that fight by unanimous decision, he was down three times.

"I'm going to give it all I've got," Gonzalez said. "I'm a true warrior who loves his business. Jones is one of the best fighters ever, but he has slowed down a lot.

"I have to use my physical advantages. If that doesn't work, I'll have to go after him. If that doesn't work, I'll have to follow my corner's advice and adjust."

At stake will be Jones' World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation titles at 175 pounds. Inexplicably, the increasingly bizarre World Boxing Association has stripped Jones of his title and will sanction an Aug. 4 fight in France between Bruno Girard and Lou Del Valle for its light heavyweight championship.