Columnist Dean Juipe: Adams, Top Rank accuse WBA of ‘sabotage’ in bout

Dean Juipe

Thursday, March 29, 2001 | 9:36 a.m.

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

Front and center on national TV and with a microphone in his face, Bones Adams took off on the World Boxing Association for its manipulation of his scheduled opponents last Friday in Owensboro, Ky.

Adams, who had just defeated Ivan Alvarez by decision to defend his WBA super bantamweight title in a fight televised by ESPN2, was ticked off that his opponent had changed at least four times during the week of the fight. He blamed the WBA and accused the Venezuela-based organization of wanting to see its "white champion from America" dethroned.

The thought occurred that Adams, who lives in Las Vegas, may have been overreacting or misdirecting his venom.

But ...

"He was 100 percent correct," said Top Rank matchmaker Bruce Trampler, who, along with Top Rank vice president Todd duBoef, was caught in the middle of what amounted to a WBA scam designed to keep Adams off guard.

"I can't say why they did it, but all I know is that they lied and b.s.'ed us all the way through it," Trampler said. "Someone within the WBA was obviously behind it and was trying to sabotage the show. It was all done by the WBA."

The endless switcheroos cost Top Rank an estimated $100,000 in nonrefundable airline tickets and advances paid to fighters who never left Venezuela.

"It was a mess, a total mess," said duBoef. "Every day we have to deal with these sanctioning organizations and it's frustrating, very frustrating. But I don't believe the WBA maliciously was doing anything to Bones."

Trampler said he told duBoef he was "naive" not to think so.

"No one down there was being truthful with us," Trampler said. "But the irony is we're working with them again this week because of (WBA bantamweight champ) Paulie Ayala's fight (Friday in Fort Worth)."

Adams, who raised his record to 41-3-3 and who is expected to fight Ayala in June or July, initially was scheduled to face Yober Ortega in Owensboro. But in rapid succession Ortega gave way to Antonio Cermeno, who gave way to Jose Cheo Rojas, who gave way to Cermeno again, who gave way to Alvarez -- a journeyman of sorts who had fought only 13 days earlier -- when Top Rank stepped in to settle the matter.

Ortega, Cermeno and Rojas are ranked 1-2-3 by the WBA and, not coincidentally, each is a native of Venezuela and each has the same manager.

"Ortega was the mandatory and pulled out for no reason at all," Trampler said. "Then they said Cermeno would be OK as the mandatory but he missed three straight flights, even though we'd earlier advanced him $20,000.

"Then Rojas was substituted for Cermeno and missed his flight, and then we were told one or the other would be on the next flight. By then we knew we were being jerked around."

WBA chairman Gilberto Mendoza Jr. was privy to the shenanigans and maybe in on the ruse, although the WBA later sent a letter indicating Alvarez would be acceptable as Adams' mandatory.

"The real problem is that ratings are manipulated as favors," duBoef said. "The most capable guy is not always the best available challenger."

He added that rival promoters Don King and Murad Muhammad also played roles in the Adams debacle.

"Murad faxed us a contract that he got the Venezuelan guys to sign that had no terms listed and nothing but blanks on it," he said. "King got involved by saying he still had a contract with Cermeno, even though we were led to believe that had been resolved.

"After we thought we had Rojas coming in for the fight, I heard King gave Cermeno a release and then Mendoza said (Cermeno) would be the one coming to fight. I told them, 'Quit playing these games with us' but it didn't get any better."

Fortunately, an encore of these problems is not expected this week in Texas, where Mendoza Jr. and Ayala's opponent -- Mexico's Hugo Dianzo -- have already checked in.

Although ESPN2 indicated the bout between welterweights Cory Spinks and Leonard Townsend was being held under the "unified ABC rules," it was not and that discrepancy came into play on two fronts.

For starters, an unintentional head butt resulted in the fight being stopped at 2:18 of the fourth round, which, under the unified rules, would force the fight to be called a no-decision in that four rounds had not been completed. In truth, the fight was being held with Kentucky rules and, in that case, only three rounds needed to be completed; Spinks was awarded a decision victory.

ESPN2 compounded the confusion when neither its on-site nor its studio announcing team wasn't alerted to the rules that were being utilized for the Spinks-Townsend fight, and it ripped the sport for what the broadcasters thought was an erroneous application of the rules.

"They completely screwed up and I called them to say so," Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director Marc Ratner said Wednesday. "It was ridiculous and embarrassing. TV didn't do a good job of explaining what was going on."

That said, Ratner was also critical of Kentucky for having a card with varying rules.

"The ABC needs to get involved and will," he said. "The sport needs one set of rules for all fights, which is what we've gone to in Nevada."

Both men are due in Las Vegas by Tuesday, with Hamed coming from his camp in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and Barrera coming in from Big Bear, Calif.

"I'm a trained, stone-cold stretcher," Hamed said during an open workout this week. "I'm not in there to pitty-pat or tip-tap. I'm in there to do a job.

"I've got the gift, and when you've got the gift you can stretch whomever you want."

With 31 of his victories by knockout, Hamed is predicting another.

"I'm looking to knock him out with every shot I throw," he said. "The knockout will come when Allah wants it to."

He says the fact that Barrera has lost twice is crucial.

"He's lost before and he knows what it feels like," Hamed said. "He knows what it will feel like to lose again.

"This guy hasn't got a heart like me. He hasn't got the strength like me. On paper this looks like the most difficult fight of my life ... but you've seen my character, my heart, my determination."

The Hamed-Barrera undercard has filled out and includes: Omar Sheika, 21-2 and a late sub for Dana Rosenblatt, vs. Stephane Quellet, 29-5, 10 rounds, super middleweights; Michael Bennett, 2-0, vs. Shawn Townsend, 1-1, four rounds, heavyweights; Clarence Vinson, 1-0, vs. Bryan Garcia, 4-3, four rounds, bantamweights; and Jermain Taylor, 1-0, vs. Kenny Stubbs, 9-4, four rounds, middleweights.

"The guys did really well," head coach Skip Kelp said. "I think we're really strong in the lighter divisions, 106 to 139 pounds, and we've got some big guys who could win a national title, too."

Advancing from UNLV are: Xenon Mallari, 106 pounds; Linden Manlataou, 112; Joey Song, 119; Manny Libatique, 125; Lyle Nixon, 132; Jose Gonzalez, 139; David Wengell, 156; Chris Kennedy, 175; Max Raymond, 195; and heavyweight Louis O'Hiaeri.

Reid, 15-1 and once the WBA junior middleweight champion, is fighting as a middleweight for the second time, although he was fortunate to escape with a decision victory over journeyman Kirino Garcia his last time out.

Gurrola would not seem to be a formidable opponent, owning only a 18-7 record.

But Reid can't take any chances and is badly in need of an impressive victory. Toward that end, he hired a strength and conditioning coach to supplement his training.

"I'm not happy without a world title belt around my waist," Reid said, his reign as the WBA's 154-pound champion having come to an end at the hands of Felix Trinidad last year.

The late afternoon card also includes a 10-round heavyweight bout between Piae Wolfgramm, 19-3, and Sherman Williams, 18-5-1. Tickets are $25 and $50.

archive