Columnist Dean Juipe: Mayweather camp to address hand woes

Dean Juipe

Thursday, May 31, 2001 | 10:38 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.

It was an admission that Floyd Mayweather Jr. couldn't avoid.

Having turned his title defense against Carlos Hernandez last Saturday in Grand Rapids, Mich., into something of a "catch-me-if-you-can" track meet, Mayweather confessed to lingering hand problems that were exacerbated during the course of the 12-round bout.

Mayweather, of Las Vegas, won the fight and retained his World Boxing Council junior lightweight championship, getting the judges' nod by 9, 7 and 4 points.

But after allowing his left glove to touch the canvas in the sixth round -- which was correctly ruled a knockdown, the first of his career -- Mayweather did his best to avoid any serious confrontations with Hernandez. The "knockdown" was a reaction to hurting his left hand, and Mayweather said he also hurt his right hand in the third.

He also said he had taken Novocaine injections in each hand prior to the fight.

The question then becomes: Are the hand troubles sufficient to threaten Mayweather's potentially fabulous career?

"We feel we've got the best medical team available working on it," Top Rank vice president Todd duBoef said Wednesday. "We always want to look out for the fighter's best interests and make sure he's 100 percent.

"Floyd saw Dr. Tony Daly (of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team) prior to the fight and he's seen him since, and Dr. Daly has reassured us that everything should be OK."

DuBoef said that while every fighter has his hands wrapped properly for a scheduled fight, few have it done professionally for every sparring session and that Mayweather would adjust accordingly.

"We agreed to do a full wrap before each of his workouts," duBoef said. "Every fighter has hand problems of some sort; it's a common problem. But by taking care of his hands while in training and by doing some serious therapy, we think Floyd will be alright."

DuBoef doesn't think Mayweather has a greater propensity for a hand injury than anyone else in the sport.

"Actually, he has great bones and hand structure," he said. "It's not like we're dealing with something terrible, like a blood clot, although it's tough to fight one-handed.

"When you saw Floyd's glove hit the canvas (in the sixth) it was like he'd been shot by a sniper. He was hurt and he had to adjust his game plan from that point on.

"There was a sense of disappointment, but we think he'll be fine and will be able to fight again as we've scheduled."

Mayweather, 26-0, is due to face Jesus Chavez, 35-1, Oct. 6, likely at the MGM Grand.

Botha, 42-3-1 with 27 KOs, won the vacant IBF title in December of 1995 by taking a decision over Axel Schulz. Eleven months later Botha lost the crown to Michael Moorer (TKO in 12 rounds).

Perhaps best known for giving Mike Tyson all he could handle through four rounds of a 1999 fight that ended in the fifth with Tyson winning by knockout, Botha is looking to get back in the heavyweight picture. While he won his most recent fight in one round, against Joey Guy March 16 in Las Vegas, Botha was also a quick loser to Lennox Lewis last year, and, some say, is still looking for his first win over a major-league opponent.

Bostice, 25-3-1 with 13 KOs, arguably has the same problem.

While he has beaten some decent fighters -- such as Ed Mahone and Al Cole, both last year at the Hard Rock -- Bostice is coming off a first-round loss to ex-champ Tim Witherspoon Feb. 22 in Pennsylvania. He was also a second-round loser to Wladimir Klitschko in his other significant test, and will be locked in as a journeyman in the event he can't solve Botha.

Also scheduled on the card, which will be held in a ring constructed at First and Fremont, are: Mario Ramos, 9-1-1, vs. Hicklet Lau, 15-6-2, 10 rounds, junior welterweights; Robert Enriquez, 2-2, vs. Noe Inzunza, 4-5-1, four rounds, featherweights; Joey Ruelas, 3-0, vs. Silvestre Valades, 2-0, four rounds, welterweights; Reggie Davis, pro debut, vs. Karim Ben Hassine, 4-1, four rounds, junior middleweights; and Dan Batchelder, 14-0-1, vs. TBA, six rounds, super middleweights.

Tickets, priced from $25 to $100, are on sale at Binion's Horseshoe and the Las Vegas Club. First bell is 6 p.m.

* QUICK HITS: WBC welterweight champ Shane Mosley will fight an opponent still to be determined July 21, either in Indianapolis or at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The latter site has asked the Nevada State Athletic Commission for the date, although it remains unclear if the fight is actually headed here. ... Brian Nielsen (61-1) is out and David Izon (27-3) is in as IBF and WBC heavyweight champ Hasim Rahman's opponent Aug. 4 in Beijing, China. Izon had been training for a fight with Mike Tyson and figures to be a better test for Rahman than Nielsen. ... Rahman, incidentally, has called Lennox Lewis to smooth over their situation and has assured the former champion of a rematch after the fight with Izon. ... The Michigan Athletic Commission has ruled Tyson's victory over Andrew Golota last October is now being called a "no contest" as the result of Tyson's failed drug test. He was also fined $205,000. ... A fight between IBF super bantamweight champ Benedict Ledwaba and Enrique Sanchez has been added to the June 23 card at the MGM that headlines Oscar De La Hoya vs. Javier Castillejo. ... In the latter bout, De La Hoya is now a minus 1400 betting favorite, with Castillejo a plus 900.