Columnist Dean Juipe: Veteran Medina seeks 4th title

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Nov. 15, 2001 | 10:55 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.

The question was asked innocently enough yet drew completely divergent reactions.

"Win or lose, I'm going to keep going," said Manuel Medina through his wife, Elizabeth, who was translating for the three-time former world champion from Mexico.

To which Elizabeth added: "If you want me to answer that, you'll get a whole different story."

Manuel Medina is a veteran of 70 professional fights and he'll be seeking a fourth world championship when he takes on International Boxing Federation featherweight titleholder Frankie Toledo at the Orleans on Friday. His cordial wife may want him to quit if he isn't successful, yet Medina has a one-track mind.

"He's going to try and cut me up," Medina said, well aware not only of his reputation as a "bleeder" but of Toledo's game plan. "But I'm used to it. I know it's going to be a hard fight."

Medina is always in hard fights, and while he isn't a big puncher he qualifies as a rugged workhorse. Win or lose, nothing comes easy yet Medina perseveres, which is why he is back as the IBF's No. 1 contender for this title fight with a man he has already beaten.

"I expect he'll be a little better," Medina said of Toledo, who he defeated by 10-round decision in May of 2000 at the Orleans. "He'll be confident and he'll want to retain his title, but if he's overconfident it will be a mistake."

Toledo, 40-5-1 with 15 knockouts, has acknowledged that his loss to Medina was fair and square. Yet he promises to be better prepared for a rematch promoted by Cedric Kushner and televised by ESPN2.

"For me, personally, it's a big fight," said Medina, who is 59-11 with 26 KOs. "I've trained hard and my biggest advantage is that I've had a lot of big fights.

"It's going to be more difficult for him."

While Medina is actually a year younger than Toledo at 30, he has been fighting for four years longer -- having begun his pro career in 1985 -- and he has a wealth of championship experience. The title fight may be Toledo's second, but it's No. 16 for Medina.

He first rose to championship status with a 1991 victory over Troy Dorsey, but lost that belt to Tom Johnson two years later. In 1995 Medina was crowned again, this time by the World Boxing Council, when he beat Alejandro Gonzalez, but he lost that belt in his first defense, against Luisito Espinosa. His third title arrived when he handled Hector Lizarraga with the IBF championship at stake in 1998, although Paul Ingle took it from him the following year.

Now he's back and intrigued not only with a fourth championship, but a return bout with Prince Naseem Hamed. Medina held up well against Hamed in a 1996 fight until being stopped in the 11th round.

"It's difficult to say who I'd fight next," he said when asked for his plans should he win. "There are a lot of good featherweights out there, including Hamed."

Also scheduled on the Orleans card: Tokunbo Olajide, 13-0, vs. Richard Karsten, 11-0, eight rounds, middleweights; Michael Bennett, 6-1, vs. Drexie Frank James, 7-2, six rounds, cruiserweights; Davarryl Williamson, 10-1, vs. Andre Kopilov, 8-1, six rounds, heavyweights; Gabriel Bracero, 4-0, vs. Ernest Johnson, 6-0, six rounds, lightweights; and Francisco Corrales, 6-1, vs. Alfonso Garcia-Silva, 2-2, four rounds, junior welterweights. First bell is 5:30 p.m.

The monstrous card, with a total of 98 rounds scheduled, is due to begin at 3:15 p.m. ... The pay-per-view portion of the card begins at 6 p.m. ... It's $50 for the pay-per-view telecast and it's also $50 for the local closed circuit telecast, which is available at the Palms, Caesars Palace, Circus Circus, the Monte Carlo, the Luxor, the Regent and the San Remo.

Reid, an engaging person but with rapidly declining skills in the ring, was down three times and stopped by Hill in the ninth round of a nationally televised fight. The victory upped Hill's record to 14-2-1.

Reid is 17-2 yet has repeatedly struggled with second-class fighters (in Las Vegas bouts) since losing to Felix Trinidad at Caesars Palace in March of last year.

A gold-medal winner at the '96 Olympics and a junior middleweight champion shortly thereafter, Reid went into the fight with Hill without long-time trainer Fred Jenkins, who left the fighter a day before the bout.

"He seems to have lost his balance and definitely his confidence," said Marc Ratner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, who said Reid would have to undergo "a battery of tests" if he ever wanted to fight in Nevada again.

Fred Sternberg, publicist for America Presents, which represents Reid, also expressed his concern and said Reid "would need a complete physical examination and neurological tests" if he chooses to continue his boxing career.

Phillips, who handed Tszyu his only defeat when he stopped him in the 10th round of a 1997 fight in Australia, fought on the undercard of Tszyu's bout with Zab Judah Nov. 3 at the MGM. The idea, he thought, was to showcase him and then promote a rematch between the champion and his lone conqueror.

"I feel like they've put me on the back burner," Phillips said this week. "I don't know what their plans are, but for Tszyu to be considered the legend that he wants to be, he needs a rematch with Vince Phillips."

He said he hasn't had any contact with Tszyu's people since Nov. 3, and that he's going to make his own plans -- including a fight in January and one next spring in Denmark with Alan Vester -- while still hoping to hear from the champion's camp.

"I wish I knew where I stood with them," Phillips, 43-6-1, said. "I'm pretty much undefeated at 140 pounds and they could sell a rematch with me and Tszyu without much trouble."

The Stardust has its Dec. 1 card in order and will offer super middleweights Willie Stewart, 15-0, and Vitaly Kipitco, 19-4, in its main event. Welterweights Luis Fernandez, 17-5, and Jaime Ocegueda, 27-3-3, are in the primary support bout. ... The Reno Hilton has announced its Nov. 30 card and heavyweights Oleg Maskaev, 21-4, and David Vedder, 21-19-5, will headline. Aging heavyweights Jimmy Thunder (35-13), Samson Po'uha (20-4) and Sean McClain (22-7-1) are also on the card. ... Local light heavyweight Derrick Harmon, 20-2, meets Demetrius Jenkins, 20-6-1, as part of a Dec. 21 card in Temecula, Calif. ... Four-round heavyweight specialist Butterbean Esch will try his hand as a 10-round fighter when he takes on Kevin Tallon Dec. 12 in Bridgeport, Ind. Esch is 61-2-3 and Tallon 9-8. ... The Orleans will break ground on an 8,000-seat area in January and pla ns to move its boxing cards there upon completion. ... No Boxing Notebook next week as the Sun does not have a Thanksgiving! paper.