Columnist Dean Juipe: Ex-sparring partner looks to KO Vargas

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Sept. 13, 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.

Bettors are shying away from Shibata Flores, yet he recalls seeing Fernando Vargas knocked down five times by Felix Trinidad and feels he may be able to duplicate the carnage.

Flores and Vargas are fighting Sept. 22 at Mandalay Bay, with the vacant World Boxing Association junior middleweight championship at stake.

In the sports book at Mandalay Bay this week, Flores was up as a plus 550 underdog after opening at a plus 500.

Vargas is now a minus 750 after opening at a minus 700.

It remains a minus 115 either way that the fight does or does not go seven complete rounds.

During a conference call, Flores implied that he would win the scheduled 12-round fight and do it by knockout within 11 rounds.

"I'm in good shape," Flores said through an interpreter, speaking from his training camp in Alta Loma, Calif. "I'm ready to fight right now. I've been training very hard and I'm ready."

Flores, 29, is 42-8 with 24 knockouts. He's a tall southpaw whose career appeared stalled after knockout losses to Vince Phillips and Kirino Garcia, in four and six rounds, respectively, although he has since rebounded to win six straight fights.

Ranked No. 2 by the WBA at 154 pounds, Flores has appeared on the undercard of Vargas' last five fights and twice was hired by Vargas as a sparring partner.

But he'll have to set aside his once-close relationship with Vargas come fight night.

"In the ring we will not be friends at all," Flores said. "We're defending our lifestyles. When we get in the ring, I could die or he could die."

Flores, from Navojoa, Mexico, worked with Vargas prior to the latter's fights with Raul Marquez and Winky Wright.

"We never thought while we were sparring that we would actually meet in the ring," Flores said. "I never took notes."

Vargas, 23, is 21-1 with 19 KOs but is coming off a couple of rough outings. Not only did Trinidad have him down five times last Dec. 2 at Mandalay Bay, he was knocked down by Wilfredo Rivera when they fought last May in El Paso.

Vargas rallied to win that fight with Rivera, leading Flores to believe the ex-champion is still a formidable foe.

"He's very young and very strong," Flores said. "That fight with Trinidad was very, very tough. But he gained experience and he comes in with a lot of desire.

"I know he wants to win but I feel confident that I can beat him."

Flores, whose best punch is a right hook, is trained by Willie Silva and is sparring with another of Silva's clients, Carlos Bojorquez. Ironically, Flores defeated Bojorquez in 1999 but the fight was difficult enough that the loser impressed the winner.

"I felt a lot of pressure," Flores said of taking on Bojorquez, who later defeated former world champion Pernell Whitaker. "I took a lot and threw a lot of jabs. There was a lot of hitting going on."

In addition to beating Bojorquez during this six-fight winning streak, Flores also has notable wins over former IBF champ Paul Vaden and promising southpaw Emmett Linton.

"My tactics are my advantage in the ring," Flores said. "My boxing ability gives me an edge."

Affected and postponed: Omar Sheika vs. Thomas Tate in a super middleweight fight from Paterson, N.J., originally scheduled for Friday on ESPN2; Efren Hinojosa vs. Jauquin Gallardo in a lightweight fight originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon on Showtime at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas; Felix Trinidad vs. Bernard Hopkins for the unified middleweight titles, originally scheduled for Saturday night in New York on pay-per-view; and Jorge Paez vs. Justo Sanchez in a lightweight fight originally scheduled for Sunday morning at the Paris hotel in Las Vegas.

Promoter Don King said he was looking into moving the Trinidad vs. Hopkins card to Sept. 29 in New York.

The Stratosphere plans an Oct. 20 card. ... The Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Erik Morales featherweight rematch is being discussed for March of next year, likely at the MGM. Morales defeated Barrera in a controversial decision at the same site on Feb. 19, 2000. ... Wladimir Klitschko will fight Dec. 1 on HBO and sites in New York and Las Vegas are in the running to host the bout. Ray Mercer and Fres Oquendo are being targeted as potential opponents for the Ukrainian heavyweight. ... Opponents for junior lightweights Joel Casamayor and Acelino Freitas have been selected for a Sept. 29 card in Miami. Joe Morales, 17-5, will take on the 25-0 Casamayor, and Alfred Kotey, 24-7-1, will take on the 30-0 Freitas. Showtime will televise. ... Heavyweight Boris Powell, a southpaw who is 31-2, called from St. Louis and said David Tua "just didn't want to win" when Tua was upset by Chris Byrd Aug. 18 in Las Vegas. Powell took an interest in the fight after serving as a sparring partner for Tu! a prior to the bout.