Columnist Dean Juipe: Martin expected to pour the coal to Mia in Mich.

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Dec. 5, 2002 | 9:36 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

Christy Martin will hold advantages in experience, size and, in all likelihood, ability, when she steps into the ring with former Playboy model Mia St. John for a pay-per-view bout Friday from Pontiac, Mich.

Billed as the women's "pound for pound" championship, Martin vs. St. John is a relatively high-profile fight that could wind up looking very onesided.

"Mia is saying all the pressure is on me, and she's right," Martin said during a conference call. "I have everything to lose and virtually nothing to gain."

Martin, the famed "coal miner's daughter" who is now living in Orlando, was the first legitimate star in women's boxing. And while she hasn't fought in a year and her career is almost certainly in decline, she holds a record of 44-2-2 with 31 knockouts and has a history of tough, bloody fights behind her.

St. John, of Los Angeles, is 26-1-1 with 13 KOs.

"I always dreamed about fighting Christy Martin," St. John said. "It is one of the three things I set out to do when I decided to become a professional boxer -- the others were to work with (promoter) Don King and fight on an Oscar De La Hoya undercard."

She'll complete her trifecta in a fight that comes with a $25 pay-per-view fee.

"I actually feel bad for her," St. John said. "Some people think I'll get knocked out in the first round. Well, that's not going to happen.

"The key for me is to be able to use the entire ring and make her come to me."

St. John has gained 15 pounds for this fight yet may still give away as many as 20 to the stocky Martin once they get in the ring.

"I think it's a little unfair that most people expect me to win so easily and so quickly," Martin said. "She has been more active, so I don't expect nor plan to blast her out with the first punch or two.

"My game plan is to punish her for four or five rounds."

That "punishment" may be in exchange for the shortcut St. John took to the top.

"Mia is a businesswoman and I don't begrudge her for anything she has accomplished, but we got to where we are in totally different ways," Martin said. "I paid my dues like most male boxers. She used sex and feminity to sell herself and make a name.

"That's just the way it is."

Should Martin win, an even bigger fight -- one with Laila Ali -- could fall into place in 2003.

"I don't think he took the guy seriously and he got caught and never recovered," said his manager, Cameron Dunkin. "From the beginning, he just wasn't there."

Sanchez, who came into the junior welterweight bout with an 8-0 record, was beaten by Juan Jose Mendez, who used the win to improve his record to 9-5-2 with two KOs. They were fighting on a card headlined by Irene Pacheco, who successfully defended his International Boxing Federation flyweight title with a decision win over Alejandro Montiel.

"I'm not going to give up on him," Dunkin said of Sanchez. "It's not the end of the world, but you just don't expect to lose at that level of competition."

Mendez put Sanchez on the canvas in fourth and the fight was stopped following the fifth.

"Ray got hit on the chin by a left hook and he was wobbly," Dunkin said. "(Cornerman) Miguel (Diaz) stopped the fight."

Sanchez, of New Mexico, had just fought in Las Vegas Nov. 16 and Dunkin had him tentatively scheduled to fight again Jan. 3 and Feb. 1. The Jan. 3 plans have since been scrapped.

"Maybe I was rushing him too fast," Dunkin said. "Maybe he and I were just thinking too far ahead."