Columnist Dean Juipe: Jones remains noncommittal

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Dec. 26, 2002 | 9:16 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.

The fight's on the schedule and a betting line has been posted, yet insiders say Roy Jones Jr. still hasn't signed on the dotted line to face World Boxing Association heavyweight champ John Ruiz on March 1 in Las Vegas.

Jones and Ruiz participated in a press conference in New York City to announce the bout three weeks ago, but the reigning light heavyweight champion appears to have some reluctance to commit to the fight.

He also had some reluctance to attend the press conference, keeping Ruiz, promoter Don King and the media waiting for two hours.

"I just hope he shows up for the fight," Ruiz said.

For all of Jones' posturing, it's clear that it's Ruiz who really wants this fight to materialize. Regarded by many as a mere fill-in or temporary champion, a victory over Jones would add a certain stature to his career.

Ruiz, who will turn 31 years old Jan. 4, is 38-4-1 with 27 knockouts and is coming off a disqualification win over Kirk Johnson in July at Mandalay Bay.

Jones, who turns 34 on Jan. 16, is 47-1 with 38 KOs. He's looking at a guaranteed $10 million, while Ruiz could get up to $8 million for their March fight at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Host property Caesars Palace has posted a betting line and it makes Jones a minus 190 favorite (after opening at a minus 170 last week). Ruiz is now a plus 160 after opening at a plus 140.

Should they fight, Ruiz will be seven inches taller than Jones and have a seven-inch reach advantage. Ruiz will also have an obvious weight advantage in that he has said he would come in around 225 pounds, while Jones figures to be about 190.

"I'm taking a big chance here," Ruiz said. "I have everything to lose and he has everything to gain. If I beat him, people will say that I should have because I'm bigger and stronger. If I lose, people will say I'm nothing because I lost to a light heavyweight.

"I've gotten to the point where I'll always get criticized."

So, too, has Jones.

"The critics say 'Roy won't fight' or 'Roy won't do this' or 'Roy won't be there' but, then, who is this?" he said after finally arriving at the press conference. "I'm not taking the challenge because he's somebody I think is easy to beat. I'm taking the challenge because I see somebody that will fight."

Yes, Ruiz is willing to fight and he even has a game plan.

"He's quick, but I don't think he's so quick that I can't catch him," he said of facing Jones. "He has to worry that his flurries are not going to mean anything against a heavyweight like me. My main thing is to cut off the ring and work the body.

"You work the body and the head will fall."

Of course it remains to be seen if Ruiz will get a chance to implement that strategy.

"(Oscar) is with Arum (and) Bob Arum doesn't like to fight black guys," Forrest said, attempting to justify why he can't get a fight with the Golden Boy.

A more realistic view is that De La Hoya, who is the WBC and WBA junior middleweight champion, has only one fight on his docket for next year and it'll be Sept. 13 in Las Vegas against Shane Mosley.

Mosley, it should be noted, is an African American who lost a pair of fights to Forrest last year.

Mosley is on De La Hoya's itinerary simply because he won their first fight, in 2000 in Los Angeles, and De La Hoya wants revenge.

"De La Hoya can't beat slick, black fighters," Forrest claims, believing Mosley will take the rematch as well.

If Forrest sounds perturbed, it's likely because his next fight won't be worth millions to him and it's well down on most fans' radar screens. He'll be fighting Ricardo Mayorga on Jan. 25 at an Indian casino in Temecula, Calif.

But Forrest did have a banner year in 2002 and he is 35-0.

"As the adage goes, to be 'the man' you have to beat the man, and I beat the man (Mosley) twice," he said. "So, in terms of me being the 'fighter of the year,' I don't think there's another fighter out there who's more deserving.

"The year I had was fantastic, the best of my career."

Tyson was in the Golden Gloves Gym in North Las Vegas both Monday and Tuesday, although he did not spar and merely worked the mitts and the bags.

He's 49-4, while Etienne is 24-1-1.

Caesars Palace has posted a betting line on that fight and Tyson is a minus 700 favorite. Etienne is a plus 500.

Should Tyson win his fight and WBC champion Lennox Lewis win one this spring -- likely against Vitali Klitschko in April -- there will be a Tyson-Lewis rematch this summer.

But the work that Todd Diggs and Mike "The Bounty" Hunter are getting in the Golden Gloves Gym with Shufford is equally important to them.

Diggs had surgery to remove bone chips and repair some ligament damage in his right arm 11 months ago, and he lost both fights that came his way in 2002. On Aug. 8 in Bakersfield, Calif., he was bested by Manuel Quezeda in a six-round decision, and on Sept. 20 in Las Vegas he was stopped by Omran Awadi in the second round.

In both fights, Diggs reinjured that same arm.

"I was just being hardheaded even taking those fights," he said this week. "The doctor told me I should be out for a full year, but I didn't listen to his advice and my arm went out both times."

Believing he has a Feb. 13 fight in Texas, Diggs is optimistically ringing in the new year. "People will see a difference in me (in 2003)," he claims.

Likewise, Hunter is hopeful that he can rejuvenate his career, which has been sidetracked for seven years.

"My skills are still with me," he said. "It seems like I've been gone forever, but, then again, it seems like just yesterday."

Hunter, 43, is 47-7-2 (with two no-contests) and owns victories over Oliver McCall and Tyrell Biggs, among others. He has also worked in training camps preparing such champions as Tyson, Lewis and Riddick Bowe for heavyweight title fights.

"I've got credibility," he said. "I probably had the best defense of any heavyweight in the world and you've never known me to get beat up or hurt or knocked out.

"I'm a thinking man's fighter."

Now being trained by Tyrone Boone, Hunter is looking to shed a few pounds and get a fight in town by spring.

"I need to get my weight down (from 268 to, perhaps, 220) and get my stamina back up," he said. "Give me three months and I'll be ready to go.

"People are talking a lot about these Klitschko brothers, but let's see one of them beat me. With my mobility, I'd break either one of those guys down."

Also scheduled: Jesse Feliciano, 7-1, vs. Jose Rodrigues, 7-4; Melinda Cooper, 5-0, vs. Luz Rodriguez, 1-3-1; Avelino Chavez, pro debut, vs. Ruben Rodriguez, 1-0; Dewey Cooper, 6-0-2, vs. Jeff Lindsey, 0-1; Juan Salazar, 2-0, vs. Jonathan Taylor, 4-1; Charles Hawkins, 1-1, vs. Arturo Quintero, 2-0; and Joaquin Zomora, 1-1, vs. an opponent yet to be determined.

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