Unbeaten Defiagbon planning to step up in the heavyweight class

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Feb. 14, 2002 | 10:59 a.m.

Sixteen fights into his undefeated professional career, David Defiagbon is ready for a bigger challenge.

He'll get a minor one Saturday and, if all goes well, a significantly greater one in his following fight.

Defiagbon, 30, is a native of Nigeria who represented Canada in the 1996 Olympics and has been a Las Vegas resident the past two years. Local fans who have seen his previous three bouts in town know he's an agile heavyweight with sufficient power, as shown by his 10 knockouts.

Saturday at the Las Vegas Hilton on a card topped by a bout between Ed Mahone and Greg Pickrom, Defiagbon will take on former IBF cruiserweight world champion Adolpho Washington in a fight scheduled for six rounds.

The aging Washington is 31-9-2 with 17 KOs, but he's a slight step up in class from the men Defiagbon has been facing.

"It's about time," Defiagbon said this week at Nevada Partners. "I'm a boxer. I'm a fighter. I train all the time. I should be able to handle any challenge that comes my way."

Promoted by Cedric Kushner, Defiagbon has been promised his first 10-round fight should he get past Washington.

"It's time for me to step up," he said. "A lot of the '96 Olympians have already fought for world championships.

"I see myself making progress and I think I should be fighting 10-rounders. It's time for me to take some tough fights."

The Olympic silver medalist in '96, Defiagbon is a friendly man with a wealth of personal and professional experience. He started fighting as an amateur in Nigeria when he was 12 years old and moved to Halifax, Canada, while still in his teens.

"I got into it because I was a little kid with nothing to do," he said. "Boxing kept me out of trouble. And then when I found out you could travel to go to amateur fights, it was like 'Wow, this is great.' "

A Canadian family later took him in and the bond between them is still there.

"I was very lucky," Defiagbon said. "A good family in Canada made me feel at home and it was a big help to me. I still kind of miss seeing them."

They talk occasionally but it's agreed that Defiagbon belongs in Las Vegas.

"It's well known that if you want to succeed in boxing, this is the place to be," he said. "If you want to make it, this is where you have to come."

He turned pro in October of '96 and within a couple of years he was facing guys who could be described as at least moderately talented. Among his victims to date: Big Foot Martin, John Kiser, Tim Pollard, Louis Monaco, Harold Sconiers and, last Sept. 28 at Caesars Palace, Reynaldo Minus.

"Kiser was the toughest guy I've fought so far," Defiagbon said of a 1999 fight that went its six-round distance.

"Minus was a big, strong guy," he said of his most recent opponent. "I gained a lot by fighting him. I've learned with big guys like that, you don't want to stand in front of them -- so I didn't."

Defiagbon won that fight by fourth-round knockout.

Now he gets Washington, who is coming in as a late replacement.

"It's hard not knowing who you're fighting," Defiagbon said, as Washington wasn't signed for the bout until Tuesday. "You can't visualize what you're going to face. It always helps to know in advance about your opponent's style and whether he's a southpaw and things like that.

"But I can't worry about it. All I can do is stay positive."

Also scheduled on the Hilton card: Mahone, 22-3-2 and who is already pencilled in for a tougher fight March 17 with Oleg Maskaev, vs. Pickrom, 12-5-1, 10 rounds, heavyweights; Derrick Jefferson, 24-3-1, vs. Phil Jackson, 43-10, 10 rounds, heavyweights; Barry Lineberger, 3-0, vs. Billy Zumbrun, 7-3-1, six rounds, heavyweights; Alvin Manley, 2-0, vs. Shareff Dickens, 1-1, four rounds, heavyweights; Israel Escandon, 10-0, vs. Larry Banks, 6-10, six rounds, super middleweights; and a four-round women's junior flyweight fight between Vaia Zaganas and Deidre Hamaguchi. First bell is 7 p.m.