Columnist Dean Juipe: Ayala-Morales nearly firm

Dean Juipe

Thursday, July 25, 2002 | 9:10 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.

Paulie Ayala is in Las Vegas this week, and not just to take in the John Ruiz vs. Kirk Johnson heavyweight title fight at Mandalay Bay.

Family in tow, Ayala is up from Texas to iron out a few details on a proposed November fight with Erik Morales. Although promoter Bob Arum is vacationing in France, Ayala will visit the Top Rank offices today and check with Todd duBoef on the progress of a fight that is apt to be held in Las Vegas.

"It's perfect for me," Ayala said Wednesday, referring to moving up from 122 to 126 pounds to take on the former World Boxing Council featherweight champion. "It's a lucrative fight against a guy who didn't look his healthiest the last time I saw him."

Morales lost by decision to Marco Antonio Barrera last month at the MGM. While Arum had been saying he would match Ayala with the Barrera vs. Morales winner, he amended that plan after finding fault with the judges' verdict.

"That's fine with me," Ayala said. "I want to get in the featherweight mix and would have fought either one."

Ayala is 34-1, with four of those victories over Johnny Tapia and Bones Adams. He said his power should increase by moving up a division.

Morales is 41-1.

"I could still make 122," said Ayala, who's presently not in training and at 140 pounds. "But I think it'll make a big difference to fight at 126 if I do my homework and preparation right. I want to be stronger."

He said he weighed 133 as he stepped into the ring for his second fight with Adams and that "I felt stronger, physically, because of that.

"Moving up a division should be good for me."

The schedule: Tim Austin, 24-0-1, vs. Adan Vargas, 37-3-1, 12 rounds for Austin's IBF bantamweight title; Byron Mitchell, 24-1-1, vs. Julio Cesar Green, 25-4-1, 12 rounds for Mitchell's WBA super middleweight title; Lamon Brewster, 26-2, vs. King Ipitan, 19-4-1, 10 rounds, heavyweights; Tony Martin, 22-2, vs. Andy Sample, 26-4-2, 10 rounds, heavyweights; Pete Frissina, 25-3-1, vs. Jesus Perez, 22-1-2, 12 rounds, bantamweights; Jose A. Rivera, 35-3-1, vs. an opponent yet to be determined, 10 rounds, welterweights; Steve Cunningham, 11-0, vs. Joseph Awinogya, 10-3-4, 10 rounds, cruiserweights; and Owen Beck, 15-0, vs. Rogerio Lobo, 25-2, eight rounds, heavyweights.

Austin, who will be paid $250,000 for his supporting role, is making a habit of appearing on King undercards and is anxious for a higher-profile opponent. While he has expressed an interest in fighting Ayala, which isn't likely to happen, he has also let it be known that he would move up or down from 118 pounds if the right challenge came along.

Vargas, 0-2 in previous title fights, will be paid $25,000. There is no betting line up on that fight or the other title fight, Mitchell vs. Green.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has yet to appoint officials for the title fights and won't until its Friday meeting, but Joe Cortez is expected to be the referee for the Ruiz vs. Johnson main event.

Tickets are $35 to $500 and the first bell is 3 p.m.

Also scheduled: Ishe Smith, 7-0, vs. Charles Blake, 7-2-1, eight rounds, welterweights; Alex Velardez, 4-0, vs. Eloy Varos, 1-1, four rounds, lightweights; Cornelius Lock, 2-1, vs. Jorge Garcia, 10-11-1, six rounds, featherweights; Cedric Fergusen, 5-1, vs. Mario Cortez, 1-0, four rounds, junior welterweights; Joey Gilbert, 3-0, vs. Travis Biechler, 0-3, four rounds, junior middleweights; and a four-round women's junior bantamweight fight between Melinda Cooper, 2-0, and Reiko Maruyama, 1-1.

Tickets are $20 to $45 and the first bell is 7 p.m.

Las Vegas-based heavyweight Duncan Dokiwari upped his record to 17-1 with 15 KOs by hammering the overmatched Tim Knight last Saturday in Indianapolis as part of the Vernon Forrest vs. Shane Mosley card. It was a KO-5 victory for Dokiwari and it dropped Knight to a horrendous 18-43. ... Mosley, incidentally, seems committed to moving up to 154 pounds after losing for a second time to Forrest. A Mosley vs. Winky Wright bout is in the discussion stage. ... The Orleans will have a private card Sept. 28 that will not be open to the public. ... At the NSAC meeting Friday, former featherweight contender Augie Sanchez will lobby for a license in what could be a touchy matter. Also, Gary Shaw, who recently left Main Events, will apply for a promoter's license. ... The Roy Jones Jr. vs. Clinton Woods light heavyweight title fight scheduled for Sept. 7 has landed in Portland, Ore.

Chaparral High alumnus Ross Thompson got off to a quick start but lost his televised fight Tuesday in New Rochelle, N.Y., to Aaron Davis. The super middleweight bout went its 10-round distance and Davis won by majority decision. ... IBF junior lightweight champ Steve Forbes of Las Vegas said he'll take his Aug. 18 defense against David Santos in Temecula, Calif., with some ease. "It's going to be a dominant fight for me," Forbes said, this fight being a rematch of one he won by decision two years ago. "I'm going to win again." ... Heavyweights Frans Botha, 44-4-1, and Clifford Etienne, 24-1, tangle Saturday on Showtime from New Orleans.