Columnist Dean Juipe: Happy Campas to meet Santos

Dean Juipe

Thursday, March 14, 2002 | 10:33 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.

Rarely is a fighter with 79 professional wins an underdog, but such is the case Saturday at Bally's as Yory Boy Campas takes on Daniel Santos with the World Boxing Organization's 154-pound title at stake.

On the same card, another veteran fighter, Antonio Diaz, is up against an opponent with fewer miles showing on the odometer, as he takes on Antonio Margarito in a companion WBO title fight at 147 pounds.

Santos is a 2-1 favorite over Campas, while Diaz -- after opening as the favorite -- has been bet down to even for his fight with Margarito.

"Everyone thought Tony Ayala was going to be my last fight and I would be done, but then I won and everyone is talking about me again," Campas, 30, said through an interpreter during a conference call with the Bally's participants. Campas stopped Ayala last July in San Antonio and has added four wins since, boosting his career record to an eye-popping 79-4 with 67 knockouts.

"I know those things can happen in boxing," Campas said of regaining some momentum after losing by knockout to Oba Carr in the fight that preceded the one with Ayala. His other losses were to Felix Trinidad (in 1994), Jose Luis Lopez (in '96) and Fernando Vargas (in '98).

Of the many victims in Campas' win column, the best known are Anthony Jones, Raul Marquez and Anthony Stephens.

"We know each other very well," Campas said of Santos. "We will be going after each other from the first bell (because) we will not have to wait around to get used to each other.

"We did spar once and I have seen him in the gym many times. I expect a difficult fight (but) I know I hit hard and can take a punch."

Santos, 26, is 24-2-1 with 19 KOs and feels as if he's destined to win.

"I just don't see how I can lose this fight," he said. "I know he can hit pretty good (but) I feel better at this weight."

Santos will be making his debut as a junior middleweight and is coming off a no-contest with Margarito that was the result of a first-round head butt. Inactivity would seem to be his greatest concern, as he has won only three fights since 1999 and has to adapt to a higher weight class.

Santos has split a pair of fights with Ahmed Katejev and was also beaten by Kofi Jantuah (in 1999). His best wins have come over Ray Lovato -- who was also beaten by Campas -- and Giovanni Parisi.

The Campas-Santos fight will follow the one between Diaz and Margarito, which figures to be equally competitive.

Diaz may only be 25 years old but he's 37-3 with 26 KOs and is trying to get back into position after losing a title fight to Shane Mosley in 2000. He has won all four of his fights since that loss, although none of his opponents were of Margarito's caliber.

"I can't lose anymore," Diaz proclaimed, while musing on the causes of his setback to Mosley.

"I was too worried about the media and looking good," he said of that fight in New York, which went the distance. "I forgot my strategy."

Settled now as a welterweight after initially making his mark at 140 pounds, Diaz said "my whole concentration is on this fight."

That's appropriate because Margarito hasn't lost a fight since 1996 and is seen by some as a potential mid-level star. He'll turn 24 years old next week and is 25-3 with 17 KOs.

"I know Diaz has fought a lot of great fighters, but I'm ready to win," Margarito said. "I will probably do a little more boxing than I usually do, then see how it develops."

As for the cut that he suffered in the abbreviated fight with Santos last July, Margarito said "we've changed some things so it doesn't happen again."

Showtime will televise the two main events and the Top Rank-promoted card opens at 5:30 p.m. in the 3,500-seat Bally's Events Center. Also scheduled: Kelson Pinto, 7-0, vs. Gustavo Tapia, 9-13-3, six rounds, junior middleweights; Armando Robles, 4-0, vs. Jose Perez, 6-2, six rounds, junior welterweights; Dmitry Salita, 5-0, vs. an opponent yet to be determined, six rounds, lightweights; and Christian Bejarano, 5-0, vs. an opponent to be determined, six rounds, lightweights.

Joey Torres, 41 and just out of prison, is utilizing trainer Kenny Adams and working out at the Prince Ranch in preparation for his pro debut April 27 in Anaheim. ... Local featherweight William Abelyan lost his arbitration case with his management team, the Nevada State Athletic Commission announced. Abelyan, 17-4, has not fought since upsetting Guty Espadas last August. His name has been mentioned as a possible April opponent for John Michael Johnson, although he would hardly seem to be prepared for that challenge at this time. ... Wladimir Klitschko, who fights Frans Botha Saturday in Germany, lamented that the fight will not be seen on U.S. TV. "I feel disappointed," Klitschko said during a conference call. "I need to fight and be seen in America." He predicted he would add to his 37-1 record at Botha's expense. "I feel perfect," he said. "Botha said h e would knock me out but I don't want to make a big deal of his comments. I'm ready to fight." 0001.05