Columnist Dean Juipe: Phillips hopes bout is worth the weight

Dean Juipe

Thursday, March 28, 2002 | 11:03 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.

Times and circumstances change, and so has Vince Phillips' opinion of fighting at 147 pounds.

A former International Boxing Federation world champion at 140, Phillips, through the years, has repeatedly said 140 was his optimum fighting weight and that he wouldn't take a significant bout outside the junior welterweight division.

But Friday night at the Paris Las Vegas, Phillips, at 38 years old and perhaps with a sense of desperation, will meet the undefeated Nick Acevedo at -- you guessed it -- 147 pounds.

"Life is full of chances," Phillips said Wednesday. "The only way to succeed is to take a chance and that's where I'm at. I have to take a chance."

Phillips, 43-6-1 with 32 knockouts, and Acevedo, 15-0 with nine KOs, are scheduled for 10 rounds to top a seven-bout card promoted by Cedric Kushner and televised by ESPN2.

It's a risky fight for both men, although maybe doubly so for Phillips.

"I'm not leaving 140, I'm just making an appearance at 147 to get a fight," he said. "I just want to fight and nothing had been coming my way. This opportunity came and if I win it'll elevate me."

Phillips, of Las Vegas, thought he was in line to face undisputed 140-pound champ Kostya Tszyu, although those plans seem to have fallen through. It's a claim to fame for Phillips that he remains the only man to have beaten Tszyu.

"It's been hard for me, up to this point," Phillips said. "There are a lot of fights I feel I should have had but didn't get: Julio Cesar Chavez, Frankie Randall, Juan Coggi, Pernell Whitaker, Oscar De La Hoya.

"But what's important now is to look good and win this fight. I've got to take on a young guy like Acevedo to show I can still fight."

Acevedo is 27 but has never faced anyone with Phillips' credentials.

"Nothing was materializing for Vince and this was a solid offer," said matchmaker Ron Stevens. "All the other proposed fights were pie-in-the-sky stuff and at some point a guy has got to make a living. Absent any other offers, he thought about this for about 10 days and then decided to take it.

"On paper, it's a great fight and I don't know who's going to win."

Paris Las Vegas has not yet posted a betting line on a fight that will be worth approximately $10,000 to each man.

"I'm physically and mentally prepared to give him a fight," Phillips said. "I'm a hard hitter and I think I'll win.

"If I don't, all the critics can say I'm old and washed up. But I think I'm going to win and be able to continue to fight."

Also scheduled: Attila Levin, 23-1, vs. Ron Guerrero, 15-3-2, 10 rounds, heavyweights; Derek Bryant, 12-0, vs. Lovy Page, 14-6, six rounds, heavyweights; Willie Palms, 10-1-1, vs. Sedreck Fields, 16-14-1, six rounds, heavyweights; Harold Sconiers, 14-10-2, vs. James Walton, 17-1-2, six rounds, heavyweights; James Elizalde, 7-0, vs. Joseph Awinongya, 9-3-3, six rounds, cruiserweights; and Isreal Garcia, 11-1, vs. Jason Gethers, 4-3-1, four rounds, heavyweights. First bell is 5 p.m.

Thompson, 28, is 25-5 but is coming off consecutive losses. He was stopped in four rounds by world champion Fernando Vargas Aug. 26, 2000, at Mandalay Bay, and then stopped in 12 by Eric Mitchell last September. The latter fight was at 168 pounds while the former was at 154.

"I'm feeling a lot better and know that 168 is where I belong," Thompson said by phone from his home in Buffalo. "I killed myself to make weight against Vargas and I won't do that again."

His opponent, Johnson, is 17-12 against nondescript competition and is coming off an eight-round loss to Joel Salas last September in San Antonio.

"I sort of know who he is," Thompson said. "He's decent."

Thompson is committing himself to upgrade his own opinion of his career, if nothing else.

"I can't keep waiting around and not realizing my potential," he said. "Personally, I don't think I've had a good career. Something has always been missing and I haven't been consistent.

"I want to achieve more."

A graduate of Chaparral High School, Thompson needs a win Friday to land a May 24 fight at Niagara Falls against James Coker. The winner of that fight could find his way into the super middleweight rankings.

"I'm real high on my ability and talent but I've been an underachiever," Thompson said. "Nobody has ever seen what I can really do. But I've been sparring with bigger guys and I feel fast and that my defense is good enough.

"Whereas I once had a goal of just getting a fight for a world championship, now my goal is to become a world champion. Now that I'm more mature, I think I can do it."

Also scheduled: Livingstone Bramble, 40-21-3, vs. Juan Rodriguez, 38-19-2, 10 rounds, junior welterweights; Eddie Salas, 4-0, vs. Dexter Williams, 7-16-3, four rounds, junior middleweights; Francisco Corrales, 8-1, vs. Rafael Ramirez, 11-3-2, six rounds, junior welterweights; Jesse Feliciano, 2-1, vs. Batche Wartanean, 2-0-1, four rounds, junior welterweights; and Alex Velardez, 2-0, vs. an opponent yet to be determined, four rounds, lightweights. First bell is 7 p.m.

"It's a classic win-win situation for both the fighters and CKP," Kushner said, while America Presents' Mat Tinley added that "we genuinely believe it's in the best interests of our fighters" to enter into this agreement.

Kushner will also take control over the dates and fights America Presents had already arranged, beginning with an April 13 heavyweight fight in Virginia between Fres Oquendo and David Tua.

Caesars Palace will host the U.S. Men's Championships next Tuesday through Saturday with amateur champions to be crowned in 12 weight classes. ... WBA welterweight champ Andrew "Six Heads" Lewis defends his title for a second time against Ricardo Mayorga, Saturday on Showtime from Reading, Pa. Their first bout, last July, was declared a no-contest when they bumped heads in the second round. Mayorga, 22-3-1, sounded menacing during a conference call. "I'm a killer," he said. "I know the champion does not have respect for me (but) I have studied him well and know his ability. I'm going to take care of business within three rounds." Lewis' reply: "He doesn't know what he's saying. He has a big mouth."