Columnist Dean Juipe: Phillips has tough task against Mitchell

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Nov. 7, 2002 | 9:54 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.

Two former world champions with one single goal collide Saturday in Oklahoma City, but only the winner will be allowed to keep his dream alive.

Both Vince Phillips and Sharmba Mitchell have unified junior welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu in their sights, yet each man recognizes the obvious: A loss and they're permanently out of the Tszyu sweepstakes.

The Showtime cable network will televise the 10-round bout, plus a scheduled 12-round fight at 154 pounds between Jeff Lacy and Ross Thompson.

"I'm being delivered as an opponent for Mitchell, I know that," Phillips said, laying his cards on the table. "At my age and with as many fights as I've had, a lot of people think I'm done.

"But I'll whip Mitchell fair and square, no matter the obstacles."

Phillips, 38, is a Las Vegan who has been sparring with former featherweight world champ Kevin Kelley at the Absoloot gym. Phillips is 44-6-1 with 32 knockouts and holds the distinction of being the only man to have defeated Tszyu, knocking him out in the 10th round of a 1997 fight in Australia.

Phillips, who won the International Boxing Federation 140-pound title by beating Tszyu, later relinquished that belt to Terronn Millett. And Phillips has been aching for a second shot at Tszyu ever since.

"I'm the only guy to beat him and if I can beat Sharmba Mitchell there should be no doubt that I deserve to fight Tszyu again," Phillips said. "That's what this fight is all about: Who deserves to fight Kostya Tszyu?"

Mitchell feels he deserves a rematch with Tszyu, having lost by seventh-round knockout in a 2001 fight in which he injured his left knee. Mitchell, 32, later had surgery on the knee but said during a conference call that it was far from 100 percent.

"It'll never be 100 percent again," he confessed. "It's going to be what it's going to be, which right now is about 80 percent."

Mitchell, a former World Boxing Association champion at 140, is 49-3 with 29 KOs.

"I was beating Tszyu on one leg," Mitchell claims, although that assessment isn't really true. "The main thing for me is to win this fight with Phillips and then get back what is rightfully mine.

"We're willing to fight each other and let Kostya Tszyu off the hook."

Tszyu is fighting James Leija Jan. 18 in Australia but may be forced into meeting the Phillips vs. Mitchell winner later next year.

An informal media poll conducted by Showtime indicated Mitchell was a heavy favorite for his fight with Phillips.

"Of course a lot of those media people are on the East Coast and haven't seen me for a while," Phillips said. "They don't know much about West Coast fighters, and they probably didn't see how good I looked in my last fight."

Phillips was impressive his last time out, handling the previously unbeaten Nick Acevedo on March 29 at the Paris Las Vegas.

But Phillips has some baggage and legitimate concerns as he steps in with Mitchell. Never a good-looking fighter in the gym and one who confesses that he lost to Millett "because I was partying too much," Phillips will have to contend with a large ring in Oklahoma City, which plays into the speedier Mitchell's hands.

"I expect it to be at least 18 feet and that's a big thing," Phillips said. "(Promoter) Gary Shaw is doing this to give Mitchell a big advantage.

"But I know how to cut off fighters and step up the action when I need to. Mitchell has speed and the ability to move, but I feel he can't run and he can't hide all night.

"I'm going in with the determination to win, and winning is what I'm good at."

"We've known this was coming since June," he said this week. "USOC is getting tough with us and they want some things straightened out, and I don't blame them.

"We'll take care of it."

At the root of USA Boxing's troubles are three items addressed by USOC: late payments in repaying a debt; sanctioning issues; and governing lapses.

USA Boxing is in the process of repaying a $1.2 million debt to USOC, but has been late in meeting the scheduled deadlines. Voy said "I have a plan and we're going to take care of our financial problems."

The sanctioning issues appear minor, and the governing problem is the result of USA Boxing having had six executive directors in the past nine years, including three in the past two years.

"We'll be OK on the sanctioning matter and I've appointed an ad hoc committee to address our organizational structure," Voy said. "I think everything's coming together."

"There was a lot of pressure on me," he said afterward. "I was trying hard not to look ahead and I had a hard time keeping my focus.

"I hurt him a few times, but I wasn't at my best."

Griffin, 44-3, is in line for a possible IBF title fight with Antonio Tarver in the event reigning champion Roy Jones relinquishes the belt or is forced to give it up for abandoning the division to meet WBA heavyweight champ John Ruiz.

"He pulverized the guy," said Miguel Diaz, a Las Vegas-based cutman and trainer who was working Larios' corner. "It really was shocking. We thought Oscar would win, but no one thought it would be over that fast."

Larios, 46-3-1, ascends to championship status after being denied in an earlier try. He lost to Jorrin by a controversial decision in Sacramento last year, but he returned to the WBC's mandatory challenger position by beating Israel Vazquez in May.

Diaz had a helpful hint as the rematch with Jorrin was about to begin.

"I saw that Jorrin was dry as a bone," he said. "It didn't look like he had warmed up, so I told Oscar 'Let's go and fight him right away.'

"We'd also noticed that Jorrin lunges when he punches and that he could be hit with an uppercut from underneath, and that's just what Larios did."

Mike Tyson and Cliff Etienne have signed to fight Feb. 22 in Memphis. ... A card scheduled for tonight at the Avi resort near Laughlin has been cancelled. ... Promoter James Pollins has a Nov. 15 date but is looking for a local site after plans to put the show at the Thunderbird were blocked by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Parking considerations plus the lack of an indoor arena were the Thunderbird's downfalls. ... The Dec. 14 IBF heavyweight title fight between Evander Holyfield and Chris Byrd will formally be announced today and will be held in Atlantic City. At the same time, the March 1 WBA heavyweight title fight between John Ruiz and Roy Jones will be made official; it'll be held at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.

Ross Thompson, the Chaparral High grad who now fights out of Buffalo, meets Jeff Lacy as part of Showtime's Saturday card in Oklahoma City and he says he has something to prove. "I've been a career underachiever," he admits. "I had a lot of ability and potential. I have never lived up to my ability. If I'm not going to do it now, I'm never going to do it." Thompson is 25-6-1 and Lacy is 11-0. ... Juan Manuel Marquez and Manuel Medina will vie for the vacant IBF featherweight title Feb. 8 at a site yet to be determined. But I'll whip Mitchell fair and square, no matter the obstacles."