Thursday, Oct. 17, 2002 | 9:44 a.m.
Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at [email protected] or (702) 259-4084.
It's the nature of the sport that a fighter who wins a bout is allowed to look ahead, while one who takes a loss is left to lick his wounds.
Charles Shufford and Cliff Couser each lives in Las Vegas and each fought on a nationally televised card this past Sunday in Choctaw, Miss., as detailed in Monday's Sun. But while Shufford won his 12-round heavyweight fight with Eliecer Castillo, Couser lost by fifth-round TKO to another heavyweight, Lance Whitaker.
As a result, Shufford spent this week musing on his possibilities while Couser tried to come to grips with his loss.
"I want to fight somebody from the top 10," Shufford said. "I don't know who and I know I might have to be patient, but the door's open for me.
"I think I did real good against Castillo."
Shufford, 29, added two victories to his record within a span of three weeks and is now 19-2. He also defeated Marcellus Brown Sept. 21 at the Stratosphere.
"I thought the fight (with Castillo) would go the 12 rounds because he's a tough guy," Shufford said. "I felt like I did my job and hit him with the speedier shots."
If Shufford is content with his Mississippi experience, Couser is not.
"It was bizarre," he said Wednesday, criticizing the referee (for allowing Whitaker to get away with hitting him behind the head), the ring inspector (for not allowing Couser's trainer to talk while the fight was in progress) and the Indian regulatory body that supervised the card (for having allegedly makeshift rules that were subject to random change).
He's going to contest the 90-day suspension he was given on the grounds he wasn't seriously hurt and that he was told at a rules meeting prior to the fight that a knockout loss would result in a 60-day suspension. Couser will make his appeal to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
"There was a lot of crazy stuff," he said. "But the one thing I did wrong in the fight was go backwards when I shouldn't have. But maybe I wouldn't have if my trainer could have done a little coaching."
Couser, 31, drops to 24-8-2 but says he's not deterred.
"I'm keeping my head up," he said. "Until I get to 10 losses, I'm not done."
"They offered us the fight and $10,000 but I didn't have any say," Wolfe said. "It's driving me crazy. I wanted any of those four guys who fought Sunday and it's time for Tye to be taking a step up."
Fields, 27, is 25-1 with 24 knockouts but has been stuck with journeyman opposition. Another such fight, perhaps against Brian Nix, looms next month, with the particulars yet to be determined.
"He possesses all of the tools," Wolfe said of Fields, who he began training in July. "He's a southpaw, he's got a great jab and a left that's so powerful it's a lethal weapon."
Many of Fields' earlier opponents would agree, as the Las Vegan has won 17 fights by first-round knockout (including each of his first 14). The one loss he did suffer -- to Jeff Ford -- was avenged in a rematch that failed to last a full round.
At 6-foot-9 and 275 pounds, Fields is a handful.
"It's time to make a move," Wolfe claims. "Physically, he's ready for it."
Short notice and weight troubles led to Arthur Williams losing an earlier fight to fellow cruiserweight O'Neil Bell, but Williams is feeling good at 197 pounds and training at Nevada Partners with his rematch with Bell set for Nov. 8 at the Stratosphere. ... A Ricardo Williams (7-0) vs. Terronn Millett (27-3-1) junior welterweight fight will top the undercard for Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Johnny Tapia Nov. 2 at the MGM. ... One of the sport's greatest stars, junior flyweight champ Ricardo Lopez, reportedly will announce his retirement next week. Lopez, of Mexico, is 35 years old and is 50-0-1 but hasn't fought in more than a year. He fought 10 times in Nevada including eight times in Las Vegas during a career that began in 1985.
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