Columnist Dean Juipe: Kelley looks to bolster resume vs. Barrera

Dean Juipe

Thursday, April 3, 2003 | 9:58 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.

He's a two-time former world champion who has lost only five of 61 fights, yet Kevin Kelley isn't sure if he's Hall of Fame material.

But he thinks he will be if he can defeat Marco Antonio Barrera April 12 at the MGM Grand Garden.

"Am I a sure thing for the Hall of Fame? Have I done enough?" Kelley said this week, referring to the boxing shrine in Canastota, N.Y., and his thoughts on whether he would be admitted with his current credentials.

"I realized there's one thing I haven't done."

That one thing: upset a certain future Hall of Fame inductee, as Barrera most certainly is.

"That would seal my fate," Kelley said.

With the Hall of Fame as Kelley's motivation, it's a sure thing that he's giving this fight his undivided attention. Yet bettors are skeptical and Wednesday in the sports book at the MGM the numbers pertaining to the fight were startling, with Barrera up at a minus 1500 and Kelley a long, long shot at a plus 1000.

Barrera, 29, is 56-3 with 39 knockouts.

Kelley, 35, is 54-5-2 with 36 KOs.

They're scheduled for 12 rounds at 126 pounds and headline a pay-per-view card that also includes a title defense by World Boxing Association featherweight champion Derrick Gainer.

"This Barrera fight is God's calling," Kelley said. "I haven't had this kind of hunger in years."

Barrera, training at Big Bear, Calif., said during a conference call that he's aware of Kelley's comments pertaining to the Hall of Fame.

"That's what makes him dangerous for me," Barrera said. "He's looking for the moment."

While Kelley has been fighting fairly regularly -- he went 3-0 last year -- he's battling the perception that he's well past his prime. The Showtime cable network, for instance, rejected him as a possible opponent for junior lightweight champion Acelina Freitas earlier this year.

"I accept what I am now and I'm not trying to be what I used to be," Kelley said. "A fighter is as good as he wants to be, that's the bottom line.

"I've got some new things I'm definitely going to show. I'm more seasoned. I've thrown out what doesn't work and kept what did.

"He's going to have to face what I've learned."

Kelley, of Las Vegas, is a southpaw who won his first world championship in 1993 and his second three years later. His last big fight was a KO-7 loss to Erik Morales in 2000, and he also lost an equally important fight by fourth-round knockout to Naseem Hamed in 1997.

But Kelley did have Hamed down three times before being counted out, and he says the loss to Morales was due in part to taking the fight on 11-days notice.

"Any criticism is food for me," Kelley said. "Motivation has brought me to a different level. Barrera is a great featherweight, is very offense oriented and has great defense -- and that's all motivation for me.

"He's very strong willed, very hard to break. He boxes much smarter, much wiser than he used to ... but so do I.

"He's going to fight the best Kevin Kelley, not the Kevin Kelley the people are talking about."

When he steps into the ring with Hatton for a junior welterweight fight to be televised in America by Showtime, the 39-year-old Phillips will find a potential rising star with a record of 31-0 and 24 knockouts. Yet Hatton has a healthy respect for Phillips, a former International Boxing Federation champion with a record of 44-7-1 and 32 KOs.

"Even at 39, he's still got a lot to offer," Hatton said Wednesday. "I know Vince's strengths and I know what the dangers are.

"He's got a hell of a right hand ... perhaps at times he overplays it. But he's not shy about throwing it."

Phillips is coming off a split-decision loss to Sharmba Mitchell, and Hatton is looking to make a name for himself on this side of the pond.

"Potentially, this is my toughest fight," he said. "But it's a fight I can really get my teeth into and it gives me an extra incentive. I know people know I'm a good fighter, but there are still some question marks over me.

"It's a chance for me to shine and show I'm the real deal."

Also, the U.S. Amateur Championships, sponsored by USA Boxing, were held last weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo., and here are those champions: Austreberto Juarez, Ventura, Calif., 106 pounds; Raul Martinez, San Antonio, 112; Samson Guillermo, Waipahu, Hawaii, 119; Jose Perez Jr., Fremont, Calif., 125; Vicente Escobedo, Woodland, Calif., 132; Lamont Peterson, Washington D.C., 141; Juan McPherson, Cleveland, 152; Andre Dirrell, Flint, Mich., 165; Andre Ward, Oakland, 178; Devin Vargas, Toledo, 201; and Jason Estrada, Providence, R.I., 201-plus.

With David Tua and Hasim Rahman having fought to a draw last Saturday in Philadelphia in what was billed as an "IBF eliminator," IBF heavyweight champ Chris Byrd may be forced into a mandatory defense against second-rated contender Fres Oquendo instead. ... Light heavyweight Derrick Harmon of Las Vegas lost by ninth-round knockout to Dariusz Michalczewski last Saturday in Hamburg, Germany. The fight ended after Michalczewski, 48-0, connected with eight unanswered punches, sending Harmon to the canvas for the first time in his pro career. "He's powerful," Harmon, 23-4, said later. "I had a feeling he was getting stronger as the fight went along." ... Local heavyweight Cliff Couser has been offered a fight with fringe prospect Attila Levin as part of the May 3 card at the Flamingo Hilton.