Women’s rights and lefts

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Aug. 21, 2003 | 9:18 a.m.

As is the case in all good fights, there's some doubt as to who is going to win.

Christy Martin has her supporters.

And so does Laila Ali.

The only solution: settle it in the ring, which the two leading ladies of women's boxing will do Saturday in Biloxi, Miss, in a fight scheduled for 10 rounds with participants at noticeably different heights and weights.

The pay-per-view card is available for $30.

"This is the perfect out with the old and in with the new scenario," promoter Johnny McClain said by phone from Biloxi this week. "You know how it is when you have a dog and you get another dog? That old dog doesn't want to give up any ground, and that's how Christy is with Laila."

McClain, a former Las Vegan and Ali's husband, certainly has a rooting interest in the fight. He said the ideal scenario would be "five good rounds" before Ali wins by knockout.

"I want it to be a great fight and to be action packed as long as it lasts," he said. "But I think it's impossible that Laila will lose."

Others aren't so sure.

"I've read and heard all the experts," said Martin's sparring partner, Lisa Holewyne, in quotes relayed by a publicist. "People should be saying, 'Does Ali have a chance to win this fight?' and not the other way around. I think Ali is going to wake up in the second or third round and it's going to be too late when she says to herself, 'Look what my people did to me.' "

Ali will have a definite size advantage and Martin will have a definite experience advantage.

By contract, Ali must weigh-in at no more than 162 pounds and Martin must weigh at least 152. By fight time, McClain said Ali is likely to weigh 167 pounds and Martin 155.

Ali, 25, is 5-foot-10 and Martin, 35, is 5-foot-4.

But Martin has faced a higher caliber of opponents during her career, which includes 45 wins in 49 fights. Ali, a relative newcomer to the sport despite her father's legendary standing, is 15-0.

"I'm looking forward to giving her a beatdown," Ali said, emulating the braggadocio her father, Muhammad, often displayed before his fights. "She ain't gonna make it past five rounds."

Martin thinks otherwise.

"I remember talking to Frankie Randall before his (first) fight with Julio Cesar Chavez (Jan. 29, 1994, in Las Vegas) when he was a big underdog and given no chance," she said. "He told me that it was just a feeling that he had, that he was supremely confident and that something told him that he would win.

"That's sort of ... no, not sort of, that is how I feel. I know Roy Jones felt the same way before his fight (March 1, in Las Vegas) with John Ruiz. I just know I won't lose, despite what everyone says.

"It's so strange to not be favored (but) I know I will win."

Holewyne, a pro fighter with an 18-9-1 record who lost a 10-round decision to Martin two years ago in Las Vegas, agrees, citing her own experiences with mutual opponents both she and Ali have faced.

"I've fought two of the same opponents Ali has, and one of them, Mary Ann Almager, was pulled out of retirement when Ali's people were begging her to fight," she said. "The other one, Valerie Mahfood, I went five rounds with and busted her lip and bloodied her nose.

"So when it comes to quality opponents, Christy has been there before and Ali clearly has not."

McClain disputes that assessment and believes Ali is more than ready to take the throne.

"I think this is a good test for Laila, but she's proven herself before," he said. "Standing up to Christy shouldn't be such a big thing for her. I mean, this is a milestone in Laila's career but I think she's going to destroy her."

He said the rivalry between the two fighters is real and not simply hype.

"It's definitely real," McClain said. "Laila hates Christy and Christy hates Laila.

"Christy thinks Laila should be more gracious to her and it only makes her madder that Laila doesn't."

McClain said it was too early to predict how the pay-per-view portion of the deal will fare, but he added that "it's a fight that's definitely being talked about, so I imagine it will do rather well."

Two other bouts are part of the PPV package: Chris Smith, a 15-0 welterweight, vs. Frankie Sanchez, and a women's fight between Mahfood and a possible future opponent for Ali, Ann Wolfe.

McClain said security would be tight at ringside not only because of the friction between Ali and Martin, but because of racial reasons and the fact the fight is in the South.

"I've got six security guards sitting around me right now," he said. "When it comes to security precautions, we're going to do everything that needs to be done."