Columnist Dean Juipe: Klitschko brothers going in opposite directions

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Aug. 28, 2003 | 9:34 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.

Keeping the Klitschko brothers straight, as in always knowing which is which, is a challenge that many boxing fans have yet to master. There's a tendency to see them as interchangeable.

But here's the skinny on their most recent fights: Wladimir lost to Corrie Sanders in what is likely to be the 2003 Upset of the Year, and Vitali was giving Lennox Lewis all he could handle until that fight was stopped due to cuts and Lewis was declared the winner.

Saturday in Munich, Germany, Wladimir looks to restart his career as he's matched with easy target Fabio Moli.

And Dec. 6, at a site yet to be determined and against an opponent yet to be determined, Vitali will return to the ring and his quest to become heavyweight champion.

Each of the Klitschkos participated in a conference call this week and vaguely outlined his plans.

"You can't underestimate anyone," Wladimir said of facing Moli and of the lesson he learned from his two-round knockout loss to Sanders in March. "I think he's a tough fighter; he shows a good heart."

But Moli is hardly a world-class fighter in spite of his 6-foot-6, 260-pound size and 29-2 record, and he isn't expected to take Wladimir the fully scheduled 12 rounds. Moli's record is padded with South American and American journeymen and he has also had periods of inactivity.

Freddie Roach, who has trained Wladimir for this fight, is already looking past it and hopes a rematch with Sanders can be arranged.

"I'd like to see (Wladimir) get right back in there with Sanders," he said.

Wladimir blames himself for the loss to Sanders in Germany, which not only dropped his record to 40-2 but at least temporarily exiled him from the heavyweight sweepstakes.

"I was a little bit bored," he said of his outlook before the Sanders fight. "I took him easily and underestimated him. I made some simple mistakes and paid for them."

If he gets past Moli as expected, Wladimir intends to take another fight later this year. It may even be against Sanders and on his brother's Dec. 6 card.

Vitali isn't sure who he'll be fighting that night, but names such as Hasim Rahman, Kirk Johnson -- and Sanders -- have been mentioned.

"It's up to HBO," Vitali said of the decision-making process.

And what if it's Rahman?

"I'd be happy to fight him," he said.

And what if it's Johnson?

"I think that fight would be very interesting," he said.

And what if it's Sanders?

"It's actually possible (and) I'm ready to fight Sanders," he said before adding that he'd rather see Wladimir rematched with Sanders than to fight the South African himself.

Regardless, Vitali said the cuts he suffered in the June fight with Lewis have healed and will not be a problem by December. He needed 60 stitches to close the wounds, which led to the fight being stopped by the ringside physician following the sixth round.

Lewis was declared the winner although he trailed on the judges' cards.

"In my opinion, I was very close to being the world champion and beating Lennox Lewis," Vitali said. "I know he's a great fighter and I have respect for him, but I feel I'm stronger than Lennox and I want to show I can beat him."

Lewis, however, may retire and surrender his World Boxing Council title. The WBC is already making contingency plans and may play a role in determining Vitali's Dec. 6 opponent; it could declare the title vacant and have him fight Rahman for the belt or the "interim" championship until Lewis solidifies his plans.

Mayweather, 26, has been a world champion since 1998 and is coming off a decision win April 10 in Fresno, Calif., against Victoriano Sosa. Mayweather, 30-0 with 20 KOs, landed 248 punches to Sosa's 79 in winning that fight by 10, 8 and 8 points on the judges' cards.

N'dou, who is ranked as the No. 4 contender by the WBC, is 31-1 with 30 KOs and is on a 21-fight winning streak. Like Mayweather, he moved from the junior lightweight to the lightweight division earlier this year.

Local heavyweight Todd Diggs may have reached the end of the line. He was stopped 44 seconds into the fourth round of a scheduled six-round fight with Willie Chapman Friday in Reno and his record slipped to 4-8-3. Chapman is 17-18-3. ... On that same card, fellow heavyweight Sione Asipeli of Las Vegas lost a decision to James Walton and saw his record dip to 17-9-2. Walton, 19-3-2, won the fight and immediately announced he was dropping back to the cruiserweight division. ... Promoter Richard Steele says he'll have a card Oct. 9 at the Tuscany hotel-casino. ... Promoter Bob Arum says Jesus Chavez vs. Erik Morales is "going to happen" early next year. Chavez recently won the WBC junior lightweight title and Morales will challenge him for that crown, assuming he gets past Guty Espadas Oct. 4 in Los Angeles.

Promoter Sterling McPherson had to scrap a card headlining former heavyweight champ Frans Botha that had been scheduled for Saturday in the Virgin Islands. "It took too much time to get all the government things we needed," he said, adding that the fight between Botha and George Linberger is now on for Oct. 3 in Daytona Beach, Fla., with Andrew Golota in a companion main event against an opponent to be determined. ... McPherson may go back to the Virgin Islands for an October card with 19-0 super bantamweight Joan Guzman headlining ... McPherson also met with Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman this week and discussed having a card under the Fremont Street Experience canopy, as he did a couple of times last year.

Heavyweight Tye Fields of Las Vegas gets his first nationally televised fight Tuesday in Chester, W.Va., when he faces Sherman Williams on ESPN2. But this is hardly the ideal situation for Fields, who had been training here under Wes Wolfe until his managers moved him to Detroit earlier this month to work at the Kronk Gym. "I talk to him every day, usually before and after every workout," Wolfe said Wednesday. He's concerned that Fields hasn't had sufficient training for the fight, which is his first at 12 rounds. "It aggravates me because I worked with the kid for 12 months," Wolfe said. Fields is 27-1 and a noted puncher. Williams is a pedestrian 23-7-2 but is durable and has frequently gone 10 and 12 rounds.