Thursday, July 10, 2003 | 8:33 a.m.
Aside from the main event, four other fights on Saturday's card at the Orleans are scheduled for 12 rounds, which means the stakes are high for a number of participants.
In particular, for Zab Judah, it's a matter of reclaiming lost prestige.
For DeMarcus Corley, it's securing a reputation.
For Vivian Harris, it's validating a career.
And for Souleyman M'Baye, it's establishing credibility.
Judah and Corley are southpaws matched in one fight at 140 pounds, and Harris and M'Baye are paired in another at the same weight. Both offer more than a little intrigue.
"I was watching a tape of Corley when I realized I just didn't care about him," Judah said of an adversary he punched at a press conference in March. "I've got sparring partners who would knock out Corley.
"He's a joke."
Judah is a former world champion who is 28-1 with 21 knockouts but who has fought only once since losing by second-round TKO to Kostya Tszyu some 20 months ago in Las Vegas. He was suspended by the Nevada State Athletic Commission following that fight for accosting referee Jay Nady, and was further detained by a lengthy battle with his former promoter.
"It's not that I wanted to take a layoff, but I had contract problems," Judah said. "I couldn't fight nobody."
Having his contract with Main Events expire and signing one with Don King got him back in the ring.
"King gave me a present," Judah said with a big smile. "He said 'Welcome home, Zab' and gave me Corley."
Those are fighting words as far as Corley is concerned.
"We always wanted to fight each other since we were amateurs," he said. "There's going to be a lot of pressure on Judah because he has to get in the ring with a puncher like me.
"He seems to think I got my (World Boxing Organization) title on a loan, but it's mine and it's not for sale.
"This is more than a title defense. It's the biggest fight of my life."
Corley is 28-1-1 with 16 KOs but has not been in with the same caliber of fighters that Judah has faced. And that has him at least somewhat respectful of his rival.
"From the past, Judah has a lot of mouth and when he says he is going to put it down, he puts it down," Corley said. "If he trained hard, put everything else behind him and comes into the ring focused, he may be pretty good."
Judah promises to show Corley the differences between them.
"When I was the champion, there was me and Kostya Tszyu and that was it," he said. "While I was off, new guys like Corley came up from everywhere and got themselves positioned. But he's going to find that it's easier to win a title than to keep it, because when you're the champion there are killers coming at you all the time.
"I'm not looking past Corley, I'm looking right at him."
Judah is a minus 285 betting favorite, with Corley a plus 245. The over/under round proposition bet is set at 11 1/2 rounds and is a minus 110 either way.
In the companion junior welterweight fight, Harris meets M'Baye in a fight that appeared nondescript on paper until M'Baye showed off his wares in a series of training sessions here. A native of France who has fought exclusively in Europe and away from American TV and fans, M'Baye is exceptionally fast and hits very hard.
"I can't really explain my abilities," he said through an interpreter. "It's just the way I am."
He's 27-0 with 18 KOs and owns a victory against a former world champion, Khalid Rahilou.
Harris is 22-1-1 with 16 KOs and revitalized his somewhat stagnant career by beating a tough guy, Diosbelys Hurtado, last October in Houston. He's a minus 700 betting favorite, with M'Baye a plus 500.
Bettors, however, should also consider that M'Baye has been boxing fewer than five years and an unsubstantiated report (via another fighter) had him being knocked out twice in training camp in Miami before arriving in Las Vegas.
"I don't know if I'm going to win, but I've done everything to win," M'Baye said. "By fighting here I can show the American public a good boxer with style.
"But I never thought I'd be a boxer. I was a kick boxer and I didn't know how to use my hands until I became a boxer.
"I never thought I'd fight for a world title, even as a kick boxer."
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