Thursday, May 22, 2003 | 9:04 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.
What was once a curiosity is now an accepted matchmaking practice. Bernard Hopkins is going to do a Roy Jones Jr. and jump a few weight classes in order to fight James Toney in August.
Hopkins vs. Toney is on, promoter Dan Goossen said Wednesday. Neither the exact date nor site has been finalized, but the fight will be in August at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas or at a casino in either New Jersey or Connecticut.
"We've agreed," he said of Hopkins and Toney signing for the bout, which will be televised by the pay-per-view arm of HBO. Hopkins gets $3.5 million and Toney receives $2.5 million, give or take.
The bout mirrors March 1 at the Thomas & Mack Center when Jones abandoned the light heavyweight division to fight World Boxing Association heavyweight champion John Ruiz. Jones won that fight by 8, 6 and 6 points on the judges' cards.
Hopkins is looking to do something equally extreme.
While Jones left a division with a 175-pound limit and added 21 pounds to fight the 226-pound Ruiz, Hopkins will bolt from the middleweight division and its 160-pound limit to fight Toney at 190.
Toney, 34, claimed the International Boxing Federation cruiserweight title with a decision win against Vassiliy Jirov last month in Connecticut. Immediately afterward, he said he would be willing to take on IBF heavyweight champion Chris Byrd or Hopkins, whoever came first.
"Our feeling is, Chris Byrd is still going to be there six months down the line," Goossen said. "God knows about Hopkins."
Goossen is delighted to have the fight under contract, in part because it includes Toney and in part for his dislike of Hopkins. The two worked together for a brief time and the relationship ended in a legal dispute three years ago.
"Hopkins fancies himself as the dragon slayer, but this should shut him up," Goossen said of the undisputed middleweight champion. "That's one of the aspects I'll enjoy about this as the promoter."
Hopkins, 38, has made a middleweight record 17 title defenses and is 42-2-1. Toney is 66-4-2.
"The reason Hopkins gives for doing this is that he wants to make the same step up that Roy Jones did," Goossen said. "Except Hopkins would be the first to admit that James Toney is no John Ruiz.
"He's going to have to fight a real guy."
Asked if he thought Hopkins was in over his head, Goossen fell back to his belief that Toney is close to unbeatable when he puts his mind to it.
"Quite frankly, I've got the feeling that virtually anybody that steps into the ring with James is biting off more than they can handle," he said. "Now that he's recaptured his commitment, I'm not sure there's anyone out there that can beat him."
Goossen hopes to have the remaining particulars in writing within the next couple of weeks.
Although the Orleans' new arena has opened, the Guilty cards will remain in their customary location on the hotel's second floor. First bell is 7 p.m.
Also scheduled: Adam Carrera, 10-0, vs. Angel Mata, 9-8, six rounds, featherweights; Cornelius Lock, 8-1, vs. Alejandro Ramirez, 4-4, six rounds, featherweights; Avelino Chavez, 4-0, vs. Ariel Cota, 0-4, four rounds, welterweights; Juan Carlos Santiago, 6-1, vs. Pedro Mora, 6-6, four rounds, featherweights; and lightweight Arturo Quintero, 6-0, and bantamweight Melinda Cooper, 8-0, in fights against opponents yet to be determined.
This much is known: Gerardo Espinoza has replaced Alejandro Barrera in the main event and will fight Jorge Lacierva in a 12-round fight at 122 pounds.
Espinoza is 16-3 with 14 knockouts and Lacierva is 20-5-4 with 12 KOs.
Those tests, which measure brain and artery functions, will cost the fighter (or someone on his or her behalf) a minimum of $425. That one-time fee is on top of an annual $350 licensing fee in the state.
"The bigger shows can handle it, but if the state wants the smaller shows to survive they ought to give this some more thought," Guilty Boxing's Tony Burrell said Wednesday. "A lot of fighters can't afford this.
"We're all in favor of safety, but to be overcautious at our expense seems to be a mistake. We could run into problems just getting people to fight for us."
But Marc Ratner, executive director of the NSAC, defends the move.
"Any amateur turning pro has already taken these tests and it's something they may only have to do once in their career," he said. "Also, if a fighter has had these tests taken anywhere in the last five years, that counts.
"We understand (the financial concerns) and I don't want to hurt the club shows whatsoever. We need them and rely on them. But this is a test that our doctors feel may show abnormalities and could preclude someone from fighting and being injured."
In addition, Ratner defends Nevada's position to those who point out that New York pays for similar testing for fighters in that state.
"Our budget is $320,000 and we put on around 60 cards a year," he said of the basic economic factors. "New York's budget is around $800,000 and they may only put on 15 cards a year."
But for those who see the tests and fees as a financial hardship, Ratner had some encouraging news. He said the NSAC is attempting to establish a nonprofit foundation -- via contributions from donors -- that would cover the costs of these tests, and that the foundation may be established yet this year.
Mayorga, who defeated Forrest by third-round TKO Jan. 25 in Temecula, Calif., said "Vernon Forrest is scared. He has people talking for him. I don't think he wants to fight me again."
Mayorga is 25-3-1 and Forrest is 35-1
Forrest, who made himself available by telephone, said Mayorga was wrong and that he skipped the Las Vegas press conference simply because of a prior commitment.
Naturally, Mayorga was not impressed.
"He's going down," Mayorga said. "I'm hungrier for this fight than I have ever been. I invite everybody to come out to see two great rounds of boxing."
Mayorga went into their earlier bout as the WBA champion at 147 pounds and added Forrest's World Boxing Council belt when he lured the favorite into a slugfest. Referee Marty Denkin stopped the bout after Mayorga had clearly taken charge.
"I'm a super champion and I'm super crazy," Mayorga said, promoting his free-spirited image.
Also in town were the primary undercard participants, junior welterweights DeMarcus Corley and Zab Judah.
"I have no remorse for what I'm going to do to Judah," Corley said. "He has taken trash talk to another level. I'm very excited that we're finally going to get to fight each other. We've been talking about this for years."
Corley is 28-1-1 and Judah is 28-1.
"I've been away from the ring for a year," Judah said of the time spent since losing to Kostya Tszyu. "I've been getting my life in order. But now, daddy is here."
"They'd gain viewers if she was," McClain said Wednesday, referring to HBO's decision to limit the telecast to two fights. "I don't think too many people are going to rush out to see Lennox beat up on Kirk Johnson, or even care about Klitschko."
McClain wants to match Ali with Vonda Young and Christy Martin yet this year, but said he's saving those fights for a card in which Ali would be showcased. As it is, Ali will probably be paired with a relatively easy opponent at the Staples Center and her 14-0 record is unlikely to be jeopardized.
"It's a fight for her to stay busy and fight at home," he said. "I think she'll bring in the Hollywood crowd."
McClain said HBO told him it was bypassing televising Ali's fight because the two previous major cable cards she was on were not ratings bonanzas.
"One of those had Andrew Golota and Montell Griffin, and the other was Golota against Mike Tyson, so I don't think Laila had anything to do with the ratings," McClain said. "But that's HBO's excuse."
He was renting the gym space (at 6185 S. Pecos) until last week, and the couple has placed its Las Vegas home on the market.
The gym was open for a year and housed a number of fighters, including Ali and several other women boxers.
The national Golden Gloves championships will be Monday through May 31 at the Orleans. ... Senators Harry Reid (of Nevada) and John McCain (of Arizona) are working together on their separate boxing bills in order to come up with something "that each can live with," an insider said. Both Reid and McCain have boxing bills at the committee level in the U.S. Senate. ... After a 12-year absence, Top Rank has reinstated its Cow Pasture Boxing Festival with an Aug. 15 date. ESPN2 will televise from either Minden or Yerrington, in Northern Nevada. The festival was in Gardnerville from 1973 through 1991. ... A seven-day, three-country cruise is being organized that would benefit injured fighters Greg Page and Gerald McClellan. The dates are Nov. 23-30 and prices will start at $669, but no details yet on contacts, etc.
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