Columnist Dean Juipe: Yerington’s Brinkley aims for bright lights

Dean Juipe

Thursday, May 29, 2003 | 9:52 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.

Jesse Brinkley is familiar with career obstacles.

For starters, he was born and raised in Yerington, which is a nice enough little town in Northern Nevada but hardly a training ground for big-time fighters.

He also has failed to capture the attention of a major promoter, although his 19-1 record certainly looks good enough on paper.

And, of immediate concern, he realizes the biggest fight yet in his career is one in which he's an underdog in his opponent's home town.

Brinkley will fight Cleveland Corder next Monday in Worley, Idaho, and he doesn't need to be told that outsiders rarely find such circumstances to their liking.

"I'm the underdog, I know that," he said Wednesday at the Top Rank gym. "My goal is to stop him in the eighth round ... actually, I'd kind of like to stop him in the first or second round.

"I know if it goes to the later rounds, you can't be sure of what will happen."

Brinkley and Corder are scheduled for 12 rounds at 160 pounds and headline a card that will be televised by the Fox Sports Net.

"This is the third time we've been scheduled to fight," he said, the previous two having been canceled when each man came down with an injury. "It's a must win for me. I'm sure he feels the same way. We're both at the point where you feel as if you have to be able to beat a guy like this if you want to go on."

Brinkley, 26, habitually trains in Las Vegas under Miguel Diaz when he has a fight scheduled, yet he still finds the hot weather and congestion debilitating.

"It's a culture shock for me when I come down here," he said. "But the good part of it is that I've got a ton of quality sparring."

Which is something he would never be able to say if he did nothing more than work out in Yerington.

"I've already gone way further than I thought I'd ever go," he said. "To go any further, I need a couple of big wins.

"I'd like to fight at least once on HBO."

James Toney vs. Bernard Hopkins is set for Aug. 9 at Mandalay Bay. ... Toney was arrested this week in Michigan, where he reportedly owes $103,370 in overdue child support. ... A heavyweight fight between John Ruiz and Fres Oquendo will highlight the Toney vs. Hopkins undercard. ... A pair of Las Vegas fighters were victorious last Thursday in Yonkers, N.Y., as Kuvanych Tokgonbayev took a decision win over Andre Tsurkan in a 10-round fight at 154 pounds, and Ruslan Chagaev stopped Zakeem Graham in the third round of a heavyweight fight scheduled for 10. Tokgonbayev goes to 21-1-1 and Chagaev is 6-0. ... Local welterweight Ishe Smith figures to be tested by David Estrada in a June 20 fight just announced for Carson, Calif., and ESPN2. Smith is 11-0 and Estrada is 14-0. They're scheduled beneath a Diego Corrales vs. Damien Fuller main event.

Working out in Los Angeles for his June 21 fight with Cedric Boswell, Vitali Klitschko said he has adjusted to the challenge. "I would have liked to have fought Lennox Lewis," he said in quotes relayed by a publicist. "That is whom I thought I was fighting next. But this is the next best thing. I have studied tapes (of Boswell) and know he is a very strong fighter. This will be a good exam for me." ... Livingstone Bramble is looking for young fighters to train and says "I can afford to be patient. You can't change fighters who already have bad habits, so this approach will pay off for me in the long run." Among the youngsters currently working with Bramble at Nevada Partners is a namesake of sorts, Livingstone Joseph. The connection: Rudy Joseph, 32 years ago, introduced Bramble to the sport and named the youngest of his three sons after the former lightwe ight champion.

Local cruiserweight Arthur Williams has accepted a June 13 fight with Rydell Booker in Detroit on ESPN2. ... Bones Adams is back in the gym and looking at a July 1 fight in Youngstown, Ohio. ... Junior middleweight Julio Garcia, 24-1-2, appears to be the headliner at the next card at the Stratosphere, June 14. ... Local heavyweight Todd Diggs, 4-6-3, faces journeyman Willie Chapman, 15-17-3, as part of the June 7 card at the Flamingo in Laughlin. "I'm going to fight him hard for four full rounds," Diggs promises. ... Odds from the MGM sports book on upcoming fights: Arturo Gatti minus 280, Mickey Ward plus 230 (June 7 in Atlantic City); Lennox Lewis minus 800, Kirk Johnson plus 550 (June 21 in Los Angeles); Vernon Forrest minus 320, Ricardo Mayorga plus 250 (July 12 at the Orleans); and Oscar De La Hoya minus 250, Shane Mosley plus 210 (Sept. 13 at the MGM .