Thursday, April 15, 2004 | 9:25 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.
Reinstated as the World Boxing Association's heavyweight champion after Roy Jones Jr. dropped back to light heavyweight, John Ruiz makes the first defense of his second reign Saturday in New York when he takes on Fres Oquendo.
He promises to look sharp as he attempts to improve upon his image as a plodding and sometimes dull slugger.
"I'm doing a lot of things differently," Ruiz said during a conference call. "You'll see something different other than someone just going out there to slug it out."
Ruiz, a Las Vegas resident who trained on the East Coast for this fight, is sometimes unfairly branded, as his most recent fight (vs. Hasim Rahman) exemplified. Fighting Dec. 13 in Atlantic City, Ruiz won the bout by 8, 4 and 1 points on the judges' cards in a grueling match that frustrated Rahman and gave Ruiz the interim WBA title while exasperating some observers.
It's his second time atop the WBA standings, having been champion for 24 months until losing a one-sided fight to Jones 13 months ago at Mandalay Bay.
"I learned a lot from the fights I've lost and in the last fight with Rahman I learned that I can be as strong as anyone," Ruiz said. "Basically, I went into that fight looking like s---."
Ruiz is 39-5-1 with 27 knockouts, while Oquendo is 24-2 with 15 KOs and is coming off a decision loss to Chris Byrd.
"What I've been hearing is that he's going to try to box me and out-jab me," Ruiz said of facing Oquendo, who is apt to be quicker than Ruiz but not as strong. "I see it as a cat and mouse game.
"I'm going to be chasing him around the ring and he's going to be boxing."
The fight has some historical significance, as Oquendo is a native of Puerto Rico and Ruiz's parents are Puerto Rican. It's the first heavyweight title fight between two men of Puerto Rican descent.
"I'm definitely going to put a whipping on him," Oquendo said during his conference call remarks.
Bring it on, Ruiz seems to be saying.
"The heavyweight division is wide open and it needs something to revive it," he said. "It's out there to be grabbed.
"Boxing has lost the feeling of who wants to be the best (but) I always put it out there that I'll fight anybody.
"Everybody wants to be the best but they want to take the easy road. If you want to be the best you have to fight the best, and that's what I intend to do."
SANDERS READY: With Lamon Brewster having at least temporarily eliminated one of the Klitschko brothers as a legitimate heavyweight contender, Corrie Sanders will do his best to chase off the other one.
"Obviously they are two big guys and everybody was looking at them and believing they would be the next heavyweight champions," Sanders said of the Klitschkos during a conference call this week. "One is gone and obviously one is left. I just have to sort that out."
Sanders, who is coming off a victory against Wladimir Klitschko a year ago, will take on Vitali Klitschko April 24 in Los Angeles. Wladimir Klitschko dropped from the heavyweight sweepstakes when Brewster stopped him last Saturday at Mandalay Bay.
"I believe it is a mental thing," Sanders said of Wladimir losing to Brewster. "Mentally, he got lost. Once a fighter has been exposed, everybody goes for it."
Wladimir's loss doubles the pressure on Vitali, Sanders said.
"There is a lot of pressure on him," he said. "He said he wants revenge but it could be his downfall."
ORLEANS CARD: The next local card is April 23 at the Orleans, with Guilty Boxing providing a six-fight program.
Adam Carrera, 13-1 with six KOs, will take on Ray Martinez, 10-2 with four KOs, in the eight-round super bantamweight main event.
Also scheduled: Cornelius Lock, 11-1, vs. Freddy Castro, 4-9-3, six rounds, super bantamweights; Jose Araiza, 21-1, vs. Frankie Soto, 9-8, six rounds, flyweights; Genaro Mellado, 5-7, vs. an opponent yet to be determined, six rounds, junior lightweights; Gustavo Arroyo, 1-0, vs. Olawale Afolabi, 4-1, four rounds, cruiserweights; and Marcus Geraldo Jr., 4-1, vs. an opponent to be determined, four rounds, heavyweights.
BOXERS OR BRIEFS: Vernon Forrest has dropped off the April 24 card in Los Angeles due to an injury. He was to have fought Teddy Reid in the chief support bout to the Klitschko-Sanders main event. ... Aging featherweight Johnny Tapia has signed a promotional agreement with Top Rank. ... Undisputed junior middleweight champion Winky Wright has signed a promotional agreement with Lou DiBella. ... Undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins on former welterweight champ Ricardo Mayorga, who fights Jose A. Rivera Saturday on Don King's card in New York: "He's just a street fighter. I can find a dozen of them in my neighborhood."
Four local amateur fighters won regional bouts last week to advance to the national Golden Gloves tournament next month in Kansas City. Those advancing include: Teddy Padilla, 106 pounds; Gil Martinez, 119; Lonnie Smith, 125; and Andres Chipres, 132. ... Super middleweight contender Antwun Echols, 29-5-1, has been added to Top Rank's May 8 card at the MGM. No opponent yet. ... Local featherweight William Abelyan has had his fight with Scott Harrison reset for May 29 in Glasgow, Scotland. An earlier date was scratched when Abelyan was injured.
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