Columnist Dean Juipe: Byrd has his price to return for Golota rematch

Dean Juipe

Thursday, May 20, 2004 | 9:12 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.

Chris Byrd is perfectly willing to accept a rematch with Andrew Golota , but the International Boxing Federation heavyweight champion from Las Vegas says he'll only do it for his price.

"Way more than that," Byrd said, when asked if he was looking for at least $1 million to take on Golota again.

He received $625,000 for their first fight, April 17 in New York, in which he and Golota fought to a draw.

He said he had a minimum figure he would accept for a rematch but asked that it not appear in print. But it's way more than $625,000 and considerably more than $1 million.

"If we can come to terms, I'd do it again," he said of fighting Golota. "But if the money's the same or just a little more, it's not going to work.

"I've been taking short money for a long time and I'm not going to do it anymore, especially because we had a great fight the first time and the second fight would sell even better."

Byrd and Golota saved the card the night of their draw, as the earlier bouts on the pay-per-view offering (featuring John Ruiz vs. Fres Oquendo, Wayne Braithwaite vs. Louis Azille, and Ricardo Mayorga vs. late replacement Eric Mitchell ) were mostly dull and less than entertaining.

"As I was coming out of the dressing room, someone said, 'They're booing like crazy out there' and he said 'This is your show,' " Byrd recounted. "But I was ready to fight and we fought like two warriors.

"I was pleased with it. The fans ended up getting their money's worth, and it takes a good fight to do that when there were so many bad ones before it."

Byrd vs. Golota was scored 114-114, 115-113 for Byrd and 115-113 for Golota.

"If we have a second fight, it'll be better than the first," Byrd said. "I don't fear him, so I'd be more confident. And I wouldn't lay on the ropes as much as I did the first time; I think I did that a little too much."

Byrd, 33, is 37-2-1 with 20 knockouts.

Golota, 36, is 38-4-1 with 31 KOs and handled himself well against the champion.

"It was weird," Byrd said of his prefight feelings about the match, as Golota appeared to be years removed from his heyday. "I didn't know what to expect."

Of course he would have preferred to have won, but the draw didn't completely displease him.

"I was a little disappointed at first," Byrd said. "A draw? That doesn't sound real good.

"But what can you do? I fought a decent fight and I kept the belt."

In the aftermath he has received boundless praise from boxing fans and writers for his willingness to stand and trade punches with a puncher. Although neither man was down nor seriously hurt in the bout, both gave as well as received during the course of the 12 rounds.

A Byrd vs. Golota rematch makes sense and should fall into place. A potential stumbling block, the IBF's position on the matter and its insistence that mandatory challenger Jameel McCline get a title shot, appears to have lessened as an issue.

"They've OK'd a rematch," Byrd said of the IBF. "And Jameel's a friend, so he understands."

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Local featherweight William Abelyan's fight with Scott Harrison in Scotland has been postponed once again, this time due to Harrison suffering a shoulder injury. The fight is now on for June 19 in Glasgow. ... Jermain Taylor vs. Raul Marquez has been added to the Paulie Ayala vs. Marco Antonio Barrera card June 19 in Los Angeles. Taylor is a rising middleweight and Marquez is an over-the-hill former champion at 154 pounds. ... Oscar De La Hoya has arrived in Las Vegas and will complete his training here for his June 4 fight against Felix Sturm at the MGM. ... Local junior welterweight Floyd Mayweather Jr. fights for a second time at 140 pounds as he takes on DeMarcus Corley Saturday in Atlantic City on HBO. Mayweather is 31-0 and Corley is 28-2-1. HBO will replay the Antonio Tarver-Ro y Jones Jr. fight as part of its telecast.