The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 50

6 Part III Saturday, February 25, 1989 Boxing Earl Gustkey DURAN Some Soviets May Be Turning Pro Five Olympic Boxers Make Successful Debuts as Pros By STEVK SPRING KR, Times Staff Writer ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. Nearly a continent away from heavyweight champion Mike Tyson's title defense tonight, the newest gun in town fired his first shots Friday night at the Atlantic City Convention Center. Having already declared he wants to fight Tyson within 18 months, Ray Mercer, heavyweight gold medalist of the 1988 Olympic Games, made his professional debut by stopping Jessie McGhee of Welch, West at the 30-second mark of the third round in a scheduled four-rounder. Four fellow Olympians Andrew Maynard, Kennedy McKin-ney, Robert Wangila and Michael Carbajal also won in their four-round pro debuts. The 212-pound Mercer, from Augusta, landed four solid rights that left the 229-pound McGhee stumbling across the ring into a heap on the other side.

"Look at me," Mercer said. "I'm serious. I'm 27 and you don't get but one chance at the heavyweight title." Maynard, a light-heavyweight gold medalist, defeated Zack Worthy of Paulsboro, N.J., when referee Steve Somger stopped the bout at 2:49 of the first round. By then, Maynard already had put Worthy through the ropes once with an overhand right. McKinney, of Memphis, the bantamweight gold medalist, dominated David Allers of Boston in a junior-featherweight match.

The beginning of the end for Allers came via a solid left-right combination by McKinney in the second round. Somger stopped the fight at the 2:42 mark. Wangila, of Kenya, winner of the welterweight gold, won a unanimous decision over Sidney Gomes of Brazil. Carbajal, of Phoenix, was the silver medalist in the light-flyweight division at Seoul. Entering the pros as a flyweight, he won a unanimous decision over Will Grigsby of St.

Paul, Minn. three years ago, he was a lean light-heavyweight, but rapidly grew into a super-heavyweight frame. Yakovlev is a plodder, not much of a puncher, but very strong and well conditioned. Yagubkin may be a bit undersized as a pro. He was a world amateur champion at 201, but outgrew the weight class several years ago and apparently could not beat bigger boxers such as Miroshnichenko and Yakovlev.

He no longer made trips with the USSR's varsity. In the amateurs, 201 pounds is the heavyweight limit. The super-heavyweight class, over 201, was added in 1983. Yagubkin does have great movement, however, and is a brilliant defensive boxer. He's an accurate puncher, though not a banger.

After Adams brings him up to speed on the pro game, it's not hard to imagine Yagubkin running U.S. pro heavyweights ragged and piling up a lot of early wins on decisions. In fact, all three Soviet heavyweights would figure to be in significantly better physical condition than many of the fat U.S. heavyweights on the scene. Shishov, like Yagubkin, is swift afoot, hard to hit.

The two of them may get some boos at the outset, and some might derisively call them runners. But against low-level U.S. pros, they should win. After that, it'll start getting interesting. light-flyweight Michael Carbajal.

Those three turned pro themselves Friday night in Atlantic City, N.J. Victor Karant, a Soviet emigre who has lived in New York City most of his life, serves as a translator for the USA Amateur Boxing Federation when U.S. boxing teams are in the Soviet Union. He has close sports contacts with the USSR Ministry of Sport. "I have known for a while that some boxers would be allowed to come to the U.S.

to turn professional," he said. "There was one plan I knew of where 10 of them would come to New York and train, but that deal fell through." Karant said the once unheard-of notion of Soviet athletes turning pro is part of the Soviet Union's new economics. "The Soviet ministry of sport spends a lot of money," he said. "But the bureaucrats there were told after Gorbachev came in that they would have to find new ways to fund sports programs, that unlimited amounts of money would no longer be available." Arum said he has no idea how much of the money the four Soviets earn as pros here they will be allowed to keep, but he assumes a percentage of it will be sent to the Soviet Ministry of Sport. The Soviet boxers will be trained by 1988 U.S.

Olympic Coach Ken Adams, and his Olympic assistant, Hank Johnson, who are coaching Arum's three U.S. Olympic medalists, plus Kenyan gold medalist Robert Wangila. Of the three heavyweights, Miroshnichenko is the hardest hitter. He has a potent left hook. Only Continued from Page 1 Duran dominated inside, repeatedly hit Barkley with his right hand, constantly counterpunched successfully, and put Barkley down in the 11th round with yet another right.

Barkley got up. but he never got back into the fight. "I am like a bottle of wine," Duran said. "The older I get, the better I get." Judges Giuseppe Ferrai and Tom Kaczmarek gave the fight to Duran by scores of 118-112 and 116-112, respectively. Judge Dave Brown had it 116-113 for Barkley.

The Times had Duran winning, 115-112. This had been an emotional fight for Barkley. He had talked all week about his late friend and sparring partner, Davey Moore, who had lost a title fight to Duran in 1983. Barkley talked about how he felt Duran had cheated by thumbing Moore, who died last year in a freak Jeep accident. "I pushed it for Davey," Barkley said after the final bell.

"We did our best. "But I knew Duran was going to be tough because this would be his last hurrah. I don't care what anybody thinks or how anybody feels. I still think I'm the best." He won't get a lot of agreement on that point outside of his own camp. Nobody is ever going to mistake Barkley for Leonard or Hearns or any of the other great middleweights.

Despite a 25-5 record and 16 knockouts, this survivor from the Bronx had built his reputation on one punch, a lucky punch, some said. That was the blow last June that floored Hearns and gave Barkley the WBC title. Until then, Barkley was considered little better than a journeyman. Even in that fight. He was bloodied and bruised in that third round and appeared ready to go until he reversed the course of events with one shocking right hand.

He tried to do the same thing Friday night. Time and again. And he connected with the right, and the left. The three best punches Barkley threw in the fight were left hands, one of which straightened up Duran, sweat flying off his face. But the Panamanian never appeared in serious trouble.

Regardless of the quality of the opposition, he showed that, at 37, he could still go a punishing, bruising 12 rounds with barely a breather. Time and again, this pair stood toe-to-toe and matched blows. This was a "Rocky" movie without eration champion Michael Nunn and World Boxing Assn. champion Sumbu Kalambay. That unification fight is tentatively set for July 8 in Las Vegas.

But there is a loophole in the contract. Duran, now an incredible 85-7, does not have to honor it if he can get a fight with one of the other big names in the division Leonard, Hearns or Hagler. Hagler insists he is retired. Leonard and Hearns will fight in June. Duran's people indicated that the man they want is Leonard.

The two have split their two previous fights, Duran handing Leonard the only, defeat of his career. So that bout might certainly appeal to Leonard. After all, who wouldn't want to fight a 37-year-old guy who can't possibly have anything left? FLEET PRICES! POWER WER NEW I8LJr)YA JW STEERING BRAKES AUTOMATIC 3.5 EFI ENGINE suiwutun uuiso Bm rm at DUAIJUS cunu UTEKIUK THIS PRICE OR CHRYSLER PLYMOUTH 3H7t23i8oi 6660 Leland Ventura (805) 656-4030 (Expire 2-20-99) 81 Ae Dealer JK a director to yell, "Cut." There had been enough drama throughout the day for several movies. Before dawn, this seaside city had been raked by a blizzard that brought winds and more than a foot of snow. The airport was closed.

The famed Boardwalk was deserted. The cold, seemingly emotionless mood of Duran at the early -morning weigh-in matched the weather. Then his camp perhaps threw the first blow of the day a psychological blow. After Duran had weighed in at 156V4 pounds for the 160-pound bout, Barkley stepped on the scales and was told he weighed 164. Shock went through the room.

Had he already lost his crown by default? He stepped off, back on again, and this time the scale read 159V4. It was later claimed that one of Duran's people had put a foot on the scale to scare Barkley. The war already had begun. And now where does it lead? Contractually, Duran is obligated to fight the winner of the March 25 Las Vegas middleweight title bout between International Boxing Fed- three other yachts had finished. Silver Bullet's elapsed time was about 12 hours short of the record, 4 days 23 hours, set by Dick Daniels' MacGregor 65, Joss, in 1985.

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10 10-Hty dolrory. 900 WILSHIRE BL. rty 4 1 I ff a i'" ff 1 rW g. 3 L0S ANGELES 90017 DATA COMPUTERS Higher Speed Better Resolution More Capacity Cj5weU? BIOS DOS 100 Compatible Certified LAS VEGAS The undercard for the Sugar Ray Leonard-Thomas Hearns bout at Caesars Palace June 12 could turn out to be almost as interesting as the main event. Four amateur boxers from the Soviet Union are about to leave for Las Vegas, and some of them may turn pro on the Leonard-Hearns card, according to promoter Bob Arum.

"I'm dealing with a Toronto-based trading company called Sca-beco Group, which does a lot of business with the USSR," Arum said. "They've received authorization from the Soviet Ministry of Sport to negotiate with me on a boxing deal, and we've done that. We've agreed on the financial part of it. There are no hitches that I'm aware of. The Seabeco people are in Moscow now, completing the deal.

I was told that after that, the boxers could be here The four boxers are world-class amateurs, three heavyweights and a welterweight. The heavyweights arc Alexander Yagubkin, 27; Alexander Mi-roshnichenko, 23, and Vyacheslav Yakovlev, 28. The welterweight is Vasily Shishov, 25. Shishov and Yagubkin, both lefthanders, are former world amateur champions. Miroshnichenko is the biggest, 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, and the only one who made the Soviet Olympic team in 1988.

American Riddick Bowe beat him in the semifinals at Seoul, and Miroshnichenko won a bronze medal. Yakovlev was a 1985 World Cup champion and boxed in the United States in 1987 in the USSR-USA series. Arum said the Soviets will be in his Top Rank boxing stable for at least two years, and that he has a two-year option. They will train in a new gym Arum's company is fashioning out of a warehouse in an industrial area of Las Vegas. There, they will learn to box, pro style, alongside Arum's three U.S.

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