The Boston Globe from Boston, Massachusetts • 96

THE HOSTON SUNDAY GLOBE Mcentive may solve bulk of the problem Boxing 9mi km. 4 i 1 If fm V- H'j 1 'mmm'l The difference is, as Gordon knows, the scales can't lie to Jenny Craig because she's the one reading them. And so he worries. "This is why I prefer using East Coast fighters," Gordon said. "Then I can get in my car and go see these guys.

I won't relax until I see him." By then, it may be too late, although Top Rank matchmaker Bruce Trampler says he- believes things will be different this time, for one reason: James Tonev wants it to be different. "At one time, I felt he was the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world," Trampler said. "He was a throwback who would fight anybody. He had a fighter's mentality. "Unfortunately, he had the appetite of a nonfighter.

"James ate himself out of a couple of titles. He's a self-confessed food-aholic. But fighting at 175 was his idea. It indicates to me that he's trying to get a grip on himself." To make that grip a bit stronger, Toney's friend and Top Rank operative Todd duBoef has monitored Toney's weight with frequent visits to the Top Rank gym in Las Vegas. DuBoef says Toney is a slimmed-down version of the guy who last came to Foxwoods.

"He weighed in around 185 when he came in to train, and two days ago he was at 178," duBoef said reassuringly from his office in Las Vegas. "I was told he was 175 recently). You have to understand his motivation. He wants Roy Jones, and he knows he won't get him if he can't get to 175 and stay there. "This time he's doing it the right way.

He's not just wearing all those mbber suits and trying to steam it off. He's eating better and he's training harder. He wants to do this." What Toney (50-2) wants does not involve a fight for the WBU title. What he really wants is a rematch with Jones, who not only beat him for the super middleweight title, but embarrassed him. Truth is, Toney let his weight beat him before Jones came in and finished the job.

Since Toney's career has languished, but Gordon, Trampler, Hoffman and duBoef all believe that, Douglas to his victory over Word is Bowe may fight Andrew! Golata July 8 at Madison Squaw Garden on HBO if legal differences can be ironed out Condolences ro Evander Holyfield, whose mother died last week at (58 following a car accident. Ever the stoic, Holyfield got up early and trained two hour 7 the morning of her funeral because his normal training time would have conflicted with the church serace Australian Jeff Fenech gets a shot at the IBF lightweight title May in Melbourne vs. Philip Holiday. Around and around Kennedy McKinney returns to the ring today on CBS for the first time since he was stopped in the 12th round of his fight with Barrera Feb. 3.

That bout is the early leader for fight of the year, but McKinney' (28-2-1) would just as soon not repeat it against young John Lewis'' (19-3) The American boxing pub-' lie gets its first good look at Hamed June 8 on Showtime as part of a tri-pleheader in Newcastle, The British sensation is a combination of hand speed, power' and more. His trademark entrance to the ring is a somersault over the top rope, which is quite an entry by anyone's standards. The WBO fea- therweight champion takes on Daniel Alicea (15-0) You can't slip much further than former welter; weight champion Donald Curry has, He has been jailed twice in the past two yeare but was acquitted of feder-, al cocaine smuggling and money laundering charges even though he admitted having knowledge that two of his fighters would be involved in 1 such crimes. He now says the expert- -ence left him emotionally and financially mined. Since then, he has worked as a vacuum cleaner sales-'' man and telemarketer and done odd jobs, been jailed twice for failure to make child support payments and now categorizes the relationship between promoters and fighters as that of "pimp and prostitute." De- spite all that, he continues managing 1 and training young fighters around Fort Worth Here's Larry Holmes' opinion on whether there should bo an age limit in "There shouldn't be an age limit, there should be a health limit.

Some guys shouldn't be fighting at 21 or 25. I was watching a fight a little while ago. I don't know how those guys got a license. I never seen anything like it." the WBC belt would not be at stake. Saunders had ruled before for Lewis but did allow Tyson to fight for the title, denying a request to take the sanction away from the Tyson-Bruno bout.

But this time, although he was sympathetic to Seldon's position, Saunders refused to allow Tyson another fight before a Lewis bout. King and the WBC are attempting to challenge Saunders' jurisdiction, arguing that the issue should be resolved in Dallas, home of the WBC. Lewis continued to try to goad Tyson into a fight. "It's a shame that the baddest man on the planet has turned into a track star," Lewis said. "I would love to take this out of the courtroom and into the ring, but it's quite clear that Mike Tyson is deathly afraid of Lennox Lewis." I think not, but it's one way to look at it The parents of female boxer Deirdre Gogarty, a recent loser by decision to Christy Martin in a bloody brawl, are in the right business.

Both are dentists in Ireland Gogarty is trained by familiar old hand Beau Williford, who has worked with Peter McNeeley. Tentatively, she fights Sue Chase May 16 in St. Paul and has a possible TV shot on CBS June 2... How predictable was this? Heavyweight prospect Shannon Briggs gets knqcked out by Darryl Wilson March 15. Soon after, he dumps trainer Teddy Atlas.

If Briggs could fight as well as Atlas can train, he'd be somebody. Which he isn't World Boxing Organization junior featherweight champion Marco Antonio Barrera, who took on Jesse Benavides last night in California, says he does not expect to fight for more than two more years, and unlike most boxers, he probably means it. Barrera is studying law in Mexico City Ban-era said last week he would not move up to 12(5 pounds unless it meant a fight with highly regarded WBO featherweight champion Naseem Hamed of England On the same card, Mark Johnson (28-1) battles Colombian Francisco Tejedor (43-4) for the vacant International Boxing Federation flyweight title It didn't take long for the Riddick Bowe-Alex-ander Zolkin WBO title fight to collapse. Bowe rejected King's purse offer so the WBO stripped him of that title and declared that Axel Shultz will fight Henry Akiwande June 28, probably at Madison Square Garden. The is 30 and holds a 29-0-1 The 31-year-old Zolkin, a Russian emigre, is 24-2 and managed by John Johnson, who directed Buster AP FILE PHOTO bounce back off the ropes.

May 14. James Toney will get his chance to if he can arrive at Foxwoods ready to fight at 175, Toney finally will be back on track. If he's not, Gordon may want to lie across some tracks. Some railroad tracks. "If I see him at 190, I'll go nuts," Gordon said.

"I'm a very positive thinker. I haven't been thinking about other options, but everyone knows the history. "Butler has already called and asked when the weigh-in is it's 8:30 the morning of the fight and how long a guy has to make the weight." Butler (16-7-2) wasn't calling about himself. And Gordon may not be thinking solely about himself, either. "I get frustrated and angry with guys like this who have all the ability in the world and don't live up to it," Gordon said.

"I keep wondering, 'Am I watching James Toney be I think we'll know on May 14. "I'm wonied but I still have some confidence in this because the last thing James told me was, 'Don't worry about it. I know what this means. It means getting in the ring with Roy Jones Short jabs Another court has ruled against Mike Tyson. Do we see a trend here? The latest one was in New Jersey last week, when Judge Amos Saunders declared that Tyson must fight Lennox Lewis next, precluding even a planned July 13 World Boxing Association title fight with champion Brute Seldon.

Lewis was wrongly passed over by the World Boxing Council to give Tyson a title fight with Frank Bruno. Now that Tyson holds the title, the court has twice said he must fight Lewis next, but Tyson's promoter, Don King, hoped to circumvent this by saying andy Gordon has a 1 weighty problem. The problem's name is James Toney. Gordon, who runs box ing at Toxwoods Casino in Connecticut, has, for the second time in recent months, contracted the two-time world champion for a light heavyweight title fight. The World Boxing Union against Earl JJutler will take place May 14.

Or so Gordon hopes. The last time Gordon tried this, it gave a bad case of acid indigestion' because Toney weighed in at 189 pounds (though people by the Scale swore it said 193) after an horn-on the. StairmaHter in a rubber bodysuit. "The light-heavy ceiling is 175. This time, Gordon agreed to use Toney as a cruiserweight, which has a designated limit of 195 pounds.

Problem solved. Or so he thought. "I believe James is a very talented fighter, and I wanted him here," Gordon said. "I didn't care what weight, he fought at, so we made him against, Terry McGroom at Just as I'm making final preparations for that, I see James on television announcing he's coming to fight, at light heavyweight. I called Stan Hoffman Toney's manager and, I told him, 'You know he won't make Stan said, 'If he says he'll make it I believe By now I'm screaming, 'Stan, he said that hid "I told him I was very upAt about what happened and if it happens again it would lead me to never use him here.

He's an exciting fighter and I really enjoy the guy, but I let him know I'll take it on the chin worse, than his opponents do if he doesn't come through." Gordon's stomach has been churning ever since that conversation as Toney prepares for this bout in Las-Vegas. Gordon calls Hoffman to get weight updates more often than Jenny Craig calls her disciples to the 145B13 $53.60 LTja-Prs: mmm ssoiu nssms 19) LI A I ifTTTTl Get On Board Mother's 405 Handheld Only 7.9 oz. IMA Includes Free Iff "Bonus Pak" XJ If rkR I 1 i 8 MOTOROLA mi -4 1 $175.60 ARLINGTON MUMO TIR (6J 7(646-7500 BflIRIY HOGAM TIRE BRAINTBEE custom wo amm 617j64 94J4 BROCKTON HONS WC iSO1 583-0100 BR00IOJKE GlOUCtSUR mm mm GLOUCESTER (508; 28111 31 K01L2STCN 106 DISTANCE TIRE 4256304 HUDSON HKHB hK.Ust UK VRE (SOS, 562S301 mm nsf 61 1 1 593-5493 Kjsncx FOREK WrOffS WEST ,61 7, HOCtH TIRE AUTO y.f CFTEJ? AbTOfOTtYE itl Ti 444-2522 CANTON tli- CCfiCHrSTIR ASVT 3E (M TT I I Get mom a gift she'll use all the Audiovox 405 pocket phone. This phone is only 7.9 oz. and will fit easily in mom's purse! In addition, you'll receive with the "Bonus a certificate for a FREE Lunch Cruise aboard the luxury ship The Spirit Of Boston (up to a $65.50 value).

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