March 5, 2002

Albuquerque's Johnny Tapia, (51-2-2, 28 KO's) has one last, dangerous hurdle to overcome before a big payday against England's 'Prince' Naseem Hamed. If the 35-year-old Tapia can defeat long time prospect/contender Angel Vásquez on March 23, he will have earned a million dollar payday at
mid-year. Tapia is a four-time world champion in the final stages of his career whose skills have, seemingly, remained intact. Angel Vásquez (21-1, 18 K.O's) is a power-punching Puerto Rican whose progress has been hampered by managerial problems early in his career and lack of activity in recent years. His progress was also set back by an upset loss at the hands of volume-punching Víctor Polo of Colombia. Polo has proven himself a world-class fighter in the last year, so that defeat does not look as bad in retrospect. The fight will be part of an HBO double header with Naseem Hamed fighting Spain's Manuel Calvo in the main event.

Teresa Tapia, Tapia's wife and manager, spoke of the proposed showdown: "At this point in his career, Johnny wants to fight all of the big names out there. He has proven
himself in other weight classes, and now wants to prove himself in the featherweight class. That's why we have decided that we want to get all the big names, starting with the Prince." Promoter Murad Muhammad revealed that
New York City's Madison Square Garden is interested in hosting a Tapia-Hamed clash. Teresa Tapia said that fighting at The Garden remains a goal of her husband's. "It's always been his dream to fight at Madison Square Garden. To
fight where all the greats before him have fought. Madison Square Garden is very special, and he is very excited about the prospect of fighting there." It would be a richly deserved reward for Tapia's great career.

Popular Angel Manfredy has worked his way into another title fight, this time for the IBF lightweight title. After narrowly beating rising star Julio Díaz in a elimination contest, he has his sights firmly set on undefeated champion Paul Spadafora. The fight takes place March 9 at the A. J.
Palumbo Center on the campus of Duquesne University, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. HBO will televise the showdown on it's popular Boxing after Dark series.

Both boxers enter the contest with a healthy dose of respect for each other's ability. Speaking about Manfredy, Spadafora stated: "Everyone thinks Angel is a quality fighter and I will go out and beat him like I know I can, then everyone will realize that I am the best." Manfredy was more focused on the work he has done than Spadafora: "I am bringing a lot more than everyone has been saying. Just going back to my old ways of training. I have been trying new things, but if it's not broken don't fix it. Hiring different people, new techniques, and you know what, it is not me. After the Díaz fight, I went back to my old ways. Now I am back on solid ground, thinking and
feeling the way I am used to."

This bout had been rumored to take place for over two years now, but something always came up to scuttle the fight.
Manfredy's thoughts on it finally being finalized: "Victory! First and foremost I would like to thank my Lord and Savior for me being here today. Now that I am here, I have been searching, I've been thirsty and I've been hungry for Spadafora. To fight in his hometown, that just motivates me even more. I will lay him on his back in front of his hometown. I take nothing away from Spadafora. But on March 9 you will see a new champion." For
anyone interested in attending the fight you can call 1-412-323-1919 for ticket information.

Bernard Hopkins returned to Puerto Rico last week to apologize to the people of the island for his actions during the press tour for his fight with Félix Trinidad. In case anyone has forgotten, Hopkins was nearly beaten by an angry crowd of Puerto Rican patriots after he purposely threw a Puerto Rican flag to the ground. Addressing a crowd, Hopkins stated, "I'm very happy to be back in Puerto Rico. I'm here in San Juan with Tito's belt to give it back to him and apologize." Hopkins went on to say: "When my three-year-old daughter grows up I want people to remember her father for the good things he did and not the bad." Hopkins took the time to visit several centers for handicapped kids, and senior citizen centers. He was also the honored guest at a youth boxing card in Coliseo Mario Jiménez in Guaynabo. When asked about Felix Trinidad, Hopkins was kind in his assessment of the Puerto Rican hero: "I believe Trinidad is a real champion, because in reality he had already fought the best, and he still gave me a chance to face him when he didn't have to do it, and I thank him for that."

Quick hits: The Chicago area has some added Latin flavor besides rising Puerto Rican heavyweight sensation Frez Oquendo. Mexican Angel "El Toro" Hernández signaled his arrival on the world stage by upsetting Colombian J.C
Candelo in Las Vegas. Hernández's (21-2, 16 KO's) win positions him for a possible shot at the winner of the De la Hoya vs. Vargas clash, or IBF jr. middleweight champion Winky Wright. Promoter Bobby Hits is looking for big
things out of Hernández: "We are just looking at getting him going again now. Angel will probably fight some time again in April in Chicago, and then we are looking at putting him on Showtime in June."

WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz won the organization's award for 'Latino Fighter of the Year for 2001' at its annual convention this past week in Caracas, Venezuela. Ruiz became the first Latino heavyweight champion ever when he beat the legendary Evander Holyfield this past March in Las Vegas. He also battled Holyfield to a controversial draw in December at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. Ruiz, graciously, accepted the award: "It's a great honor because there are so many great Latino fighters in the world. For me to be named Latino Fighter of the Year by the WBA is unbelievable. I want to thank the WBA for not overlooking me." The next week saw Ruiz pick up another honor when he was awarded the Puerto Rican Fighter of the Year by the Puerto Rican Boxing Commission.

Former HBO boxing boss Lou DiBella, now president of DiBella Entertainment, has signed promising lightweight contender Juan Golo Gómez-Trinidad (20-2, 13 KOs).
Gómez-Trinidad, 27, is the cousin of Puerto Rican superstar Felix Trinidad. Look for Gómez-Trinidad to appear in an eight round fight on the Paul Spadafora vs Angel Manfredy undercard on March 9 in Pittsburgh.

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