Louie dares Hamed to fight

Former two-time world boxing champion Luisito Espinosa is itching to face Prince Naseem Hamed but he’s got to take care of Colombian southpaw Ever Beleno in San Jose, California, this morning (Manila time) before even dreaming of a showdown with the English loudmouth.

Espinosa and Beleno are headlining a Golden Boy Promotions card at the Tank. Golden Boy is owned by Oscar de la Hoya who’s bankrolling a series called "Fight Night at the Tank" in San Jose’s Compaq Center. Golden Boy chief operating officer Roy Englebrecht has other shows set on July 11, Sept. 12, and Nov. 14 but he’s staking his reputation on the opener.

"Our No. 1 focus is to make the first Fight Night a success and to put butts in the seats," said Englebrecht. "We felt a legitimate world champion on the card will elevate the show to arena status, especially on opening night." Espinosa is the legitimate world champion whom Englebrecht referred to.

Tickets for the card are priced at $20, 35, 45, 65, and 85. A sellout is expected, particularly as Espinosa is popular in the Bay Area.

Since announcing his comeback after a 16-month layoff, Espinosa has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle and the boxing website "fightnews.com"–surely, through the efforts of master publicist Hermie Rivera whose son Noel is his latest manager. Remember in 1992 when Hermie set up that emotional meeting in an Oakland motel between Morris East, a G.I. baby born in Olongapo, and his long-lost American father John who was dying of cancer? Hermie made sure CNN was around to cover the story.

But all the publicity will go to waste if Espinosa doesn’t impress against Beleno. That’s why it’s a do-or-die fight for the ex-World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight titlist. Rivera–Noel, that is–said Beleno is "a good barometer of where Louie is and where we go from here."

Espinosa hasn’t fought since losing to Augie Sanchez on a fourth round knockout in Las Vegas last year. Surprisingly, Sanchez, 24, is now retired and Espinosa, 34, is still beakbusting. Beleno, 34, hasn’t won in four years so he’s praying for a reversal of his sagging fortunes. He’s lost his last five outings. But don’t count him out. The Colombian is a tough and rugged customer. He won his first 23 bouts then lost a decision to Park Yung Kyun in a bid for the World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight diadem in 1992. His record is 38-10, with 35 KOs. No doubt, Beleno packs a mean wallop. That’s a hefty knockout percentage he carries- 35 KOs in 38 wins. Espinosa, on the other hand, has a 45-10 mark, with 24 KOs.

Espinosa’s new trainer is Danovis (Dee) Pooler, a kickboxer and conditioning expert. To prepare for Beleno, he sparred about 24 rounds a week with the likes of Mark Tabuso and Keith Jordan. He ran six miles a day and worked out in the gym four to five days a week.

"The will to survive and sacrifice everything to get to where I want to go is the reason I’ve been working so hard," said Espinosa, quoted by Alex Levin. "I think about my two children, John Louie and Janica, and I want them to see me make this most productive run for the championship. I think of them and that’s motivation enough to train. I train myself to fight anyone, anywhere."

Espinosa said he’d like to fight four more years, possibly 16 more bouts.

His goal is to capture the superfeatherweight title and become the first Filipino to win world championships in three different divisions.

What about Hamed?

"I’ve chased Hamed for two years since I first won the featherweight title," replied Espinosa. "He has his reasons, too, for coming back -- he says redemption, I say another marketing ploy. Of course, I would love to fight him to show the world I am the better fighter. But I doubt he’ll oblige. When I was the WBC No. 1 contender and he was the champ, he gave up the title so he can avoid me. I never thought much of his skills and Mr. (Marco Antonio) Barrera proved he was not that good."

Rivera chimed in, "The return of the Prince is one we anticipate because he’s looking for another series of tomato cans to knock over. I’d like to invite him to knock off Luisito’s can. Our e-mail is [email protected]. We’ll even go to England where he’d like to hide."

For the moment, Hamed isn’t on Espinosa’s mind. The first priority is to get rid of Beleno, the first obstacle on the way to a possible third world crown for King Louie.