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By Jesse Sanchez
Fort Worth Star-Telegram

It might seem a bit strange, but the scandals and shady characters that have
scarred boxing's recent history are mostly overshadowed to fight fans by the
smallest of moments.

It's true. The draw between Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis in 1998 was
very questionable, but now it's a distant memory. What fight fans mostly
remember are things like watching a glassy-eyed Mike Tyson struggling to put
in his mouthpiece after being knocked down by an underdog named Buster
Douglas in 1990. Fans remember things such as when Roberto Duran cried "`No
Mas"' against Ray Leonard in 1980 or how teary-eyed Paulie Ayala yelled
"Thank you, Jesus," after winning a world title last year.

Boxing fans are unique because of their uncanny ability to recall passing
images, remember obscure facts, and ignore criticism of the sport. Fight
fans are, however, fairly easy to pick out of a crowd.

Here's a quick way to find out if you're one.

You know you're a boxing fan if...

You can name all six of Fort Worth's world champions.

(Bruce Curry, Donald Curry, Troy Dorsey, Gene Hatcher, Steve Cruz and Paulie
Ayala) You know you're a boxing fan if...

You record fights on your VCR `while' you are watching them.

You know you're a boxing fan if...

You remember Mike Tyson the boxer just as well as Tyson the biter. You know
you're a boxing fan if...

You refer to `Rocky's' Apollo Creed as "The Creed of Speed," "The Master of
Disaster" or "The Count of Montefisto."

You know you're a boxing fan if...

You know the only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated. (Rocky
Marciano, 49-0)

You know you're a boxing fan if...

You buy a $50 pay-per-view fight then let 20 of your closest friends crowd
into your living room, and eat all of your food ... for free.

You know you're a boxing fan if...

You and your buddies shout "Let's Get Ready To Rumble" along with announcer
Michael Buffer before big fights.

You know you're a boxing fan if...

You expect a fight to break out on Judge Mills Lane television court show.

You know you're a boxing fan if...

You cringe when you see referee Richard Steele get in the ring to officiate
a fight. You know you're a boxing fan if...

You know who "Sugar" Shane Mosely is, and that he isn't the most famous
"Sugar." (Ray Robinson, Ray Leonard and not Sugar Ray, the music group)

You know you're a boxing fan if...

You know who "The Cobra," "The Hitman," "Moochie," and "Boom Boom" are.
(Donald Curry, Thomas Hearns, Marlon Starling, Ray Mancini).

You know you're a boxing fan if...

You know Oscar De La Hoya is releasing a CD soon, but don't plan on buying
it.

You know you're a boxing fan if...

The International Boxing Federation rankings and bribery scandal doesn't
surprise you.

You know you're a boxing fan if...

If you know what the WBO, WBA, WBC, IBF and IBO stand for and you don't
care.

Tapia's woes continue during a difficult month

While Paulie Ayala of Fort Worth has enjoyed his time in the limelight as
the current World Boxing Association bantamweight champion, Johnny Tapia,
whom Ayala defeated for the title, has had a difficult month.

In June, Tapia, 33, was hospitalized in a Las Vegas mental-health center for
depression and was hospitalized again when he returned home to New Mexico.
He was also shot at during a road-rage incident near his home in Ruidoso,
which resulted yesterday in Tapia and another man being charged with
misdemeanors. Alamogordo district attorney Scot Key's office said Tapia
faces an assault charge stemming from a June 27 altercation with another
motorist.

The district attorney's office said the motorist, Allan Korzan of Ruidoso,
faces a charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon.

It's another event in what Tapia calls "`mi vida loca'."

When Tapia was born, his father had already been murdered. His mother was
murdered when he was 8. As a young man, he battled the street life, a
cocaine addiction, and was suspended from professional boxing because of
drugs for three years in 1990.

Upon his return to the ring in 1994, Tapia (47-1-2, 26 knockouts) captured
the WBA junior bantamweight title. He now holds the WBO bantam title after
defeating Jorge Eliecer in January.

Boxing Management Inc. president Lester Bedford said that his group is
negotiating a rematch between Ayala and Tapia for October, but only Tapia
knows for sure what the next chapter in his `vida loca' will be.

AROUND THE RING

* Rogelio Barron of Diamond Hill High School improved to 3-0 with a majority
decision Friday against Juan Campeon of Houston in San Antonio. The
Barron-Campeon bout was televised on ESPN2 as part of `Friday Night Fights.'
Tony Ayala Jr. suffered a broken hand in the second round and did not answer
the bell in the ninth round against Yory Boy Campas in the card's main
event.

* From June 1999 to March 2000, World Boxing Association bantamweight
champion Paulie Ayala has fought 36 world championship rounds in three title
fights. Ayala, who turned pro in 1992, waited six years before his first
world championship bout against World Boxing Council champion Joichero
Tatsuyoshi in August 1998. If Ayala fights Johnny Tapia in October as
planned, the seven-month layoff between fights will be his longest since
1996.

* The Miller Lite Texas Title Belt Tour continues with cards spanning the
state. Last week, Efrain Garcia of McAllen defeated Curtis Durham (9-2,
seven knockouts) of Crowley by unanimous decision in Pharr. Arsen Alvazian
of Fort Worth challenges Ignacio Garza in a welterweight bout in Houston on
Aug. 10. On Aug. 17 in Laredo, Juan Lopez of Dallas is scheduled to defend
his Miller Lite welterweight title against Wayne Bodreaux of New Orleans.
The Miller Lite Texas Title Belt Tour is scheduled to return to Fort Worth
on Oct. 12.

* On ESPN2's upcoming `Friday Night Fight's,' the card features Humberto
Zubia, a junior welterweight from Odessa, against Daniel Lynem. Lynem is
managed and trained by Jack Mosely, father of WBC welterweight champion
Shane Mosely. Roberto Duran's daughter, Irichelle Duran, is scheduled to
make her pro debut on the card.

* After losing Saturday in the sixth round by knockout to Kosta Tszyu in
Arizona, Julio Cesar Chavez did not attend the postfight news conference and
skipped a postfight drug test. Chavez, 38, said he plans to announce his
retirement next week. After the fight, he apologized to Don King for his
performance.

FIGHT SCHEDULE

Aug. 11
At Tropicana Showroom, Atlantic City, N.J. (ESPN2), Ivan Robinson,
Philadelphia, vs. Vivian Harris, New York, 10, lightweights; Johnny Molnar,
Middletown, N.J., vs. Nick Acevedo, New York, 10, welterweights.

Aug. 12
At the Paris Las Vegas Casino Resort (SHOWTIME), Evander Holyfield, Atlanta,
vs. John Ruiz, Chelsea, Mass., 12, for the vacant WBA heavyweight title;
James Page, Pittsburg, Calif., vs. Andrew Lewis, Guyana, 12, for Page's WBA
welterweight title.

Aug. 19
At Foxwoods, Ledyard, Conn. (HBO), Prince Naseem Hamed, Britain, vs. Augie
Sanchez, Las Vegas, 12, for Hamed's WBO featherweight title.

Aug. 26
At Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, Nev. (HBO), Fernando Vargas, Oxnard, Calif., vs.
Ross Thompson, Buffalo, N.Y., for Vargas' IBF junior middleweight title.

Sept. 2
At Don Haskins Center, El Paso, Texas (HBO), Guty Espadas, Mexico, vs. Erik
Morales, Mexico, 12, for Espadas' WBC featherweight title; Diego Corrales,
Sacramento, Calif., vs. Angel Manfredy, Hobart, Ind., 12, for Corrales' IBF
junior lightweight title.

It looks like boxing fans can rejoice. Ayala-Tapia II is in the works for Oct.
7 on Showtime.

''Nothing has been signed. There are a lot of details to finish, but Johnny
does want the fight with Paulie and he'd like it to be his next fight,'' Teresa
Tapia, Johnny's wife and manager, said Monday. ''We still need to agree on
terms with (Ayala promoter) Top Rank and with Showtime. We're all looking
forward to it if it happens.''

If the details are ironed out, the fight will be a 10-round non-title affair at
a catch weight of 124 pounds. Tapia last fought in May and vowed it would be
his final fight at 118 pounds.

''That's what Tapia wanted, and Paulie doesn't have a problem with that,'' said
Lester Bedford, president of Boxing Management Inc., which manages Ayala.

Bedford said the deal could be closed by the end of the week.

The first bout, in June 1999, was a thrilling 12-round war. Ayala (No. 3 USA
TODAY, 30-1) won a close unanimous decision, handing No. 4 Tapia (48-1-2) his
only loss.

''I would love to do the fight again,'' said Johnny Tapia, who has been
battling depression since before the first fight. ''We are trying to get a
fight with Paulie. I thought I beat him the first time, but I took it like a
man and said 'Good fight.' I want to make things right. It's very important to
me. I want him.''

Bedford added, ''We've been ready and willing to accept the fight since the
first one was over.''

Another rematch: A second fight between junior middleweights Winky Wright and
Bronco McKart is the new co-feature to the battle of undefeated heavyweight
prospects Clifford ''Black Rhino'' Etienne and Fres Oquendo on HBO's Sept. 9 KO
Nation.

Wright-McKart II, which will establish a leading 154-pound contender, replaces
a heavyweight match between Derrick Jefferson and Charles Shufford. Jefferson,
who broke his ankle in a May loss to Oleg Maskaev, aggravated the injury
sparring and pulled out.

''I think the winner is a viable opponent to fight the winner of a
Trinidad-Vargas fight and should get a world title shot early next year,''
HBO's Kery Davis said.

Wright (No. 9 USA TODAY, 39-3) decisioned McKart (42-2) in 1996 to win a minor
version of the title.

Also on the Sept. 9 card but off TV: junior featherweight champion Lehlo
Ledwaba (No. 8 USA TODAY) defends vs. Eduardo Alvarez, and lightweight champion
Paul Spadafora (No. 7 USA TODAY) fights a 10-round, non-title affair.

Chavez fallout: Julio Cesar Chavez refused to take a drug test following
Saturday's sixth-round TKO loss to Kostya Tszyu. While Chavez's $1.25 million
purse was released, the Arizona commission probably will suspend him, meaning a
suspension throughout the USA. State commissions are supposed to honor
disciplinary actions imposed by other states.

Tapia Facing Charge From Confrontation

By Dennis Latta
Albuquerque Journal Staff Writer

    RUIDOSO — Johnny Tapia was hitting the punching bag a little harder
Monday as he thought about another strange turn of events in his life.

    Tapia, the WBA batamweight champion, was charged Monday with petty
misdemeanor assault stemming from a confrontation in which he believes he
was the victim.

    Allan Korzan, an insurance agent with offices in Alamogordo and Ruidoso,
was charged with negligent use of a deadly weapon in connection with the
same incident.

    On June 27, Tapia was riding in his 1957 Chevrolet near his home outside
of Ruidoso. Tapia said he felt he had a problem with his car and was driving
slowly. His wife, Teresa, and four other family members were in the car with
him.

    In a situation that State Police Officer Weston Hacker has said was
being looked at as ''a little bit of road rage,'' Korzan fired two shots
from a handgun. Tapia said he thought the shots were aimed at him. Teresa
Tapia said her husband chased Korzan in an effort to get his license plate
number.

    ''I don't understand it,'' Tapia said at his gym in nearby Alto on
Monday. ''I didn't do anything wrong.''

    And then he hit the punching bag again.

    The charges were filed in Ruidoso Magistrate Court via fax by Assistant
District Attorney Cannon Stevens from her office in Alamogordo. The 12th
Judicial District includes Otero and Lincoln counties. She did not return
calls from the Journal seeking comment.

    A news release from her office stated: ''On June 27, 2000, Johnny Tapia
and Allan Korzan became involved in a confrontation in the vicinity of
Rancho Ruidoso, Lincoln County, New Mexico. Allan Korzan has been charged
with Negligent Use of a Deadly Weapon, a Petty Misdemeanor. Johnny Tapia has
been charged with Assault, a Petty Misdemeanor.''

    The criminal complaint filed against Tapia alleges ''the defendant did
unlawfully act in a threatening or menacing conduct which caused Allan
Korzan to reasonably believe he was in danger of receiving an immediate
battery.''

    Tapia has hired attorney Billy Blackburn of Albuquerque to represent
him.

    ''We thought Johnny was on the witness list,'' said Blackburn. ''He went
from being a witness to being charged.''

    Tapia and Blackburn said they plan to fight the charge.

    The complaint against Korzan alleges the ''defendant did endanger the
safety of another by handling or using a firearm or other deadly weapon in a
negligent manner.''

    Ruidoso attorney Marc Prelo, who is representing Korzan, said: ''I
suspect if they decide to fight it, we'll do the same. Al has been out of
town and I haven't been able to talk to him. I really can't tell you what
we'll do.''

    Tapia's next fight in the ring isn't finalized, but Teresa Tapia, who
also is his manager, confirmed Monday that negotiations were under way
between Tapia (49-1) and Paulie Ayala for a rematch. Ayala scored a decision
over Tapia a year ago in Las Vegas, Nev., for the only loss in Tapia's pro
career.