Las Vegas has staged a number of boxing events and the bizarre side shows that come with them.
From the “fanman” whose motorized parachute was caught in the ring ropes during the 1993 Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield heavyweight bout to Mike Tyson biting off a piece of Holyfield’s ear in Tyson’s 1997 loss by disqualification, Las Vegas would appear to have seen it all.
Not quite. At a scheduled Nov. 20 hearing of the Nevada Athletic Commission, executive director Marc Ratner says, “We will be in uncharted waters. There is no precedent for this.”
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The commissioners will meet to decide a punishment for Fernando Vargas, who tested positive for illegal steroids after his Sept. 14 bout against Oscar De La Hoya.
Before the steroids disclosure, the fight had been wildly successful in every way–from a sellout crowd at the Mandalay Bay Events Center to 900,000 pay-per-view TV buyers to an action-filled bout that ended with De La Hoya knocking out Vargas in the 11th round.
Vargas has sent a letter of apology to the Nevada commissioners, informing them he will not dispute the positive test. But he insisted that he took the illegal substance unknowingly, among nutritional supplements he took in training, and sought leniency in any penalty against him.
In light of Vargas’ plea, his punishment appears to be the only issue before the commissioners.
Vargas is required to attend the hearing, Ratner said, and explained that there are no precedents or guidelines for penalties because Nevada has never before dealt with a positive steroid test case.
Apologizing to De La Hoya and to the commission, Vargas wrote that he is a campaign spokesman for responsible drinking and said: “I do not use illegal drugs. Therefore the humiliation and pain I feel is even greater.”
Vargas’ strength coach, John Philbin, resigned after the De La Hoya fight, citing differences with nutritionist Mazin Ali. In his letter to the commission, Vargas suggested that his use of steroids might have resulted from “a certain amount of friction in my camp and competition between camp members.” But he faulted himself for “not assuming the responsibility to understand everything that was being given to me.”
As troubling as the bout’s aftermath has become, Ratner conceded there could have been deeper uncharted waters: “It’s certainly a lot easier that Vargas didn’t win the fight.”
Back on title track? Former light-heavyweight champion Montell Griffin, a native Chicagoan now fighting out of Las Vegas, continued his comeback title quest Nov. 3 with a close but unanimous decision over George Khalid Jones.
Griffin’s next hurdle may be an administrative one.
His promoter, Dan Goossen, wants a title fight between Griffin and Antonio Tarver, the top contenders behind International Boxing Federation champion Roy Jones Jr., since Jones is currently pursuing a heavyweight belt.
“I’m not asking the IBF to strip Roy of his title, but to declare him `champion in recess’ and let Montell and Antonio fight for the title,” Goossen said. “If Roy decides to come back to light heavyweight, declare him a co-champion and let him fight the winner of Griffin-Tarver.”
Jones is scheduled for a March 1 heavyweight title bout against World Boxing Association champ John Ruiz and, if he wins, another heavyweight title fight. If Jones follows that route, he would not be available to fight top light-heavyweight contender Tarver for nearly a year.
Griffin split two bouts against Jones in 1997 and twice defeated the formidable James Toney, who has moved up to title contender in the cruiserweight division.
Griffin, the only fighter ever to defeat Jones, won by disqualification. Jones was sorely tested by Griffin for nine rounds before scoring a knockdown and then hitting Griffin while he was down.
Since Jones avenged that loss with a first-round knockout, Griffin has worked hard to regain his status as a title contender. By beating Khalid Jones (18-2-0) for his sixth consecutive victory, Griffin improved his record to 43-3.