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Will defend lightweight title against Holbaek at The Harv

Thursday, October 03, 2002

By Chuck Finder, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

CHESTER, W.Va. -- At something of a crossroads in his boxing career, Paul Spadafora will return to familiar grounds at Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort but defend his lightweight title in a different way.

The Nov. 9 fight inside the venue called The Harv marks his first title defense shown on pay-per-view rather than cable television. It will come against a fighter without the name recognition of Artur Grigorian or Stephano Zoff, his potential opponents on an HBO undercard scratched in August because Spadafora was diagnosed with stomach ulcers. And it conceivably could be, according to the International Boxing Federation champion, his last fight at 135 pounds.

Spadafora is scheduled to fight Denmark's Dennis Holbaek, the IBF's No. 11-ranked boxer. Holbaek was his anticipated opponent about this time last year, after Spadafora defeated Joel Perez in a nontitle fight on ESPN2. Holbaek (also known as Pederson) blamed his former manager, Mogens Palle, for botching the October 2001 matchup.

Spadafora won a nontitle fight at Palumbo Center against Angel Manfreddy, who, coincidentally, will battle another former Spadafora foe -- the vexing Victoriano Damien Sosa -- on The Harv undercard and in a bout to determine the champion's mandatory challenger.

Spadafora, though, might not be around for such a fight in the six- to nine-month period in which, if still champion, he would be required to face the top-ranked challenger.

His goal is to face the winner of Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Jose Luis Castillo or Mickey Ward-Arturo Gatti in a cable-TV payday, then ascend to the 140-pound junior welterweight class -- where Kostya Tszyu currently owns a couple of belts.

"If this was just a go-in-there fight ... I'll not only get his belt [with a victory against Holbaek], but I know I'll come out of here and get the winner of Mayweather-Castillo or Ward-Gatti," Spadafora said yesterday after the card was announced in Mountaineer's Grande Ballroom.

"But the way I'm looking at it is, however I make 135 pounds Nov. 9, if it is that hard, if it is dangerous for health reasons, I'll never fight 135 again. If I make it healthy and strong, I'm waiting for Mayweather."

It hasn't exactly been a smooth summer for Spadafora. He made headlines for bailing James Starr Adams, an accused crack cocaine dealer, out of jail and explaining to reporters that their friendship had nothing to do with drugs. That came about the time he was supposed to be fighting Grigorian or Zoff on the August HBO undercard to the Michael Moorer-David Tua bout. Instead, the ulcers scratched that fight, left him on medication for two months and put him on a different diet regimen.

He said the by-product has been about 10 to 13 fewer pounds off his natural, between-bouts weight. He carries about 148-150 pounds now, barely four weeks into training, and figures that will allow him to reach 135 in the next 35 days with much less difficulty than his usual starting weight of about 163 pounds.

"Obviously, it isn't going to be easy," said Spadafora, 27. "But if I can't stay strong in the 10th, 11th rounds, I'm going up to 140 pounds. I'm positive about that."

"He's not 24 anymore," promoter Mike Acri added. "The body grows."

Holbaek and his trainer arrived Tuesday from Denmark and plan to train in Philadelphia for one week before setting up camp in the Poconos. His record last shows him fighting a professional bout in February 2001 against Johnny "Macho Midget" Bailey of New Cumberland, W.Va., though he is listed with three victories since then on his 43-1 mark. "I've been training for this fight for about two years," Holbaek said. "It's hard in Europe to get a chance in the U.S., because this is where it all happens."

Four feature fights from The Harv will be televised on inDemand pay-per-view, which Acri said is available to 48 million U.S. homes and more internationally. The price will be $24.95, for which the viewer will get Spadafora-Holbaek, Manfreddy-Sosa -- "I want to see that one," Spadafora said -- and bouts involving 2000 U.S. Olympians Jermain Taylor and Jose Navarro, both undefeated in the middleweight and bantamweight ranks.

Tickets go on sale today at Ticketmaster, Mountaineer and Blue Eagle Sports in McKees Rocks. Prices are $200 for gold-circle ringside, $100 ringside, $50 reserved and $25 general admission. Bailey and Pittsburgh's Joe Wyatt also are expected to compete on the card that starts at 7:30 p.m.