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Saturday, May 17, 2003

By Chuck Finder, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Paul Spadafora stripped down to his maroon boxers and stepped on a scale yesterday for the official weigh-in ceremony at the Pittsburgh Hilton and Towers, Downtown. And the scale read: 134 1/2 pounds. For the first time as a champion, the lightweight not only made the prescribed 135 pounds, he was a half-pound on the light side.

Paul Spadafora listens to speakers at press conference for tonight's fight. (Andy Starnes, Post-Gazette) Fight at a glance What: Paul Spadafora vs. Leonard Dorin. Where: Peterson Events Center, Pitt campus. When: Today, 10:45 p.m. TV: HBO, Boxing After Dark, 10 p.m. Of note: The undercard starts at 8 p.m. Tickets: $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25. Available through Ticketmaster or at the door. Related information Boxing Notebook: Spadafora vs. Dorin a bargain for HBO Fight card

This from a guy who used to strip down to his birthday suit after already shaving his head, for any extra help.

The last time he weighed so little? "I don't remember," Spadafora said with a grin. "I feel great. I feel like I'm unbeatable. My strategy for this fight? Win. Win. And keep winning."

Winning ugly has been the book on this McKees Rocks boxer for the past 2 1/2 years, but all of the sudden the lighter-than-ever lightweight champion is expected to get beautifully busy in the ring. Everyone around this title unification fight tonight against Leonard Dorin expects much the same inside a ring at Petersen Events Center: plenty of punching, an abundance of action.

This isn't the Billy Irwin match, when the challenger with a punch didn't seem to want to challenge or punch. This isn't the Angel Manfredy match, when the foe didn't want to do much more than softly jab and try to score points with the judges. This isn't the Dennis Holbaek match, when the Dane ran out of energy in the middle rounds.

No, this Dorin match on HBO tonight is supposed to be a fight. In every sense.

"I'm going to throw as many punches as I have to," said Spadafora, who is pitting his International Boxing Federation lightweight title and lesser-known International Boxing Council belt he won from Holbaek in November. "I think I have to throw 100 a round. If I have to, [120]. I'm prepared for that."

"I'm ready to bleed," added Dorin, the World Boxing Association lightweight champion.

Dorin has been known to bash foes and bleed about the head and face. His two fights in 2002 against Raul Balbi, the former WBA champion, were acclaimed for their beatings. In the course of the first fight, Dorin landed an average of 39 punches per round.

Dorin, a Romania native and Montreal resident, has a slight problem in this matchup, though. He is 5 feet 4, or five inches shorter than Spadafora. Add to that a reach disadvantage, and it means the smaller boxer may well have to try to stand closer than his customary toe to toe.

Spadafora, normally a defensive boxer, realizes he will have to attack and counterattack to offset Dorin's scoring punches. That explains why co-trainers Jesse Reid and Tom Yankello have been schooling their man on throwing his gloves around far more than usual, often reaching 200 punches per round in training.

"As great as Paul has been in his career, he's never been better," said manager Al McCauley. "[Reid's] got Paul doing things he's never done before."

Don't expect Spadafora to transform into a complete offensive machine. Dorin, after all, might not connect with an opponent ducking and avoiding and taking angles that make him difficult to reach.

"If you're not sitting in front of a guy, if you're at a different angle, as many punches as you throw doesn't matter," Spadafora said. "You can't sit in front of a guy who's constantly moving."

Added Dorin, a former Spadafora sparring partner from the August 1999 days before Spadafora won the IBF title from Israel "Pito" Cardona: "I think Paul this time is well prepared for me. He knows me. And he knows I'll put pressure on him. Pressure. Every round. And be closer ... more aggressive.

"I have only to be smart and know when to throw a punch."

This matchup means so much to HBO, the network offered a $1 million purse and placed it on "Boxing After Dark," with the card starting around 8 p.m. but the telecast portion at 10 p.m. -- with middleweights Jermain Taylor and Nicolas Cervera as the Spadafora-Dorin opener.

This matchup means so much to Spadafora, he sold his McKees Rocks house and attempted to change his lifestyle. No longer does he imbibe in binge drinking, he said. No longer does he want to surround himself with partying friends, especially before a career payday such as this.

"It's time to change, [alter] things in my off time," said Spadafora, who spent six weeks with Reid in Los Angeles and five weeks with both trainers in rural Washington County. "I went to California for six weeks, to keep off the streets."

"It's not a regular fight. Not a normal fight," said Dorin, who hasn't stepped into a pro ring for two weeks shy of a year since Balbi II and overcame a broken elbow in September. "It's a fight between world champions. It will be a great fight. Two different styles. The best will win this time."