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Wild Card's Being Dealt
By Steve Kim (June 27, 2002)

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Trainer Freddie Roach will be a busy man the next couple of days away from his homebase, 'the Wild Card Boxing Club' in the heart of Hollywood, California. He is currently in Albuquerque, New Mexico with jr. middleweight veteran Alfred Ankamah, who takes on J.C. Candelo tonight on ESPN. From there, Roach flies back to Southern California where he will be in the corner of young heavyweight Javier Mora.

The contrasts in these two bouts are striking. With Ankamah, Roach has a fighter boxing for his survival in a business climate that has often suffocated him and his opportunities. In Mora, a moderately sized and talented heavyweight, he shepherds a young fighter whose opportunities could be vast and endless — if he can fight just a little bit.

Ankamah, nicknamed 'the Torpedo' comes in with a record of 20-8 (17 KOs) but is currently riding a three bout losing streak. Another loss for the 35-year-old native of Accra, Ghana would be devastating. His back is squarely against the wall.

"Definitely," confirmed Roach, "he's lost three in a row now and another loss would be the end of his career."

The fighter doesn't disagree with that statement. "Tight now, people think I'm done," he said. "I'm just going to prove that to everybody and I'm not done and people will see that I'm not done, that's it."

Ankamah like most African fighters is as friendly and as cordial as they come. But in discussing his upcoming bout you can sense and hear the mix of determination and desperation in his voice. Just this past weekend he watched another African fighter, Justin Juuko, get used as cannon fodder against Top Rank's hot prospect Miguel Cotto. Ankamah, says he will not allow himself to be used like that, but, he knows that against Candelo he is going in as 'the opponent.' A role he has played many times throughout his career.

"No, no, no, not in anyway," replied Ankamah, when asked if he will ever play the role Juuko just did. "But I always fight the promoters fighters and if you don't knock them out, they screw you and this time I'm fighting the promoters fighter. But I'm going in there and prove to everybody that I'm not done and go in there and I'll make sure I beat him."

This is Ankamah's first bout in over a year, in May of 2001 he would lose a 10-rounder to Juan Carlos Barreto, who had a mark of 7-25-3. Getting fights has been one of the great hindrances to his career.

"It's really frustrating because I'm really getting sick and tired of boxing right now," admits Ankamah. "Because boxing has no justice. They don't give you fights and if they do give you fights, they try to give you a promoters fighter. When you go there and beat him but not knock him out, you don't get a decision. So this is the time I have to prove myself."

His record is littered with many familiar names like James Page (KO'd in 1), Rodney Jones (KO 3), Shibata Flores (W10), Giorbis Barthelemy ( L10), Oba Carr (L 10),Tito Mendoza (KO 7) splitting two bouts with Kirino Garcia (KO 11 and TKO'd 12) and Nick Martinez (L 10). But outside of a questionable stoppage in his rematch with Garcia, the decisions have been fair ones. Getting Ankamah consistent work has been the big problem.

"He's a great puncher and he can get you out of there with one-punch," explained Roach, on why his fighter is so inactive. "The thing is a win over Alfred doesn't do as much for you nowadays and a loss in devastating at this point. So this is a fight versus Candelo, who's coming off a loss also, it's kinda do-or-die fight for both men. Because the winner will go on and the loser is going to really have to think about his career."

Despite the long down time in between bouts, day in and day out, Ankamah dutifully comes to the gym. It's what a fighter is supposed to do, but there is a certain sense of nobility in the way he can cast aside his frustrations and still put his nose to the grindstone with no real promises for the future.

"It's unbelievable," said Roach in describing his discipline. "I think he burns himself out a little bit. It's something he's accustomed to, he won't change, If I give him a day off he'll go home and hit the heavy bag hanging from his tree at home. He just has a great work ethic."

In Candelo, Ankamah is facing a tall, right-hander with above average pop much like Mendoza, whom he walked down and smothered on his way to stopping in seven fast-paced heats.

"He's pretty tall but I don't know too much about him," admitted Ankamah, who comes out of the same country that produced the likes of Azumah Nelson, Ike Quartey, Ben Tackie and Nana Konadu. "When we get to the ring, the ring is going to decide who is going to win. Because everybody is different and their style. He and I are different, he's never fought anyone like me before. I don't predict nothing but when we get there, you guys are going to see the fight of my life."

Thursday night, he'll be fighting for his professional life.

On the opposite end of the spectrum if Mora, who comes in with a ledger of 13-0-1. Mora has never had to play the role of 'road warrior' or go up against the house fighter, in fact, he's been downright pampered in many respects. The reasons are two fold: first, he's a heavyweight. Secondly, and maybe even more importantly, he's a Mexican heavyweight. Yes, you read that correctly, a legitimate Mexican heavyweight, not a former Mexican middleweight who just stopped giving a damn and let himself go.

Unlike Ankamah, Mora will be given every opportunity to succeed in this sport. While Ankamah, has a steely resolve and a stark reality of this business, Mora is much more carefree.

Roach describes the affable Mora as "a 21 year old acting like a 15 year old", but that isn't to say that Mora doesn't take boxing seriously.

"He's coming along and working hard," said Roach. "He's right where he needs to be for this young stage of his career and he could make some noise in the heavyweight division, it's wide open."

And just how much could a Mexican heavyweight be worth?

"Oh, geez, he'd be a superstar, that's for sure," Roach replies. "I told him, 'If you sacrifice a few years of your life and just get in great shape and work hard you can make a lot of money and retire happy.'"

"For a long time I was always the biggest kid and then I got to football and there were a lot of bigger kids than me," explained the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Mora. "But in the Mexican community I've always been big - the biggest. In my family I'm the biggest and it's great to know that I could actually come out and do something in this career."

Mora, admits he does think the crowds he's fought in front of have been startled to see a Mexican big man.

"Yeah, y'know, my physique ain't the greatest but I think the talents there and everybody sees me and their amazed."

It wouldn't be totally out of the question for Mora to make a mark in the heavyweight class. After all, Puerto Rican John Ruiz has been able to succeed with a lot of hard work and careful maneuvering.

"He's Hispanic and I give him credit because he's a world champion," Mora said after his Tuesday afternoon sparring session with Frans Botha. "I don't think much of him but I give him credit for being world champion. I want to go past that, I want to be not just world champion, I want to stay world champion and go out that way. And be the first Mexican, hey Puerto Ricans, it's all good to be the first Hispanic, but the first Mexican, the Mexicans love their fighters."

But despite being a boxing anomaly, he is in a quandary, despite being a heavyweight, by today standards he is a relatively small one and one that still needs to drop a few pounds.

"He has to stay in shape and get rid of that baby fat he has on him," Roach says, who's been with Mora for nine months and two bouts. "He's still not as solid as I want him to be, he's going to get better at it but he's still kinda loose around the mid-section and he needs to be disciplined with that also."

Mora, says that getting into better shape is among his immediate goals: "I want to be top-notch, I want to look good."

As of right now, it's not known who Mora will be facing this Saturday night at the Anaheim Pond, right now it's the always game - TBA. But to Mora this isn't any different or tougher than what he goes through at the Wild Card or harkening back to his amateur days when he faced a myriad of unknown opponents.

"Yeah, I could adjust," agreed Mora. "I've been working with a lot of different fighters, a lot of different sparring, so I think I'm ready. As long as my conditioning is down, I'm game for whatever."

Whomever TBA turns out to be, it won't be any tougher than his sparring partners at Wild Card. Which include the likes of Michael Moorer, James Toney, Lamon Brewster and at times, Botha. Mora started his career working out across town at the LA Boxing Club 'till all the heavyweights migrated elsewhere.

"Experience, these guys have a lot of experience and it rubs off," said Mora in describing his stablemates. "I've seen different styles, different approaches, right-handed, left-handed, everything. It's everything, I'm working in a great atmosphere, everybody here is close. We're a family, everybody in the gym in great."

MOORER-TUA

One of Roach's other heavyweights, Michael Moorer, has a big date coming up on August 17th, a fight many think is risky, but Roach says this is what the fighter wanted.

"It was all Michael because Michael's excited," he said. "It fell apart for a moment there and he was depressed. He wants this fight and when a fighter wants something it's usually a good sign. But definitely it's a difficult fight because Tua's dangerous through one-through-ten or one-through-twelve, whatever it may be.

"But Michael's going to be in great shape for this fight, we can't count on knocking this guy out early because it doesn't happen."

HAWAIIAN PUNCH

Roach was pleased with Brian Viloria's last performance where he blew out Franky Soto in five rounds last week.

"Brian's coming along very well as a pro. I was pleased with the way he fought, he dropped his hands a few times and made some defensive mistakes that he won't get away with against better guys but we'll work on that. Brian's got a great future."

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E-Mail Steve Kim at k9kim@maxboxing.com

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