By Norm Frauenheim-
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Jose Benavidez Jr. and Jorge Paez Jr. made weight Thursday for a truTV super-lightweight title fight Friday night in a bout that is critical to Benavidez’ future and represents a step in a larger battle to resurrect boxing in Arizona.
Benavidez, (22-0, 15 KOs), Arizona’s first champion with a major championship since Hall of Fame junior-flyweight Michael Carbajal, was at 139 pounds, one under the mandatory for his first defense of the WBA’s interim version of the super-lightweight crown.
Paez (38-5-2-1, 23 KOs) was at 140, although he looked drawn and weary after what appeared to be a struggle to shed pounds.
In another intriguing bout scheduled for 10 rounds, Antonio Orozco (21-0, 15 KOs) of San Diego faces Baltimore’s Emmanuel Taylor (18-3, 12 KOs), who is coming off a loss to Adrien Broner. Both tipped the scale at 141 pounds
Benavidez, who is five inches taller and has at least an inch advantage in reach, appears to be the favorite on his birthday. He turns 23 Friday. The Phoenix native also will be fighting in front of a hometown crowd at US Airways Center. The truTV telecast of the Top Rank promotion is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. PST (10 p.m. EST). The non-televised portion of the card, which was put together by Iron Boy Promotions of Phoenix, is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. PST (8 p.m. EST).
There hasn’t been a major fight in the arena, home for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns, since Julio Cesar Chavez’ singular career ended there on Sept. 17, 2005 in a loss to Grover Wiley, a car salesman from Omaha.
Carbajal sold out the arena twice, once in a 1992 TKO of Robinson Cuesta and again in 1993 with stoppage of Domingo Sosa. Then, the place was new, Carbajal was in his prime and the Suns were in the playoffs. Now, there’s talk of building a new arena, Carbajal is 47 and the Suns haven’t been in the playoffs for five successive years. In other words, it’s been a while.
A chance at restoring some of the boxing heritage rests in Benavidez’ accurate hands, which were precise enough to score a controversial decision over Mauricio Herrera for his first title last December in Las Vegas.
Paez, who is known for his toughness, is the son of a legendary Mexican featherweight who also has place in Arizona boxing history. Jorge Paez Sr., also a clown in the Mexican circus, fought six times in Arizona, winning five and battling to a draw with Louie Espinoza in a memorable bout for the IBF’s featherweight title at the old Veterans Memorial Coliseum in 1989. Espinoza, who held the WBA’s super-bantamweight title for about two years, lost a split decision to Paez in a 1990 rematch in Las Vegas.
Today, Espinoza is a carpenter in Chandler, Ariz. Paez Sr, is living in Vegas, according to his son. Meanwhile, Arizona boxing went dormant, in large part because of immigration legislation, SB 1070, so controversial that the late Jose Sulaiman of the World Boxing Council told Mexican boxers to boycott the state.
Some did. Some didn’t. But the real impact came with Mexican-based advertisers, which decided to withdraw sponsorship of bouts scheduled in the state. One was in Phoenix, featuring Benavidez. It got canceled.
The furor over 1070 has subsided. It’s a chance for boxing to recover. But can it? For now, that’s up to Benavidez.
