November 24, 1999

(The HBO/BAD show featuring Fernando Vargas vs Winky Wright and Diego Corrales vs John Brown on the stormy Oregon Coast. The Lucky Eagle Casino hosts its 25th boxing card. The Oregon Commission schedules a meeting. All in the first week of December)

Saturday, Dec. 4, 1999--HBO/Boxing After Dark broadcasts "The Commotion at the Ocean" from the Chinook Winds Casino in Lincoln City, OR. Live bouts begin at 7 p.m.

In genuinely interesting co-main events, Fernando Vargas (17-0, 17 KO's) of Oxnard, CA defends his IBF 154 lb title against Ron "Winky" Wright (39-2, 24 KO's) of St Petersburg, FL, and Diego Corrales (29-0, 24 KO's) of Colombia, S.C. makes his first defense of his new IBF 130 lb title against John "The Eastern Beast" Brown (20-6, 10 KO's) of Atlantic City, N.J.

Both Vargas and Wright will be visible in free public training sessions inside the Casino from Monday, Nov. 29 to Thursday, Dec. 2. Wright trains from 1 to 3 p.m. and Vargas from 3 to 5 p.m.

The promoter for this event is Ringside Ticket, Inc. in league with Main Events, the Duva proposition. This is the first boxing show presented at Chinook Winds, which is an enterprise of the Siletz tribe of Oregon. As is allowed by federal law, the Siletz have their own athletic commission and this show is not regulated or taxed by the state boxing commission.

Patrick Ortiz, CEO of Ringside Ticket, has contracted with trouble-shooting consultant Bruce Anderson to make sure the show toes the line of the federal law. Until his January 1999 retirement, Anderson was a fierce law-and-order reformer over eleven years as executive director of the Oregon Commission. Promoter Ortiz, who has staged several successful shows at the Seven Feathers Casino in Canyonville, OR and Legends Casino in Toppenish, WA in addition to many shows in California and elsewhere, claims Anderson taught him how to do the job.

The show should run smoothly but the weather threatens to take a toll on this show. Heavy rains on the Oregon coast the week before the fight have caused recent flooding in nearby rivers, mudslides and closed roads. At least one dairy cow was swept miles down river and deposited, grumpy but still alive, on the sandy beach. Nonetheless, a quickie phone survey of several motels near the casino showed them booked solid for the big fight weekend. Motels just a few miles away did have rooms available.

The tickets run high--$75 for general admission, $750 for Ringside seats--and are available through Fastixx (1-800-992-TIXX) or through the Chinook Winds Casino (1-888-CHINOOK)

In preliminary bouts on this card:

10 rounds at 135 lbs, Juan Lazcano vs Mark Fernandez

8 rounds at 155 lbs, Jose Alfredo Flores vs David Mendez

8 rounds at 130 lbs, Hector Velasquez vs Arthur Cruz

6 rounds at 154 lbs, Gary Jones vs Luis Tyson Velasquez

Also two four round women's bouts:

at 140 lbs, Lisa Holewyne vs TBA

at 126 lbs, Kelsey Jeffries vs TBA

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Also......On the Same Day...........
Saturday, Dec. 4, 1999 at the Lucky Eagle Casino in Rochester, WA.

World Boxing Board middleweight champ Julio Garcia (18-0-2) of Las Vegas defends his title against Erik Holland, who Garcia decisioned in a close bout in Las Vegas not long ago.

Also on this card:

8 round middleweights, Kenny Ellis (21-1-2, 13 KO's) of Seattle vs former WBC middleweight champ Kenny Lopez of Fresno, CA.

6 rounds, heavyweights, Shawn Jewell of Bend, OR vs Jesse Reid Jr, son of the famous trainer.

6 rounds, welterweight, Miguel Avila vs LeRoy Owens.

4 rounds, Jr Middleweights, Jason Parilla of Huntington Beach, CA vs Russell Briggs of Reno.

4 rounds, Heavyweights, Jared Crum of Tacoma vs debut guy, Tony Bates.

4 rounds, female Jr lightweights, Genna "Bambi" Bertoncello of Issaquah, WA vs Kathy Boyes of Canada.

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Thursday, Dec. 2,1999 The Oregon State Police Boxing and Wrestling Commission holds its regular meeting at the Woodman of the World hall, 1847 SE Clinton St. Portland, OR. The meeting starts at 10 a.m.

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