They’ve Come to Fight, Not to Talk : Sims, Nunn Are No-Shows for Pre-Bout Press Conference

While the fighters from the Ten Goose boxing stable may be some of the more ferocious in the region, their method of promotion leaves a little to be desired.

While other pugs at the pre-fight press conference spoke with candor and even cockiness about their upcoming exploits, Ten Goose’s Walter Sims and Michael Nunn were not only silent, but absent.

Sims and Nunn were in California until Wednesday afternoon, a day before they were to fight on the Top Rank/ESPN card at the Showboat Hotel in Las Vegas.

Sims, 14-1-2 with 11 knockouts, takes on Victor Acosta of New York in the cable network’s Western Regional lightweight semifinal scheduled for eight rounds.

Nunn, meanwhile, brings his 4-0, four-knockout record into the ring against lanky Larry Davis in a scheduled six-round middleweight bout.

Sims, a 23-year-old originally from Cleveland, is returning from a nine-month layoff after battling Martin Quiroz to a 10-round draw in Las Vegas on Oct. 11.

He pummeled his eight previous opponents, winning by knockout each time.

Against Acosta, who is 15-7-1 with five knockouts, Sims is favored to win his 15th.

Acosta was a last-minute replacement for “Jesse” James Cooper, who was disqualified by fight officials because his 9-1 record could not be verified. Cooper, who has not fought professionally in more than a year, last worked as a sparring partner for World Boxing Council featherweight champion Azumah Nelson.

Nunn, however, could have all the fight he wants against Davis, who stands 6-2 1/2 and boasts an 83-inch reach.

Davis, 26, is 6-1 with four knockouts.

The other ESPN lightweight semifinal, also slated for Thursday night, will feature Paul Barton against Gary Williams.

Both can fight and talk.

“I just want to say I’m looking forward to this. It should be fun,” said Barton, who is from Portland, Ore. “I just know I’ll beat him.”

Williams, of Pomona, strongly disagreed.

“I’m here to do my job,” he said. “I hope it will be a good fight. I’m not here to play with nobody. I’ve trained hard, I’m in good shape. I’m ready when he’s ready. I’m the black stallion.

“I was born a fighter, raised a fighter and I’m going to fight.”

So will Sims and Nunn, who apparently are waiting to let their fists do the talking.