BRIEFLY : Duarte Continues Quest for WBA Title
Behind him is a title-winning victory over Jesus Salud two months ago that gave Frankie Duarte the North American Boxing Federation bantamweight title.
Ahead, Duarte (40-6-1 with 30 knockouts) hopes, is a shot at Bernardo Pinango’s World Boxing Assn. crown.
But to get that far, Duarte, fighting out of the Ten Goose Boxing Club of North Hollywood, must keep winning. His next opponent will be Raul Negrete (16-3) of Mexico in the 10-round main event at the Reseda Country Club on Sept. 30.
After that, who knows.
Duarte’s manager, Dan Goossen, thought he had lined up a title match with Pinango as part of a proposed tripleheader at Caesars Palace on Nov. 6. But the star of the planned main event that night, middleweight champion Marvin Hagler, bowed out for bigger fish--what could be the fight of the decade against former champ Sugar Ray Leonard.
Goossen is now trying to get the Pinango-Duarte fight on the Hagler-Leonard card, tentatively set for next March.
The Country Club doors will open at 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 30 for a unique event--a concert/fight.
J.C. Parrish, former lead singer of the Platters, will entertain for about an hour prior to the first of the evening’s six fights, set to begin at 8.
Cross-Country Meet in Santa Barbara
Newbury Park and Saugus High will begin their cross-country seasons at the Santa Barbara Laguna Classic at UC Santa Barbara today at 10.
Melissa Sutton, the two-time defending Southern Section 4-A champion, will lead the Newbury Park girls team. Five of the Panthers’ top seven runners return from last year’s team, which finished fourth in the Southern Section championships.
The Newbury Park boys team, which finished third in the Marmonte League in 1985, will be led by Kelly Macone, who finished eighth in last year’s league championships.
Joe Devine will lead the Saugus boys team. The Centurions, two-time defending 3-A champions, are in a rebuilding year, according to coach Steve Spraker.
Heather Scobie and Amy Rieter, both sophomores, will lead the Saugus girls.
In 1985, Scobie finished second in the 3-A meet and Rieter was sixth.
Dos Pueblos, Canyon of Anaheim and Arroyo Grande are some of the leading teams scheduled to compete.
QUOTABLE “Maybe they’ll realize it when South Torrance lines up for the kickoff and the field starts to tilt to one side.’ Bob Richards, Thousand Oaks football coach on his relatively small team’s season opener against a team with six linemen taller than 6-4 NOTABLE
Ken Sapper of La Crescenta will compete in tonight’s NASCAR main event at Saugus Speedway with a comfortable lead in the point standings.
Sapper be challenged in the race by Dan Press, Ron Hornaday and Bob Lyon, but with only two point races left, the trio most likely will not be able to catch Sapper.
If Sapper hangs on, it will be his second straight NASCAR point victory. Tonight’s racing begins at 7 p.m. Qualifying starts at 4 p.m.
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