BOXING - For This Champion, It’s All a Matter of Lip Service

For the second time this month, Juan Jose Estrada, the World Boxing Assn. junior featherweight champion, has been denied the chance to defend his title at the Forum.

No debate. Just read his lips.

Estrada was originally scheduled to fight Jesus Salud (25-3, 21 knockouts) of San Diego last Tuesday. When Estrada (37-7, 31 knockouts) suffered a split lip in a sparring session, the fight was rescheduled for Oct. 23.

But when Estrada, who lives in Tijuana, attempted to get medical clearance this week to come north for the bout, he was turned down because the lip has not yet healed.

So the match has been rescheduled again, for Dec. 11.

The new Forum main event for Oct. 23 will match Raul Perez (45-1-1, 30 knockouts), the World Boxing Council bantamweight champion who is also from Tijuana, against challenger Diego Avila (42-11-1, 15 knockouts) of Mexico City in a 12-rounder. Avila is ranked No. 6 by the WBC.

Postponed II: The first world championship bout scheduled for the Soviet Union has been delayed three weeks. Orlando Canizales, the International Boxing Federation bantamweight champion, was supposed to defend his title Oct. 29 against Alessandro Desantis of Italy, but will have to wait until Nov. 19.

The delay was caused by questions over television rights and the site. The fight, originally set for Yerevan in the republic of Armenia, was considered for Leningrad, but is now back in remote Yerevan.

Heavyweight: Razor Ruddock is in Atlantic City, N.J., training for his title fight against champion Mike Tyson Nov. 18 in Edmonton, Canada.

Heavy weight: Roberto Duran, training for his super-middleweight match against Sugar Ray Leonard Dec. 7 at Las Vegas, has reportedly dropped from 208 pounds to 171.

Duran’s handlers say he will be down to 162 by early November and will step on the scales at the weigh-in between 158 and 159.

Asked if he’d consider a winner-take-all format for the multimillion-dollar fight, Duran replied, “I can’t because I need to pay the IRS.”

Heavyweights of the future: Ray Mercer, winner of the Olympic gold medal at Seoul last year, will put his unbeaten record (9-0, eight knockouts) on the line against Eddie Richardson Tuesday night at Phoenix in an eight-rounder as part of an ESPN card.

On the line is probably not the best term in this case since Richardson is only 16-15. If Mercer really plans on fighting Tyson some time next year, as he claims, a good first step might be to pick up the pace and stop fighting guys whose big goal is to stay above .500.

Also on the card will be the 1988 Olympic silver medalist in the light-flyweight division, Michael Carbajal (8-0, six knockouts), who will meet Jose Manuel Diaz in another eight-rounder.

Heavyweights of the past: The San Pedro Peninsula Hospital Women’s Guild will auction off a boxing glove autographed by five former heavyweight champions at its dinner next Saturday night at the Ramada Renaissance Hotel in Long Beach.

Bloodlines: Joining Mercer and Carbajal on the Phoenix card will be heavyweight Tommy (the Duke) Morrison (17-0, 15 knockouts) of Kansas City, who gets his nickname from his great grand uncle, John Wayne.

So is Wayne the boxer’s all-time screen favorite? No way. Morrison says his hero, Elvis Presley, was “the greatest actor ever.”

Bloodlines II: Jim Tunney of Simi Valley, who claims former heavyweight champion Gene Tunney as his great grand uncle, will make his pro debut in a five-rounder on the next Reseda Country Club card Oct. 24.

Tunney is being trained by former heavyweight contender Jerry Quarry.

Quarry is also scheduled to sing the national anthem that night.