Soviets Are Coming! (But Only To Box)

Wearing stylish sunglasses, Levis and a grin that oozed confidence, Yuri Vaulin spoke of fighting Mike Tyson and becoming heavyweight champion of the world.

A lofty goal for anyone, especially someone with a suspect punch and only four professional boxing matches. Then again, Vaulin figures he has already won his toughest fight--getting out of his homeland of Latvia.

“I was offered to become a pro fighter 2 1/2 years ago,” Vaulin said through a translator (he speaks limited English, although he is better at it than his boxing compatriots). “My biggest problem was to get out of the country. Then, it was a problem signing a direct deal with a promoter or manager.”

After a year of haggling with Sovintersport, the Soviet sports agency, Vaulin and four other Soviets were signed to three-year contracts by Lou Falcigno, president of Momentum Enterprises.

Falcigno pays expenses for the fighters and their families, plus $25,000 the first year and $50,000 the second. If any of the boxers should reach the top 10 in any of three associations--World Boxing Council, World Boxing Assn. or International Boxing Federation--Falcigno will extend the contracts two years. A title fight would extend a contract for three more years. If a boxer loses, Falcigno said, he has an option to return them to the Soviet Union.

In return, Falcigno has made some money off a cable television deal with USA Network and hopes to eventually make more from fees paid by casinos willing to play host to bouts involving the fighters.

Vaulin said it’s all fine with him.

“I am very happy with the arrangements,” said Vaulin, 26.

He is especially happy that his 5-year-old son and wife travel with him.

“That has made me feel a lot more comfortable in this country,” Vaulin said. “I have nothing to worry about.”

Well, not exactly.

Tommy Gallagher, Vaulin’s trainer, and Falcigno said Vaulin, a left-hander, picked up several bad habits during an illustrious amateur career that was highlighted by a World Cup championship in 1987. Vaulin, fighting as a light-heavyweight, was 227-30 before turning pro.

“Past the 40th amateur fight, they weren’t doing me any favors,” Falcigno said.

Gallagher, who trained former world champions Donny Lalonde and Doug Dewitt, said his biggest challenge has been to change Vaulin’s defensive style. For amateurs, the object is to stick and jab and score points, but Gallagher said that isn’t effective for pros.

“The style he has is very hard to change,” Gallagher said. “He restarts after every punch. He doesn’t put things together. We have to tell him that once he’s in, he doesn’t have to get out.”

“He fights like a Muhammad Ali type, get your jab in and get away. He’s very satisfied to get a victory. He doesn’t worry about how it looks. Right now, all you will see is one of those boring fighters that knows how to win.”

In his professional fights, Vaulin has been able to get away with hit-and-run tactics--three of his four victories were by knockouts and the other was a technical knockout in the first round. In each, a single punch at the right time has been enough to silence his opponent.

Although he has moved up a weight class by putting on 16 pounds--he is 206 at 6-feet-4--Vaulin said he has yet to feel the difference between a light-heavyweight and heavyweight punch.

“I’ve really never been hit yet,” said Vaulin, who resembles Dolph Lundgren of “Rocky IV” fame. “I’m a lot faster and much more quick-footed than my opponents so far.”

Tuesday at the Sports Arena (6 p.m.), Vaulin will face his most experienced opponent yet--Las Vegas’ Joey Parker (13-7). The five-fight card will be televised live nationally but will be blacked out in San Diego.

Falcigno, a New York promoter and closed-circuit television exhibitor, is taking a cautious but realistic approach to Vaulin and the other Soviets.

“I’m not going to baby them,” he said. “But I think it’s going to be at least a year before any of them fights a top 10-caliber fighter.”

Gallagher believes Vaulin will be the first Soviet to reach the top 10, but Falcigno disagrees.

“I think the Artemiev brothers (featherweight Alex and lightweight Sergei) will wind up fighting a top 10 fighter sooner,” Falcigno said. “The brothers are much quicker than Yuri and much more professional fighters. Also, the heavyweight division has quite a few good fighters in it now.”

Falcigno figures Vaulin should be ready to start fighting top competition in about 18 months.

Although he probably had better competition as an amateur, Vaulin said he realizes Falcigno is doing the right thing.

“It is all part of the timetable,” Vaulin said. “It’s supposed to be that way. But it’s tough sometimes.”

Before embarking on his professional career, Vaulin was given a briefing by Mitch “Blood” Green, the same Mitch Green who went 10 rounds with Tyson in the ring and one with him on a New York street corner.

“Mitch taught me how to hit behind the head, below the belt and in the back,” Vaulin said. “He told me I should get used to the low punches. That this is not like the amateurs.

“I know that not many people like him over here, but I thought he was pretty funny. I’ve never quite met anybody like him before.”

Vaulin also sparred with Riddick Bowe, a top 10 heavyweight.

“Riddick Bowe told me that I would be a very good pro boxer,” he said.

Despite Vaulin’s stylistic shortcomings, Gallagher and Falcigno say the same thing.

“Every fight, you see something more than the last time,” Gallagher said. “Even now, he could go three rounds with anybody, because of the great athlete he is.”

But will he ever have the power to knock out people such as Mike Tyson and Buster Douglas.

“He has the power, but he just doesn’t use it,” Gallagher said. “He doesn’t stay in one place long enough to plant himself.”

While Vaulin has been somewhat slow to pick up on professional boxing, he has made a nice transition into the American life style.

Falcigno said he has a problem keeping Vaulin and the other boxers from spending all their money.

“They all want the fancy cars, the camcorders and the VCRs,” Falcigno said.

But Vaulin seemed to be more infatuated with Las Vegas than anything.

“I love the casinos and the Mirage Hotel,” he said. “I won $1,600 in the slot machines, but within two hours, I lost it all playing blackjack.”

If Falcigno has his way, Vaulin will eventually return for a title bout.

“As soon as Yuri hits the top 10, he will be able to fight for the title,” Falcigno said. “A (Soviet) fighting the champion would be worth more than the No. 1 contender could ever bring in.”

And if the champion is Mike Tyson?

“By all my prognostications, a Yuri-Tyson fight would be somewhere between $80 and $100 million gross.”

What would Vaulin think of a fight with Mike Tyson?

“It would be like Rocky V.”