Boxer Vaden Wants to Leave No Doubt : Goodwill Games: He strives to be good enough that there will be no more lost close calls such as the one in the 1988 Olympic trials.

When most boxing fans think of the 1988 Olympics, they remember Roy Jones of the United States dominating South Korea’s Park Si-Hun for three rounds, then covering his face and trying to hold back the tears after it was announced he had lost a 3-2 decision.

Paul Vaden of San Diego remembers another controversial decision in 1988, but unlike Jones, he wasn’t able to share his grief with the rest of the world. Vaden’s loss took place in the quarterfinals of 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials at the hands of Kenneth Gould, who went on to win the Olympic bronze medal in the 147-pound weight class.

Although the decision went to Gould, 3-2, Vaden swears he carried the fight.

“I don’t usually question the judges’ decision, but I felt I won that fight,” Vaden said. “People who know boxing thought I had won.”

Tom Mustin, Vaden’s trainer for the past three years, was in his corner that night.

“I felt he won it, but knowing you’re going up against a guy (Gould) who’s been groomed in all the (U.S. Boxing Federation) camps for the last four years makes it tough,” Mustin said.

It was so tough that Vaden basically wrote the rest of the year off.

“All of 1988, that stayed with me,” he said. “Constantly after that fight, I’d wake up after dreaming that I’d won.”

Gracie Vaden, Paul’s mother, recalls those bad dreams.

“I know he’ll never forget it, but I think it’s made him work even harder,” she said.

So as the bitterness slowly faded away, hard work and dedication began to take over.

The results have been impressive.

Vaden won the gold medal at the 1989 Olympic Festival and the 1990 U.S. Championships, and then in June, he decisioned Mario Munoz to win the Goodwill Games Boxing Challenge. That victory earned him the opportunity to represent the United States in the upcoming Goodwill Games, which begin Friday in Seattle. The boxing competition begins July 28.

Based on his record against international competition over the past year, Vaden, 22, figures to be one of the favorites to win the gold. In January, he decisioned Yugoslavia’s Dragen Tomasevic, and two months later, he retired Canada’s Gerry Burns.

The string of victories--interrupted by close losses to Hungary’s Laszlo Gal in the 1989 World Championships in Moscow and the Soviet Union’s Dmitri Korsun in a USA-USSR boxoff--has given Vaden the No. 1 ranking in the world at 156 pounds.

With no Cubans entered in his weight division at the Goodwill Games, Vaden’s toughest competition figures to come from Korsun. Vaden said he can’t wait for another shot at him.

“That loss made me mentally stronger,” he said. “He used his experience to beat me. He used about every trick in the book against me. I’ll have a couple ready for him this time.”

So as Vaden continues to build on his resume, he suddenly finds himself in a very enviable position.

“Now some of the those things that helped Gould in 1988 may be working in my favor this time around if I decide to go for the 1992 Olympics,” Vaden said.

“If” appears to be a very big word for Vaden these days. He has been tempted before by the promoters who want him to turn professional--last year, he visited the Top Rank stable--but he has politely declined each offer.

“The one thing that I want to do is to be the No. 1-ranked amateur for four straight years,” he said. “Not even Ray Leonard did that. I could also cash in on all the Olympic fame if I hang around.”

But a good performance at the Goodwill Games may bring the promoters back.

“To win the Goodwill Games would definitely increase my stock,” Vaden said. “Lately, (turning pro) has crossed my mind. But one thing I would like to do is stay away from Bob Arum and Don King. I’d like to be able to be my own promoter.”

Carl Blankenship, Vaden’s cousin and manager, is helping Vaden prepare for that day.

“I’ve got nothing against Don King,” Vaden said. “He’s obviously a smart man, but he’s more of a heavyweight promoter. People have tried to promote themselves before, but nobody has ever done it right.”

But then, Vaden has never really done things the conventional way. After boxing for six years--ages eight through 14--he quit the sport for four years to play basketball at Patrick Henry High School.

But after his senior season of basketball, Vaden put on the boxing gloves again. And amazingly enough, it was only months later that Vaden was appearing in the Olympic Trials.

“My trainer (Mustin) couldn’t believe how I came back after taking a four-year hiatus,” Vaden said. “It’s weird. I could be gone for three months and pick up like I’d never left. (Boxing) just stays in my soul.”

But for a short while this year, boxing had some company. Vaden fell in love and left Mustin and his training camp in Puylallup, Wash., to be with his girlfriend in San Diego.

“I’m a person who’s always been totally into my boxing, but for the first time in my life, I became human,” he said. “Tom (Mustin) said this was the year I was going to explode and that I needed to be with him. They said she was going to mess with my mind--like Robin Givens had done with Mike Tyson’s.”

Though not quite as dramatically as Tyson, Vaden did break off his relationship.

“This has still been my best season even with all that,” Vaden said.

Mustin wouldn’t argue with Vaden’s success, but he said Vaden lost some valuable training time.

“We’re working on his body punches, but he could have been this far months ago,” Mustin said. “But he’s starting to look pretty good. We’ve had some great training sessions.”

It’s safe to say the training sessions have not included work on Vaden’s hand speed, which Mustin calls “the best of anybody in amateur boxing.”

In fact, Mustin said Vaden’s hands are sometimes too quick for his own good.

“We had to slow him down, because sometimes he throws so many punches they don’t stay there long enough to do any damage,” said Mustin, who will also help coach the U.S. team in the Goodwill Games. “He can get more leverage on his blows if he slows down.”

Vaden doesn’t plan to slow down the pace of his boxing career for a while. When he does, Vaden said he plans to pursue a career in entertainment--he has already been featured on a boxing commercial that is still being shown on NBC.

But for the time being, Vaden will stick to what he knows best.

“God has blessed me with this skill,” he said, “and I plan to do it better than anybody until I quit.”