Notes on a Scorecard - March 3, 1994

Jimmi Bredahl was asked to assess his chances against Oscar De La Hoya. . . .

“Seventy-30, in my favor,” he said. . . .

“Why only 70-30?” brother Johnny Bredahl said. . . .

“Oh, I might fall off my chair,” Bredahl said. . . .

The oddsmakers are taking a slightly different view of the main event that will reopen the Olympic Auditorium, now billed as the Grand Olympic, Saturday night. . . .

Bredahl will be a prohibitive underdog when he tries to make a second successful defense of something known as the World Boxing Organization junior-lightweight title. . . .

In the parlance of the fight game, he is an opponent . . . .

This is supposed to be a showcase for the enormous skills of De La Hoya, who is the subject of the “Oscar’s Night” mural on the side of the building. . . .

All four participants in the 12-round bouts Saturday are unbeaten, but the consensus is that International Boxing Federation super-middleweight champion James Toney’s bout against Tim Littles of the Lou Duva stable will be the more competitive. . . .

Bredahl is a mystery. . . .

He will be fighting for the first time in the United States and has been training behind closed doors except for Sunday, when he shadowboxed a few rounds during a public workout at the Grand Olympic. . . .

This much is known about him: He is 26, 16-0 with five knockouts, a native of Copenhagen and a southpaw. At 5 feet 10, he will be a rare foe who won’t have to look up to De La Hoya. . . .

He has a crewcut and a boxer’s nose that is evidence of a long amateur career in a country where you can’t turn professional until you are 21. He speaks fluent English, having studied the language from the fifth through 10th grades. . . .

Bredahl won his WBO title--not to be confused with the more prestigious WBC, WBA, IBF or WWF titles--on Sept., 4, 1992, when he decisioned Daniel Londas of France. . . .

Earlier that night before 10,000 fans in a Copenhagen soccer stadium, Johnny Bredahl, 25, outpointed Jose Quirino of Mexico to win the WBO super-flyweight title. That was the first time that two brothers had won world titles, no matter what letters, on the same card. . . .

His record indicates that he is not a big puncher, but Bredahl is reputed to be a tough guy and a good technician. After a two-month training grind in Tyler, Tex., supervised by trainer Al McCoy, he should be in peak condition. . . .

Bredahl’s book on De La Hoya: “He has two arms, two legs and a pretty face. It won’t be so pretty after the fight, though.” . . .

For someone who does not lack confidence, Bredahl is a charmer whose boasts usually are made with a smile. . . .

He is so popular at home that the bout will be shown there live at 6 a.m. Sunday. The telecast also will be beamed to Sweden and Norway, where pro boxing is banned. The commentator will be Ingemar Johansson, whose toonderbolts won him the heavyweight title from Floyd Patterson in 1959. . . .

When Bredahl arrived in Los Angeles last week, he was told that there was a revolving restaurant atop the hotel where he would be staying. . . .

“Great,” he said. “I’ll have my victory party there.”. . . .

*

Key to the USC-UCLA basketball game tonight at the Sports Arena could be how well Trojan freshman guard Stais Boseman, who did an excellent job on Jason Kidd Saturday, is able to defend against the Bruins. He will guard Tyus Edney, Shon Tarver or Charles O’Bannon, depending upon the situation. . . .

I’ll believe Clipper owner Donald Sterling is going to build an arena in L.A. when I see it. . . .

Santa Anita Handicap contender Kissin Kris is a quirky horse who wears earmuffs when he runs, but that won’t present a problem Saturday for his new trainer, Jack Van Berg. The Hall of Fame member trained Gate Dancer, who used to wear something resembling a ski mask. . . .

Front-runner The Wicked North is the probable favorite, but only three winners in the last 40 years have led the Big ‘Cap wire to wire. . . .

Buddy Hackett, David Leisure, Tom Dreesen, Kevin Dobson, Mike Connors and Efrem Zimbalist are among those who will play in the ninth annual Juvenile Diabetes Foundation/Nutrasweet golf tournament Monday at the North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village. . . .

My candidate to replace PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman is Bill Murray.