Paez Defeats Aceves by a Unanimous Decision

Jorge Paez of Mexicali, Mexico, a former circus clown, spends as much time working on his flashy dance steps as pop diva Janet Jackson, who recently finished a three-night stand at the Forum.

Paez, who is known for his antics, treated a Monday night fight crowd of 4,568 at the Forum to quite a show before his 10-round lightweight bout against Mauricio Aceves of Mexico City.

Paez entered the ring wearing a white cowboy hat, garish shorts with multicolored spots and purple shoes with tassels. His shorts bore the name of a car dealer, and he had the name of a clothing company shaved into the back of his hair.

Paez, who danced his way through the first round, quickly got serious long enough to score a unanimous decision over Aceves. Judges Dick Young and Pat Russell scored it 97-92 for Paez, while Larry Rozadillo scored it 98-91 for Paez, who had a point deducted for clowning in the 10th round by referee Larry Moret.

“The referee kept warning me and warning me,” Paez said through an interpreter. “The referee is crazy. They know how I fight, why does he do that (penalize Paez a point)?”

Paez, a former International Boxing Federation featherweight champion, did several back flips after the decision was announced.

If Paez, 50-6-4 with 34 knockouts, wins his next fight, he is expected to fight Oscar De La Hoya for the World Boxing Organization’s 130-pound title or the WBO lightweight title.

“He’s my friend, but I’m not impressed by anyone except my mother,” Paez said of De La Hoya.

Paez is confident that he can beat De La Hoya.

“I’m Robo Cop,” Paez said. “Now that I train, I can win practically every round. With De La Hoya, I’ll go straight ahead, I won’t be taking a step back.”