Under Gun in Sights of ‘Little Guns’ : Boxing: Monjardin seeking revenge against Pumar with his career perhaps on the line.

The stakes are high for Hector Monjardin tonight when he defends his state junior lightweight title against Isagani “Little Guns” Pumar in the main event of a six-bout boxing card at the Warner Center Marriott.

Monjardin is out to avenge a loss against Pumar in February at the Grand Olympic. He is also under scrutiny from his own manager, Robert Gonzalez, who said this week that Monjardin will “have to retire” if he can’t win the rematch.

“He’s good,” Gonzalez said of Pumar. “But he’s not the best. He’s not top-10 caliber.”

And yet, what best motivates Monjardin is probably neither revenge or the threat of early retirement.

It’s money.

Monjardin, who will make $3,000 to participate in the scheduled 12-round bout, is rumored to have side wagers in excess of his purse riding on the outcome of the fight.

“When he does that,” Gonzalez said, “it’s good. Then I know he’s motivated.”

Otherwise, stimulating Monjardin often is a problem.

“People talk good about Monjardin because he can punch anybody’s lights out,” Gonzalez said. “And they talk bad about him because he doesn’t train. He can be real hard to deal with.”

Monjardin, 29, a native of Culiacan, Mexico, who fights out of Los Angeles, has a record of 17-6-1 with eight of his victories by knockout. Pumar, from Cebu, Philippines, is 23-6-2 with 12 KOs.

In their first meeting, Pumar, who turned 20 less than two weeks ago, battered Monjardin until Gonzalez had the fight stopped after the fourth round.

“I saw no point [having Monjardin] going back in there,” Gonzalez said. “He would never get knocked out or quit. I had to do it for him. It was in his best interest. He wasn’t ready for the fight.”

Gonzalez said Monjardin was still weak from a bout with pneumonia when he took on Pumar in what was a non-title fight. “He wasn’t taking his medicine and he wasn’t training,” Gonzalez said of his fighter. “He said he was, but he lied.

“Everybody told him he could take anyone out. His friends told him he could do it with one punch, that was all he needed. He started to believe he was invincible.”

Pumar, a southpaw who fights out of Stockton, proved otherwise. Whenever Monjardin attacked, he scored with jabs and counterpunches.

“He is a hard puncher, but the style of Monjardin I like,” Pumar said. “He comes in. That’s good for me.

“I am--how you say?--a scientific fighter. In and out. Jab, jab. Like Pernell Whitaker.”

David Thompson, Pumar’s manager, said he readily accepted the offer of a rematch even while acknowledging that Monjardin might have been in less than peak physical condition for the first bout.

“I think he took us lightly. I know he’ll be in shape now,” Thompson said. “But I also have confidence in my fighter. He’s fast, he has a good punch and he can take a good shot too.”

Monjardin won the state title in May, 1994, by knocking out Ben Lopez in 58 seconds.

Gonzalez is hoping for a repeat performance. The rumor back then, he said, was that Monjardin had bet his entire purse, $3,500, that he would win in the first three rounds.

“In fact,” Gonzalez said, laughing, “I think he did more than that. I think he did that with three people. He made some good money that night.”

This time Monjardin is predicting a knockout inside four rounds.

Pumar is too.

“I win the fight, like before,” he said. “This time, maybe two rounds.”

*

First bell inside the hotel’s Grand Ballroom is 7:30 p.m.

As a favor to Don King, promoter Gerrie Coetzee has added promising heavyweight “Bronco” Billy Wright to the card in an eight-round bout against an opponent to be determined late Tuesday night.

Wright, a King-backed former football player from Kaysville, Utah, has a record of 26-3 with 22 KOs.

The undercard is scheduled to include six-round bouts between lightweights Jimmy Nakahara of Mar Vista (7-1, 2 KOs) and Mario Martinez of Compton (2-5-1, 1 KO) and junior welterweights Steve Von Schert of Pasadena (7-4, 1 KO) and Ruben Ceja of Pomona (3-5, 3 KOs); a five-round light heavyweight bout between Calvin Combs of Lancaster (3-2, 1 KO) and Mike Doran of Fairfield, Calif., (3-1, 2 KOs); and a four-round lightweight bout between Richard Calvillo of Cudahy (1-3, 1 KO) and Gordon Williams of Rancho Cordova (3-4-1, 3 KOs).