Four-Year Plan

Javier Mora could have been doing a lot of things Saturday night other than knocking out unheralded Sylvester Dixon of Pomona in the Golden Gloves district finals boxing competition.

Had he accepted a generous offer from the Mexican Olympic Federation, Mora could be in Tampa, Fla., fighting to represent his father’s country at the Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Had he listened to his trainer, Ernie Chavez, and offers from several promoters, he could have begun his quest to become the first Mexican heavyweight champion. Had he listened to his dad, he could have been at a Division I college on a football scholarship. After all, he was a former first-team All-Golden West League defensive end at Westminster High.

But Mora decided to listen to his heart, so he is following his dream of winning an Olympic gold medal for the United States. The 18-year-old came up short in his first attempt--losing in the consolation bracket semifinals at the Olympic trials in Tampa in mid-February. But he’s not giving up, which is why he’s willing to battle it out in the dingy gymnasiums of the amateur ranks for another four years.

“Not everybody can say they won a gold medal,” Mora said. “Being an Olympic gold medalist is my goal, professional boxing will be my career. I’ll be worth more in four years if I can make it to the Olympics.”

Mora, who was the youngest boxer in his division at the trials, is hoping the super heavyweight field won’t be as crowded in four years. He’s also counting on becoming a more polished boxer and a more powerful puncher as he gets more bouts under his belt--he reached the Olympic trials with only 28 amateur bouts, 21 of them victories.

“I think I’m a shoo-in for the Olympics in four years,” he said. “By that time, I’d just gain experience and you never know, I might have a gold medal. If I turned pro, I could struggle for four years, wondering to see if I could ever get a shot at the title.”

Chavez, Mora’s longtime trainer and former California state welterweight champion, worries that Mora might be wasting his formative years.

“I turned pro at 27,” Chavez said. “I took four years off partying and sowing my oats. Those are years I let go, really crucial years. If Javier turns pro now, he’ll be young enough to go to school when he’s done. Also, the younger you are, the better your body rehabilitates itself. Big boys bang so hard. I’d love to see Javier get a shot when he’s young.”

Mora isn’t saying he couldn’t use the money. But these days, U.S. amateur boxers, especially those ranked highly nationally, have a fighting chance to make a decent living. The nation’s top two amateurs in each division are given stipends for training, and winners of national and world championships can earn up to $1,000 per competition.

Kevin Neuendorf, a publicist for USA Boxing, was happy to hear Mora will be representing the United States for the next four years.

“That’s great news for us because he’s got a lot of talent,” Neuendorf said. “He’s got the quickest hands of anyone in this division. He just needs to get more experience, more training and he needs to work on his conditioning.”

Neuendorf said many of Mora’s challengers for the 2004 Olympic team that will compete in Athens, Greece, have already disappeared.

“Three guys have already turned pro and our Olympian, Calvin Brock, will turn pro,” Neuendorf said. “There are benefits to staying amateur and he’s going to reap those benefits because of his talent.”

Mora said the Mexican Federation thought enough of his talent to offer him $3,000 a month to box for the country’s elite amateur team. Mora considered the offer but politely declined.

“I’m Mexican American, but I was born here,” he said. “If I took the offer, there would be a three-year waiting period before I could fight for USA Boxing again.”

And Mora has probably considered the less patriotic reasons, such as the reality that a medal won wearing red, white and blue would be worth considerably more in endorsements than if he were competing for Mexico.

In the last year, Mora also turned down an offer from USA Boxing that would have paid for his education at Northern Michigan University and his training and his travel expenses to international and national competitions.

“There’s a lot of guys in this gym who would have given their right arm for an offer like that,” said Dick McCarthy of the Westminster Boxing Gym, who trained Mora early in his career.

Said Mora: “I would have been too homesick at Northern Michigan and it’s too cold. I think I would have wasted my time.”

For a long time, Javier Mora Sr. felt boxing was a waste of his son’s time. He still isn’t overjoyed with Javier’s career choice, but he’s warming to it.

“I just want to support him and hope he puts his life together,” Mora Sr. said. “Every time he gets in the ring, my whole body shakes.”

But Javier Sr., a heavy equipment operator who was born in Jalisco, Mexico, said he is willing to help his son retain his amateur status. “I’ll get him to the Olympics even if I go broke,” he said.

For now, Mora is able to support himself. He recently took a full-time job at a company that builds and installs French doors. Mora has also decided to continue his education. He plans to attend summer classes at Golden West or Orange Coast College.

Although there is evidence that he’s beginning to mature, Mora said he didn’t trust himself enough to embark on a professional boxing career.

“What I’m lacking right now is discipline,” he said. “I get lazy. I don’t finish my workout. Sometimes I’m pretty close to a fight and I’ll go party. It’s all about being young. That’s what I fear will backfire on me as a pro. Mostly, I’m afraid of myself.”

Mora admits his youth probably cost him a berth on the U.S. Olympic team. Under-trained and overconfident, Mora was beaten, 12-11, by Ija Flapping Eagle in the first round of the trials. Two weeks earlier at the Western Regionals in Boise, Idaho, Mora qualified for the trials with a second-round knockout of Flapping Eagle.

“I underestimated him the second time,” Mora said.

Mora advanced two rounds in the consolation bracket before losing a lopsided decision to Dominick Guinn, 25.

Even though Mora had prepared for the Olympic trials by sparring with professionals such as former heavyweight contender Francois Botha, his body wasn’t ready for a week-long competition.

“I depended a lot on my power,” he said. “I had the speed, but not the conditioning.”

Mora still doesn’t have the conditioning. Since returning from Tampa six weeks ago, the 6-foot-2 1/2 Mora has added 15 pounds to his paunch. He weighs nearly 250 pounds, some 20 pounds over his optimum fighting weight, and he’s beginning to look more like a defensive lineman than a heavyweight contender.

But Mora showed Saturday night, when he stopped Dixon in the second round, that he can still pack a punch--reminding promoters everywhere that he could be worth the wait.