Pay Attention to These Guys

Ever heard of Paul Fujii?

Didn’t think so.

He’s a Hawaiian of Japanese descent who was the last undisputed 140-pound champion, gaining that distinction in 1968.

Kostya Tszyu and Zab Judah can relate to the forgotten Fujii. Tszyu and Judah are magnificent fighters with one loss between them in 57 fights. They will be battling to match Fujii’s feat in tonight’s main event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena (Showtime, 10 p.m.). Yet the fight has attracted little excitement, except among boxing aficionados.

The Russian-born Tszyu, who lives in Sydney, Australia, is 27-1-1 with 22 knockouts and holds the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Assn. super lightweight titles. Judah, from Brooklyn, is 27-0 with one no-contest and 21 knockouts, and is the International Boxing Federation titleholder.

Judah has exceptional speed, Tszyu devastating power. Those who don’t pay attention may miss a tremendous fight.

Golden Without Gold?

Shelly Finkel and Gary Shaw were frantic. One minute, they figured they had a future boxing superstar. The next minute, they lost him.

Literally.

The youngest member of the Mexican Olympic team at 17, Francisco “Panchito” Bojado of East Los Angeles had gone 168-15 with 85 knockouts as an amateur.

But in the second round of the 125-pound competition at the 2000 Olympics at Sydney, Bojado had gone up against an opponent he couldn’t handle, losing a 15-12 decision to Kamil Dzhamaloudinov of Russia.

Bojado’s handlers blamed it on the Olympic scoring system, which is what the losers in Olympic competition always do.

Win or lose, Finkel, who manages fighters, and Shaw, who promotes them, knew they had a winner in Bojado, whose maturity, ring composure and command of his skills--including devastating power and tight defense--belied his age.

Finkel and Shaw wanted to console Bojado, support him and, of course, sign him. But first, they had to find him.

Bojado had disappeared after leaving the ring in Sydney.

“I was devastated,” he said. “I didn’t know what to do, what to think. I was sure I was going to get to the finals. My only purpose in going was to win a medal. What was I going to do, watch the rest of the Games?”

Instead, Bojado packed his belongings, hopped on a plane and returned to his training site in Mexico City.

“I felt the best thing to do was to get back into the gym and train even harder,” he said. “There was nothing else to do.”

Finkel and Shaw soon found Bojado and got his name on a contract.

The personality and power Bojado demonstrated as an amateur have been even more impressive as a pro. He has fought eight times and has knocked out all eight opponents.

And only one, David Montes, has made it as far as the third round.

Bojado will be back in the ring tonight to face Mauro Lucero (34-8-1, 22 knockouts) on the undercard of the Tszyu-Judah match. Bojado is also set to appear on the undercard of the Dec. 8 Oscar De La Hoya-Roman Karmazin super-welterweight title fight at the Olympic Auditorium

Not bad for a kid who first got into the ring just to pick up a trophy or two. Born in Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico, Bojado was a toddler when his family moved to this country, settling in Commerce.

A gifted athlete, he tried everything, from baseball to football to soccer to street hockey. Somehow, he also found time for boxing.

At age 8, Bojado walked alone into the City of Commerce Boxing Club and told trainer Alfonso Marquez he wanted to learn the sport.

Displaying talent and determination, Bojado was soon winning tournaments and trophies.

“When are we finished with the boxing season?” Bojado asked Marquez one day. “I want to go on to another sport.”

Replied an amused Marquez, “This is a year-round sport.”

For Bojado, it soon became his life. After briefly attending Garfield High, he returned to Mexico at 15, without his family, without knowing anyone he’d be working with, in order to chart a course to Sydney.

There was never a question which country Bojado would represent as an Olympian. For one thing, he is not an American citizen. But that wasn’t even the issue.

“I wanted to represent my people,” he said.

He has represented them well enough to be considered by some the heir apparent to Julio Cesar Chavez as Mexico’s next great fighter. Wherever he goes, Bojado is mobbed by fans.

“I find it amazing,” Shaw said, “but it’s not logical. He’s only 18 and he hasn’t fought anybody yet.”

Certainly not anybody good enough to last three rounds with him.

Making the Rounds

WBC welterweight champion Shane Mosley, fed up with Vernon Forrest’s monetary demands, slammed the door on Forrest several months ago. So guess who Mosley’s next opponent will be. Probably Forrest. Originally offered $1.5 million, Forrest demanded $2 million. The sides are close to compromising at $1.7 million for a Jan. 26 fight.

Mosley had been interested in going up to 154 pounds to take on International Boxing Federation junior-middleweight champion Winky Wright. But Wright balked when offered a little over $1 million. Understandable since he has a title and Forrest does not.

The fight nobody seemed to want, the rubber match between Evander Holyfield and John Ruiz for the World Boxing Assn. heavyweight title, has found a home at the Foxwoods Casino Resort in Connecticut, where it will be held Dec. 15. That’s better than promoter Don King’s other options--Redmond, Ore., and Providence, R.I. Still, you get the message, don’t you, Evander? Nobody wants to see you fight any longer.