Campas fighting for many reasons

He’ll battle Niles native Billy Lyell Friday at the Chevrolet Center.

By JOHN KOVACH

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

LIBERTY — There are several reasons why Mexican junior middleweight boxer Luis Ramon “Yory Boy” Campas took the fight against Billy Lyell of Youngstown Friday night at the Chevrolet Centre.

One reason is that the 36-year-old Campas (88-9, 72 KOs), who has been managed and trained by veteran Joe Diaz for about three years, has lost his last two bouts by decisions and needs another win badly against the 22-year-old Lyell (15-4, 2 KOs) to jump-start his career.

Lyell, a Niles native, is trained by Jack Loew at the Southside Boxing Club in Youngstown, and is a stablemate of undefeated middleweight contender Kelly Pavlik of Youngstown.

“[Campas’] objective is to show at age 36 that he can beat youth at age 22,” said Diaz Tuesday during an interview with the manager-trainer and Campas at the Holiday Inn Metroplex.

Better condition this time

Diaz, 67, who has been in the boxing for 59 years, believes that Campas, a former International Boxing Federation champion, is in much better condition than when he lost to Irishman John Doddy on Sept. 29, 2006, at Madison Square Garden in New York, and then to Nigerian Eromosele “Bad Boy” Albert in Miami on May 5 in the 100th bout of Campas’ career.

Doddy’s win over Campas gave him the vacant International Boxing Association middleweight title. Pavlik is the No. 1-ranked contender behind Doddy in the IBA.

Another reason is that Campas, who previously was promoted by Bob Arum and Top Rank for six years before they split and Diaz took Campas’ reins in 2004, is that Diaz said that he and Campas always have been treated well and fairly by Chargin and Dean Chance in past boxing shows, and were glad to be part of the event here.

Chance is president of the International Boxing Association. His connection to Friday’s card is that another Youngstown and Southside Boxing Club fighter, Darnell Boone (14-9-2, 5 KOs) is on the card fighting for an IBA title. Boone will meet undefeated Brian Vera (13-0, 11 KOs) of Austin, Texas, in a super middleweight skirmish.

Filing lawsuit against Arum

But Diaz said that the main reason Campas is fighting here is to use the bout as a statement and a public forum to announce to the world that they are filing a lawsuit against Arum, who also promotes Pavlik.

Diaz claims that Arum cheated Campas, who cannot speak, read or write English, out of millions of dollars when he was his promoter starting in 1997, and when he also was managed by a Mexican international trucking company. And Diaz also contends that Arum fraudulently instigated the removal of Campas’ boxing license when Diaz complained that Campas was deprived of part of his purse.

“[Campas] was cheated by Arum out of about $25 million while Arum was promoting Campas,” said Diaz, who said he has compiled reams of documented evidence against Arum, and is confident that they have a case. “I have hired attorneys to file a lawsuit against Arum for $800 million on a conspiracy charge. I have all the evidence that proves that Campas was cheated by Arum, and by that amount.”

Filed federal lawsuit

Diaz said they filed a federal lawsuit to get all this information and plan to hire a criminal law firm to file suit against Arum.

Campas has a wife and three children in Mexico. Diaz said he and Campas now make their home in Phoenix.

He pointed out that Campas, who has a U.S. travel visa until 2016 to live and box in the country, “made more money with me in 15 fights than he made with Arum since 1997 [for six years] when he had Arum as his promoter.”

Diaz claims that Arum “did not cheat Oscar De La Hoya [who was promoted by Arum and Top Rank] because he can speak, read and write English and they couldn’t do it to him.” Diaz also claims that Arum has short-changed most of his Mexican fighters.

Diaz also charged that his signature was forged on a form in which he supposedly conceded that Campas did receive $5,000 as an on-account payment for a fight that he won on March 26, 2004, and has hired a forensic expert to prove that it was forged.

Display planned Friday

Diaz said that he plans to put on a public display Friday in the Chevrolet Centre before Campas’ fight showing some of the evidence that he has accumulated against Arum.

““I’m going to walk down the aisles with all of the evidence [printed on an enlarged sign] above my head, and then I am going to walk real slow around the ring so that the audience can at least read it,” Diaz said, adding that he and Campas will pursue their cause until justice is served.

kovach@vindy.com