Ricardo Mayorga, whose flamboyance is like a second breath, has an unexpected incentive if he can
get past Corry Spinks when they meet to unify the world welterweight crown Saturday, Dec.13 in Atlantic City.

Promoter Don King, always looking for the sport‘s unusual, has extended himself to the limit, offering a, sellout crowd eight world championship bouts at the Boardwalk Hall, with the action in five being distributed by HBO’s pay-per-view starting at 6 p.m.ET

The finale among the 12-rounders closes out with undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins facing William Joppy, WBA 160-pound ruler, but the expansive King has put a red ribbon around Mayorga vs. Spinks in the co-feature.

The irrepressible Mayorga, out of Managua, Nicaragua as WBC welterweight and WBA 154-pound champion, goes to a unanimous level if he handles Spinks, the IBF welterweight boss from St. Louis, Mo., and there is a big bonus on the horizon for the South American hurricane if he can handle the 25-year-old son of Leon Spinks, the former world heavyweight champion.

King won’t beat the drums loudly until all the results are in on Atlantic City’s first super show in 13 years, but reliable sources say a Mayorga victory will move him opposite Shane Mosley, the WBA-WBC super welterweight champion, on Mar.13. King wouldn’t confirm or deny the sources’ report that “it’s a done deal with only the site to be determined.”

The presentation gained credence when Oscar De La Hoya, now busy with a Golden Boy Promotion Dec.11 in Los Angeles, said he is still interested in meeting Mosley but not until late next year. Mosley is anxious to fight somebody soon, scored his second close victory over De La Hoya Sept.13 when HBO’s pay-per-view action reported 975,000 domestic buys, the
second best for a non-heavyweight fight.

Mark Taffet, HBO’s Pay-Per-View executive vice-president, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that this
Mayorga is a “big talent.

“Mayorga has proven he is one of the most exciting fighters in the sport inside in the ring but he still hasn’t been tested as a pay-per-view product. When it comes to styles, this is not only a great match, but it could also pave the way for another mega fight in the fall.”

Bob Goodman, boxing director of Don King Productions, Inc., feels Mayorga is one of the most unique faces to join the team in years.

“Ricardo is very awkward and just comes forward, swinging big shots. He is a very heavy-handed guy with a belief in his own ability to knock out anybody. He is really quite the character, and it’s quite refreshing in a way. What other champion athlete will tell you that he needs a cigarette and a beer? That’s the first thing he said after he knocked out Andrew “Six Heads’ Lewis to win the title.”

Mayorga, with a 25=-3-1, 22 KOs record, won the WBA crown from Lewis Mar.30, 2002 in Reading, Pa., on a five-round kayo.

And then the biggie ....back-to-back wins over then undefeated Vernon Forrest for the WBC 147-pound crown on a three-round knockout Jan.25, 2003 in Temecula, Ca.

In the rematch last July 12 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, it was a different fight with Forrest more
competitive but Mayorga dominated.The ex-champion from Augusta, Ga., did catch the Nicaragua star with some combinations to the jaw but it didn’t phase the
eccentric Latin, who retained his titles on a majority
decision.

“I wanted Forrest to know he couldn’t hurt me. I
know it’s not a wise thing to get hit and Mr, King told me after the fight he didn’t want to see me do that again. But that’s what I wanted to do at the time. I wanted to let Forrest know that I was the boss. I was his daddy. I was the champ,” Mayorga reflected.

It was King’s intention to bring in Hall of Fame trainer Emmanuel Steward to direct Mayorga’s immediate future, replacing Hector Perez of San Antonio. The creator of the famed Kronk Gym in Detroit was impressed with the time he spent with the hard-working Mayorga.

“Ricardo has got that tough intensity like Roberto Duran but not as skillful. Roberto was a much better basic-fundamental fighter but Mayorga has an intensity that he carries throughout the fight and that surprised me because most of these guys run out of gas earlier,” Steward had observed.

“Mayorga’s awkwardness is effective. I have watched him and he gets you unorganized. He is not that easy to hit and Ricardo has got his strange little way, but he doesn’t get hit that much.”

Sources discussing the switch in trainers said Steward reportedly had commitments in Detroit he couldn’t get out while Mayorga did not want to leave his established camp in Ft . Pierce, Fl, for the colder climate of Michigan.

Mayorga found it delightful working with this astute gent who is also waiting to see if Lennox Lewis. fights again or retires as WBC heavyweight champion.

“There was never any problems between Manny and me. He was in line with the whole team, but I understand he had a death in the family and had to excuse himself for personal reasons. I would very much like to work with Manny again in the future.”

Mayorga feels good about rejoining his former trainer, Rigoberto Garibaldi of Panama.

“This turned out as a blessing after four years, God has put Rigoberto in my path once again. He is considered one of the best trainers in Panama. Not only has he trained me, but he also had other great
fighters too,” said the fighter.

“Rigoberto is a good man, and a family man. With my faith in God and Rigoberto in my corner, Corry Spinks is like a broken stick. Garibaldi is very strict about everything I do in training but with him, my motivation level is very high. When it comes to strategy and tactics, he is absolutely the best out there.”

Whether he is sincere or it’s part of the media hype, Mayorga likes to give the impression he hates every opponent he has ever faced.

And Spinks, with a 31-1 11 KOs log, who won the IBF welterweight crown with a 12-round decision over Michele Piccirillo last Mar.22 in Campione D ‘Italia, Italy is no exception.

“Spinks is nothing, he means nothing to me. I’ll hit him so hard that when I’m through with him and kick his ass, he won’t be the same fighter. He’ll be beaten by every opponent he fights. Spinks doesn’t know what kind of trouble he’s in. He is talking such stupid stuff. It doesn’t make sense. I’ll basically take his head off.”

Spinks doesn’t feel that Mayorga realizes how “ignorant he sounds with those cheap shots, so I’ll give him some answers on the next two Saturdays.”

(Jack Welsh is a syndicated columnist headquartered in Las Vegas and a regular contributor to Ringsports.com and other fine websites).