DATE: Wednesday, April 9, 1997              TAG: 9704090643

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: LAS VEGAS                         LENGTH:   68 lines

HOW DO YOU THINK SWEETPEA SPELLS TROUBLE? TRY W-B-C

Pernell ``Sweetpea'' Whitaker has stopped just four opponents in 21 world championship fights and has never been known as a knockout puncher.

This would be a good time to become one.

Not only is Whitaker a 3-1 underdog for Saturday's World Boxing Council welterweight title fight against Oscar De La Hoya, but the fight is also being sanctioned by the WBC.

The WBC has never been kind to Whitaker (40-1-1). WBC judges robbed him in Paris when he fought Jose Luis Ramirez the first time in 1988 and stole a decision from him over Julio Cesar Chavez in San Antonio in 1993, dubiously ruling it a draw.

The WBC did not mandate a rematch for either of those bouts - although Whitaker avenged the Ramirez loss a year later - but the sanctioning body forced Whitaker to grant an immediate rematch to Wilfredo Rivera after Whitaker won a controversial split decision in their first bout in 1996. In the second meeting, Whitaker dominated throughout but was judged a two-point winner on one card, a one-point winner on another - and that was with Whitaker recording a knockdown and Rivera having a point deducted for low blows.

Whitaker's promotional firm, Main Events, has long feuded with the WBC and its president, Jose Sulaiman. A couple of years ago Sulaiman threatened to fine Whitaker because he was entering the ring without his title belt.

The Mexico-based WBC is often charged with favoring Mexican fighters. Although he won Olympic gold for the United States, De La Hoya is of Mexican descent.

Whitaker said he can't worry about the possibility of being robbed.

``If it happens, I can accept that because it's happened before,'' Whitaker said. ``We've got the world watching, so we don't need the judges.''

One positive for Whitaker is that the Nevada Athletic Commission - not the WBC - has appointed judges Dalby Shirley, Chuck Giampa and Jerry Roth. The ref is Mills Lane.

Sparring partner says Whitaker is ready

Zab Judah said Whitaker is the best he's seen him in the five or six fights Judah's worked with Whitaker as a sparring partner.

``He's taking this serious,'' Judah said. ``I been with him a lot of fights and I've never seen him take it so serious. He's taking it personal, he's definitely ready.''

Judah is 19. Whitaker's sparring partners for this fight have all been young (average age 21) and quick.

Gym from the old days

Whitaker's training site in Las Vegas can be described as Spartan at best, dingy at worst. He is working out at Johnny Tocco's Gym, located way off the Las Vegas strip.

The only entrance is through a back alley. There are no windows, and every stitch of furniture and piece of equipment looks like it's older than Whitaker's septuagenarian co-manager Lou Duva. The room is barely big enough to hold a boxing ring, and the walls are adorned with hundreds of fight promotional posters. Scores of great fighters have trained here when in town for a bout.

``There's a lot of history in here, way back to Joe Louis and those days,'' Whitaker trainer Ronnie Shields said.

Duva betting on his man

Duva said he won a quarter of a million dollars betting on heavyweight Evander Holyfield in his first fight with Mike Tyson. Duva used to work with Holyfield.

Now Duva is planning on making a killing on Whitaker.

``I'm going to bet $100,000 on Pete,'' Duva said. ``I know what he can do.''

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