BOXING: JIROV EMPHATICALLY MAKES HIS CASE IBF TITLEHOLDER BELIEVES KNOCKOUT SHOWS HE'S READY FOR A JONES SHOWDOWN.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Staff Writer

Vassiliy Jirov believes he's the man who can give Roy Jones Jr. a fight.

The undefeated cruiserweight from Kazakhstan emphasized his point once again Friday night at the Playboy Mansion, stopping Esteban Pizarro with a one-two combination at 2:59 of a scheduled 10-round bout.

Jirov, the IBF titleholder, is 25-0 with 23 knockouts. That's 92 percent knockouts, the highest rate among reigning champions.

Still, Jones, the undisputed light heavyweight champ, is considering a move past cruiserweight to heavyweight to find a challenge.

``Roy Jones says there's no one out there to give him a challenge,'' said Jirov's manager, Ivaylo Gotzev. ``Well, here's somebody everybody knows, who's undefeated, who's a challenge.

``Jones just has a lot of excuses.''

Pizarro (21-3-1, nine KOs) wasn't a meaningful gauge. The Puerto Rican had fought only once in the past three years and was completely overmatched.

Jirov controlled the scheduled 10-round nontitle fight from the opening bell before putting Pizarro away with a hard left to the belly and a right to the chin as Pizarro held his aching gut. He went down and that was that.

However, unlike most of Jones' opponents, Jirov would seem to have the proper credentials. He won a gold medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and won the Val Barker Award as the best fighter in the Games.

And, while he too hasn't faced exceptional competition, he stopped capable Dale Brown and Saul Montana in recent fights and has plowed through the remainder of his opponents.

And, if the 175-pound Jones decides he wants to move up only one weight class, he wouldn't have to face a 200-pound heavyweight.

The cruiserweight limit is 190 pounds.

``We'll come down (in weight) to fight him,'' said Gotzev, whose fighter walks around at about 192 pounds. ``We'll make 185, whatever they want. . . . And we'll fight in Pensacola (Fla., Jones' hometown). And we'll turn around and knock him out.''

Jones probably would be a heavy favorite if the two were to meet. Most significantly, many believe no one even near Jones' weight class can cope with his speed. That goes for Jirov, who is talented but not exceptionally quick. Jirov said he could compensate for Jones' speed.

``You fight for 12 rounds,'' said Jirov, who lives outside Scottsdale, Ariz. ``You get tired and your speed comes down. My punches will stop him before the 12th round.

``I punch a lot harder than light heavyweights (against whom Jones is accustomed to fighting).''

In a preliminary fight, Butterbean beat a stringbean.

Eric ``Butterbean'' Esch, all 346 pounds of him, stopped 211-pound stringbean Bill Johnson at 2:49 of the second round.

And Mia St. John of Calabasas, the former Playboy cover girl fighting in her home ring, defeated Fran Alcantar by a unanimous decision over four rounds.

St. John (17-0, 10 KOs) won every round, but Alcantar (2-3, two KOs) proved to have a good chin and wouldn't quit.

``I saw her on tape and she seemed to quit after a few rounds,'' St. John said. ``Tonight, I thought she'd quit, too, but she didn't. She was tough.''

Notes: Former champions Ken Buchanan and Wilfredo Gomez are among those being inducted into the World Boxing Hall of Fame.

Other fighters who will be honored at induction ceremonies on Oct. 21 at the Bonaventure Hotel are Barry McGuigan, Tommy Burns, Ralph Dupas, Pete Sanstol and Lou Bogash.

In the nonparticipant category, trainer Emanuel Steward, longtime Los Angeles sportswriter Allan Malamud, referee Richard Steele and promoter Russel Pelz will be inducted.