BOXING NOTEBOOK: AYALA SAYS WEIGHT OVERRATED.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Assistant Sports Editor 

Paulie Ayala said they're making too much of this weight thing. Erik Morales intends to prove a good big man beats a good little man.

Ayala, the former bantamweight champ, will face Morales for the vacant WBC featherweight title tonight at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and on pay-per-view television.

Some believe Ayala, a 3-1 underdog, is in over his head. He fought at bantamweight (118 pounds) as recently as last year and has fought only twice at super bantamweight, which might leave him at a disadvantage against the former 126-pound champ.

And the fact he has knocked out only 12 of his opponents - and none since 1998 - doesn't seem to bode well.

``It's a big advantage for me,'' Morales said. ``He'll be at about 130 pounds the night of the fight and I'll be about 138. I'll feel mean. And when he starts hitting me and I don't feel anything, that's another advantage for me.''

Ayala isn't so sure. The Texan is one of the toughest little men around and well-schooled, as his record (34-1) indicates. And he said he gained weight methodically over the past nine months, following a strict diet and weight-training regimen.

``My training has changed completely since the (super bantamweight Bones) Adams fight (in February). I bulked up to 154 pounds. I lifted heavyweights.''

Morales (42-1) also will be motivated. He suffered his first defeat and lost the WBC title in a rematch with rival Marco Antonio Barrera in June - after which Barrera rejected the belt - and is eager to win it back and prove he hasn't lost anything.

Ayala wants to become a principal player in one of boxing's deepest divisions and has no doubts he will. ``Erik absorbs a lot of punches,'' he said. ``He tries to take advantage of his reach and his height, but he's still been getting hit a lot.''

Pro wrestler Brian Adams, scheduled to make his boxing debut on the Morales-Ayala card, is out with a shoulder injury. Instead, super lightweight Dmitry Salita will face Ron Gladdin on television.

--Nunn in jail: Former middleweight champion Michael Nunn must stay in jail while awaiting trial on a charge of planning to sell cocaine. A federal judge denied the bail request for Nunn, a former IBF middleweight and WBA super middleweight champion.

He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute it. He is accused of buying about 2.2 pounds of cocaine from an undercover agent in August.

Associated Press contributed to this report.