L.A.-AREA PROMOTERS HARD AT WORK.

Byline: MIKE ROSENTHAL Boxing

The boxing scene in Los Angeles hardly resembles the robust era of the 1960s and '70s or even the subsequent Forum Boxing years. However, there are signs of life.

A handful of upstart promoters are staging fairly regular shows - mostly with ``club''-level fighters - in and around the L.A. area. And that doesn't include Staples Center, the site of occasional big-time cards like the Roy Jones Jr.-Julio Gonzalez event scheduled for July 28.

It's not often that such big-name fighters do their thing here but at least boxing fans have the opportunity to see live cards.

``I still think the quality of fights we have here are the best,'' said Dean Lohuis of the California Athletic Commission. ``The talent level, the competition level, the style of our fighters - more face-first than boxing - makes for the most entertaining fights.

``Now, the question is: Can the new promoters establish themselves? If they can, maybe they'll bring boxing here back up to a national level.''

Roy Englebrecht of Englebrecht Promotions has no rival in this area at this level of boxing: He consistently has staged shows in Orange County for 16 years.

He promotes one show a month - six at the Irvine Marriott and six at The Pond - and he puts together less-regular cards elsewhere. He said he has sold out every Marriott show (capacity: 1,410) the past 2 1/2 years.

He employs solid fighters who typically provide solid entertainment. Those looking for big-name fighters probably wouldn't be satisfied, but many current stars passed through Orange County early in their careers. Among them: Johnny Tapia, Shane Mosley, Genaro Hernandez, Carlos Navarro and Antonio Diaz.

What's his secret for success in a brutal business in which he's seen dozens of would-be promoters come and go? An effective blend of sponsorship, advertising and consistently good shows.

``Perception is key,'' said Englebrecht, who has 630 season-ticket holders. ``My motto is, `Empty seats breed empty seats.' We don't have any empty seats.

``I watch my budget and put on good shows. People come for the first time and they say they just can't believe it.''

Among others who currently are staging shows: Robert Matias of IGM Enterprises, Darin Slack of USA Boxing and Ron Williams of R.W. Promotions.

Matias, who runs an Internet company, has staged a half-dozen shows at Hollywood Park Casino since he entered the boxing business about 10 months ago.

He said he's lost an estimated $250,000 even though he's put together solid matchups, if sometimes sparsely attended shows. However, in part because he's beginning to break even, he plans to continue monthly shows at the Inglewood venue.

The next card is Friday.

``I'll ride it out,'' he said. ``At this point, we're breaking even. We get good-name fighters coming in, we have a good team. I think we'll do well.''

Slack, successful at staging computer shows but a newcomer to boxing, had a disastrous first show in March at the Riverside Convention Center: One of his main-event fighters pulled out six hours before the event and he had to give many refunds.

As a result, he lost money. However, he wasn't deterred. His plan is to stage six cards a year at each of several sites, which now include Riverside, Buena Park and San Diego, and he said he's closing in on a deal with an undisclosed Los Angeles site.

``We lost money because of the refunds,'' said Slack, who drew more than 1,000 fans to the Riverside show. ``The reception from the fans was good, though. ... I'm confident this is going to work. If I don't make money after the first few shows, I'll just move on to a venue that does work. Certain areas will support boxing and certain areas won't.''

Each of the promoters said sponsorship also is a key to survival. They don't charge enough for tickets to sustain business on gate revenues alone.

Williams, who has promoted many shows at the Hyatt in Santa Clarita, lost sponsors and has yet to fully recover.

He left the Hyatt because he no longer could afford the rental fee and tried his luck at the Odyssey in Granada Hills in March. However, he drew fewer than 500 for his first show there.

Still, he plans to hang in there. He has a show tentatively scheduled for July and is working on other cards in the L.A. area.

``It still puzzles me,'' he said of the March turnout. ``You never know what's going to happen. ... Fortunately, we made a profit right from the beginning. To lose money is a setback but not a disaster.

``You've got to persevere. I'm confident in the fight fans. They'll keep coming to fights.''

--Morales-Barrera? The much-anticipated rematch between WBC featherweight champ Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera almost occurred spontaneously.

The two were invited to appear on a Mexican television show - but neither was told the other would be there. Heated talk almost evolved into punches, according to reports.

Barrera, coming off his superb victory over Naseem Hamed, offered to fight Morales in September but backed off that date. Now, Nov. 17 is the working date.

The site? Most likely Las Vegas or Staples Center, although the fight between the Mexicans would be natural for their country.

``Everyone is talking about it,'' said Morales, in L.A. to promote his title defense against Injin Chi on July 28 at Staples Center. ``He feels he was robbed (in the first fight). Just for that reason, I want to fight him.

``I want to show who's better, to stop the talking.''

--Home away from home: Chi, a South Korean who speaks no English, was in the United States to help promote the biggest fight of his career.

Was he overwhelmed? Nah.

He was surrounded by Korean media once he arrived, the news conference to promote the fight was held at a Korean restaurant in the Korean section of L.A., of course the food was Korean and he spent one afternoon with his favorite athlete competing in the U.S.: Korean Chan Ho Park.

``I felt like I was home,'' he said through an interpreter.

Chi (24-1, 14 knockouts) lost the first fight of his career and hasn't slipped since. Still, he's not given much of a chance against Morales (40-0, 31 KOs).

``I know that. And it just inspires me more to win. It'll be a good fight,'' he said.

--Rabbit punches: Heavyweight champ Hasim Rahman's decision to dump Brian Nielsen and fight David Izon as a co-feature on the John Ruiz-Evander Holyfield card Aug. 4 in China makes for a better fight.

Izon (27-3, 23 KOs) has knocked out each of his seven opponents since losing to Michael Grant in 1998.

Rahman said he made the move because Nielsen was seen by some as a pushover. Another possibility is his handlers priced the Danish heavyweight out of the fight. ...

Former heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis issued a statement saying he has not been negotiating to fight Mike Tyson.

He'd like to face Tyson - but only after a rematch with Rahman.

``Put simply, the only time I plan to fight Mike Tyson is in the context of defending my world championship,'' Lewis said.

--Coming up: Francois Botha faces Dave Bostice in a 10-round heavyweight bout Tuesday in Las Vegas on ESPN2. ...

On Friday, also on ESPN2, Eric Morel defends his WBA flyweight title against Jose DeJesus Lopez in Las Vegas.

Also Friday, on pay-per-view television, Laila Ali fights Jacqui Frazier- Lyde in New York. Also on the card, Monte Barrett faces Tim Witherspoon in a 10-round heavyweight bout.

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Photo:

Injin Chi of South Korea, left, and Erik Morales of Mexico pose during a news conference for their July 28 bout at Staples Center, where Morales will defend his WBC featherweight title.

Nick Ut/Associated Press