BELL BIG BEAR CITY, California (CMC):
JAMAICA'S WORLD cruiserweight boxing champion O'Neil Bell is refocusing on training after being cleared of assault charges against a training partner.
Preparing to face the tough Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck in a unification title fight rematch on March 17, Bell was arrested on February 4 for an alleged violent assault on training partner Larry Slayton.
The San Bernardino County office declared last Thursday that no criminal charges would be filed against the U.S.-based Bell because of insufficient evidence that he attacked Slayton during a training run on February 4. Slayton had charged that Bell threw a hatchet and large rocks at him.
One of Bell's current sparring partners is Mexican light heavyweight Jesus 'Chuy' Ruiz, who has embraced the opportunity to train with the champion.
"The sparring is intense. O'Neil is a very talented fighter who makes you pay for your mistakes," Ruiz said in a Fightnews web-site story on Monday evening.
The 33-year-old Ruiz has a ring record of 19 wins (17 knockouts) against four defeats and is using the experience to improve himself as he aims at a world title opportunity at the 175-pound light heavyweight category.
His manager Jim Breedlove feels Ruiz's sparring against Bell will benefit his fighter greatly.
"Chuy's looking to fight the top light heavyweights. The fact that Bell is a world champion and in a bigger division will help him prepare for the best," stated Breedlove. Meanwhile, Ruiz is not bothered by accusations by Bell's last training partner (Slayton) that the 32-year-old Caribbean pugilist attacked him.
Ruiz shares a room with Bell and says he has no problems.
"O'Neil is a great guy so I don't worry about it. We get along pretty well," he said.
Bell is the reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Association (WBA) champion in the 200-pound cruiserweight division.
He had become the undisputed world cruiserweight champion when he defeated Mormeck at Madison Square Garden in New York 13 months ago.
Originally from Montego Bay on Jamaica's west coast, and now residing in Atlanta, Georgia, Bell knocked out Mormeck in round 10 last year January to become the first unified - WBC, WBA and International Boxing Federation (IBF) - cruiserweight champ since Evander Holyfield in 1988.
With a ring record of 26 wins (24 knockouts) against one loss and one draw, Bell has not fought since beating Mormeck for the undisputed title and was stripped of the IBF belt for failure to defend the crown.
