LAS VEGAS -- At 7 a.m., drenched in a bright desert sun, this synthetic town almost looks normal.
The neon signs no longer light the sky, and the jingling slots and gambling tables lie idle.
The sound of running feet suddenly breaks the silence. Baltimore junior middleweight Vincent Pettway is sweating profusely after completing a five-mile jog. He walks confidently through the ornate lobby of the MGM Grand, jabbing at the air, ready finally to cash in on close to 20 years of boxing.
"It's been a rough road, but I got here," said Pettway, who challenges champion Gianfranco Rosi of Italy for the International Boxing Federation title in the Grand Garden tomorrow night.
It has been an improbable journey for Pettway, 28, the first Baltimorean to engage in a world championship fight since 1941, when Harry Jeffra lost his featherweight crown in a rematch with Joey Archibald.
In actual distance, it is some 2,500 miles between Baltimore and Las Vegas. But in terms of sweat, blood and occasional tears, Pettway feels as if he has traveled light years.
It all could have ended in a gun flash last September.
"I'd dropped a friend off near Edmondson Avenue after I finished training," he recalled. "I walked to a corner phone. I wanted to order the Julio Cesar Chavez-Pernell Whitaker fight on cable so I could watch it when I got home."
Suddenly, Pettway felt a gun pressing against his face and heard a voice demanding money. There was a gunman and two accomplices.
"I only had some change in my pocket," he said. "For a second, I thought about being a hero and trying to punch the guy with the gun. But common sense took over. I saw my whole life gone and losing any chance of fighting for the title.
"I gave him the money, and he told me to start running. I must have come close to breaking Carl Lewis' record. When I got home, I cried like a baby, kissed my wife, Kathy, and my three kids, and praised the Lord."
Contender again
A 3-1 underdog to Rosi, Pettway has had a number of lives as a contender. He has overcome four knockout losses in an otherwise flawless 41-fight pro career to rebound as the mandatory challenger to end Rosi's five-year championship reign.
"God must be watching over me," he said.
"A lot of fighters who lose three or four fights never get back in the rankings. And I know a lot of people back home doubted I'd ever get this far. But through Mr. Mack's [trainer-manager Mack Lewis] management, some good timing and talent, I've finally got my chance."
Pettway's hopes of gaining a title fight all but vanished when, in a 15-month span -- August 1989 to November 1990 -- he suffered knockout losses to Augustin Caballero, Maryland rival Victor Davis and Stephan Johnson.
In Caballero's case, the loss appears in the record book as a four-round "no-contest" because the winner failed a post-fight drug test.
"Against Caballero, I twisted my leg in the first round and couldn't maneuver," he said. "When I got back to my corner, I said, 'Mr. Mack, my leg's bad.' He said, 'Son, just fight the best you can,' and that's all I could do."
His nonstop brawl with Davis in Philadelphia in April 1990 was voted USA Network's Fight of the Year. The two fighters took turns staggering each other before Pettway sustained an ugly gash over his left eye in the ninth round.
"Yes, it was a deep cut," he said, "but Mr. Mack stopped the bleeding before the doctor checked me. But he still wouldn't let me come out for the last round."
There were also extenuating circumstances to explain Pettway's sixth-round knockout by Johnson in Baltimore seven months later.
"I should have never fought that night," he said. "I tore an abdominal muscle in training, and I started passing blood. But fighting at home, I was concerned about letting down my family and friends and how many tickets had been sold. I learned you can't get caught up in all that stuff."
After the loss to Johnson, Pettway dropped from the IBF rankings, and Lewis set about resurrecting his fighter's reputation. The perfect opportunity came when promoter Don Elbaum proposed a showdown with popular crosstown rival Eddie Van Kirk at the Baltimore Arena in March 1991.
"Van Kirk had a lot of vocal support around town," Lewis said. "But I'd known Eddie since his amateur days and knew he couldn't withstand Vincent's power. For us, it was really a no-risk fight."
Lewis' intuition proved sound. Pettway destroyed Van Kirk in six rounds, and in less than a year, he won the U.S. Boxing Association junior-middleweight crown in a close 12-round bout with Gilbert Baptist.
Pettway successfully defended his title last May by stopping Dan Sherry, and then waited for Rosi and a willing promoter to grant him a title shot.
20-year journey
This journey began 20 years ago, when a Broadway neighbor and boxer, Jasper Garrett, convinced Pettway to join him in the gym just across the street.
"I was always fighting on the street, so I figured it couldn't be that much tougher," he said.
His first day in the gym, the 80-pound tyro was surprised to find himself equipped with oversized boxing gloves, sparring against kid named Chuckie Sturm, who would develop into a junior-welterweight contender.
"I guess Mr. Mack wanted to see if I had any heart," he said. "When I didn't quit, he started teaching me how to really fight."
Pettway would blossom into an outstanding amateur, advancing through the junior and novice classes to open competition while winning all but 11 of his 200 bouts.
"It was fun when I started filling my house with trophies," he said. "I might have qualified for the 1984 Olympic team. I got to the semifinals in Colorado Springs before I broke my right hand and had to drop out.
"The coaches wanted me to fight against the Cubans the following week before my hand healed. It showed they really didn't care about my welfare."
So Pettway, who already had been approached by representatives of several prominent promoters, returned home and signed a professional contract with Lewis.
"Only a few marriages last as long as [we've] been together," Pettway said. He's been like a second father to me. He's never judgmental, and has a way of offering advice without being preachy. And when I had some hard financial times, Mr. Mack was always there. My two young daughters love him. He's their 'Poppy.'
"And you can't jive this man. When I turned 18, he wouldn't let me buy a car, didn't want me running the streets. I was living
near Memorial Stadium, and he'd drive me home from the gym every night and wait for me to go in the house. One night, I went out the back door and headed down the alley, and there was Mr. Mack, just like he could read my mind."
Ultimately, Lewis had to sign an option agreement with promoter Don King to help position Pettway for a title match. King also won the purse bids to promote the match with Rosi.
"Patience has paid off for us," said Pettway, who has been idle since last May. "We had some offers, but why risk a fight for small money with a championship shot within reach?"
FIGHT FACTS
Who: Vincent Pettway (36-4, 29 KOs), Baltimore, vs. Gianfranco Rosi (57-3, 17 KOs), Assisi, Italy.
What: For Rosi's International Boxing Federation junior-middleweight title.
When: Tomorrow, approximately 9 p.m.
Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas.
TV: Showtime. The Pettway-Rosi fight will be shown on tape delay Saturday. Four other championship bouts will be split between Friday and Saturday for cable viewing.