Mike Tyson's MINI-ME: Rising star packing punch "JOEL JULIO"

Joel Julio does not play the part of enforcer well. His bright eyes are alive, dancing with excitement. He smiles easily and frequently. He looks about five years less than his 21 years, six months.

The unassuming Colombian, though, was put to work at a young age.

This isn't, though, your typical child-labor abuse story, even though it includes a sweatshop. And Joel Julio is not your typical fighter.

Julio wasn't even 9 when his friends began to call on him for help. Whenever one of them was picked on, they called Julio. No matter how old the kids were doing the bullying or how big they were, Julio's friends would gain their revenge by bringing in their tiny, yet remarkable, friend.

"I'd go in because they knew I could fight," he said, laughing.

Julio would show up and battle on behalf of his buddies, pummeling the bad kids with punches that were unnaturally hard coming from such a tiny boy.

It wasn't long before the friends weren't being picked on -- "I think they got the message," Julio said of the bullies -- and Julio realized he ought to put his gifts to use.

He's become one of boxing's prized prospects, a hard-hitting boxer who has the tools not only to be a champion but to become a star.

"Oh, there's no doubt about that," said Main Events matchmaker Carl Moretti, who paired Julio with unbeaten Carlos Quintana on Saturday at Caesars Palace in an elimination fight for the WBA welterweight title. "There's nothing he can't do in there.

"He looks like a guy who has been around for years. He knows how to break a guy down, he puts his punches together and he can crack."

Julio, 21, reportedly had an 85-0 amateur record, though he didn't compete in any major international tournaments. He's 27-0 with 24 knockouts since turning pro, and though his competition level hasn't been great, he has dominated every opponent he's met.

There aren't a lot of boxers from Colombia, where Julio is from, so he looked up to former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and current pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr.

And, he said, he sees a little of each of them in his style.

His record demonstrates his similarity with Tyson, having scored 18 of his 24 knockouts in three rounds or less.

"Little Tyson," he said, feigning a snarl and then smacking a hook into his bare palm. "Take that!"

But he's also got a bit of Mayweather in him, he said, a smooth and savvy boxer who knows how to deliver his punches without taking many, if any, in return.

And he oozes with confidence, just like Tyson and Mayweather, and isn't afraid to express his opinion. Ask him a question and he'll answer it, much of the time with a grin on his face.

"I know what I can do in there," he said. "And I know I have a lot to prove. Just because I'm getting (media attention) doesn't mean this is the end. It's the beginning."

He'll get that chance against Quintana, a left-hander who has reeled off 22 victories without a defeat. Quintana is no pushover, which Julio conceded, and will be a good measuring stick by which to judge Julio.

"I have respect for him, but let's be honest: This isn't going 12 rounds," he said. "This fight is what I have worked my whole life for. This is my opportunity and I'm coming at it hard and fast." www.maxboxing.com www.doghouseboxing.com