GOODWILL GAMES : BOXING : De la Hoya, Griffin Finish With Golden Flourishes

Oscar de la Hoya and Eric Griffin were just doing their thing, which in this case meant winning another fight.

Griffin, a 106-pounder from Broussard, La., capped his run through the Goodwill Games boxing competition Sunday by winning the gold medal with a 5-0 victory over Anatoli Filippov of the Soviet Union.

De la Hoya, a teen-ager from East Los Angeles, also was impressive as he won a gold medal in an all-American final at 125 pounds. It helped the U.S. team end up with a surprisingly strong showing by winning four gold medals, one less than the Soviet Union.

“It’s not that I’m bragging or trying to show off, but I am unbeatable,” said Griffin, who has been just that for the last two years.

Griffin hasn’t lost since dropping a decision to current International Boxing Federation light-flyweight champion Michael Carbajal in the 1988 Olympic trials, dominated Filippov, as he had done with his two previous tournament opponents.

In the final round, he hurt the Soviet with right-left combinations, and piled up points with inside flurries.

As impressive as Griffin was, he may have been overshadowed by De la Hoya, who beat Ivan Robinson, 4-1, in a rousing fight that had the crowd of 8,576 at the Seattle Center Arena on its feet cheering both boxers.

The 17-year-old De la Hoya, the youngest fighter in the tournament, also may have been its best in his first major international competition.

“This was my biggest win ever,” said De la Hoya, who will be a senior at Garfield High in September. “To be only 17 and win this, it’s just great.”