De La Hoya Remains Unbeaten as Fight Is Stopped in Fourth : Boxing: Ring physician acts after Strong suffers a cut above his right eye.

Oscar De La Hoya’s fourth professional fight was tougher than his first three, but it was no contest nevertheless.

Curtis Strong of Chicago lasted three-plus rounds at the San Diego Sports Arena on Saturday before De La Hoya was declared the winner on a technical knockout at 1 minute 40 seconds of the fourth.

Ring physician Robert Karns stopped the fight because of a deep cut on Strong’s right eyebrow. Blood was streaming down Strong’s face.

De La Hoya, of Montebello, had defeated three pro opponents in fewer than two rounds. ABC televised the bout, and the 20-year-old Olympic gold medal winner disappointed neither the network nor the live audience of 4,240.

The bout was scheduled for six rounds, and for an instant it looked as though it might end in 20 seconds. The second punch De La Hoya threw, 10 seconds into the fight, was a left that caught Strong flush in the face and sent him to the canvas.

But Strong (14-7-2) scrambled to his feet before Russell could start counting.

After that, Strong managed only to sting De La Hoya a few times.

De La Hoya has set a timetable of a year to win the lightweight title, and he will take his next step March 13 against Jeff Mayweather (22-2) in Las Vegas.

There had been some concern in the De La Hoya camp late in the week because he had to have a cyst removed from his left leg Tuesday. Unable to complete his regular training regimen, he went up to 138 1/2 pounds--Strong weighed 133 1/4--and had to get a waiver from the California Athletic Commission to fight over the lightweight limit of 135.

“I guess you could say it was a very tough match,” De La Hoya said. “I was landing very good punches, and he was taking them so good that I was a little frustrated.

“I wasn’t really surprised that they stopped the fight, because it was a very serious cut, and if I had hit him again, it could have been worse. I don’t want anything like that to happen.”

Asked about his opening knockdown, De La Hoya said, “Now, that surprised me. I threw a left to the chin and got him just right.”

Strong, 28, insisted that he would have won if he had been allowed to continue.

“They stopped the fight too fast,” he said. “In the third round, the kid was ready to sing ‘Rockabye Baby.’ When they stopped it, it was just a matter of time before I finished him off. He’s (vulnerable) inside.

“But the kid is big stuff right now. They’ve got him believing he’s a gorilla. They had to stop it because they couldn’t afford to have an upset.”

Also on the card, heavyweight Orlin Norris of San Diego, the No. 1-ranked cruiserweight contender, won by TKO over Troy Jefferson of New Orleans in 2:52 of the second round.

Also, light heavyweights Lupe Aquino of Santa Paula and Ernie Magdaleno of Westminster went 10 rounds to a draw. They were signed for a rematch March 24.

All three other bouts ended in TKOs. Olympic heavyweight Larry Donald of Cincinnati stopped Louis Jackson of Oxnard in the second round; super-welterweight Jeff Leggett of San Diego stopped Gilbert Polightning of San Diego in the third, and welterweight Larry Dixon of San Diego stopped Damon Franklin of Los Angeles in the third.