Notes on a Scorecard - Feb. 24, 1994

Oscar De La Hoya is lean and mean. . . .

Take the kid out of the city, send him to the snow-packed mountains for seven weeks, have him run several miles every morning at 7,000 feet, raise the heat to 90 degrees during his gym sessions and this is what you get. . . .

“Training is the hardest part,” De La Hoya said at Big Bear, where he is preparing to challenge Jimmi Bredahl for the World Boxing Organization junior lightweight title March 5 at the Grand Olympic Auditorium. “Fighting is the easiest. I wish the fight was tonight.” . . .

De La Hoya weighs 131, only one pound above the division limit. A rangy 5 feet 10, he has never fought as light as 130 as a professional. When he came to camp, he was 138. After his first week of training, he was down to 133. . . .

I can’t remember watching a longer or more vigorous boxing workout than the one Tuesday at the Larry Goossen Gym. . . .

It was go-go-go for 90 minutes. . . .

De La Hoya shadowboxed five rounds, sparred seven with two left-handers who emulated Bredahl, skipped rope, did jumping jacks, tattooed the light bag and attacked oversized hand pads held by trainer Robert Alcazar. . . .

Everything was done to the beat of recorded Latin music, and Alcazar often clapped his hands as though to urge his fighter to work at an even quicker pace. . . .

The United States’ only gold-medal boxer at Barcelona in 1992 is 11-0 with 10 knockouts, but has fought less than three minutes since last August because of a dispute that ended when he bought out then-managers Steve Nelson and Robert Mittleman. . . .

“I’ve missed the excitement of being in the ring,” said De La Hoya, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Feb. 4. “I’d watch a fight on TV and say, ‘God, I wish that was me in there.’ ” . . .

For his return, he has been selected by promoter Bob Arum to reopen the downtown arena where De La Hoya’s father and grandfather fought with a lot less fanfare. . . .

“I feel honored,” he said. “I’m going to put on a good performance. I’ll have to. I remember a lot of fighters being booed there. That won’t happen to me.” . . .

Clearly, there is no De La Hoya paranoia. . . .

At No. 15 in the Associated Press poll, UCLA (18-3) is ranked behind 10 teams that have more losses. . . .

Although Arizona is ranked ninth, one reason the Bruins aren’t getting much respect is that only one Pacific 10 Conference team has reached the Final Four in the last 13 NCAA tournaments. . . .

Now is the time for the Bruins, who will face California tonight and Stanford on Saturday at Pauley Pavilion, to put up or shut up. . . .

Cal probably will be the only team to have two NBA draft lottery picks this year--guard Jason Kidd and forward Lamond Murray. . . .

Nolan Richardson of Arkansas, Lon Kruger of Florida and Norm Stewart of Missouri are among those deserving coach-of-the-year consideration. . . .

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After the San Antonio Spurs’ loss against the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night, Dennis Rodman has 947 rebounds and 219 points. . . .

Warrior guard Latrell Sprewell has blocked more shots than centers Brad Daugherty, Rik Smits or Kevin Willis. . . .

Best player available before the March 21 NHL trade deadline--that’s some deadline, three weeks before the end of the regular season--might be Quebec center Mike Ricci. . . .

For the record: Jimmy Carter became the first fighter to win a title in the same division three times when he regained the lightweight championship in 1954. William (Bird) Averitt of Pepperdine was the first local player to lead the NCAA Division I in scoring when he averaged 33.9 in 1972-73. We forgot to put Elvin Hayes on our all-NBA Presidents’ Day team. . . .

Jerry Buss will be honored by the Michael Cooper Foundation and the L.A. City College Foundation/Associated Students Organization at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel on March 25. . . .

It appears that Kent Desormeaux, who had been on a tear at Santa Anita until he called in sick Wednesday, will win the only important Southern California riding title that has eluded him. . . .

One of the most talented young sportscasters around is Kurt Hoover, co-host of the Santa Anita inter-track telecasts. . . .

Nine figure skaters probably will wear knee pads at practice today in Norway.