THE SHOWDOWN / BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE DE LA HOYA-RUELAS FIGHT : OSCAR DE LA HOYA : He’s Already Lost a Round

With dozens of lush Las Vegas courses at his beck and call, Oscar De La Hoya reluctantly opted Tuesday to skip a scheduled round of golf four days before his lightweight showdown with Rafael Ruelas.

“I’ve got to relax this week,” he said when asked if he skipped the round to protect his hands. “It’s more of a mind thing.”

But, those close to him say, even with the most important fight of his career ahead, golf is never far from his mind.

“One thing I loved is when he fell in love with golf,” said De La Hoya’s mentor, businessman Mike Hernandez. “I’ve never seen a kid that age fall like that for golf.

“You know he mentioned to me, ‘How long does it take to be professional?’ I told him, ‘Well, I’ve been playing 35 years and the lowest (handicap) I’ve gotten to is a five.’

“I’m happy he’s taking to golf and not the bottle or gambling or something like that.”

*

Though he had been on the show once before, De La Hoya admitted he felt more fidgety Monday night on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” than he ever has before a fight.

“I felt nervous just sitting there,” De La Hoya said. “At least in a fight, when I get up in the ring I can block everything out. But not up there. Sometimes, I’d like daze off. It was weird.”