BOXING / STEVE SPRINGER : De La Hoya Designs Life After Ring

Oscar De La Hoya is tired of boxing.

Tired of the boos. Tired of what he sees as a lack of acceptance by the Latino community. Tired of the politics ingrained in the sport.

So tired, he said, that he might retire within a year.

Unlikely? It would seem so.

After all, already in possession of an Olympic gold medal and the World Boxing Organization’s lightweight title belt, De La Hoya, unbeaten at 19-0, is only a few steps down a road that might take him to unimaginable wealth and glory.

His immediate future appears set. De La Hoya, 22, will defend his title Friday against former World Boxing Council super-featherweight champion James Leija at Madison Square Garden in New York.

De La Hoya will then fight Feb. 9 against an opponent and at a site to be determined on a card with Julio Cesar Chavez.

De La Hoya and Chavez, assuming they both win, would face each other in a dream matchup on May 6.

Beyond that, De La Hoya says, he would like to win a title in six separate weight classes.

However, he would also like to become an architect. And that is a factor in his thoughts of retirement after the Chavez fight.

But mostly, De La Hoya’s thoughts have been fueled by what he perceives as rejection from the very people he figured would flock to his corner.

“I’ve been thinking about [retirement] a lot,” De La Hoya said. “So many fans boo me. I don’t get hit. I don’t have a lot of cuts and bruises. For that reason, I don’t think the young people appreciate me. If I was all beat up, they might appreciate me more. If I looked like a fighter, they might think of me as a warrior.

“I also think that, because a lot of their girlfriends seem to like me, there is a lot of jealousy from [the men]. They don’t accept me. They want to see me lose.”

There can be little argument that De La Hoya, despite his high visibility and impressive accomplishments, has been a tough sell in his old neighborhood. He drew only 2,900 and 1,600 for his two appearances at the Olympic Auditorium.

What bothers De La Hoya most is the insinuation that he has turned his back on his community, that he has become aloof and uncaring since he became rich and famous.

“They say that Oscar does not go back to the neighborhood, that I have forgotten my people,” he said. “I donate money to churches. I speak to kids. I sign autographs. As long as I know that I help out, all the talk doesn’t bother me.”

While De La Hoya is frustrated with his present situation, he gets excited when he talks about his future beyond boxing.

He would like to enroll at Cal State L.A., eventually move on to UCLA and ultimately earn a degree in architecture.

He’s also involved in plans to produce a television movie about his life.

“It’s time to catch up on my personal life,” De La Hoya said. “As each day goes by, I see more and more bad things about boxing. The politics and everything else. It takes me away from the sport and makes me think of retirement.

“But I’m not going to give up just yet. I’m going to remember my goals and dreams. That’s what keeps me going.”

The question is, how long will it keep him going?

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Good Intentions Delayed, But Not Denied: Determined to help provide for the three young children left behind by deceased Colombian boxer Jimmy Garcia, Gabriel Ruelas announced last week that he was donating his share of the pay-per-view telecast of his fight against Azumah Nelson to Garcia’s kids.

Garcia died as a result of his fight against Ruelas last May.

The problem is, there were no pay-per-view profits for Ruelas from the Nelson fight. But Ruelas says he still plans to honor his commitment.

Approximately 75,000 homes bought the bout. Ruelas’ participation in the profits didn’t kick in until the number exceeded 100,000.

At the time when Ruelas made his offer, there were grandiose predictions that the number of homes could go as high as 300,000. Since Ruelas got $2 a home for every one above 100,000, that would have meant $400,000 for the Garcia children.

Ruelas made $500,000 from the fight, which he lost on a fifth-round knockout.

“I am definitely going to work something out,” he said. “I will still do what I said I was going to do. My intentions are still the same. It’s not like they were going to get the money right now anyway. I was going to set up a trust fund so they would get it when they were 21. So there is no big hurry. It might not be as much as it could have been, but, with interest, it will still be a lot of money.”

There are also two separate $100,000 payouts from insurance policies taken out on Garcia that are supposed to be earmarked for his children. One was paid for by the WBC and the other by Top Rank, promoters of the fight. But both of those payments are tied up in Colombian courts.

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Add Ruelas-Nelson: The fight drew a crowd of 3,100, including 2,300 paid, providing a gate of $170,000.

Boxing Notes

Also on the Oscar De La Hoya card will be International Boxing Federation junior-lightweight champion Tracy Patterson, who will be making his first title defense against No. 1 contender Arturo Gatti. The newest darling of the heavyweight set, 300-pound Eric Esch, better known as Butterbean, will fight on the card as well, but he still doesn’t know who he’ll be fighting. “I don’t care who it is,” he said. “Just bring me a guy with big muscles.” . . . Buster Mathis Jr., preparing for Saturday’s heavyweight fight against former champion Mike Tyson in Philadelphia, is working out in the gym of another former heavyweight champion, Joe Frazier. . . .

Boxing’s Alphabet Mess: Flyweight Mark Johnson, who will fight in Monday’s main event at the Forum against Raul Rios, is ranked No. 1 by both the WBO and the WBC. He is ranked No. 2 by the IBF. And the World Boxing Assn.? They don’t rank him at all, even though he is 27-1 with 20 knockouts and has won 26 in a row. What a system. . . . Also on Monday’s card is WBO junior welterweight champion Sammy Fuentes, who will face Marco Antonio Lizarraga in a 10-round, non-title bout. Fuentes hopes to make De La Hoya his next opponent, but De La Hoya’s handlers are also talking to former IBF junior-welterweight champion Charles Murray. . . . Negotiations are continuing for a George Foreman-Michael Moorer fight in Madison Square Garden on Feb. 29.

Calendar

Monday--Mark Johnson vs. Raul Rios, flyweights; Sammy Fuentes vs. Marco Antonio Lizarraga, junior welterweights; Carlos Gonzalez vs. Luis Jose Verdugo, junior welterweights; and Enrique Sanchez vs. Jose Luis Torres, super bantamweights, Forum, 7 p.m.