De La Hoya Hits 22, but Chavez Is Loser

In the land of 21, Oscar De La Hoya’s magic number Friday night was 22. . . .

His 22nd consecutive win was another recital of his considerable skills as he outpunched and outboxed Julio Cesar Chavez for 11 minutes 37 seconds. . . .

The referee, Joe Cortez, stopped the carnage, but it was apparent that Chavez, bloodied and battered, wanted no more of De La Hoya. . . .

If this didn’t convince the doubting Tomases of De La Hoya’s substance, I don’t know what will. . . .

The 2-1 odds in favor of De La Hoya looked like a bargain to chalk players. . . .

He was as sweet as sugar, combining the body balance of Sugar Ray Leonard and the punching power of Sugar Ray Robinson. . . .

De La Hoya says it will take him another year or two to become a great fighter. . . .

I can’t name one right now who is better. . . .

Certainly, he is more serious about his craft than two-sport letterman Roy Jones Jr. . . .

Ring announcer Michael Buffer, usually tuxedo-clad, worked in a short-sleeved sports shirt and casual pants because of the heat. . . .

Many of the cornermen wore shorts. . . .

An hour before the first bout, the casino at Caesars Palace was packed. . . .

Some people were playing blackjack or shooting craps, but the majority were headed either to the outdoor stadium or the two convention rooms where the fight was being shown on closed-circuit television. . . .

The two swimming pools between the hotel and stadium sure looked inviting. . . .

After winning a fight here one hot summer night, then-heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, wearing his boxing trunks, jumped into the nearest pool. . . .

A T-shirt vendor said the Chavez shirts were outselling the De La Hoya shirts by a 3-1 margin. . . .

Comedian Paul Rodriguez was among the bilingual closed-circuit TV commentators. . . .

“I was born in Culiacan, but raised in East L.A.,” Rodriguez said early in the evening. “I’m picking Oscar by knockout in eight.” . . .

More than 300,000 closed-circuit tickets were sold in Southern California. . . .

The biggest payday of Art Aragon’s career, $140,000 the night the original Golden Boy lost to Carmen Basilio, was $7,771,000 less than De La Hoya got Friday. . . .

When the first fight began at 5:10 p.m., the reading on one ringside gauge was 108 degrees. . . .

George Scott, who is managed by Angelo Dundee and has a win over Rafael Ruelas, successfully defended his World Boxing Union lightweight title by winning a unanimous 12-round decision over Pete Taliaferro. . . .

It was figuratively, but not literally, no sweat for Scott, a left-hander and the vastly superior boxer. . . .

The biggest crowd reaction during the fight came when Jack Nicholson came in. . . .

In another 12-rounder without a knockdown, North American Boxing Federation bantamweight champion Erik Morales of Tijuana won a lopsided, unanimous decision over Hector Acero-Sanchez. . . .

Morales’ trunks say “Terrible,” but he is actually quite good and might be a tough opponent for Marco Antonio Barrera some day, especially if he becomes more aggressive. . . .

Butterbean, 303 pounds, beat the heat. . . .

He needed only 1 minute 54 seconds to knock down George Clarke, 238, three times and stretch his record to 23-1. . . .

In the semi-main event, unbeaten Johnny Tapia retained his World Boxing Organization super-flyweight title and extended his unbeaten string to 38 by stopping outclassed Ivan Alvarez in the eighth round. . . .

The fans reacted to Tapia’s victory by chanting “Chavez, Chavez, Chavez.” . . .

It turned out to be one of their last hurrahs.