De La Hoya-Whitaker II? What’s Going on Here?

Are you ready for De La Hoya-Whitaker II?

Wait a minute. What happened to De La Hoya-Whitaker I?

That’s coming on Saturday at Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center, where Oscar De La Hoya will move up to 147 pounds for the first time to fight Pernell Whitaker, the World Boxing Council welterweight champion.

But curiously, before the first punch is thrown, Whitaker is already talking about a rematch.

“Win or lose,” Whitaker said Tuesday by phone from Las Vegas, “this is a rematch made to happen. Whether I knock him out in 10 seconds or beat him in 12 rounds, he would be the first I would give another shot at the title and, hopefully, vice versa.”

Not necessarily.

De La Hoya hemmed and hawed about the chances of the two meeting a second time.

“It depends on what happens,” De La Hoya said, “and how the opponents fall to me. We’ll have to wait and watch.”

Translation: If De La Hoya should lose, he would certainly be interested in a rematch. But if he wins, his dance card is already filling up. De La Hoya is tentatively scheduled to fight David Kamau on June 14 in San Antonio. Tentatively because Kamau must first fight tonight in Las Vegas against Juan Carlos Rodriguez.

Then if all goes well for De La Hoya in his next two fights, he’ll face Hector Camacho in September.

The Whitaker offer of a rematch was received with joy in the De La Hoya camp because those around De La Hoya see the Whitaker statement as a sign of doubt in Whitaker’s mind. Fighters who are confident of victory assume they are going to win so decisively that no one would want to see a rematch.

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So what was the real reason that De La Hoya fought Miguel Angel Gonzalez virtually one-handed in their January match at the Thomas & Mack Center?

After De La Hoya pounded out a one-sided victory over Gonzalez while depending almost solely on his left hand, rumors circulated that De La Hoya had broken his right thumb.

De La Hoya vehemently denied that rumor and no evidence surfaced to the contrary.

Then there was the theory that because Gonzalez landed a solid right that caused De La Hoya’s left eye to swell up, De La Hoya was hesitant to use his right hand for the rest of the fight because that would have left him vulnerable to a counterpunch.

De La Hoya said he was having so much success with the left that he saw no reason to go to the right.

But Tuesday, De La Hoya gave a fourth reason for not going to his right hand. He said he had been battling a flu bug for a full week before his battle with Gonzalez, a bug that left him weak and worried about how he would do in the ring.

“I knew that, even at 80% efficiency, it would be enough to win,” De La Hoya said. “But I needed to save my energy for the later rounds and I thought I could do that by fighting with only one hand.”

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Rumors II: There has been a story circulating in the Mexican press that De La Hoya has had a falling out with his mentor, trainer Jesus Rivero, affectionately called “the Professor” by De La Hoya.

De La Hoya laughs.

“It was just rumors,” he said. “It had no effect on our relationship. If anything, it just made us stronger. . . . We make the perfect couple, even if he is a few years older than I am.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

WHITAKER VS. DE LA HOYA

WHO: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Pernell Whitaker.

WHERE: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas.

WHEN: Saturday, main event about 8: 15 p.m.

WHY: For Whitaker’s World Boxing Council welterweight title.

WHY II: For money. De La Hoya gets $10 million, Whitaker $6 million.

WAY TO SEE IT: Pay-per-view, TVKO.