Whitaker Still Jabbing De La Hoya

Pernell Whitaker is sniffling away a small cold as he chats on the phone, a continent away from this Oscar De La Hoya-Hector Camacho hubbub.

Is he that far away from landing a rematch with De La Hoya?

“Aww, forget De La Hoya-Camacho,” Whitaker says good-humoredly from Palm Beach, Fla., where he is in training. “I’m only thinking about Oct. 17.”

That’s when Whitaker faces Andrei Pestriaev in Norfolk, Va.--the kind of

insignificant bout that Whitaker, at the tail end of his career, faces with enthusiasm that only rarely rises above tepid.

Though he halfheartedly tries to avoid the topic, Whitaker does not hide that he is annoyed De La Hoya has so far denied him a rematch of their disputed bout last April.

In an awkward matchup between two fighters who refused to let the other land a solid punch, De La Hoya was given the decision and Whitaker’s World Boxing Council welterweight belt amid catcalls from Whitaker’s camp and its Eastern supporters.

“De La Hoya’s only fighting Camacho because he’s afraid of me,” Whitaker said. “He’s proving it more every day he doesn’t fight me. He can’t beat me.”

De La Hoya’s handlers have said that his performance today against Camacho--like Whitaker, slick and left-handed--will prove that his work with new trainer Emanuel Steward has fixed whatever ailed the rising star against Whitaker.

Steward has even suggested that a rematch with Whitaker for early 1998 would be something to savor. But others in De La Hoya’s camp, most important promoter Bob Arum, have little interest (financial and otherwise) in seeing De La Hoya-Whitaker II.

“If De La Hoya thinks he’s straightened it out, he’d have no problem getting back in there with me,” Whitaker said. “But he doesn’t want to fight Pernell Whitaker any more, it’s obvious.

“He wants to milk the title and get all he can out of it. He knows when he steps back in with Pernell Whitaker, he’s not going to be world champion any more.”

In fact, Whitaker hints that De La Hoya might have more problems with Camacho, who apparently has had little difficulty getting down to the 147-pound limit, than the 8-1 Las Vegas odds suggest.

“I think he’s definitely got a better chance than people think,” Whitaker said of Camacho. “I thought he might have problems making weight. If he doesn’t, hey, then he’s going to probably frustrate De La Hoya or get himself knocked out.”

For his part, De La Hoya sends out mixed signals about a Whitaker rematch: He sounds as though he’d love a chance to get back in the ring and knock out Whitaker; but he says he wouldn’t regret it if he never fights Whitaker again.

“It was my fault that I didn’t fight him right,” De La Hoya said. “If I fight Whitaker now, guaranteed I’ll knock him out. Guaranteed. It’ll be a totally different game plan. I won’t be playing that chess match with him. I’ll go in there and attack.

“But if it never happens, I wouldn’t mind. The people wouldn’t want to see it. This guy doesn’t come out to fight. I can move on. I’ve never given anybody a rematch, why should I give him one? If I don’t fight him again, oh well . . . no problem. I know there’s better fighters out there, tougher fighters.”

So Whitaker waits. If he can’t get De La Hoya by next summer, his promoters are talking about an interesting (but not huge money) match against International Boxing Federation welterweight champion Ike Quartey, who leads the Oct. 17 card against Hector Lopez.

“I’m not going to be around until I’m 40,” Whitaker said. “Next year is my last year. If it’s not by then, it’s over. I’m looking forward to at least one big fight next year and I’m finished.”

MORE MIXED SIGNALS

The next significant fighter on the De La Hoya dance card is . . . ? Depends on whom you talk to.

In December at Atlantic City, De La Hoya faces Wilfredo Rivera; there’s a possible Japan show in March against No. 1 contender Patrick Charpentier. Then, supposedly by June or July, a major pay-per-view bout, not yet lined up.

Arum signed Terry Norris away from Don King by promising him a multimillion-dollar shot at De La Hoya and this week said Norris was the likeliest opponent for a projected De La Hoya mega-fight next June.

But De La Hoya’s boxing and fitness people--including trainers Steward and Robert Alcazar--believe that Norris, the WBC 154-pound champion, is too big for De La Hoya right now, and point to either Whitaker or a Julio Cesar Chavez rematch for May or June.

“Oscar’s not even a big welterweight,” Steward said. “Maybe Norris by the end of next year. He’s still like a baby welterweight. The two big fights we’re realistically looking at are Whitaker, and if Chavez looks very good against [Miguel Angel] Gonzalez [in October]. Those are the best two welterweight fights there.”

Norris, meanwhile, has some complications of his own. King is maneuvering Felix Trinidad into a mandatory challenge against Norris to try to force a purse bid, which, given the tangled relationship, might force Norris to vacate his title instead of fighting on a King card again.

But Norris, not surprisingly, thinks De La Hoya is ready to take him on.

“I don’t think he has any problem,” Norris said after scoring a second-round knockout over a journeyman Wednesday. “I think it’ll be an even match. I think it’s a really, really good fight.”

Said De La Hoya: “I know I can handle the bigger guys. I’m going to adjust to welterweight for a while, but the weight’s not a problem.”

QUICK JABS

The Don King federal trial in New York was postponed, sources say, because government lawyers are trying to reinstate the charges against King’s company that were dropped by the judge. This is crucial to the case because in his first trial, the jury was unwilling to pin the alleged wire fraud directly on King, but did acknowledge something wrong did occur. That’s why the government added the charges against King’s company and hoped to put him out of business. If charges against the company are not reinstated, the odds of convicting King are long. . . . The Nov. 20 Genaro Hernandez-Carlos “Famoso” Hernandez fight has been moved to the Grand Olympic. It had originally been scheduled for the Beverly Hilton on the same date.