To Some, Oscar Has Lost Luster

Oscar De La Hoya will lose in his Septem- ber rematch against Julio Cesar Chavez by decision.

Not by decision of the judges. Not by any- thing that happens in the ring.

No, at issue here is the growing number of boxing critics and fans who have decided that De La Hoya doesn’t want to fight anyone who has a reasonable chance of beating him. In their eyes, he has lost more prestige by agreeing to fight Chavez again. Is their decision a fair one?

Not really.

For one thing, De La Hoya has fought opponents with impressive credentials. When he fought Chavez the first time in June 1996, the Mexican legend was still considered dangerous, if not the dominating force he had once been. It was De La Hoya, in a dominating performance of his own, who finally proved that Chavez could no longer compete against world-class fighters.

Next, early in 1997, De La Hoya fought Miguel Angel Gonzalez, who was unbeaten at the time and considered a rising contender. De La Hoya had problems with Gonzalez, but won by decision.

After that, he fought Pernell Whitaker, who, although looking as if his best days were behind him, was only a year removed from being called the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. And he nearly upset De La Hoya, losing a close decision.

Last year, De La Hoya also fought Wilfredo Rivera, the man who had given Whitaker so much trouble in their two fights, De La Hoya winning on an eighth-round TKO.

That’s not a bad list of opponents for a guy, who, although it sometimes seems as if he has been on top of the boxing world for a long time, is still only 25 and has had only 27 fights.

Are there other credible opponents out there? Certainly. There was talk of a rematch against Whitaker, but that will have to wait because Whitaker is serving a drug-related suspension.

There is Felix Trinidad, the fighter most experts give the best chance of handing De La Hoya his first defeat, but negotiations with Trinidad have bogged down over money.

And there are Ike Quartey and Jose Luis Lopez, the two other quality opponents in De La Hoya’s weight class.

But whereas the experts know who Quartey and Lopez are, the general public does not. That means the general public is not going to pay in mass numbers to watch them.

And that is ultimately the bottom line.

Fans can yell at De La Hoya all they want about his place in boxing history not being secure until he fights the best of his generation.

But De La Hoya also has promoter Bob Arum whispering in his ear that he can make much more money fighting less talented fighters with bigger names. And save a lot of wear and tear on his body.

Hector Camacho had nothing left when he fought De La Hoya last September. So what? He had a big name, a big mouth, wore outrageous clothes and put on a wild show.

That caught the attention of the fans and filled the coffers of Arum and De La Hoya.

Chavez’s skills will have deteriorated even more by the time he fights De La Hoya in Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center. So what?

At De La Hoya’s age, he has plenty of time to mix in Trinidad, Quartey and Lopez among the journeymen like Patrick Charpentier, his next opponent June 13 in El Paso.

He still has plenty of time to impress the boxing historians who will determine his greatness.

YOU KNEW HE’D SPEAK UP

The last time De La Hoya and Chavez fought, promoter Don King, contractually tied to Chavez, shared in the profits.

Although Arum and Chavez maintain that King’s contract with Chavez runs out in June, King has sent a letter to Arum, demanding a piece of the promotion.

Arum was surprisingly conciliatory toward his longtime archrival.

“We may be able to work out an arrangement,” Arum said, “to avoid litigation.”