Golden Boy Full of Fight Over Tarnished Reputation

Chicken De La Hoya was the nickname invented by a New York sportswriter when he began to wonder whether East L.A.’s Golden Boy was merely gilded.

It was a cruel but not necessarily unfair comment on the state of Oscar De La Hoya’s professional career.

Within the last year, even his fans grew restless, particularly after speculation surfaced in the spring that his dance card for the next few months would be filled with Julio Cesar Chavez, Frankie Randall and Pernell Whitaker.

Finally, word filtered down from De La Hoya’s camp here that he was embarrassed and had demanded promoter Bob Arum arrange fights with the other true heavyweights of the welterweight division--Ike Quartey, Felix Trinidad and Jose Luis Lopez.

That’s true, De La Hoya said Wednesday.

He also said it was the easiest fight of his life because, contrary to reports, Arum didn’t resist.

Arum said he was certain De La Hoya was ready to take on all challengers at 147 pounds during training for his fight in June against Patrick Charpentier.

“When Oscar was an amateur, he thought he was ready for everybody,” Arum said. “But the objective people around him weren’t convinced. Since they became convinced, I have been vociferous about it.”

If De La Hoya, as expected, wins his rematch on Sept. 18 in Las Vegas against Chavez, the next three fights, according to Arum’s plans, will be against Quartey in November, Oba Carr in February and Trinidad in May.

“It’s a process,” De La Hoya said. “I needed a few fights at 147 pounds. But I want to fight the tough guys now because I know I can handle them.

“I think it’s necessary to have classic opponents. With Quartey, Trinidad and Lopez, we can create the four horsemen like we had [with Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Roberto Duran]. We can do that now if everybody is willing to fight each other.”

Then, De La Hoya said, he no longer will have to prove his courage.

“I’m a warrior,” he said. “People haven’t seen that yet. Hopefully, people won’t see it, that I can come back and win a fight. But I am a warrior.”

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De La Hoya, 25, said he won’t still be fighting when he’s 30. . . .

Maybe, but some of us remember when Mick Jagger said he wouldn’t still be singing “Satisfaction” when he was 30. . . .

“My plan is to be an actor,” De La Hoya said. “I’m positive I’ll be big in the Hollywood scene.” . . . ...

De La Hoya’s girlfriend, Shana Molker, is an actress appearing on USA’s “Pacific Blue.” . . .

To reach his camp in Big Bear, you take a right on De La Hoya and a left on Golden Boy. . . .

A dog greets you at the gate, a boxer. . . .

One of Muhammad Ali’s most impressive wins was his 1966, third-round knockout of Cleveland Williams. . . .

The story behind the story? . . .

Arum, who was promoting Ali at the time, said he received a call on the morning of the fight from the panic-stricken champion, who told him he had broken one of boxing’s cardinal rules by having sex the night before. . . .

“He asked me what he should do,” Arum said Wednesday. “I told him to eat 12 eggs and then take out Williams as fast as he could, before he lost his energy. . . .

“What did I know? I had been in boxing for less than a year.” . . .

But Ali followed the instructions, ordering a dozen eggs from room service and then demolishing Williams. . . .

Who needed Angelo Dundee as long as Ali had Arum? . . .

There is another version of the story, that a merciful Ali disposed of the challenger quickly so as not to further exacerbate Williams’ injuries from a gunshot wound to the stomach. . . .

Wilton Guerrero reminded the Dodgers on Tuesday night why they liked him so much and also why they traded him. . . .

He had four hits in five at-bats but also committed two mistakes on the basepaths and failed to catch a popup. . . .

A note for Nate Holden’s files: The crowd of 32,017 Monday night was the smallest at Oakland Coliseum for a Raider game since 1967. . . .

Why is it taking the Clippers so long to hire Kurt Rambis as their coach? . . .

Probably because Rambis didn’t give Donald Sterling the answer he wanted to hear when asked what it would take to turn the Clippers into winners. . . .

“Get more good players,” Rambis told him. . . .

I guess Sterling wanted Rambis to say, “Get more cheap players.” . . .

Look on the bright side, Kurt. The cost of living is less in Sacramento or Milwaukee.

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While wondering if the Clippers have considered talking to Cheryl Miller, I was thinking: Channel 7 should take a hike, break up the Angels, break up the Dodgers.