Charpentier Vows Surprise, and Winning Would Be One

By STEVE SPRINGER

June 13, 1998 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

EL PASO —

At a Thursday news conference for tonight’s World Boxing Council welterweight title fight between champion Oscar De La Hoya and Patrick Charpentier, Dickie Cole, head of the Texas athletic commission, proudly announced to the crowd, “This is not no ham-and-egg title.”

Right on, Dickie, but a lot of people think Charpentier is a ham-and-egg fighter who doesn’t belong in the Sun Bowl ring tonight with De La Hoya (27-0, 22 knockouts). That’s why Charpentier is a 20-1 underdog.

Fortunately for promoter Bob Arum, most of those people don’t live in El Paso. Although the actual crowd count may wind up below the anticipated 50,000 to 60,000, the live gate still will be huge. As of Friday evening, 43,189 tickets had been sold with a large walk-up expected today even though there will be no blackout of the live HBO telecast.

Whether all of these people, the majority of them De La Hoya rooters, along with the screaming, clinging fans who have descended upon him at all of his public appearances in town this week, will have any effect on Charpentier is hard to tell, because he doesn’t speak English and shows little emotion.

But Charpentier, the WBC’s No. 1 contender in the welterweight division, at least puts up a brave front through his translator, Natale Christol, and his trainer, Louis Acaries.

“We will have a big surprise for you,” Charpentier said. “We are not coming here to play. We know who we are fighting and we know the possibilities.

“He [De La Hoya] is like every human being. With a good punch, anybody can go down.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Acaries.

“For the first time in his life,” Acaries said, “he [De La Hoya] is going to fight a real welterweight. He is not going to win because of luck.”

Although Charpentier and Acaries would not discuss strategy, they made their plans obvious when they revealed that, of De La Hoya’s recent fights, the one they zeroed in on was his victory in January 1997 over Miguel Angel Gonzalez. Specifically, the final rounds of the fight when De La Hoya, with a bruise under one eye, chose to stay away from Gonzalez, avoid the risk of further injury and take the sure decision in a fight in which he was overwhelmingly ahead.

“After the first few rounds,” Acaries said, “he [De La Hoya] was not the same.”

Charpentier obviously hopes he can break through and inflict damage, as did Gonzalez, but then follow up for the kill.

That doesn’t figure to happen for the man from Vimoutiers, France, who will celebrate his 28th birthday next week. Charpentier has a 27-4-1 record with 23 knockouts, but those numbers came against fighters who are below the world-class level.

Charpentier first fought for the French welterweight title against Jean D’Alessandro in Orleans, France, in 1993 but was knocked out in the fifth round. Charpentier also was knocked out in his next fight by Jose Navarro in Spain.

Charpentier finally reached the first step on his long climb into the Sun Bowl ring by winning the French welterweight crown in 1994 via a 10th-round TKO of Philippe Bafounta in Orleans. Charpentier added the European welterweight title in 1995 by taking a 12-round decision over Valery Kayumba in Val Thorens, France.

Overall, Charpentier has won 12 consecutive fights, his last being a two-round knockout of Rene Uranga in St. Martin, France, last April. It’s been part of the long and frustrating eight months Charpentier has spent waiting for De La Hoya.

Charpentier was ringside in Atlantic City in December, watching De La Hoya dispose of Wilfredo Rivera and relishing the idea that he would be De La Hoya’s next opponent.

But then came the first postponement, when De La Hoya injured a tendon in his left wrist.

And a second postponement, when the wrist was slow to heal.

In frustration, Charpentier kept working and working. He sparred 150 rounds in the first three months of his waiting period.

“Then,” he said, “I lost count.

He took the Uranga fight. And he worked on his left hook, which he considers his best punch.

Finally, De La Hoya’s wrist healed, the fight was rescheduled and, on Friday, the weigh-in was held (De La Hoya came in at 147 pounds, Charpentier 146), to be followed by tonight’s fight.

Lost in the local hysteria over De La Hoya, Charpentier has been overlooked except for the fact that he has dyed part of his hair blond.

“Maybe he’s trying to blind me,” an amused De La Hoya said.

Maybe that’s Charpentier’s only chance.

Also on the card, WBC lightweight champion Stevie Johnston (24-0, 13 knockouts) faces Cesar Bazan (31-2-1, 23 knockouts).

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Fight Facts

Who: Oscar De La Hoya vs. Patrick Charpentier

When: Tonight

Where: Sun Bowl, El Paso.

TV: HBO, 7 PDT.

At Stake: De La Hoya’s World Boxing welterweight title.

TALE OF THE TAPE