Hernandez Knocked Out as De La Hoya Decision-Maker

Oscar De La Hoya is severing his ties with Mike Hernandez.

That may not be big news to casual boxing fans. If they learned promoter Bob Arum was out, or trainer Robert Alcazar, they would certainly sit up and take notice.

But it’s big news in boxing circles. For the last 5 1/2 years, Hernandez has been the decision-maker in the camp of the World Boxing Council welterweight champion. Nobody could make a move without the approval of Hernandez, a car dealer and prominent figure in the Mexican-American community in East Los Angeles.

Hernandez served as manager-advisor- financial consultant to De La Hoya.

Should De La Hoya take this fight? Check with Hernandez.

Should De La Hoya do that interview? Check with Hernandez.

Should De La Hoya endorse this product? Check with Hernandez.

So what happened?

De La Hoya got tired of checking with Hernandez, those around the champion say.

“Oscar decided to go in another direction,” Arum said. “He was dissatisfied with the way Hernandez was trying to control things. I think the parting was amicable.”

Said a source close to De La Hoya of Hernandez: “He was in way above his head. He was killing deals for no reason. He didn’t understand. He became power crazy. He had to OK everything. He wanted to do more and more, including having a say in who Oscar went out with. The kid grew up. He was finally able to say enough was enough. Oscar got fed up with all the interfering.”

Hernandez, however, was asked to interfere. At the end of 1993, when De La Hoya was breaking away from managers Robert Mittleman and Steve Nelson, De La Hoya invited him in. Hernandez was known at the time as a friend of former Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela and Manny Mota, a man who could be trusted to serve the best interests of an athlete.

“What he did at that time was crucial to the continuation of Oscar’s career,” Arum said. “Initially, his ability to talk enabled Oscar’s career to go forward. There was a lot of infighting. He was instrumental in getting Oscar back on track.”

Hernandez says there is no bitterness in his departure.

“Boxing was never my cup of tea but I did what I could for a young kid,” he said. “I have always seen it as my responsibility to help young people in the community. I am very proud of what I did. Not too many people in our community help ourselves. I stepped up to the plate when nobody else would step up to the plate and produced.

“Oscar is not in too shabby a condition as I leave him. He has paid all his taxes and has a net worth of around $25 million. Now he wants to go his own way and be a superstar. God bless him. We’ll still be friends.

“I hope other people come forward now and help him. . . . I hope the next people make him $200 million.”

De La Hoya, 26, had no comment.

He said before his fight last month against Oba Carr that a long period of confusion had finally ended for him, that he had discovered the secret of happiness.

“I’m going to make myself happy first, then try to make other people happy,” he said.

Until then, De La Hoya had been pushing to make himself, and thus Hernandez, co-promoters, with Arum, of his fights. But before the Carr fight, De La Hoya announced that he was abandoning that course of action and leaving the promotion end of the business to Arum.

It was the first sign that the battle for De La Hoya had ended. Arum was in control and Hernandez was out.

HERE COME THE JUDGES, THERE GOES GARCIA

Robert Garcia, the International Boxing Federation junior-lightweight champion, raised a few eyebrows last Saturday when he turned his back on $400,000, what would have been his biggest payday, rather than fight Derrick Gainer.

The problem, according to Garcia and his handlers, was not the man he would be fighting, but rather the men who would be judging the fight.

That fight, on the undercard of the Roy Jones-Reggie Johnson light-heavyweight unification bout, was scheduled for Biloxi, Miss. Both the referee and one judge were from Mississippi. Another judge was from Florida, where Gainer lives, and the third was from Texas.

Scott Woodworth, one of Garcia’s managers, asked that a California judge be included for the sake of Garcia, who comes from Oxnard.

When the IBF refused, Woodworth, recalling the questionable judging by an IBF official in the Evander Holyfield-Lennox Lewis heavyweight unification fight in March, advised his fighter to pull out.

“Someone has to stand up for their principles in this sport,” Woodworth said. “We don’t have to take this kind of stuff from these organizations.”

Said Garcia: “They thought I would take the money because it was my biggest payday. Not me. I wouldn’t fight under those circumstances. They just wanted to take my title.”

HBO had been scheduled to carry the fight and the cable network’s vice president, Lou DiBella, wasn’t happy.

“I was upset,” DiBella said. “But I understand why they did it. I’m not saying I think it was a setup, but I understand why [Garcia] thought it could be.

“This is the system that governs boxing. It stinks and it’s got to be changed.”