De La Hoya Decides On New Trainer

Former welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya has chosen Floyd Mayweather Sr. to replace Roberto Alcazar as his trainer, The Times has learned.

“I am extremely grateful to Roberto for his valuable contributions over the last 10 years,” De La Hoya said Monday of Alcazar, who has been his trainer since his amateur days.

“Although our trainer-boxer relationship has come to an end, our friendship will definitely continue. I wish Roberto the very best in his future endeavors, which may include a new role within Team De La Hoya.”

Mayweather, himself a former welterweight who fought for 16 years, has been the manager-trainer of his son, Floyd Jr., the World Boxing Council super-featherweight champion.

But when Floyd Jr. turned over the managerial reins to rap-music producer James Prince, an ugly split developed between father and son, resulting in an ending of their personal and professional relationship.

“At this point in my career,” De La Hoya said, “I would like to be exposed to different training styles and methods. Over the last few months, I have met with and carefully evaluated many different trainers and I have carefully studied videotapes of my previous fights. I have come to the conclusion that Floyd Mayweather Sr. is the right choice for me and my corner.”

After two losses in his last three fights, De La Hoya has made a clean sweep of his handlers. He has changed promoters--from Bob Arum to Jerry Perenchio--trainers and even cut men, replacing Chuck Bodak with Joe Souza.

“I want to make it absolutely clear,” De La Hoya said, “that these changes have nothing to do with laying any blame for my losses to [Felix] Trinidad and [Shane] Mosley. I take full responsibility for those fights. I am confident, however, that these changes will help make Team De La Hoya stronger than ever.”

De La Hoya said last month that he would like to keep Alcazar around just to do the wrapping of his hands, a task at which De La Hoya says Alcazar is the best. But Alcazar has proven to be a disruptive force in the past when other trainers have been brought in.

Floyd Sr. knows all about disruptive forces. After serving five years in a federal prison for drug dealing, he became a key figure in the blossoming career of his son.

But by the time Floyd Jr. fought Goyo Vargas last March, Floyd Jr.’s relationship with his father had deteriorated so much they were no longer speaking, except for boxing-related matters.

After that fight, father and son went their separate ways. But if Floyd Sr. stepped out of an awkward father-son relationship, he now is stepping into one.

Alcazar may not be hanging around camp when Mayweather arrives, but Joel De La Hoya, Oscar’s father, will be in the shadows.

As De La Hoya has moved from trainer to trainer--from Jesus Rivero to Emanuel Steward to Gil Clancy--there have been problems outside the ring. Alcazar never accepted the newcomers, confident he would outlast them.

And De La Hoya’s father, who fought professionally, always had the final say on his son’s career, regardless of the trainer.

Mayweather’s chances of lasting longer with De La Hoya than his predecessors may depend as much on his ability to deal with the politics of the camp as it does on his ability to restart De La Hoya’s stalled career.

Mayweather was chosen largely because of his reputation as a strict disciplinarian who gets and keeps his fighters in shape.

De La Hoya has appeared to run out of gas in the closing rounds of both of his losses. Consider that he hasn’t fought in four months and has been spending most of his time recording and promoting his new music CD, far from the harsh environment of a training camp, and the task before Mayweather seems formidable.

But De La Hoya insists he’ll be eager, attentive and diligent when he returns to the gym next month.

“What I really need,” said De La Hoya in a Times interview last month, “is somebody to push me. . . . I need like a sergeant who is going to tell me, ‘You are going to do this or I am out of here.’ Somebody who is going to throw a bucket of water in my face at 5 a.m. to wake me up to get me to run. I need a Bob Knight in my training camp, somebody who is going to be firm with me and push me to the next level.”

Mayweather may have thought he was signing up to be a trainer, but the job description probably should read: Dietitian/tactician/politician. Must be tough enough to ignore those who have no influence, wise enough to listen to those who do and smart enough to know the difference.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

More Down Than Up

Oscar De La Hoya’s last three fights:

Sep. 18, 1999

Felix Trinidad,

L, dec. (12 rounds)

Feb. 26, 2000

Derrell Coley,

W, KO (7th round)

June 17, 2000

Shane Mosley,

L, dec. (12 rounds)

Career: 32-2