Oscar, Pernell in May

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Dec. 5, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

There are no such things as lasting friends or enemies in boxing.

The latest proof: Caesars Palace in Las Vegas will host a May fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Pernell Whitaker that might not have been agreed upon as recently as a week ago.

The fulcrum in the proposed De La Hoya vs. Whitaker fight that was announced Wednesday was promoter Bob Arum, who handles De La Hoya. For the deal to come to fruition, Arum had to alter his plans for De La Hoya by dropping Julio Cesar Chavez as a likely spring opponent, and Arum had to set aside his differences with Whitaker's promoter, Dino Duva.

Chavez moved from Arum's good side to his bad side last week by withdrawing from a fight scheduled for Friday in Reno. Until then, Arum had planned to hold a De La Hoya vs. Chavez rematch in Los Angeles next spring.

And while Duva may not have moved from Arum's bad side to his good side, they were able to work out a deal despite the fact Arum has a multi-million dollar lawsuit pending against Duva's Main Events promotional company.

Thus, if De La Hoya gets past a Jan. 18 fight with Miguel Angel Gonzalez at the Thomas & Mack Center, and if Whitaker gets past a Jan. 24 fight with Diobelis Hurtado in Atlantic City, the two will meet on a still-unspecified date in May at Caesars.

"The deal's in place but some of the specifics still need to be worked out," said Rich Rose, president of Caesars World Sports. "I think the biggest difficulties are the first fights. Both Oscar and Pernell have tough fights in January; Gonzalez and Hurtado aren't pushovers."

No, they're not. Neither Gonzalez (41-0) nor Hurtado (20-0) have lost in their professional careers, and both figure to be legitimate tests for their better-known rivals. De La Hoya goes into his bout with Gonzalez sporting a 22-0 record, while Whitaker will take a 39-1-1 mark into his fight with Hurtado.

"I'll go down in history," Whitaker said, predicting he'll hand De La Hoya his first loss.

He'll get that chance not only because Arum has soured on Chavez as De La Hoya's spring opponent, but because Arum dealt with Duva in spite of their pending lawsuit.

"In this business, especially between promoters, there's always a chance for conflicts," Duva said. "But Bob wants what's best for Oscar, and I want what's best for Pernell, so we put everything else aside."

Toward that, Arum didn't let his suit against Main Events -- filed July 29 in Clark County District Court -- interfere in the negotiations for a De La Hoya-Whitaker fight. (In the lawsuit, Arum contends Main Events "with full knowledge" of an earlier deal Arum had arranged with Cuban defectors Joel Casamayor and Ramon Garbey, made its own promotional deal with the fighters. At the time the lawsuit was filed, Arum told the SUN: "Dino Duva is an idiot. Main Events needs to get someone with some experience in boxing." A trial date has yet to be set.)

Coincidentally, Whitaker's immediate opponent, Hurtado, is a Cuban expatriate who may be familiar to Las Vegas boxing fans. His 18th professional fight, held June 6 at the Aladdin, saw Hurtado take an eight-round decision over journeyman Cesar Flores.

"This guy Hurtado is a tough, tough fighter," said Whitaker's trainer, Lou Duva. "He throws a lot of punches, all at different angles, and he keeps right on top of you. Cuban fighters are tough and he'll be a good, good test for Pernell."

Rose agreed.

"Hurtado has a lot of flash and a lot of speed," he said. "I think Whitaker has his hands full."

Assuming De La Hoya and Whitaker win and advance to their showdown fight, they'll meet at 147 pounds for Whitaker's WBC welterweight title. De La Hoya will relinquish his WBC 140-pound championship to challenge for Whitaker's title.

While their fight is likely to be held in a temporary facility to be constructed on Caesars Palace property, it could also be moved to a location such as the Thomas & Mack. Rose said a stadium seating either 12,000, 15,000 or 17,000 could be squeezed in amid ongoing construction at Caesars, or, if that's deemed implausible, the fight could go to the T&M with Caesars in a sponsoring role much like it is for the Jan. 18 card.

"Our first choice is on property, though," Rose said.