Oscar’s goal is to park Carr

Dean Juipe

Friday, May 21, 1999 | 10:33 a.m.

It's his show. He's the focus, the centerpiece, the axis that attracts energy.

Oscar De La Hoya has what it takes to not only carry a boxing promotion, but to initiate a whirlwind of activity around him. He moves effortlessly from one commitment to another, steadily taking care of the business that has made him a very wealthy man at the age of 26.

He has the complete package: looks, smarts and ability. As long as he continues winning fights -- and he has won 30 of them without a loss since turning pro -- his persona as a gentleman slugger will remain intact.

But there's a risk every time he steps into the ring. It's the threat, sometimes more real than others, that some other tough guy will come along and expose the Golden Boy's vulnerabilities.

Saturday at Mandalay Bay, that threat arrives in the chiseled form of Oba Carr.

Boxing fans are not convinced this will be a competitive match, as proven by the fact De La Hoya is a minus 1000 betting favorite in the hotel's sports book. Yet Carr, a plus 700, is no pushover, having lost only twice in 51 fights. He may be an optional defense for the World Boxing Council welterweight champion, but he's very much aware that this is his chance of a lifetime.

Naturally, and like so many before him, he believes he has what it takes to capitalize.

"I've earned this shot," he said Thursday. "There is no fighter in the world hungrier than me."

His diet in recent weeks: run, box, sweat. Like De La Hoya, Carr trained for this fight in the high altitude of Big Bear, Calif. Unlike De La Hoya, he did it as a substantial underdog.

"Oscar has too many distractions going on and he's going to pay the price for it," Carr said of the buzz that constantly follows De La Hoya, be it negotiating future fights or putting out the fire of a publicity mishap like a paternity suit.

"I've been in big fights before and I know how to handle the heat and the pressure," Carr said. "I'm experienced and I'm a better fighter than I ever was."

Funny, that's what De La Hoya says about himself as well. But this time he's staking his reputation on it.

"Whoever watches this fight will be the first to see the new, old Oscar De La Hoya," he said, promising a return to the go-for-broke style of attack that initially brought him to widespread public acclaim. "I'm going to step in there and fight. No disrespect to Oba Carr, but I'm going to try my best to knock him out and I think I will."

The round prop bet is a very high 12, with the "won't go" at minus 160 and the "will go" at plus 120. If it does go the full 12, De La Hoya won't be the only one who's disappointed.

"He doesn't want decision wins anymore," said a co-trainer, Robert Alcaraz. "He's thinking about the sport differently and I'm anxious to see him in the ring."

De La Hoya is being paid $5 million, while Carr collects $350,000. Those dollar figures, along with the fact it's De La Hoya prominently displayed on the fight's promotional poster while Carr barely rates a mention, underscore the obvious: This is De La Hoya's fight to win or lose.

"You beat Oscar and you'll be on the next fight poster," Carr's manager, Tom Loeffler, told him in a reassuring manner after Carr complained about the slight.

"I've got to think they're overlooking me," Carr said. "That's good. I couldn't ask for anything better."

Carr, 27, has a number of decent wins on his record despite being 0-2 in world-title fights. He was beaten in 1994 by Felix Trinidad and two years later by Ike Quartey. He won a fight with ex-champ Frankie Randall in February to solidify this fight with De La Hoya.

As a point of reference, De La Hoya took a decision win over Quartey in February and is negotiating for a Sept. 18 fight with Trinidad. If the latter fight falls into place -- and it may today -- it would also be at Mandalay Bay, which has some 1,200 tickets remaining for Saturday's HBO-televised card.

"I'm not thinking about Trinidad at all," De La Hoya said. "I've got to concentrate on Oba Carr and making good on my promise to go back to being a real fighter who isn't afraid to get hit. I swear, people are going to see a big difference in me in the ring.

"I used to try and box guys like this, but not anymore."