Thursday, April 25, 2002 | 9:35 a.m.
Ron Kantowski's insider notes column appears Tuesday and his Page One column appears Thursday. He can be reached at [email protected] or (702) 259-4088.
I dialed into a boxing news conference Wednesday -- and a "Seinfeld" rerun broke out.
Basically, it was 43 minutes about nothing as Oscar De La Hoya chatted with reporters from Los Angeles, where he has begun to rehab his battered left hand, the one that caused his long awaited fight with Fernando Vargas, originally scheduled for May 5 at Mandalay Bay, to be postponed.
De La Hoya was injured in training when he conked one of his sparring partners on the top of his head. It was the same hand/wrist on which De La Hoya had surgery last November.
Although he claimed to have continued training after aggravating the hand, De La Hoya said the pain became so severe he couldn't hit a punching bag. Only then, he said, did he stop listening to his trainers and support staff -- "I was looking so good they were saying 'You can beat him with one hand,' " De La Hoya said -- and asked out of the fight, which has been rescheduled for Sept. 14.
After the announcement, there was speculation that perhaps De La Hoya felt he needed more time in the gym, especially when word got out that Vargas was looking more serious in training than John Houseman rehearsing his lines -- and had a sculpted physique to prove it.
De La Hoya refuted that report, but did not bristle. As always, he politely answered every question, yet said very little. He and promoter Bob Arum and Dr. Tony Daly, who has taken over as De La Hoya's therapist, might as well have been sitting across the booth from Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer at Monk's Diner.
Having witnessed several Mike Tyson news conferences from a safe distance, perhaps I shouldn't complain. Not once during the 43 minutes did De La Hoya threaten any of us with a deviant sex act. He didn't use multi-syllabic pronouns featuring hard consonants. And if he grabbed his crotch, he did it quietly.
The closest De La Hoya came to breaking character was when he used a four-letter word to describe his wounded hand. Only it was one your Mom would use.
"We were ready, until the damn injury," he said.
Talking -- or listening to -- De La Hoya is like watching Letterman or Leno interview somebody like Corbin Bernson. He might seem like a nice guy, but comes across about as sincere as a used car salesman.
If anything, De La Hoya seems even more guarded on his semi-comeback than he was during his Golden Boy days. At least back then, he would talk cryptically (read: B.S.) about "secret combinations" that he had perfected in training camp. Then on fight night, he wouldn't even utilize the combinations that everybody knew about.
De La Hoya and Vargas are supposed to be bitter rivals, and Vargas certainly has made his dislike for De La Hoya known. But Oscar refuses to be drawn into any machismo stuff.
"Of course," he said, when asked if he respected Vargas. "One thing fighters have to learn is respect for each other and not talking trash. You know, it would be (nice) if he said 'Oscar's won six championships and a gold medal.' If I were in his position, I would do that."
Sorry, but I'm not buying the Gentleman Jim Corbett routine. I truly believe De La Hoya wants to knock Vargas' block off. Way off. And while I'm not quite as certain about this, it wouldn't be shocking if he felt he needed more time to guarantee that he does, and thus used the injury as a stalling tactic.
Well, at least I said what was on my mind. Which is more than Oscar did on Wednesday. Or ever does.
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