Oscar primed for ‘great fight’

Dean Juipe

Friday, Sept. 13, 2002 | 9:29 a.m.

These are great fighters, the men who Oscar De La Hoya routinely faces. They're always finely tuned and primed for the stiffest challenge of their careers.

And here comes another one of them Saturday, Fernando Vargas.

He says he's physically stronger than De La Hoya and far more motivated. He says he'll win the fight, or die trying.

De La Hoya may not have heard that exact sentiment before, but he knows the drill. He's taken his share of trash talk and lip, and years of responding with a victory in the ring have strengthened his own sense of bravado.

He is, after all, the Golden Boy, a swank and debonair socialite slash businessman who also possesses the unique ability to end any quarrel with his fists. The sensations, the distractions, the demands of a mega-fight are but second nature to him after so many years.

He says he'll put Vargas in his place, just as he has done with many a previous smart-mouthed demagogue.

"No doubt it's going to be a great fight, but I also look at it as just another day in the office," De La Hoya said of his showdown with Vargas, scheduled for Saturday night in a sold-out Mandalay Bay Events Center. "I've always faced strong fighters and this is another one, but I also don't think he's on the same level as a few guys I fought before."

De La Hoya isn't perfect, either in the ring or out. He has lost -- Felix Trinidad beat him by majority decision and Shane Mosley prevailed by split decision in fights that tested the judges -- and he has stepped on his own foot a couple of times in his personal choices, yet he remains a suave and well-spoken ambassador for a sport that inherently attracts devious interlopers and dubious characters.

Such as, some would say, Vargas.

"I feel bad, I feel sad, I feel ashamed (about Vargas)," De La Hoya said. "But that's him and that's what he brings to the table."

Vargas is the bad boy in this well-financed plot, bringing an edgy insolence to a fight that matches a pair of men with world championships at 154 pounds. For Vargas, it's the World Boxing Association belt that he'll wear into the ring, while for De La Hoya it's the World Boxing Council that recognizes him as the finest fighter at that particular weight.

It's (legitimate) world title fight No. 15 for De La Hoya, who is assured of receiving a minimum of $8 million for this one. Vargas gets a guaranteed $3.8 million plus incentives that will almost certainly boost him to at least $6 million by the time the pay-per-view and closed-circuit receipts are tallied.

De La Hoya is a minus 230 betting favorite, with Vargas a plus 190.

"When I go into the ring I'll have blinders on," De La Hoya said, making a figurative reference to what he believes is one of his leading traits: focus.

"I've learned that sometimes pressure gets in the way of your thinking in these big fights," he said. "So a lot of what I concentrate on is focus and staying focused no matter what's happening around me."

Given the stakes as well as the raw emotions, even De La Hoya's focus is apt to be tested by the time he and Vargas step into the ring. But while many an excellent fighter can be suffocated by the hysterics of a crazed crowd and a big fight, De La Hoya has experience on his side.

Look at this partial list of men he has defeated: Jorge Paez, John John Molina, Rafael Ruelas, Genaro Hernandez, James Leija, Miguel Gonzalez, Hector Camacho, Wilfredo Rivera, Oba Carr, and, not to be minimized, Julio Cesar Chavez (twice), Pernell Whitaker and Ike Quartey.

Only Trinidad and Mosley blemish De La Hoya's 34-2 record, with 27 of those wins by knockout. Vargas is 22-1 with an equally impressive 20 KOs.

"I'm looking forward to getting revenge on the guys who beat me, but I've got to win this fight first," De La Hoya said, knowing a rematch with Mosley will be in the works should he get past Vargas. Trinidad, saying again this week that he is and will remain retired, may be the one fighter who gets the last laugh at De La Hoya's expense.

Promoter Bob Arum might also be entitled to chuckle at a De La Hoya lapse, in that the fighter once bolted Top Rank before rejoining the firm a couple of years ago.

"Even when he was gone, I absolutely thought there was a good chance he'd come back," Arum said of the brief split between the two. "I had two reasons for thinking that: one, I always assumed I'd win the court case we were involved in; and two, I figured he'd eventually realize the fabulous job we did for him in the past and that at some point he'd appreciate it."

Before that reconciliation, however, De La Hoya besmirched and derided Arum both professionally and on a personal level in ill-advised comments that received widespread publication.

"Some of the things he said didn't please me," Arum said, "but I also realized he had to try and justify leaving me in his own mind, and I never took anything he said to heart.

"I think it's analogous to a couple that gets married and then goes through a bitter divorce, and, in a number of cases, then get back together. Once they do, you may not completely forget the things that were said and done, but having gone through it the bond between you is stronger than ever.

"I believe that's the case now with me and Oscar. He appreciates Top Rank in a way that he didn't when he first turned pro and thought 'I'm Oscar De La Hoya and promoting me is going to be easy.' "

De La Hoya has also been painted by a brush that portrays him as a playboy, and the reputation undoubtedly was well deserved at one time. But last year he married Millie Corretjer in her native Puerto Rico and has, for the most part, established a permanent residence on the island.

Did we also mention that he's a budding crooner, with a CD released two years ago that required him to make the late-night talk and entertainment show rounds?

But by and large De La Hoya is a fighter, a man who came to prominence by winning an Olympic gold medal in 1992 and who wasted little time making a significant impact in the pro ranks that same year. Right from the start, De La Hoya was a hot commodity.

But now he's 29 years old, giving away five years to Vargas, and within a year or two of likely calling it quits. A loss this weekend would only hasten a retirement that every fighter eventually finds inevitable.

De La Hoya not only says it won't happen just yet, but that he'll win this fight by sixth-round knockout.

"Vargas thinks he can turn this into a war, but I'm smarter than that," De La Hoya said. "I mean, I'm willing to get into a war but it'll be on my terms.

"I might be willing to stay in front of him and trade punches, but I'll be smart about it."

That approach is vintage De La Hoya, if not his trademark. He fancies himself as a thinking man's fighter, albeit one with an explosiveness that diversifies his appeal.

But might he be overwhelmed by an opponent with an iron will and, perhaps, fists to match? Might he be too complacent for someone as motivated as Vargas?

After all, it's Vargas who has been pushing for this fight for years, even as De La Hoya feigned indifference. "I knew they'd eventually have to fight," Arum said. "I let Oscar say what he wanted to say about Vargas, but a fight of this magnitude just had to happen."

As for an insight into De La Hoya's determination, consider an anecdote courtesy of Top Rank matchmaker Bruce Trampler, who was with De La Hoya at his Big Bear, Calif., training camp last week.

"I said to Oscar, 'I hope Vargas doesn't want it more than you,' but I liked what he said in response," Trampler said, going on to relate the exact words and accentuation as De La Hoya delivered them. "He said, 'No way.' "

Such are the benefits, and trappings, of supreme confidence.

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