La Hoya

Although Oscar De La Hoya will not fight in New York tomorrow night, plenty of action continues to swirl around the high-profile but currently under-cover boxer.Randy Gordon, chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, said yesterday that De La Hoya could be subject to disciplinary action for his failure to participate as the marquee attraction at the Paramount if the promoter filed a formal complaint. If a complaint were filed, a hearing would be scheduled and a suspension could result.

Pacquiao earns big win after De La Hoya quits boxing Manny Pacquiao fought a lot bigger than he looked. Oscar De La Hoya simply looked old. Pacquiao dominated his bigger and more famous opponent from the opening bell last night in Las Vegas, giving De La Hoya, 35, a beating and closing his left eye before De La Hoya declined to come out of his corner after the eighth round. The fight was so lopsided and De La Hoya looked so inept that it could spell the end for boxing's richest and most marketable star.

LAS VEGAS -- Even before Oscar De La Hoya won Olympic gold in Barcelona and the hearts of the country with the story of how he promised his dying mother he would bring the medal back, many experts felt he was destined to become the sport's next superstar. At the moment, one man stands in his way.After only 16 fights, the World Boxing Organization lightweight champion appears to have it all -- speed, power and marketability. He has the punch to win titles and the smile to sell toothpaste. What he doesn't have at the moment is a friend in fellow Californian Rafael Ruelas, the International Boxing Federation lightweight champion who wants nothing more than to destroy De La Hoya's dental work come May 6.Ruelas has been waiting for De La Hoya for more than a year and will get his chance on that date if all goes according to promoter Bob Arum.

American Son: My Story Oscar De La Hoya with Steve Springer HarperCollins: 286 pages, $25.95 For decades, the health of boxing depended on the presence of a crossover star-the pugilist who could compel non-boxing fans to hit the pay-per-view button. In the late '80s and '90s, Mike Tyson was the magnet, but by the time his antics ended, boxing was badly bloodied and had been shooed off network television. Enter the Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya, a virtuoso of violence who had never been in a street fight and looks like a choirboy.

One more turkey awaits Pernell "Sweetpea" Whitaker, then it may be on to the feast.Whitaker will fight in January against an opponent yet to be determined, but after that it appears the World Boxing Council welterweight (147 pounds) champion may meet Oscar De La Hoya in late spring.De La Hoya is the WBC super lightweight (140 pounds) champion. The fight would be for Whitaker's title.Whitaker co-manager Shelly Finkel said he is "75 to 80 percent sure, after a combination of meetings and negotiations with Arum," that Whitaker-De La Hoya will be made.

LAS VEGAS -- Oscar De La Hoya has incorporated a testosterone booster and creatine among nine different supplements into his training regimen in preparation for tomorrow night's welterweight unification title bout against Felix Trinidad.Under the supervision of nutritional expert A. Scott Connelly, De La Hoya is "using a testosterone booster that is not a steroid. It's called zinc magnesium aspertate," said Sharon Lindsey, a publicist for Metrx, a supplement manufacturer.Lindsey passed out posters depicting before and after shots of De La Hoya, looking more chiseled now as opposed to when he fought here in May.Lindsey said De La Hoya is the second boxer since heavyweight Shannon Briggs to have worked with Connelly.

LAS VEGAS - After a hard night's work, where he said he felt "an overwhelming power throughout the fight," Sugar Shane Mosley said he wasn't even tired. "I could have gone another 12 rounds," Mosley said after earning a unanimous, 12-round decision over Oscar De La Hoya last night in a bout that made Mosley the first man ever to defeat De La Hoya twice in his career. Mosley (39-2) proved himself deserving of the name "Sugar," earning from De La Hoya (36-3) the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association 154-pound titles before a sellout crowd of 16,268 at the MGM Grand's Garden Arena.

LAS VEGAS - Critics questioned Shane Mosley's heart. They questioned his confidence. They questioned his marketability. They said he would be vulnerable entering Saturday's rematch with Oscar De La Hoya. These were the things on Mosley's mind as he learned to throw punches much like Tiger Woods uses a driver. "Like a golf swing," promoter Gary Shaw said. "Just turning his hip and really, really letting go. They said he was a shot fighter, and that really motivated Shane for this fight."

LAS VEGAS -- Pound-for-pound. Libra-por-libra.Bilingual Oscar De La Hoya claimed that honor last night, winning a unanimous decision to dethrone World Boxing Council welterweight champion Pernell Whitaker before a crowd of 12,200 at the Thomas & Mack Center.But the three judges seemed unusually charitable in his behalf in a very competitive fight.Judges Jerry Roth and Dalby Shirley both voted 116-110 for De La Hoya, and Chuck Giampa scored it 115-111.It was a bitter defeat for Whitaker, who dictated the tempo most of the 12 rounds and scored the only knockdown in the ninth round.

LAS VEGAS -- Felix Trinidad called Oscar De La Hoya a "chicken" before their fight last night, and for at least three of the last four rounds, De La Hoya ran like one.Trinidad added De La Hoya's World Boxing Council welterweight title to his International Boxing Federation belt with a majority decision in their unification bout before a sellout crowd of 12,000 at the Mandalay Bay Events CenterJudge Glen Hamada scored the fight, 114-114. Ben Logist scored it, 115-114, and Jerry Roth, 115-113, for Trinidad.

Good morning -- Steve Nash -- Good thing you weren't Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Oscar De La Hoya - the fight would have been stopped.

No doubt, there are a few Little League moms out there who think it was just terrible the Orioles and the Detroit Tigers nearly got into a brawl Monday night at Comerica Park. I can almost hear them self-righteously asking what kind of message it sends to the youngsters of America when highly paid professional athletes can't settle their differences without resorting to epithets and violent posturing. I suppose they're right, in a wimpy, new-age sort of way, but it was good to see the Orioles still have a pulse.

WASHINGTON -- From the upper balconies of the main hall of Union Station's subway system - a replica of a Roman bathhouse lined with statues of gladiators holding shields - fight fans craned their necks to see the combatants. The large crowd cheered challenger Floyd Mayweather Jr. yesterday and mostly booed World Boxing Council 154-pound champion Oscar De La Hoya as each strode down the runway to a stage flanked on each side by seven flags representing countries that included Mexico, England, El Salvador, Italy, Japan and the United States.

Carlos Baldomir was game, just as advertised. Floyd Mayweather Jr. was brilliant, just as expected. Mayweather dominated nearly every minute of every round last night in Las Vegas, winning the welterweight title with a lopsided decision to remain unbeaten and set up a possible megafight next year against Oscar De La Hoya. Baldomir never went down and never appeared in trouble, but his face was bloodied from the first round on and he took punch after punch to the face from the much quicker and much more skilled Mayweather.

For the nearly 20 months since losing to Bernard Hopkins, Oscar De La Hoya has enjoyed the life of a man whose ring earnings have surpassed $100 million. Teaming with Hopkins, the former eight-belt world champion has launched Golden Boy Promotions, enlisting names such as Marco Antonio Barrera and Shane Mosley into the stable of fighters he now promotes. And with his wife, Millie, a former Puerto Rican singer, De La Hoya has a 4-month-old son. "Life has been awesome," De La Hoya told Jay Leno during a Monday interview on The Tonight Show, when he also shared that his son kept him up "for all but two hours" the night before, that changing dirty diapers can be a hassle, and that Millie's shedding of ringside tears at tense moments "can be a distraction."

Oscar De La Hoya appeared on The Tonight Show earlier this week, helping to pump up his bout with Ricardo Mayorga. Los Angeles Times columnist T.J. Simers was there to chronicle the scene. And, apparently, to offer comforting words. Simers described De La Hoya as arriving while "sweating like a man waiting to find out what the jury has to say. `I'm super nervous,' he admits. "`I don't know why,' I tell him. `Letterman has Tom Hanks on tonight, and I can't imagine anyone watching Dr. Phil and you.'" So why do people wonder about how athletes view the media?

BADALONA, Spain -- Oscar de la Hoya, in the most impressive performance of his amateur career, knocked a strong, brave, but overmatched Brazilian all over the ring last night in the lightweight's Olympic debut.De la Hoya, criticized by some at the Olympic trials in June for a slow-paced, conservative style, came out aggressively against Adilson Silva.It was by a wide margin the most impressive performance yet in the Olympics by American boxers, who are 8-2. After de la Hoya won, light-welterweight Vernon Forrest lost a decision to Britain's Peter Richardson.

LAS VEGAS -- ESPN magazine recently labeled World Boxing Counsel welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya the "DiCaprio of boxing" because of the way female fans swoon over his matinee-idol features.But there was nothing pretty about the way a determined De La Hoya beat back a surprising challenge from former three-time champion Julio Cesar Chavez of Mexico last night.With Chavez spitting blood after the eighth round, his cornermen conceded defeat. Chavez insisted it was not his wish to end the fight, but did not protest his corner's decision.

Baltimore native Hasim Rahman's sometimes turbulent boxing career may be on the rise even as there are still those who question his ability to sustain its upward momentum. But fight promoter Bob Arum, chief executive officer of Top Rank, is not among the doubters. In fact, Arum acts as if he can turn the 33-year-old two-time World Boxing Council champion into the sport's greatest heavyweight attraction since Muhammad Ali. "I'm not a neophyte in this business. Tomorrow will mark the 40th year that I've been in boxing promotion, so I know, based on experience, who is promotable and who isn't promotable," Arum, 74, said during a March 7 conference call.

At first glance, La Jolla, Calif., seems merely Malibu meets Beverly Hills. One part beach town, one part trust-fund enclave. Combine the two, and out pop guys with liposuctioned abs and ladies with severely pulled-back blond hair. All orbiting in Lexus SUVs hunting for Armani, Rolex and the other usual high-end retail suspects. Robb Report, the magazine for millionaires (and the wannabe wealthy), once crowned the town as the best place to live in America. But a closer look shows La Jolla (pronounced la hoya)