DATE: Tuesday, April 8, 1997                TAG: 9704090722

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: BIG BEAR LAKE, CALIF.             LENGTH:  265 lines

DE LA HOYA FROM THE BARRIO TO BOXING'S BIG TIME

Hollywood has always loved boxing. The images are so sharp, so enduring. Put a pair of rawboned fighters in a bloodstained ring and let them try to punch their way out of poverty. Pick a couple of curmudgeons with gnarled mugs to play their trainers. Hang some cigar smoke in the air and place a light above the center of the ring. Action!

Hollywood can make boxing seem almost surreal.

But now, out of boxing comes a star who is pure Hollywood.

Oscar De La Hoya has the manners of an altar boy, the looks of a matinee idol and fists of fury. There he is on daytime TV, sparring with Regis while Kathie Lee gushes about what a cutie-pie he is. And there he is as a pitchman, wearing a milk mustache on that gorgeous, unblemished face. Pick up a magazine and see him featured in Harper's Bazaar, Vibe and Playboy - suffice it to say none of those periodicals often features boxers. Flip on the tube Tuesday night and catch him chatting up Jay Leno.

He wants to retire from boxing early to study architecture, for cryin' out loud. How many boxers could spell architecture, let alone study it? And, of course, De La Hoya wants to act. Hollywood will love him. Not because he's a boxer, but because he has a smile brighter than stage lights and charisma that could charm an IRS agent.

He turns from charming to harming inside the ring, unleashing a devastating combination of speed, power and rage. One columnist wrote that De La Hoya can make the big boys cry and the little girls sigh.

``This guy is a little different, he's a little cuckoo,'' well-known boxing trainer Emanuel Steward has said of De La Hoya. ``You look at him, he's so sweet, so polite, so nice and classy. Then, once the bell rings, after about 45 seconds, you see him transform into a cold-blooded killer, one of the worst I've ever seen in my life.''

This Jekyll-Hyde quality has vaulted De La Hoya to boxing stardom.

He won Olympic gold at age 19. Now, at 24, he is 23-0 with 20 knockouts as a pro and has won world titles in three weight classes, halfway to his stated goal of winning championship belts in six divisions. De La Hoya will go for a fourth Saturday in Las Vegas when he challenges for Pernell ``Sweetpea'' Whitaker's World Boxing Council welterweight crown.

De La Hoya has his doubters, those who say his record has been puffed up by fighting no-names or older guys on their way down. De La Hoya was underwhelming in his last outing, a 12-round decision over Miguel Angel Gonzalez.

Regardless, De La Hoya - dubbed ``The Golden Boy'' - is a cash cow. Whitaker, nine years older than De La Hoya and nearing the end of an illustrious career, will earn approximately $7 million - almost three times his previous career-high payday, but $3 million less than De La Hoya will earn. It's easy to see who the draw is here.

De La Hoya is a crossover star who can appeal to boxing fans and those who wouldn't know an uppercut from a crew cut. Plus, De La Hoya, the son of Mexican immigrants, is fluent in both English and Spanish.

``He has a huge presence about him that's really the epitome of somebody special, a superstar,'' promoter Bob Arum says. ``Whitaker's an excellent fighter, tremendous athlete, but he doesn't have that superstar quality.''

De La Hoya sliced and diced the vaunted Julio Cesar Chavez last summer for a TKO in a mere 11 minutes, 37 seconds. After that, Sports Illustrated called De La Hoya, ``in short, the Sugar Ray Leonard of his era, charismatic outside the ring and hit-man cool inside.''

So much fame, so much money, so fast.

Too fast?

Joel De La Hoya wonders. He is a proud papa, to be sure. As he sits in a Chevrolet dealership in Monterey Park, Calif., near the East Los Angeles neighborhood where Oscar grew up, Joel is surrounded by images of his son's overwhelming success.

Down on the showroom floor is the $150,000 customized truck De La Hoya purchased shortly after winning the 1992 gold medal in Barcelona and turning pro. It has 18-carat gold trim and a painting on the hood of Oscar with his gold medal. Stacks of gold plates and gold coins are next to him in the painting.

Upstairs are the offices of the Oscar De La Hoya Fan Club and Oscar De La Hoya Enterprises, a charitable foundation. De La Hoya's accountants work here as well.

It seems to Joel like just yesterday that his 5 1/2-year-old Oscar first put on boxing gloves to spar with a cousin at a family reunion. Boom, boom, boom. Oscar cried and threw off the gloves when he was hit.

``I asked Oscar on the way home, `Do you want to learn to box so nobody can hit you like tonight?' '' Joel says. ``He said, `Yes, I want to fight.'

``It's hard to believe. It's one in a million. This happens once every 10 years.''

Now everyone looks at De La Hoya and sees millions of dollars, and everyone wants a piece. Joel implores his son to hire security when he goes out, but Oscar says he is not afraid.

``He's only 24 and he's a millionaire,'' Joel says. ``That's a problem right there. We don't know who's going to like Oscar for him personally rather than try to get something from him.''

Particularly worrisome to Joel are the women who flock to his son. Oscar had a longstanding relationship with a woman named Veronica Peralta, a former Miss Mexico-Los Angeles. She talked in a Los Angeles Times story a year ago of settling down and having children with De La Hoya. They are no longer together.

``Veronica was happy with Oscar, but Oscar wasn't happy with just one Veronica,'' Joel says. ``One thing I worry the most about is he's not with the right girl now. He's just fooling around with girls, and I don't like it. I told him a few times, `Oscar, find the right girl and stay with one.' He don't listen to me in that matter.

``I worry about those two things, girls and what kind of friends he has.''

De La Hoya seems worry-free at his luxurious, spacious wood cabin home at Big Bear Lake. The converted, four-car garage out back houses De La Hoya's own personal gym, complete with full-sized ring, weight-training and cardio-vascular equipment, a sauna and a painted collage of Oscar boxing, celebrating a win and standing at attention with a gold medal around his neck and an American flag in his hand.

It's only a two-hour drive up a scenic mountain to Big Bear Lake from the rugged, gang-infested barrio where De La Hoya grew up, but it seems like a million miles.

Of women, De La Hoya says, ``I'm young, I'm single, why be tied up?''

Of fame and fortune, he says he's studied other fighters for whom both were fleeting because they did not know how to handle them.

``It can happen to anybody; it can happen to any athlete,'' he says. ``Especially if you're young, and I'm only 24 years old. I feel I've been handling the pressure very well, because I've been learning from the past champions and taking advice from other boxers like George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard and Marvelous Marvin Hagler.''

There is no shortage of advisors in camp. De La Hoya employs a camp manager, nutritionist, a cardio-vascular conditioning specialist, strength training specialist, massage therapist and a camp cook.

De La Hoya is an enterprise unto himself. It's a stark contrast to his days growing up. De La Hoya carries a reminder of his youth with him everywhere he goes, a $1 food stamp he can see every time he opens his wallet.

His father - his pride seemingly wounded - says Oscar is ``just playing'' when he talks about being embarrassed when his mother sent him to the market with food stamps to buy food. But if De La Hoya is making this up, he's already a good actor.

``Looking at that food stamp is just a reminder of where I come from,'' De La Hoya says. ``It's a reminder that I should never forget about my roots and what we've been through, what my mother and father went through to put food on the table.''

De La Hoya's mother died of breast cancer before he could fulfill her wish for him to win Olympic gold. Upon returning from Barcelona with the prize, he laid it upon her grave.

Soon he had other prizes. Before the Olympics, De La Hoya and his friends had been ogling a Corvette convertible in an auto showroom. The owner told him that it was his if he won the gold. De La Hoya came by to pick up the keys as soon as he returned from Spain.

De La Hoya signed a million-dollar management deal with Robert Mittleman and Steve Nelson, but a year later they had an acrimonious parting. Everyone was whispering in De La Hoya's ear, wanting a piece of him. De La Hoya was confused, a tremendous talent lurching about without guidance.

``This kid was scared of his future,'' says Mike Hernandez, the auto dealer. ``A kid can blow his career.''

With his management situation in turmoil, De La Hoya again turned to Hernandez, who now serves as his business advisor. He was unpaid at first, but as the number of contracts and time constraints escalated, he has begun to receive compensation.

De La Hoya has no boxing manager, and he likes it that way. He says he is accountable for, and in control of, his career.

In less than five years as a pro, De La Hoya has not only dumped his managers but also has changed trainers. Jesus ``The Professor'' Rivero was lured from his aluminum-window business in Mexico to train De La Hoya.

Rivero, 67, is a 5-foot-4 devotee of William Shakespeare and Willie Pep. He has taught De La Hoya the discipline of defense by having him study tapes of the elusive Pep, and is also teaching the fighter to study the classics as well.

``Shakespeare understood human passion,'' Rivero has said.

Rivero is a student of Greek philosophy, economics and history, as well as boxing lore. He says, through an interpreter, that his goal is to impart to De La Hoya what he knows.

``To be an athlete and to be a human being, he should learn about life, too,' Rivero says. ``He needs to learn about the world and the things around him. When I talk to Oscar, I talk about culture and philosophy and economics.''

Economics is certainly a discipline in which De La Hoya needs to be well-versed. If he beats Whitaker, his star power will soar.

But this fight is a significant risk, and De La Hoya's camp knows it. Whitaker may be aging and hasn't been sharp lately, but he's a cagey veteran who has been at the top of the fight game for almost a decade. Whitaker became a world champion just two weeks after De La Hoya's 16th birthday in 1989.

``Sure, it's a risk,'' says promoter Arum. ``But if we didn't take a risk every fight, Oscar would lose interest.''

De La Hoya wants to fight the marquee fights now, so he can stick to his plan to retire by his late 20s to pursue other interests.

``After I'm 30 years old, I'm not in boxing - no way,'' he says. ``It's too dangerous. You have to win your fights, win your money and retire from boxing.''

De La Hoya's is a storybook script, so, of course, Hollywood is interested. A movie about his life is in the works.

Oscar wanted to play himself. But, for now, he'll have to be content starring in the ring. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos

BETH BERGMAN/The Virginian-Pilot

Just 24 years old, Oscar De La Hoya has it all - charm, fame and

talent. De La Hoya is expected to make around $10 million for

Saturday's fight - about $3 million more than his opponent,

welterweight champion Sweetpea Whitaker.

Boxing is big in East Los Angeles, where De La Hoya was raised.

However, many people in his own hometown are bigger fans of Mexico's

Julio Cesar Chavez.

De La Hoya asked auto dealer Mike Hernandez, above, to help manage

his career. ``This kid was scared of his future,'' says Hernandez.

Youngsters from Los Angeles watch De La Hoya at his Big Bear Lake,

Calif., training camp. De La Hoya first boxed at age 5 1/2, at a

family reunion. His father says that after being hit, Oscar cried

and threw off his gloves.

De La Hoya has bought Resurrection Gym in East Los Angeles, where he

trained as a kid. The once-rundown gym, which originally was a

church, is being renovated and it will be turned into the Oscar De

La Hoya Youth Boxing Center.

De La Hoya, left, works out at Big Bear Lake with sparring partner

Lonnie Smith. De La Hoya, undefeated with 20 knockouts in his 23 pro

fights, is considered the favorite in Saturday's welterweight title

bout with champion Sweetpea Whitaker.

De La Hoya's goal is to win titles in six weight classes, and to

fight mostly big-name opponents so he can retire early. ``After I'm

30 years old, I'm not boxing - no way. It's too dangerous. You have

to win your fights, win your money and retire from boxing.''

Joel De La Hoya, looking up outside the ring, is concerned with son

Oscar's sudden rise to fame. ``He's only 24 and he's a

millionaire,'' Joel says. ``That's a problem right there....I worry

about two things, girls and what kind of friends he has.''

De La Hoya's mountain home and training camp at Big Bear Lake is

only two hours from L.A., but it seems like years from the barrio

where he grew up. De La Hoya says he will not be spoiled by his

earlyu success: ``I've been handling the pressure very well, because

I've been learning from the past champions and taking advice from

other boxers.''

Graphic

THE DE LA HOYA FILE

Age: 24

Residence: Big Bear Lake, Calif. Also has condos in Whittier,

Calif., and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Career highlights: Was only American on the 1992 Olympic boxing

team to capture a gold medal. Won WBO junior lightweight title from

Jimmi Bredahl in '94 with a 10th-round knockout. Won WBO lightweight

title with knockout of Jorge Paez also in '94, and added IBF

lightweight crown with knockout of Rafael Ruelas in '95. Pummeled

Julio Cesar Chavez in '96 to win the WBC super lightweight title by

TKO.

Record: 23-0, 20 knockouts

Family: Single. Middle of three children: Brother Joel Jr., 26,

and sister Cecilia, 15.

Hobbies: Golf

Personal: Owns a Lamborghini, a BMW and a Chevrolet Suburban.

Likes to draw and plans to study architecture when he's done boxing.

Loves to mingle with the public, seemingly never turning down a

request for an autograph or pose for a picture.

Little-known fact: He did some of the architectural design on his

wood cabin home in Big Bear Lake. KEYWORDS: PROFILE BIOGRAPHY BOXING

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