'Go out there and fight'
De La Hoya earns respect the hard way
Posted: Sunday February 14, 1999 11:19 PM
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De La Hoya: "I never thought I had to come back dramatically."
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LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Respect. Oscar De La Hoya earned it by outpointing Ike Quartey, then said he gave his opponent too much of it in the fight.
"I've just got to go out there and fight," the WBC welterweight champion said of his split-decision victory Saturday night.
De La Hoya, who had said Quartey would be the toughest test of his career, got up from a sixth-round knockdown, won the last three rounds on all three cards and knocked down the challenger and almost stopped him in the 12th round.
"I beat one of the best in the world out there," said De La Hoya, now 30-0, with 24 knockouts. Quartey of Ghana, a former WBA champion who was stripped of that title, lost for the first time against 34 wins, 29 by knockouts, and one draw.
There was talk of a rematch, as there always is after a good fight.
"I want to fight all the best fighters out there," De La Hoya said. "If I beat the best, then I'll give him a rematch."
A fight between De La Hoya and the winner of a bout between unbeaten IBF champion Felix Trinidad and Pernell Whitaker on Saturday in Madison Square Garden would be attractive.
Whitaker lost a disputed decision to De La Hoya in 1997. The WBA champion is James Page. Several good super lightweights also could move up to challenge De La Hoya.
First, De La Hoya is expected to defend against Oba Carr. Carr won a 10-round decision over Frankie Randall on the pay-per-view card in the Thomas & Mack Center.
Of the sixth-round knockdown that came after De La Hoya had dropped Quartey earlier in the round, De La Hoya said: "I thought, 'Hey, I'm going to get right back up and stay in this fight.' I'm not a quitter.
"He showed tremendous heart," said Gil Clancy, De La Hoya's co-trainer. "That's what won it for him. He spent the entire fight fighting Quartey's fight."
"I thought I won the fight," Quartey said. "I did everything. He did nothing. He came to survive. That's all he did."
De La Hoya, however, appeared to have won most of the close rounds by being busier.
After 11 rounds, De La Hoya trailed by three points on one card, and led by two and one on the other two.
"Robert (Alcazar, the co-trainer) told him to go out and look good in this round," Clancy said.
"Truly, I thought I was in total control," De La Hoya said. "I never thought I had to come back dramatically."
Whatever he thought, De La Hoya took Alcazar's advice. He knocked down Quartey with a left hook early in the round, then trapped him on the ropes and landed a barrage of 17 punches. Quartey punched back enough to keep the fight from being stopped.
All three judges gave De La Hoya a two-point round, making the final tallies 115-114 for Quartey and 115-112 and 115-113 for De La Hoya.
The Associated Press card favored De La Hoya 116-111.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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