A TARNISHED GOLDEN BOY OSCAR DE LA HOYA STILL HASN'T CONVINCED EVERYONE.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Assistant Sports Editor 

LAS VEGAS - Oscar De La Hoya the commodity is easy to define. As HBO executive Mark Taffet put it: ``Commercially, he's the most successful nonheavyweight fighter and one of the most successful fighters of any weight in the history of boxing.''

Oscar De La Hoya the fighter? That's much more difficult to get a handle on.

Some observers see him as an unusually talented fighter but one without a discernible style - and a relatively weak right hand - who has fallen short of greatness because he's never won a big fight convincingly. Others see him as that rare champion who has faced all of the best fighters of his generation and lost only twice - one a disputed decision to Felix Trinidad and a close decision against Shane Mosley.

All agree that, at 28, the future will determine his ultimate place in history.

``He might not have lived up to the hype, but he still has a chance,'' said boxing historian Bert Sugar.

No one can say De La Hoya isn't an accomplished fighter. The Golden Boy, the United States' only gold medalist in the 1992 Olympics, will challenge for a championship in a fifth weight class when he faces WBC junior middleweight titleholder Javier Castillejo here on Saturday.

And, yes, he has ducked no one. A list of his opponents over his nine- year career is impressive.

However, unlike great champions of the past, he has been unable to dominate any of his four most significant opponents in what were potential defining fights - Pernell Whitaker, Ike Quartey, Trinidad and Mosley. He went 2-2 in those fights and all but the Mosley decision was hotly disputed.

How many walked away from the fights saying of De La Hoya: ``Wow! What a performance?`` Only an entertaining 12th round in the Quartey fight and possibly his boxing exhibition against Trinidad revealed a hint of greatness from De La Hoya.

In other words, he failed to shine on the biggest stage. No victory like Sugar Ray Leonard's spectacular knockout of Thomas Hearns. Nothing resembling Muhammad Ali's stunning KOs of Sonny Liston and George Foreman. Not even convincing victories like Mosley over him or Trinidad over virtually all his opponents.

That, combined with the fact he ran from Trinidad in the final three rounds of a fight he was winning, has tarnished his image.

``The perception is he ran against Trinidad,'' Sugar said. ``... The perception is he was beaten by a smaller man against Mosley. It's not true, but that's the perception. It's all about perception. That's something that he's dealing with right now.''

The fact De La Hoya has no easily defined style - perhaps the product of working with many different trainers - also might hurt him in terms of perception.

Trinidad knocks people out. That's the only style of fighting he knows. Mosley overwhelms his opponents with a consistent blend of boxing and punching that almost invariably leaves his opponents on the canvas. Whitaker dazzled the world with his boxing skills. Julio Cesar Chavez methodically chopped his opponents down in his prime.

What does De La Hoya do? One fight he's a careful boxer (Trinidad). Another he resembles a brawler (Mosley). And yet another he falls somewhere in between. To his credit, he wins. However, rarely do observers know what to make of him when he does.

``He hasn't fought two consecutive fights the same,'' Sugar said. ``He has no perceivable style, no label. People need labels. Henry Armstrong was a buzz saw. Joe Louis had a knockout punch. Muhammad Ali was a mover. ... If he would just fight the same way two consecutive fights, maybe we could judge him more accurately.''

Again, however, he does win. That, his supporters say, should supersede everything else.

De La Hoya steamrollered through the lighter weights early in his career, knocking out 20 of his first 23 opponents - such capable fighters as John John Molina, Rafael Ruelas and Julio Cesar Chavez among them - before moving up to 147 pounds. And, while he seems to have lost some power as he's moved up in weight, he's won all but the Trinidad and Mosley fights.

And, had things been only slightly different, he might've won those fights, too, and be on top of the boxing world as he once was.

He rendered Trinidad helpless with his superior boxing skills and quickness for eight-plus rounds before he ran out of energy as a result of what he says was inadequate training and was transformed into a survivor. Had he had three more hard rounds in his reservoir, the boxing world would look considerably different. And, although Mosley was a clear winner, De La Hoya would be 35-0 and the greatest thing on earth had he won only one more round.

If nothing else, De La Hoya might not have dominated his best-known opponents - but they didn't dominate him either.

Indeed, there appears to be a fine line between an outstanding fighter and a great one.

``The only fight people say he lost was against Shane Mosley,'' Taffet said. ``... And had he won the 12th round of that fight, he would've won. That's how close it was. Now look at Trinidad. No one fought Trinidad like Oscar De La Hoya did. If anything, what Trinidad has been able to do the past two years proves how great Oscar De La Hoya is.

``I personally don't think you can question that he's one of the greatest fighters of his time.''

As Sugar said, De La Hoya still has a chance to change your mind if you do question his greatness.

De La Hoya says he wants rematches with Trinidad and Mosley and economics say he could get them: Trinidad and Mosley would make more money fighting De La Hoya than anyone else, with the possible exception being Roy Jones Jr. in Trinidad's case.

If De La Hoya gets the fights and wins them in a convincing manner, he could retire a great fighter. No one would dare argue otherwise.

If he loses to them again, he'll probably be remembered as an outstanding fighter who had the misfortune of fighting in the same generation as Trinidad and Mosley. Television analyst Larry Merchant said he might be compared to Hearns, ``A terrific fighter who just wasn't good enough to beat the best fighters of his era.

If he splits the rematches ... well, that gets complicated.

The bottom line is it's not too late to join a fighter like Leonard in our consciousness if things go his way.

``When we look back at Leonard, we think of a great fighter,`` Merchant said. ``He had his showdown with Hearns and he pulled it off, pulled it off with dramatic finality. We haven't seen that from De La Hoya.

``He's only 28, though. He can still accomplish things. I think when all is said and done, he'll be regarded as an outstanding fighter and, who knows, maybe more than that.''

DE LA HOYA vs. CASTILLEJO

Who: Javier Castillejo defends his WBC junior middleweight championship against Oscar De La Hoya

When: Saturday

Where: MGM Grand in Las Vegas

TV: Pay-per-view (first fight at 6 p.m.)

Also fighting: Lehlohonolo Ledwaba defends his IBF junior featherweight title against Enrique Sanchez

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Oscar De La Hoya displays a poster during news conference Thursday at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to promote his fight.

Joe Cavarette/Associated Press

(2) Oscar De La Hoya has lost twice in his career including a split decision loss to Shane Mosley, last year at Staples Center.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

Box: DE LA HOYA vs. CASTILLEJO (see text)