DE LA HOYA READY TO FACE HIS PAST.

Byline: MICHAEL ROSENTHAL Boxing

Oscar De La Hoya had expectations the day he stood at a podium at the Forum in 1992 to announce his professional boxing debut: Win a few world championships and some fame, make a lot money, retire a happy guy.

The Golden Boy never could have imagined what actually would come his way.

The world titles? He's won five. The fame? Everyone knows who Oscar De La Hoya is. The money? The poor kid from East L.A. has made more than $100 million in the ring alone. The happiness? Well, that's where it gets tricky.

De La Hoya has lived the dream of all fighters. And while he admits the fame, money and string of women whose names he couldn't possibly remember provided some excitement, he doesn't like a lot of what he sees when he reflects upon his life the past decade.

Only now, only after marrying Puerto Rican pop singer and apparent soulmate Millie Corretjer, is he coming to terms with his mistakes and beginning to grow.

``I had some great times - great times I regret now,'' he said in a low voice over the phone from the home he shares with Corretjer in Puerto Rico. ``... It created so many problems, so many lawsuits. I have two kids out of wedlock (to separate women). I love (the kids) very much but it goes against what my family believes in, what I believe in.

``It's a difficult situation to be in, hard to deal with.''

De La Hoya won't say that he wishes he could go back to that day at the Forum and start over. However, at 29, he said he does long for simpler times.

When he won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, and then signed with successful promoter Bob Arum, it set off a chain of events that De La Hoya couldn't have begun to understand.

He was swept up in the party-'til-I-drop lifestyle he now regrets and allowed others - primarily his father, it seems - to make the important decisions in his boxing career. He just went along for the ride to a good extent, never feeling as if he had control of his own life.

Myriad questions danced wildly in his head - What should I say? How should I behave? Who do I trust? Who do I fight? What do I do with all this money? What does this all mean? - and the answers were hard to come by for someone with precious-few life experiences.

As a result, this inherently shy man never has been entirely comfortable - or happy - in his role of superstar.

``I was expecting less,'' he said of his thoughts at the beginning of his career. ``I wasn't expecting what I have now, that's for sure. ... This has all been overwhelming. It's the life I never wanted, a life that was thrown at me.

``I found myself in difficult positions I didn't know how to deal with. Everything got thrown at me all at once. It's too tough to explain. It just was difficult.''

Of course, De La Hoya doesn't plan to give back the money he made fighting and by countless other means, including a burgeoning singing career.

The income gave him and those close to him what he never knew as a child: a very comfortable life. His success also has improved the condition of so many others, including the children who benefit from his community center in his old neighborhood.

De La Hoya's grateful - and a bit embarrassed, it seems.

``It's unnecessary,'' he said. ``I think about that a lot. I have a home in Pasadena - I sold my home in L.A. - and a home here in Puerto Rico. I'm happy with that. What else do I need? ... It's like it's not fair (to those not so fortunate).

``Sometimes I wish that one day I'd wake up and have nothing. That's when I was happier, when I had no problems.''

Actually, he's happier now than he has been for some time and he can thank Corretjer, who seems to be the anchor he's lacked as an adult.

With her, he said, he's just beginning to realize what's important in life.

``She has her head on straight,'' he said. ``She brings me down to earth, helps me deal with all the problems. She makes me realize that I don't need all this money. I can live happier with less. She makes me realize all that, she makes me realize the person I was before was a better person. I admit I changed over the years because of the money and fame, and it created a lot of problems. She's helping me bring back the old Oscar I was before.

``She's making me happier. I can see I'm progressing, I'm making changes, I'm becoming a different person, a more mature person.''

So where does De La Hoya go from here?

He's preparing to face Fernando Vargas on May 4, although this appears to be another example of others dictating what he should do. He never wanted to fight Vargas because of his disdain for his bitter rival and because he didn't see the point. This is about money, not what drives him.

He'd much rather be fighting Shane Mosley or Felix Trinidad, the only fighters to beat him.

``I've always done what others wanted me to do, all my career,'' he said. ``I want to fight Mosley, I want to fight Trinidad. That's something personal. I feel they took something away from me and now I have to get it back.

``I ask myself, `Why fight Vargas?' It doesn't offer me anything.''

And then there's talk of retirement. De La Hoya has said publicly he'll fight three more fights - Vargas, Mosley and Trinidad - and then call it quits. However, he admitted from Puerto Rico that his plans aren't so definite.

He only knows that when he does make the decision to walk away, he'll need to be stronger than he has ever been to stay away. That Corettjer is in his life will make the task easier.

``I'm beginning to get my priorities straight,'' he said. ``I ask myself, `What's important?' Is it fighting to make more money? No. Is it having more fame? No.

``It's being with my wife. That's what makes me happy.''

--Sincere? Some of those who've followed his career closely will read this and suspect insincerity on De La Hoya's part.

And he has only himself to blame. He often has said what he thinks people want to hear instead of speaking from his heart, often contradicting himself in the process.

Thus, over time, people become skeptical of his comments.

This time, his comments seemed to be genuine; he seems to be engaging in healthy self reflection. His wife seems to be bringing out the best in him.

We'll only know for sure over time.

--Gone but not forgotten: Ruth Fraser, one of a handful of women licensed as a professional boxing promoter in California, died Tuesday at her Toluca Lake home following a two-year battle with cancer. She was 71.

Fraser and her husband, Don Fraser, established boxing at the Irvine Marriott in the mid 1980s.

She is survived by her husband; daughters Dianne Cohn, Studio City; Lynne Doolittle, Morton, Ill.; and Denise Fraser, Toluca Lake. Plans for a memorial service are pending.

--Rabbit punches: No date has been set as of Friday for the Marco Antonio Barrera-Erik Morales fight, which was postponed because of an injury to Barrera's ribs.

It could happen as late as July. ...

WBC junior lightweight champion Floyd Mayweather will fight WBC lightweight titleholder Jose Luis Castillo, probably April 20 in Las Vegas. ...

KCAL (Channel 9) and Top Rank Boxing have agreed on a deal to televise four Saturday-night fight cards.

The first, April 20, will feature light heavyweight Julio Gonzalez. His opponent has not been selected.

The shows will be televised from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.

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Oscar De La Hoya says he is taking a long look at his past and wants to deal with some of those issues.

Jeff Klein/Associated Press