DE LA HOYA TURNS ON THE POWER.

Byline: Associated Press 

It was billed as Oscar night in the Alamodome, where the crowd responded by treating Oscar De La Hoya more like a movie star than a boxing champion.

By the time De La Hoya had dispatched David Kamau in the second round, however, it was clear De La Hoya wasn't just acting the part of a great boxer.

Greeted by screaming fans and cheered from the moment he entered the arena, De La Hoya put on a brief but spectacular show by knocking out Kamau in the second round to retain his WBC welterweight title.

It was the first knockout in three fights for De La Hoya, who vowed to regain the knockout touch that had seen him stop 20 of his first 22 opponents. And it came quickly, delighting the crowd of about 10,000 that stood and cheered long after the fight.

``I'm back, I've got the power,'' De La Hoya said. ``The power is back.''

De La Hoya, making the first defense of the 147-pound title he won only two months and two days ago from Pernell Whitaker, dropped Kamau with a left hook only seconds into the second round of the scheduled 12-round fight.

Kamau got back up at the count of 6 and traded punches with the champion, but not for long. De La Hoya pounded him around the ring before finally catching him with another left hook that sent Kamau spinning around and to the canvas with 17 seconds left in the round.

Kamau got to one knee and tried to get up but fell backward as referee Lawrence Cole counted him out at 2:54 of the round.

``It was fun, because Kamau's style was good for me,'' De La Hoya said. ``He liked to come out and fight and was tough. I like to fight against those kind of fighters.''

It was the 21st knockout in 25 fights for De La Hoya, but he had gone the distance in his two previous fights and was looking to regain his knockout punch as a welterweight.

Kamau (28-2) obliged by moving forward and presenting De La Hoya with the kind of easy target he never found in the slippery Whitaker. After a cautious first round, De La Hoya started the sequence that would finally end the fight by landing a double left hook to the body and head.

Kamau kept fighting back but could not match De La Hoya's power or speed, and the final result was inevitable.

``Every time he traded with me he left himself wide open,'' De La Hoya said. ``I'm surprised he got up from the first knockdown.''

Kamau, a native of Kenya, had lost only once, on a decision to Julio Cesar Chavez in September 1995. But he proved no match for De La Hoya.

``He's fast and he's quick,'' Kamau said. ``He caught me off-guard with a left hook.''

De La Hoya had brought in new trainer Emanuel Steward to improve his offense and vowed to go after a knockout against Kamau.

It didn't take long before a crowd of about 10,000 in the Alamodome who screamed and cheered for De La Hoya even during preliminary bouts when his image would be shown on the scoreboard video screen.

``I give Oscar an A-plus for the fight,'' Steward said. ``He adjusted and fought like a true warrior.''

De La Hoya, who weighed the class limit of 147 pounds, earned $3 million for the fight, and set up a Sept. 13 fight with Hector Camacho in Las Vegas that could earn him double that.

``I'm already ready for Camacho,'' De La Hoya said. ``I'm very happy and pleased with my performance.''

It was only the second fight at the 147-pound weight limit for both fighters.