GOLDEN BOY BLOWS GOLDEN CHANCE.

Byline: MIKE ROSENTHAL 

Oscar De La Hoya might have made a big mistake.

He had a chance to fight a compelling, but imminently beatable opponent - Fernando Vargas - and make a lot of money in the process. It was a very rare small-risk, big-gain matchup, according to many observers.

And De La Hoya passed it up.

Now was the perfect time to fight Vargas.

De La Hoya hasn't faced a big-name opponent since Shane Mosley 14 months ago, and his fans have been restless. He needed an opponent about whom the boxing public could get excited.

Vargas, one of the world's best-known and fiery young fighters, was it. The two would have packed either Staples Center or a Las Vegas venue and the pay-per-view numbers certainly would have been healthy.

A victory for De La Hoya would have been a boon to both his career and finances.

And the clincher is, Vargas appears to be as vulnerable as he ever will be at this very moment.

Felix Trinidad knocked the confidence out of the once-cocky Oxnard resident and it certainly hadn't returned in a shaky performance against Wilfredo Rivera five months later, although Vargas won that fight.

Vargas might regain some of his old swagger against solid, but limited Shibata Flores, whom Vargas will fight for the vacant WBA junior middleweight championship Sept. 22.

Still, the healing process would not have been complete had he met De La Hoya on Dec. 8 as scheduled. And a fighter whose psyche remains damaged probably shouldn't step into the ring with a talent like De La Hoya.

No, it wouldn't have been an easy fight for De La Hoya. At the same time, it probably wouldn't have been as competitive as some people believed.

So this is what De La Hoya had in his grasp: A $10 million-plus payday and a popular opponent who would satisfy hungry fans even though the opponent probably wouldn't stand much of a chance in the fight.

Could it have been any more perfect?

De La Hoya probably will defend the WBC junior middleweight title against No. 1 challenger Roman Karmazin on the same Dec. 8 date, probably in Las Vegas, and he probably will win easily in another boring fight.

Then what?

Trinidad in a rematch of their 1999 fight, won by Trinidad by a controversial decision? Nope. Trinidad is busy elsewhere. Mosley in a rematch of their bout last year, won by Mosley? De La Hoya wants no part of him at the moment.

He could fight David Reid in what would be a fairly big fight. However, if Vargas is damaged goods, then Reid might be ready for the junkyard. He, too, was pummeled by Trinidad and either never recovered or never was as good as many believed. That, and his nagging droopy eye, makes him more pathetic than compelling and it's a good bet the fans would see that.

So we're down to Vargas again.

Say De La Hoya decides to fight him in the spring. Vargas will have fought once or twice more, which will have give him time to build his confidence and skills.

In other words, he could be a considerably better fighter, perhaps one who could give De La Hoya a serious challenge.

That brings us back to the obvious: De La Hoya blew it. He should have paid Karmazin enough to step aside and fought Vargas when the time was right.

--Why'd he do it? De La Hoya's reasons are anything but clear.

If it was Jose Sulaiman's demand that De La Hoya defend his title against Karmazin that forced his hand, then that's fine. It makes sense. De La Hoya could fulfill his obligation to fight the mandatory challenger and then take on Vargas.

However, if that's the case, why didn't De La Hoya's handlers just say so? It would have been a legitimate reason to postpone the Vargas fight.

Instead, they claimed Vargas' handlers made unreasonable demands even though a tentative and fairly complete deal had been reached, according to most accounts.

De La Hoya's people acknowledged the agreement was quashed in part over things like airline tickets and promoter Gary Shaw's failure to submit a request for his people's seats. They said, ``Enough was never enough.''

And they said the quibbling of Vargas' representatives made negotiations drag on. Drag on? They started talks only two weeks ago, which isn't exactly a marathon.

It doesn't make sense.

--Rabbit punches: Guty Espadas blew any chance for a rematch with WBC featherweight champion Erik Morales when he lost to late-sub William Abelyan on Aug. 4 in Las Vegas.

Espadas, who lost a controversial decision to Morales in February, was dropped by the southpaw Abelyan in rounds six and eight in losing a wild eight-round decision. ...

Bob Arum brought in a familiar face to help promote Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s title defense against Jesus Chavez: Julio Cesar Chavez, no relation to Jesus.

Arum wants to stage a bout between Julio Cesar Chavez and a journeyman opponent at Mexico City's huge Estadio Azteca as a farewell for Chavez. All the profits would go to Chavez, who apparently is having significant financial difficulties.

``I think we should give back to fighters like Julio who have given so much to the sport. I'd do what I could for nothing,'' Arum said.

Arum is using the memory of two unforgettable fights between Julio Cesar Chavez and Roger Mayweather - Floyd's trainer - as part of the promotion.

--Coming up: Paul Spadafora willface Charles Tschorniawsky in a 10-round junior welterweight bout in Chester, W.Va., on MSG Network.

On Friday, Cory Spinks will fight Larry Marks in a 12-round welterweight bout Tuesday in Chicago on ESPN2. ...

And Saturday, on Showtime, David Tua will face Chris Byrd in a 10-round heavyweight bout in Las Vegas, and Emmanuel Lucero will face John Lowey in a 12-round junior featherweight bout in Uncasville, Conn.

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Photo:

(color) Oscar De La Hoya, pictured, passed on a seemingly perfect fight for him with Oxnard's Fernando Vargas.

Joe Cavaretta/Associated Press