GUT-WRENCHING WIN REVITALIZED DE LA HOYA KOS COLEY IN SEVENTH ROUND.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal Staff Writer

NEW YORK - The first step on Oscar De La Hoya's road to redemption might not have been as spectacular as he would've liked.

But it was thorough.

De La Hoya, steely eyes fixed on Derrel Coley from the opening bell, gradually chopped down his reluctant opponent before finally putting him away with a single - and immensely painful - left hook to the belly at the end of the seventh round before 13,814 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

De La Hoya lost only one round on the card of one judge in what amounted to another mismatch. Even though Coley had been the WBC's No. 1 contender for about two years.

Now, De La Hoya (32-1, with 26 knockouts) must wait to see whether he will have the opportunity to avenge his disappointing loss to Felix Trinidad last September.

Trinidad is scheduled to fight David Reid on Friday in Las Vegas.

If Trinidad wins, he will face De La Hoya on June 10 in New York or Las Vegas if the camps can reach terms. If Reid wins, De La Hoya is expected to face Shane Mosley on June 17 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

``I believe the Trinidad fight was the best thing that could've happened to me,'' said De La Hoya, who reiterated that he believes he should've been given the decision in the September fight.

``It changed me, the way I fight, the way I train, the way I look at boxing. That's why I'm training like I have. I haven't been like this in years.''

Aside from a moment in the fourth round when De La Hoya appeared to be hurt by a right to the head, Coley (34-2-2, 24 KOs) never had a chance in the scheduled 12-round welterweight bout.

He admitted afterward that he was overwhelmed and he fought like it: He spent more time fending off the bigger, tougher and much more talented Angeleno than fighting him.

For that reason, it was difficult for De La Hoya to land big punches and devastate his opponent as he had hoped after losing to Trinidad by running the final three rounds of a fight he had dominated, a regrettable act that drew harsh criticism from the public and media.

He hurt Coley in the best round of the fight, the fourth. De La Hoya survived a barrage of punches - the only meaningful flurry from Coley - and then wobbled his opponent with a left hook. He was unable to finish it at that point but it became clear then that Coley was doomed.

The process was slow and painful. De La Hoya landed more solid punches to the head. By the end of the fight, his left hook had closed Coley's battered right eye.

However, it was consistent, mean-spirited punches to the body that ultimately brought on Coley's demise. The punch that ended it landed squarely in the middle of Coley's stomach, which made a loudly pro De La Hoya crowd wince when it was shown repeatedly on replays.

Coley, who said later that he had the wind knocked out of him, dropped to his knees and refused to stand up by referee Wayne Kelly's count of 10. Put simply: He had had endured enough punishment from a far superior fighter.

``I think that's the case,'' Coley said when asked whether he was reduced to surviving. ``I wasn't as strong as I thought coming into the fight. I weighed 145 (actually 147, the same as De La Hoya) before the fight and 150 today. ...

``I was too small, not strong enough. Oscar overpowered me.''

Afterward, De La Hoya, who was virtually unmarked, gave himself a 7 1/2 on scale of 1 to 10 for his performance.

However, he fought the kind of fight he says he'll fight for the remainder of his career: He imposed his imposing will on his opponent.

``The fighter you saw tonight is who I am,'' he said. ``I'm not going to change for anybody. I'm not going to box anymore.

``Of course, I'm going to fight smart. And I have things to work on, moving more at the waist, using my jab more. But it's no more Mr. Nice Guy. I'm going to let them adjust to my style instead of me adjusting to theirs.''

De La Hoya could end up as the WBC welterweight champ if Trinidad vacates the title and the sanctioning body awards him the belt, although he has said he's not particularly interested in it.

No, his attention is focused on Trinidad and Mosley and his climb back to the top of the boxing world.

He wouldn't say which of the two he'd rather face but did allow for the possibility of facing both this year.

However, a knowledgeable source said a ``working'' agreement between De La Hoya and Trinidad has been reached on a two-fight deal, with the first fight at a catch weight of 151 pounds, about midway between the welterweight and junior middleweight limits.

The fighters would fight on June 10 and again in September and make $40 million each.

``It doesn't matter to me who I fight,'' De La Hoya said. ``... All I know is I'm going to be in good shape and he's going to have to adjust to my style.''

In preliminary bouts, Arturo Gatti (31-4, 26 KOs) knocked down Joey Gamache (55-4, 38 KOs) three times en route to a brutal knockout 31 seconds into the second round of a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight bout between former world champions.

Gamache, floored for the third time with a vicious three-punch combination, lay on the canvas for several minutes before getting up.

Gatti, who weighed in at 141 on Friday, weighed the middleweight limit of 160 at fight time. Gamache weighed 141 on Friday but gained only five pounds by Saturday night.

And, in one of the more entertaining fights of the night, Mia St. John(16-0, nine KOs) of Calabasas defeated Kristin Allan (3-1, three KOs) of Russellville, Mo., by majority decision over four competitive rounds to remain undefeated.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) Darrell Coley retreats from Oscar De La Hoya's punishing onslaught at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Mark Lennihan/Associated Press

(2) Oscar De La Hoya lands a blow to Darrell Coley, who succumbed to the L.A. fighter in the seventh round.

Jeff Zelevansky/Associated Press