IT CUT BOTH WAYS : DE LA HOYA PAYS PRICE FOR CHAVEZ INJURY.

Byline: Michael Rosenthal

The cut above Julio Cesar Chavez's left eye hurt Oscar De La Hoya a lot more than it hurt Chavez.

For Chavez, the cut, which resulted in his demise on Friday, was a blessing. It prevented what would certainly have been a prolonged - and embarrassing - beating and provided a convenient excuse for defeat.

For De La Hoya, it was a curse. It deprived him of an opportunity to show the world how he could take apart one of the greatest fighters ever, albeit one beyond his peak, piece by piece.

Oh, the new WBC super lightweight champion showed us plenty in only three-plus rounds. He showed us dazzling defensive skills, a world-class jab, frightening combinations, poise beyond his years, the ability to completely control a proud, veteran fighter.

In other words, he turned what many people believed would be a competitive fight into a disappointing joke.

De La Hoya was just getting started, though. As he lamented to a friend after he watched a tape of the fight, ``I was just beginning to let my punches go.''

We had our best look at what he could do in the closing seconds of the fight, when he unloaded a series of punches that came so quickly Chavez couldn't react yet left his face soaked in his own blood. Moments later, the fight was over.

What if Chavez had never been cut?

He would never have been able to work his way inside - the only place he could land punches - with any consistency. De La Hoya's five-inch reach advantage, his hard jab, his quickness rendered Chavez impotent.

And, as De La Hoya implied, we would've seen an increasing number of flurries meant to inflict serious damage.

Chavez might never have been knocked off his feet. His ability to take a punch is inhuman. Even Chavez can take only a finite amount of punishment, however, a point that certainly would've been exceeded in this fight.

Ultimately, Chavez, his spirit crushed, his energy sapped, his arms limp, would've taken punches and not thrown back, a signal to referee Joe Cortez that the end had come.

Such a scenario would've provided a clean transition: The unequivocal end of one great fighter, the birth of another. And De La Hoya would've seen total justice.

Alas, we must live with reality. Chavez was cut. He used it as an excuse. Some people will buy it, some will say, ``Chavez couldn't see through the blood. He was half a fighter. De La Hoya proved nothing.''

However, those who saw - those who really saw, those who weren't blinded by their allegiance to their fading hero - know. They know that De La Hoya did more than enough to remove any meaningful doubt as to his remarkable abilities.

After the fight, members of the media, people who have been close to many of the great fighters of the past few decades, compared him to Sugar Ray Leonard in terms of his combination of skill and bearing.

Some compared him to Tommy Hearns in terms of his height and his rare knockout power. Some even suggested he is a combination of Leonard and Hearns, a frightening prospect if there ever was one.

Frankly, it might be too early for such comparisons.

After all, De La Hoya, 23, has beaten exactly one superstar fighter, and a 33-year-old one at that. Even De La Hoya admits there is more learning to do, more mountains - mountains much taller than Chavez - to scale before he's through.

He'll likely fight and beat such young champions as Miguel Angel Gonzalez, Kostya Tszyu and the most fearsome of them all, Felix Trinidad. He'll likely fight and beat such proven fighters as Pernell Whitaker and Terry Norris. He'll likely fight and beat whomever dares to step into the ring with him.

And, when he decides he's had enough, he'll walk away as one of the greatest fighters in history.

Until then, don't miss his act. It's very special.Say it ain't so: Let's hope Evander Holyfield never gets into a ring with Mike Tyson, a sad prospect that could become reality.

Holyfield still has the desire, he still has the skills. However, it's clear he doesn't have the stamina. This was obvious in a knockout loss to Riddick Bowe last year and again in a one-sided victory over Bobby Czyz this year, if not before.

Either he's an old 33 or something is wrong with him or both.

The former champion has been told by doctors that he has a heart abnormality but that he can live a normal life. However, boxing - particularly against the likes of Tyson - is hardly a normal life.

Why take the risk? Holyfield doesn't need the money. He doesn't need to prove anything. He doesn't need to do this.

Let's hope the Nevada State Athletic Commission, after a pending evaluation of Holyfield, refuses to sanction the fight and that no other commission does otherwise.

COMING UP Saturday: On HBO, Roy Jones won't get much of a challenge from Canadian Eric Lucas in Jacksonville, Fla., even if he plays basketball beforehand. Jones is defending his IBF super middleweight title. Also on the card, Kevin Kelley takes on Derrick Gainer in a 12-round featherweight bout.

Sunday: On CBS, in Bay St. Louis, Miss., Larry Holmes faces Anthony Willis in what Holmes says is his final bout.

MEMO: Staff Writer Michael Rosenthal's boxing column appears Mondays in the Daily News.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO (color) Many boxing experts feel Oscar De La Hoy a, left, was just hitting his stride when a referee ended his pounding of Julio Cesar Chavez.

Associated Press

Box: Coming Up (see text)