NOW, WILL DE LA HOYA FINALLY MEET HIS MATCH?

Byline: Doug Krikorian

Ike Quartey is the first Oscar De La Hoya opponent who isn't too old, too light, too short, too weak, too ravaged and too limited in skill.

In fact, if you listen to what Quartey plans to do Saturday evening to De La Hoya at the Thomas & Mack Center, you fear for the safety of the popular World Boxing Council welterweight champion from East Los Angeles.

``I'm going to break De La Hoya in half like he's a chicken,'' promises Quartey, the 29-year-old fighter from Accra, Ghana, who recently was stripped of his World Boxing Association welterweight title. ``I'm definitely going to knock him out. The only way I won't knock him out is if he runs the whole fight, which he might try to do. But he won't be able to hide from me. I'm going to catch up to him, and when I do I'm going to hurt him.''

Typical pre-fight hyperbole from a 4-1 underdog trying to establish his legitimacy? Maybe.

But Quartey is unlike any person De La Hoya ever has met in the ring, unlike over-the-hill setups Julio Cesar Chavez and Hector ``Macho'' Camacho, unlike undersized foils Genaro Hernandez, Rafael Ruelas, James Leija and Jorge Paez.

For one thing, Quartey hits just as hard as De La Hoya, is as quick as De La Hoya, is as strong as De La Hoya, and has just as impressive a record as De La Hoya.

Quartey does have a draw to mar his ledger - it came in his last start against Jose Luis Lopez on Oct. 17, 1997 - but he counts 29 knockouts among his 34 wins compared to 24 KOs among the undefeated De La Hoya's 29 victories.

And Quartey, whose oldest brother (also named Ike Quartey) won a silver medal in boxing at the 1960 Rome Olympics, will solemnly tell you he wasn't exactly in prime condition when he fought Lopez.

``I had a severe case of malaria and never should have got in the ring that night against Lopez,'' says Quartey, who was knocked down twice by Lopez late in the fight. ``I was terribly weak, had absolutely no strength. I shouldn't have gone through with that fight, but I did.''

Of course, there hasn't been a fighter in the history of the sport who doesn't have some sort of excuse for a disappointing showing. Quartey is no exception, although his long-time trainer, Dan Odamtten, insists he was ailing badly against Lopez.

``Just look at the film of the fight, and you'll see how thin and sick-looking Ike was,'' he says. ``It's amazing he was able to fight as well as he did against Lopez. It shows just how tough Ike is.''

How tough is Quartey?

``Definitely the best fighter Oscar De La Hoya ever has met,'' says De La Hoya's promoter, Bob Arum, who has an option on Quartey just in case he pulls an upset and a rematch is needed.

Quartey has knocked out some tough individuals during his 11-year career, including Crisanto Espana, Vincent Phillips and Oba Carr.

He thinks the only way he can emerge victorious against De La Hoya is by knockout.

``No way I'm going to get a decision if it goes to the scorecards,'' says Quartey. ``Look, what the judges did to Pernell Whitaker. I thought Whitaker beat De La Hoya, and the three Las Vegas judges all had De La Hoya an easy winner. They cheated Whitaker, and I'm sure they'll cheat me if they get the chance.''

``Nonsense,'' says Bob Arum. ``The WBC is bringing in three respected officials from out of the country.''

Two of the judges, Larry O'Connell and John Keene, are from England, while another, Ken Mouta, is from Japan. The referee will be Mitch Helpern.

Still, the overwhelming feeling here is Quartey will have to dispense a dominant performance to earn a decision against De La Hoya, a proven box-office magnet and now perhaps the most glamorous figure in his mean profession.

The odds are heavily against Quartey in this one, but they have been against him ever since he was a kid growing up in the tough Accra suburb of Bukom.

``The place where Ike lived as a youngster is the poorest in all of Ghana,'' says Odamtten.

``There wasn't a day that went by when I was a kid that I didn't get into a fight, and I usually won,'' said Quartey, who has 18 sisters and nine brothers (his father had four wives).

``And when I didn't win, my dad would kick me out of the house and tell me not to come back until I beat up the other guy. When I was 8 years old, I even got into a fight with a guy who was 15. It was about that time when my oldest brother started taking me to the gym, and I got into boxing.''

Quartey is now a national hero in Ghana, and he can't walk anywhere in that country without being mobbed. He is married with a son and daughter, and these days splits his time between Ghana and America.

He says he has respect for De La Hoya but thinks the welterweight champion has been sheltered throughout his career and will suffer culture shock from finally facing someone of equal skills and size.

``If Oscar fights me, I'll knock him out,'' said Quartey. ``If he runs, he might survive.''

If nothing else, there is, at last, legitimate drama surrounding an Oscar De La Hoya fight.

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PHOTO IKE QUARTEY

He is considered by De La Hoya's promoter to be the best fighter De La Hoya has faced.