OBA CARR: ONE MAN, ONE FOCUS.

Byline: Robert Morales

Oba Carr walks the treadmill at the Big Bear Fitness Gym, his sturdy posture exuding strength. All around, men and women pump iron, jump rope and hit the heavy bag. But Carr barely notices. He gazes straight ahead, his steely eyes transfixed.

Carr's singular focus in recent weeks has been Oscar De La Hoya, whom Carr will challenge Saturday in Las Vegas for the World Boxing Council welterweight championship.

De La Hoya admits he has trained hard for only the past four weeks. Carr has been at it for eight. While De La Hoya and promoter Bob Arum have been dismissing Carr by openly negotiating for a title defense against Felix Trinidad, Carr has thought only about De La Hoya.

It all provides incentive for Carr.

This will be Carr's third shot at a major title, but his first with his father serving as his trainer.

Eddie Carr, who has otherwise trained Oba for his entire amateur and pro career, was replaced for two years by promoter Don King, who signed Oba in 1994.

Hungry? Oba Carr is starving. And heaven help De La Hoya if he is looking past him.

``It's stupid; it's ridiculous,'' Carr said. ``Hopefully, they are overlooking me. If they are, they're going to get knocked out.

``That is doing nothing but getting me hungrier. It keeps me more consistent. It keeps me focused on my objective. They must be thinking I have some character disorder or something. I don't have no disorder about me.''

Actually, Carr (48-2-1, 28 knockouts) is in better mental - or, as he calls it, spiritual - shape than ever. He survived the rigors of two years with King and said he came out the better for it.

Against his father's wishes, Carr - who turned pro in 1989 at 17 - signed with King in 1994. King fired Eddie Carr as trainer and brought in a slew of different trainers to work with Oba.

When Carr, 27, fought for Trinidad's IBF welterweight title in 1994, he was just 22. He floored Trinidad in the second round, but Trinidad rebounded and stopped him in eight. Panama Lewis was Carr's trainer.

In 1996, Carr, at 24, fought and lost a unanimous decision to Ike Quartey, then the WBA welterweight champion. Stacey McKinley trained Carr for that bout, his last with King.

Back came Eddie Carr, who wishes he could have trained his son for both.

``Don King and his crew, they came up with all these different trainers,'' Eddie Carr said. ``In a fight with Trinidad, they would rather have Panama Lewis in his corner. His English wasn't even clear.''

It was a difficult time for Oba. He doesn't blame Lewis, McKinley or King for his losses to Trinidad and Quartey, however. He blames his own immaturity.

Carr describes himself as a ``righteous kid'' who never did drugs and never got in trouble growing up in Detroit. But he wasn't maturing the way he wanted to. So even though he had to grow up around King for a while, he views it as necessary.

``I'm not the same individual I was when I fought for the championship at 21, 22,'' he said. ``It's just all about having an identity, and having peace of mind. You go through adversity, and make it through that, and of course you are going to be a stronger person.''

Even though Eddie Carr would have preferred to be with his son all the way, he also believes Oba benefited from the time away.

``It was one of those things where, it sounds bad, but in every bad experience, there's a learning experience,'' Eddie said.

Saturday, Oba is hopeful he can put all of his experience to work in what could be the biggest night of his career.

``I'm glad they are overlooking Oba,'' Eddie Carr said. ``All the billboards they have printed up just have a picture of Oscar on it. They didn't even put Oba's picture on it, just his name in small letters.

``If that's the way they feel, they are in for a rude awakening. See, we feel that the victory is already done in heaven. Now we just have to do it on earth.''

As confident as Eddie Carr is, his son is even more convinced he will come out the winner.

``There is no fighter in the world as hungry as me,'' Carr said. ``I've been training for eight weeks now, man, and for eight weeks, every moment, every second, every hour of that eight weeks I have been completely focused.

``Every second of those eight weeks have just been consistently thinking about becoming world champion. The wickedness, the mad evil, it's going to be there. Controlled evil.''

DE LA HOYA vs. CARR

WBC welterweight bout

Saturday, Las Vegas

TV: HBO 

A CLOSER LOOK

Age: 27

Hometown: Detroit

Record: 48-2-1

Knockouts: 28

Class: Welterweight

Height: 5-foot-9

Reach: 72 inches

Major fights: Stopped in the eighth round by International Boxing Federation champion Felix Trinidad in 1994. Decisioned top-rated Derrell Coley to win the North American Boxing Federation title in 1995. In 1996 he lost a 12-round majority decision against Ike Quartey for the World Boxing Association title. Won unanimous 10-round decision over Frankie Randall in February to earn a shot at Oscar De La Hoya.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO no caption (Oba Carr)

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press

BOX: A CLOSER LOOK (see text)