TIME EXPOSED QUARRY'S LOSS; HEAD BLOWS LEFT HEAVYWEIGHT WITH THE MENTALITY OF A CHILD.

Byline: MICHAEL ROSENTHAL Boxing

We love fighters like Jerry Quarry.

We call them bangers, fierce warriors who are willing to take hard punches to the head in order to throw harder ones as blood-thirsty fans - who live for the knockout - roar their approval from a safe distance.

This was Quarry, the former heavyweight contender who died of heart failure

last week at only 53.

Normally, the long-time Southern California resident got the better of the mayhem. He lost only nine of 66 fights, including four total to Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, and lost a controversial decision to Jimmy Ellis in the finals of a tournament in 1968 to replace Ali, who was stripped of his championship title.

Many believe Quarry would have been a title holder had he fought today.

Out of the ring, he also was first-rate by most accounts. As smart as any fighter, he was witty and engaging. I remember seeing him do an impersonation of Ali as a guest on the Tonight Show that had Johnny Carson and the studio audience in stitches.

And he could be thoughtful. He served as a television color commentator for several major fights and was well-respected. He also wrote poetry.

``He was bright,'' long-time friend Bob Case said. ``If he didn't fight, I think he could've done whatever he wanted.''

The fact is, he did fight. And, whether or not we stop and consider it, there is life after fighting - such as it is.

When Quarry stepped out of the spotlight, when he was no longer needed by promoters, managers, trainers and fans and the only ones who cared were loving family members and friends, he lost his biggest fight.

Quarry took a lot of punches in order to throw his own. Thousands? Tens of thousands, when one includes sparring? Certainly, his brain was damaged to the point that in the end he could barely function and his death was linked to the deterioration of his mind.

Technically, he had dementia pugilistica, a disease that hovers ominously over boxing but hardly gets the attention it deserves. A doctor reportedly said the punches aged him 30 years while family and friends said he had the mentality of a child at the end.

At 50, this once-charismatic, super-human man was helpless. As one of his sisters, Diana, put it shortly before his death: ``You look into his eyes and nobody's home.''

Thus, he relied on Diana and other family members to care for him the last several years of his life.

Diana, who once reveled in Quarry's success because she didn't know any better, now calls for the banning of the sport. No one, she said, deserves such a fate.

``Ask anyone, `Do you want a son of, say, 40 to have the mind of an 80-year-old?'' said Diana, who has two other boxer-brothers, Mike and Bobby, who also suffered brain damage.

`` . . . Ask that person, `Are you willing for a few dollars or what people call `fame' willing to sacrifice a human mind?' Jerry has good muscle tone, an athletic body but he speaks like a child. It breaks your heart.

``I had to disassociate myself from this every day. If you look into his eyes with any empathy, it would destroy you. I had to avoid eye contact. Otherwise, I'd break down. I know I would.''

In his career, Quarry served as an example of the best about boxing: The thrill of battle, the courage, the nobility of the combatants. In death, he serves as a symbol of the worst of the sport: The toll it takes on the minds - and in turn the lives - of the fighters and their families.

In the latter sense, perhaps Quarry's story will serve some good, perhaps the powers that be will take further steps to protect fighters - if that's possible - and the suffering will be minimized.

Otherwise, what Quarry had to endure makes no sense whatsoever.

Rabbit punches: Oxnard, rapidly becoming a fighter factory, has three amateurs ranked in the top 10 in their respective weight classes.

They are: Joel Salas, No. 7 welterweight; Jesus Casrez, No. 10 light welterweight; and Rolando Reyes, No. 10 lightweight. . . .

Michael Grant, who many believe is the next great heavyweight, resumes his career against Abmad Abdin on Jan. 30 on HBO After Dark.

Another heavyweight bout on that card, Andrew Golota against Jimmy Thunder, is more interesting.

Golota is trying to recapture the status he lost as a result of his low-blow disqualifications against Riddick Bowe. . . .

Heavyweight Michael Moorer will return to the ring this spring, according to Main Events. Arturo Gatti also expects to fight again around that time. . . .

Sport magazine's February issue, which is on the newsstands, includes an in-depth report on boxing. . . .

Donavan ``Razor'' Ruddock, trying to climb back into the title picture, faces journeyman Tony La Rosa on Jan. 21 in Marksville, La. USSB is televising the bout. . . .

Keith Holmes gets a chance to regain the WBC middleweight title from Hassine Cherifi, who won a decision in May in France to take the belt.

Holmes fought as if left his mind back home in Washington D.C. He'll win easily this time if his brain shows up.

That bout, as well as WBA middleweight champ William Joppy's defense against Darren Obah, will be on Showtime.

COMING UP

Friday: On ESPN2, Thomas Tate defends his NABF super middleweight title against Merqui Sosa in Las Vegas.

Saturday: On pay-per-view, Mike Tyson faces Francois Botha in a 10-round heavyweight bout in Las Vegas. Also, Robert Garcia of Oxnard defends his IBF junior lightweight title against John John Molina, and Luisito Espinosa defends his WBC featherweight championship against Cesar Soto.

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box

PHOTO Jerry Quarry hit hard, but boxing hit harder, leaving him with dementia pugilistica. He died at age 53.

Daily News File Photo

BOX: COMING UP (see text)