Sporting Chance

Oscar de la Hoya was the big draw at Madison Square Garden last weekend but Mia St. John stole the show. The Golden Boy was no match for The Punching Playmate.

Mia opened hostilities in the Top Rank satellite feed which was broadcast on Viva Vintage TV last Sunday. She wore a pink suit that bared her shoulders and long legs. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail. The former Playboy model brought the house down with her killer looks and socked it to previously unbeaten Kristen Allan with her killer blows. Mia, a featherweight, scored a majority four-round decision to raise her pro record to 16-0, with nine knockouts.

Mia is a welcome sight in a sport that was once an exclusive male enclave. She brings new meaning to a "pug nose." What's remarkable is Mia can fight. She's intelligent, too. Mia probably inherited her smarts from her father who worked as a nuclear engineer so he couldn't have been dumb.

Mia was raised by her mother Maria Rosales, a Mexican immigrant, in Canoga Park, California. She was 13 when her father, an alcoholic, left home and never came back.

Although she wears makeup in the ring, Mia is no patsy. Don't let her femininity fool you. She's a knockout in more ways than one.

Mia took up taekwondo when she was six and is now a black belter. She competed in karate tournaments, posting a 27-1 record, before turning to pro boxing three years ago.

A troubled childhood and a turbulent marriage led Mia to channel her aggressions in the ring. She said boxing is her passion and she's proud of her fighter's instinct. "My parents never told me I was pretty," noted Mia, quoted in Boxing Digest. "They told me that I was strong and smart."

Mia, 32, is divorced and the mother of an 8-year-old son and a 6-year-old daughter. I wonder if her husband wound up in a ditch. She said her kids aren't interested in boxing. In contrast, her own mother is thoroughly involved in the game and sometimes kibitzes in her corner during a fight.

The other show-stoppers in the card were former International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior lightweight champion Arturo (Thunder) Gatti and of course, de la Hoya.

Gatti, born in Canada of Italian descent, demolished ex-World Boxing Association (WBA) junior lightweight and lightweight titlist Joey Gamache in two rounds. He's in line for a shot at the WBC superlightweight crown now worn by Kotsya Tszyu of Australia.

Gatti, 27, was voted by fans as boxing's most entertaining and courageous fighter last year. He captured the imagination of fans when he survived a brutal 17-punch barrage to halt Gabriel Ruelas with a single punch in 1997. The year before, Gatti got up from a knockdown, broke Wilson Rodriguez' ribs, and scored a dramatic come-from-behind stoppage despite both eyes swollen to slits. He's called the ultimate tough guy, the modern version of Jake LaMotta. Gatti is known for the manly art of no defense - he brawls with reckless abandon and uses his face as bait to goad opponents into a slugfest.

There's a knife stab scar in Gatti's back - a memento of a streetbrawl. So taking a few licks in the face is nothing for Gatti who has been thrown in jail for drunk driving and assaulting a policeman. And to think that Gatti thought of making hockey or soccer a career before his late father Giovanni and brother Joe, an ex-pro, steered him to boxing.

As for De la Hoya, his convincing victory over Derrell Coley erased all doubts that he may no longer be interested in fighting after a lackluster showing in losing a majority decision to Felix Trinidad last year.

De la Hoya, 26, is a magnet for distractions. He's wealthy, good-looking, charismatic, and lives on the fasttrack. His engagements to Veronica Peralta and Cassie Van Doran were aborted when both fiancees found out about his myriad extracurricular activities. De la Hoya has a long list of paternity suits. Last year, he was sued by the IBF and former manager Mike Hernandez.

De la Hoya's potential is unlimited. He's a natural. He can box and he can punch. That's probably why he changes trainers like he changes girlfriends. He's just too good for his own good. Former world lightweight champion Carlos Ortiz lasted only three days as De la Hoya's trainer before he was fired for pushing too hard in the gym.

De la Hoya is engaged again, this time to actress Shanna Moakler who gave birth to their daughter Atiana Cecilia last year. He has a son, Jacob, from another woman. The blond Shanna was at the Garden for the Coley fight and mugged for the TV cameras. You wonder how long before De la Hoya dumps her for the next foxy bimbo in line.

De la Hoya's ambition is to win seven world titles in seven divisions. So far, he's bagged four as a junior lightweight, lightweight, junior welterweight and welterweight. The targets are the junior middleweight, middleweight, and supermiddleweight crowns.

More than anything else, De la Hoya'd like to avenge his loss to Trinidad. His next opponent is likely to be former IBF lightweight king "Sugar" Shane Mosley. The Trinidad rematch is set late this year.

Imagine if Mia and De la Hoya got together and married. Mama Mia, their kid would be deadly.