Magic potion a joke

It was supposed to work like a charm —this elixir that Luis Ramon (Yori Boy) Campas took for the magic power to upset 25-1 favorite Oscar de la Hoya in their scheduled 12-round bout for the unified World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Association (WBA) superwelterweight (154-pound) championship in Las Vegas last Sunday morning (Manila time).

Oddsmakers gave Campas, a battle-scarred warrior who turned pro at the age of 15 in 1987, almost no chance of beating the Golden Boy. You couldn’t blame them. Campas just isn’t in De la Hoya’s class. Sure, Yori Boy was once the International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior middleweight titlist but his reign ended four years ago and his old-school style of exposing himself to punishment for the opportunity to land a single knockout punch went out the window when clinical technicians like De la Hoya emerged to prove that science is by far the more effective factor in determining the outcome of a fight than raw power.

The elixir has some history to it. In 1862, a band of about 300 Aztec Indians — brandishing only machetes and wooden spears — turned back a well-armed force of 2,000 French soldiers who attempted to invade the Mexican town of Puebla. The secret of the Aztecs’ strength? That strange brew. Over 1,000 Frenchmen were killed in the battle which turned out to be a rout. The Aztecs swore the potion they drank before the encounter did the trick. But against De la Hoya, not even a gallon of that magic potion could’ve saved Campas from annihilation.

To his credit, Campas never went down in losing on a seventh round stoppage. He was reduced to a punching bag by the Golden Boy who seemed to lack the power to floor the rugged Mexican. De la Hoya later explained he hurt his left hand early, claiming it prevented him from scoring a clean knockout.

Campas had lost five previous fights by technical knockout and only once, was he sent to the canvas. Jose Luis Lopez owns the distinction of flooring Campas — something Tito Trinidad, Fernando Vargas, Daniel Santos, Oba Carr and now, De la Hoya couldn’t do.

So maybe, the elixir worked some magic after all. As for De la Hoya, it looks like he’s finally matured, thanks to his wife Millie Corretjer, a popular Puerto Rican singer. Before he got married to Corretjer in October 2001, De la Hoya was a dog on the loose. His two children, Jacob and Atiana Cecilia, were delivered by different mothers. He lived a few years with actress Shanna Moakler of TV’s "Pacific Blue" and the relationship was tumultuous.

When De la Hoya decided to part ways with Moakler, she refused to leave their Santa Monica, California, home and changed the door locks to keep the fighter away. She also asked her parents and friends to move into the house. De la Hoya sued Moakler for $500,000 to force her to leave the house. But she countered with a $62.5 Million suit. It wasn’t the only suit that de la Hoya faced. A woman claimed she was raped by De la Hoya in 1996 and went to court. The fighter’s lawyer Martin Castillo said the claim was ridiculous since De la Hoya, having slept with over 500 women, doesn’t need to force himself on more than willing victims. De la Hoya’s former manager also filed a case against him for breach of contract.

Then there were other distractions. De la Hoya cut a CD of Latin love songs and bought a promotions company from Roy Engelbrecht to produce boxing shows. De la Hoya’s group, in fact, promoted Luisito Espinosa’s fight against Ever Beleno in San Jose last year. With all his extracurricular activities, fans wondered if De la Hoya had lost the desire to fight. He’d earned some $150 Million in the ring and in 2000, tied with Lennox Lewis for eighth place in the list of the world’s richest athletes. De la Hoya and Lewis both pocketed $23 Million apiece that year.

But Corretjer has straightened out De la Hoya’s priorities. De la Hoya eventually realized that he wouldn’t be so popular if he didn’t fight. Incidentally, the couple now lives in Puerto Rico even as late last year, de la Hoya took out Mexican citizenship to appease his fans South of the Border.

Since losing a split decision to Sugar Shane Mosley in June 2000, De la Hoya has racked up four straight wins. Mosley, in contrast, has compiled a 3-2 record with a no-contest since the De la Hoya fight.

De la Hoya has signed to face Mosley in a rematch on Sept. 13. He’s itching to avenge one of only two stains in his record. Mosley, loser of back-to-back decisions to Vernon Forrest last year, isn’t the same Sugar Shane who beat the Golden Boy. De la Hoya shouldn’t find it difficult to even up matters with Mosley when they meet again.

In Sunday morning’s undercard, 9-1 favorite Erik (El Terrible) Morales was merciless in blasting Fernando (Bobby Boy) Velardez into submission in five rounds in a WBC featherweight title bout.

Morales, 26, could’ve taken out Velardez in the first round but wanted to punish the Californian for beating his younger brother Diego on a bizarre disqualification last year. Velardez took four trips to the canvas against Diego but was awarded the win after Morales’ cornermen entered the ring prematurely in the ninth round. Under boxing rules, a handler prematurely entering the ring while the fight is in progress will mean automatic disqualification of the handler’s fighter.

Morales said he’s leaving the 126-pound ranks unless Marco Antonio Barrera agrees to a rubber match. He left no room for a possible duel with Manny Pacquiao. If Barrera isn’t available, Morales will move on to fight WBC No. 1 superfeatherweight Jesus Chavez then challenge either WBA 130-pound titlist Acelino Freitas of Brazil or IBF champion Carlos Hernandez. Morales’ ultimate goal is to wrest the WBC lightweight crown from Floyd Mayweather.

In a bonus fight on the same card, WBC lightflyweight champion Jorge (Travieso) Arce pounded out a unanimous sixth round technical decision over veteran Melchor Cob Castro. Arce has beaten three Filipinos so far in his checkered career–Juanito Rubillar, Carmelo Caceres, and Jovan Presbitero. Rubillar lost on points and his manager Bebot Elorde insisted he was robbed. Rubillar is the WBC’s No. 2 contender in the 108-pound class and in line for a rematch against the 23-year-old champion.

Castro, 35, floored Arce in the third round but was otherwise outclassed. In 1991, Castro won the WBC lightflyweight crown on a 10th round stoppage of Filipino Rolando Pascua in Los Angeles. He lost the title in his first defense. It’s amazing that after 12 years, Castro has remained active in the same 108-pound division.