Spring Loaded

When Oscar De La Hoya fought Arturo Gatti in Las Vegas in 2001, the posters heralding the fight featured a photo of Oscar.

Alone.

No opponent shown. No opponent necessary.

Announcing that Oscar was at the MGM Grand was like announcing Elvis was at the Hilton or Celine at Caesars Palace.

Each was a rock star whose first name sufficed to stir up emotions and ticket sales.

De La Hoya smashed all sorts of notions and standards such as:

-- Boxing lives or dies with the heavyweights.

Wrong.

-- Females won’t support the sport in great numbers.

Wrong.

-- No preponderance of knockouts. No appeal.

Wrong.

-- Losses in the ring translate into losses in the revenue stream.

Wrong.

As a bilingual, articulate fighter with a gold-medal past and movie star good looks who would take on all comers, De La Hoya defied the axioms that had guided his sport for more than a century.

When Mike Tyson bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear in their unforgettable 1997 fight, it appeared boxing itself had also suffered lasting damage, its image lying in a pool of blood on the canvas.

Instead, De La Hoya picked his sport up off the canvas and carried it on his shoulders for more than a decade, becoming the greatest generator of revenue in boxing history. De La Hoya drew just over 14.1 million pay-per-view buys in his career, resulting in $696 million in revenue. His 1997 match against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. set the all-time record for pay-per-view buys with 2.4 million.

The fact De La Hoya lost his biggest fights of the last few years didn’t dim the enthusiasm. He could still carry a poster by himself.

Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins, Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao may have all beaten De La Hoya, but, without him in the ring, they couldn’t beat him at the box office.

But now that’s all history in the wake of De La Hoya’s retirement several weeks ago. With the heavyweight division still in dismal shape, the Klitschko brothers dominating perhaps the weakest field since they fought with bare knuckles, and a worldwide recession battering consumers, is any fighter capable of taking the baton from De La Hoya?

Promoter Bob Arum says one of his fighters, Pacquiao, is the man for the job. It was Pacquiao, after all, who effectively ended De La Hoya’s career by thoroughly whipping him last December.

And few if any question Pacquiao’s position at the top of the list of the best fighters pound-for-pound.

But as Mosley learned when he defeated De La Hoya in 2000, beating THE man doesn’t necessarily make a fighter THE man.

Pacquiao may equal or even exceed the popularity of the president of his native country, the Philippines, but here in America, he can still walk down most city streets without being recognized. Blame that on his inability to speak fluid English. Attribute it to a lack of charisma with U.S. fans. Or simply explain it as a byproduct of troubled economic times when the number of people in the employment line would seem to diminish the number of people lining up for boxing events.

In addition, the sport must now share the combat spotlight with mixed-martial arts. And boxing must further endure the harsh reality of diminished resources for newspapers which has drained much of the coverage the sport once took for granted. The internet cannot yet adequately fill that black hole.

So, fair or not, Pacquiao must prove his worth in a vastly different media environment.

The first test will come Saturday night when he faces England’s Ricky Hatton at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Each can boast of a huge fan base in their native land, but can they be stars on the world stage?

Richard Schaefer, CEO of De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, asks for patience.

“Oscar was like nobody else,” Schaefer said, “but so was Muhammad Ali. So was Sugar Ray Leonard. Each defined their eras. It may take some time, more than a few weeks, to figure out who the next big star will be.

“But let’s face it. Since 2002, Oscar fought nine times. It was sporadic. Maybe instead of one or two big Oscar fights a year, having ten guys fighting in big matches will have impact in its own way. Oscar’s retirement is not a totally devastating blow to boxing. It can open the door to other guys stepping into his shoes. I didn’t say fill his shoes, but at least start with baby steps.”

Pacquiao hopes to take a big step Saturday. But, at this point, no one is ready to put him on a poster by himself.

And when people say Manny in this country, the first image that comes to mind is still a baggy pants outfielder for the L.A. Dodgers.