Knockout Moves De La Hoya Closer to Title Shot

Oscar De La Hoya may be boxing’s newest matinee idol, but once he steps inside the ring, he’s vicious.

In his seventh professional bout since winning a gold medal in the 1992 Olympics, De La Hoya took another step toward a world championship bout with a technical knockout over Frankie Avelar of Las Vegas two minutes into the fourth round Saturday at Caesars Tahoe.

Before a national television audience, De La Hoya, 20, once again showed why he is boxing’s hottest young lightweight.

In his first fight at 131 pounds, De La Hoya dominated Avelar, the National Assn. Boxing Federation junior-lightweight champion, with sharp combinations and effective left hooks.

The East Los Angeles native knocked down Avelar in the second, third and fourth rounds before referee Vic Drakulich stopped the non-title fight to give De La Hoya his sixth knockout.

“I just tried to take my time and see what I could land,” said De La Hoya, who had been fighting at 134 pounds. “I first saw that my left uppercuts were connecting, then I saw that my right did some damage at the end of the third round.”

The only time Avelar (15-4) made De La Hoya retreat was at the start of the second round, when Avelar landed an overhand right.

However, all that did was anger De La Hoya, who dropped Avelar a minute later with a hard left hook.

“He hit me with a good left uppercut that really hurt my eye,” Avelar said. “Then he kept working on it and working on it.”

De La Hoya, has signed to fight Troy Dorsey on June 7 and Narciso Valenzuela on July 17 before a possible showdown with Genaro Hernandez for the World Boxing Assn. 130-pound title at the Forum in early October.

“I took this fight at this weight to see how things went and things went great,” De La Hoya said. “I felt fast, I felt stronger and I felt lighter in the ring.”

Many boxing experts, including longtime manager Bill Cayton, are impressed with De La Hoya’s steady improvement since turning pro last November.

“He reminds me of Sugar Ray Robinson in that he is so poised (for someone) so young,” Cayton said. “He is going to be a great one.”

Another impressive fighter on the card was heavyweight Jeremy Williams, 20, of Long Beach.

Managed by Cayton and trained by Kevin Rooney, who formerly worked with Mike Tyson, Williams made a strong claim to be considered among the top heavyweights with a second-round knockout over Danell Nicholson of Chicago in a showdown between undefeated fighters.

Williams (9-0, with seven knockouts) made it look easy after a cautious first round as he floored Nicholson (10-1) with a left hook that was set up by a big right uppercut and right hook.

“I had to feel him out, so I didn’t throw that many punches at first,” said Williams, who attended Long Beach Poly High. “But, when we opened up, I knew I had him.”

With the victory, Williams will move up in the heavyweight rankings and a step closer to a possible bout against Larry Donald, who won impressively with a fourth-round technical knockout over Will Hinton of Aurora, Colo.