DATE: Thursday, October 16, 1997            TAG: 9710160746

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE CARLSON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: LEDYARD, CONN.                    LENGTH:   76 lines

LONG LAYOFF FINALLY ENDS FOR WHITAKER BUT HIS FOE ISN'T THE ONE HE REALLY WANTS - OSCAR DE LA HOYA

Since winning the World Boxing Council welterweight title in April, Oscar De La Hoya has fought two overmatched opponents - accumulating about $11 million in purses - been featured in the national media and rung up a few more endorsement deals.

The man from whom he won that title, meanwhile, has waited.

And waited some more.

Pernell ``Sweetpea'' Whitaker has had to learn patience, at a time when it is anything but a virtue for the sake of his boxing career. The clock ticks. Friday he will return to the ring for the first time since April 12, a layoff of 188 days.

He is 33. You can now count on one hand the number of times he will strut from a dressing room with music blaring into a brightly lit boxing ring.

``I'd say after this one, maybe two more,'' Whitaker trainer Ronnie Shields said. ``I'd be surprised if it goes to three. But I've been surprised before.''

Friday's fight will take place in a glitzy casino built on an Indian reservation. They will set up about 1,500 chairs, and as one official close to the promotion noted last week ``they aren't exactly breaking down the tepee to buy tickets.'' The opponent is a Russian who may as well be a Martian for all Whitakerknows of him.

``I can't,'' Whitaker said when asked to identify his foe. ``I don't know his name.''

It's Andrei Pestriaev (20-1), the top-ranked contender according to the World Boxing Association. Whitaker is No. 2. Their 10-round non-title fight is on the undercard of WBA champion Ike Quartey's defense against Jose Luis Lopez. The winners are tentatively set to meet in the spring. Whitaker also has a tuneup bout scheduled in Virginia Beach Dec. 13.

Everything could change in the spring if De La Hoya offers the rematch he promised after the controversial decision in April. Neither Whitaker nor anyone in his camp, however, is holding their breath.

They are convinced Whitaker (40-2-1) won the first time, but that he could not get a fair decision against a Hispanic fighter with the Mexico-based WBC serving as the sanctioning body. There is precedent for this conspiracy theory: Whitaker was unquestionably robbed twice before under similar circumstances, in a loss to Jose Luis Ramirez and in a draw with Julio Cesar Chavez. Reviews were more mixed among boxing observers about the De La Hoya-Whitaker decision.

Regardless, Whitaker and his handlers also are convinced De La Hoya doesn't want to risk tarnishing his skyrocketing reputation and marketability by again fighting someone who could beat him.

A couple of months ago Whitaker's camp thought it had an agreement in principle for an April fight, but De La Hoya promoter Bob Arum never signed off on it.

``The kid has milked the title long enough,'' Whitaker said. ``I'm already waiting a year to get one rematch. I never did get the chance against Chavez. I didn't mope and whine about that. I wanted that opportunity and that never fell for Pernell Whitaker. Now this is going to happen to me?''

Whitaker promoter Dino Duva used a recent conference call to try and shame De La Hoya into fighting Whitaker again. He implored the media to do the same.

``You want to prove you're the best?'' Duva said. ``Stop ducking behind phony opponents and phony promotions. Give Pernell the rematch, prove you're the best. You say you make your own decisions, tell Bob Arum to make the fight.

``Give Pernell the rematch. You promised.''

Whitaker has waited a long time to get back into the ring since that fight. Only twice in his career has he experienced a longer layoff - and once was because of a broken hand he sustained against Ramirez in 1988.

Whitaker was to fight in August on the undercard of a heavyweight bout. But that card was nixed when one of the heavyweights was injured and had to pull out.

``I took it in stride,'' Whitaker said of the layoff. ``Maybe I needed the time away to help the healing process.''

Said trainer Shields: ``The only times I've seen him frustrated is when someone mentions De La Hoya and doesn't mention Pete's name and `rematch' in the same sentence. That was a hard loss to take. But I think he's put his frustration behind him and moved on.''

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu