De La Hoya May â€” or May Not â€” Fight

NEW YORK (AP) â€” Oscar De La Hoya is supposed to fight on March 24, but HBO opposes the match unless it carries the bout. <br><br>The MGM Grand in Las Vegas scheduled a news conference for Wednesday to

Wednesday, February 7th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) â€” Oscar De La Hoya is supposed to fight on March 24, but HBO opposes the match unless it carries the bout.

The MGM Grand in Las Vegas scheduled a news conference for Wednesday to formally announce a fight between De La Hoya and Arturo Gatti but no mention was made of television.

``We are seeking a declaratory judgment that affirms our multifight agreement with Oscar De La Hoya,'' HBO spokesman Ray Stallone said Tuesday.

Papers seeking the judgment were filed Feb. 2 in Federal Court for the Southern District of New York.

HBO's deal with De La Hoya is believed to still have from five to eight fights, including those on TVKO, the network's pay-per-view arm.

On Jan. 12, a federal district court judge in Los Angeles granted De La Hoya's request to void his contract with Bob Arum, his longtime promoter. De La Hoya then announced he will be promoted by Jerry Perenchio.

Arum has said he would appeal.

HBO is not interested in who promotes De La Hoya, only that his bouts are televised on HBO or TVKO.

De La Hoya has not fought since he lost the WBC welterweight title to Shane Mosley on a split decision June 16 at Los Angeles.