Kamau Seems Like a Perfect Foe

SAN ANTONIO — Tall, slow, recently inactive and determined to stay in front of his foe. . . . If David Kamau didn’t already exist, Oscar De La Hoya’s handlers probably would have tried to create him.

“I want to give you what you want to see,” Kamau said this week, referring to hopes of a shootout during tonight’s bout at the Alamodome against De La Hoya, the World Boxing Council welterweight champion.

For the first time in his 4 1/2-year career, De La Hoya (24-0, 20 knockouts) has had to go the distance in two consecutive fights--bumpy decision victories over Miguel Angel Gonzalez in January and Pernell Whitaker in April, and, with Kamau a target of opportunity, De La Hoya is eager to blast away.

“The ring’s my stage, you know?” said De La Hoya, who weighed in at 147 Friday afternoon. “It’s about really beating a guy, seeing him surrender or knocking him out. I miss it. Man, do I miss that.”

Kamau (28-1, 21 KOs), who weighed 146 3/4, is far from boxing’s standard cannon fodder. The Kenya native, who has made Los Angeles his home base during his professional career, won his first 26 fights and battled Julio Cesar Chavez for 12 savage rounds in September 1995 before the judges handed Chavez a controversial victory.

But since then, when Kamau’s career should have taken off, he has fought only twice, knocking out Tomas Valdez in 1996, then winning a lackluster decision over Juan Rodriguez in April.

On the televised undercard (HBO, 6:30 PDT), WBC lightweight champion Genaro Hernandez will defend his newly won title against No. 1 contender Anatoly Alexandrov.

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Fight Facts

* WHAT: World Boxing Council welterweight championship

* WHO: Oscar De La Hoya of Los Angeles vs. David Kamau of Kenya

* WHERE: Alamodome, San Antonio

* WHEN: Tonight, 6:30 PDT

* TV: HBO

HOW THEY COMPARE

De La Hoya:

AGE: 24

RECORD: 24-0

KOs: 20

*

Kamau:

AGE: 31

RECORDS: 28-1

KOs: 21