MSG, which hosted the Oscar De La Hoya-Derrell Coley
welterweight bout Saturday night, is "competing with Las
Vegas resort hotels for major boxing cards" and will
"continue to seek big fights," according to Royce Feour of
the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum,
on MSG: "They are willing to put up large amounts of money
as guarantees. ... For years to come, arenas like the Garden
and the Staples Center will compete rather well with (Las
Vegas) casino properties for events." NV Athletic
Commission Exec Dir Marc Ratner, who "takes a realistic
point of view to Las Vegas' competition from" N.Y., said,
"HBO likes doing business in New York" (L.V. REVIEW-JOURNAL,
2/27). A crowd of 13,814 attended Saturday's fight.
OSCAR, OSCAR, OSCAR: ABC's Peter Jennings profiled De
La Hoya and his "many opportunities" for marketing himself.
De La Hoya, on his marketing appeal: "Maybe it's my smile, I
don't know. It's just amazing with what I've been able to
do with the sport of boxing. ... A lot of people are
expecting me to go into Hollywood and [get] into different
ventures after my boxing career" (ABC, 2/25).
