It wasn't a fight as much as it was a festival, with the Hispanic community, plus assorted others, gathering to express an appreciation for what Oscar De La Hoya has meant to it with his skills and with his dignity. I want to emphasize that word dignity. De La Hoya possesses it. Few in boxing do. Where is the sport going to be without him? Nowhere, I suspect.

Soon, too soon, boxing is going to have to address this. De La Hoya's all so predictable conquest of Steve Forbes behind him, he plans to box only twice more, in September, when his rematch against Floyd Mayweather Jr. is scheduled, then once more after that. With that, he will be stepping away from a game in which he has been a commanding figure for 16 years. Go in good health, sir. You're entitled.

De La Hoya has claimed championships in six weight divisions, but his greatest achievement, it seems here, is that he has won the acceptance of his people. In July of 1996, before his first match against Julio Cesar Chavez, I visited East Los Angeles, Oscar's turf, walking through the streets and talking to the trades people. I found the community strongly partial to Chavez. The thinking was that De La Hoya had deserted to the Anglos through his lifestyle and his preferences.

That De La Hoya has won over the Hispanic populace was apparent in the crowd of an announced 27,000 that assembled in Carson for what had been advertised as his "Homecoming." No other fighter would have been similarly received.

But after his bout against Forbes began, the crowd was not at all demonstrative. There was many times more feeling expressed during the recent Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez classic at the tennis stadium next door. It was as if the Carson crowd had become aware that the 35-year-old De La Hoya they were observing was not the fighter of his earlier years.

San Diego promoter Bobby DePhilippis liked De La Hoya's effort. Bobby D. pointed out that Oscar had his jab working and that he didn't tire in the late rounds, as he sometimes has.

"But it's easy to jab when the other guy is throwing punches only about every 30 seconds," said Sycuan Ringside Promotions matchmaker Sean Gibbons. "De La Hoya was fighting a lightweight who was in there for one reason, to go the distance.

"It was like making a public appearance with a fight included," Gibbons said. "I saw it as sort of an infomercial."

To Gibbons, Forbes is "like 10 percent" of the Mayweather that De La Hoya will be engaging in September. In their earlier encounter on May 5, 2007, Mayweather was awarded a split decision by the barest of margins, two judges favoring Mayweather by 116-112 and 115-113, the third judge opting for De La Hoya 115-113.

"But Mayweather was just rolling around and carrying De La Hoya," Gibbons said. "For them to fight again is going to be defrauding the public. I have to tell the truth; I'm saying what I saw. Please, Mayweather is going to build up De La Hoya."

For a rematch, of course. The first Mayweather-De La Hoya did $134 million in pay-per-view revenues on 2.4 million buys. For Mayweather-De La Hoya II, "the hook" is there: that this time, De La Hoya is to be conditioned by Floyd Mayweather Sr., father of the fighter De La Hoya will be challenging. "Floyd is better than Steve, but Floyd doesn't throw as many punches, so if Oscar uses his jab, he's going to have a great fight," said the trainer known as "Senior."

Said De La Hoya: "I can't wait until September."

His optimism is misplaced, as Gibbons sees it.

"You can have an old car and you can do everything you can to embellish it, painting it and polishing the wheels, but when you get under the hood, it's still a clunker," Gibbons said. He was talking about De La Hoya and where he is at this point in his career.

Speculation, meantime, has begun concerning whom De La Hoya is to oppose in his farewell appearance. One name that has been introduced is that of John Duddy, an Irishman who has a strong following in the east, only Duddy was cut up severely while outpointing Walid Smichet at Madison Square Garden in February.

A more interesting name: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. He's unbeaten. "And he's as quick as De La Hoya," Gibbons noted.

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