A conversation with Oscar de la Hoya

“The Next Great Champ” premieres Sept. 10 on Fox. The unscripted program brings together 12 young boxers who will compete for a professional contract with eight-time boxing champion Oscar de la Hoya’s “Golden Boy Promotions” and a title fight within the World Boxing Organization.

During the course of the series, the competitors will be under the guidance of legendary trainers such as Lou Duva, whose list of champions includes Evander Holyfield, and Tommy Brooks, who trained Mike Tyson. Oscar de la Hoya will be there as a mentor, motivator and friend. Also, one special person in each competitor’s life will be with him: wife, mother, girlfriend or other family member. These personal relationships give the viewers a chance to see this boxing event through the eyes of a non-boxer.

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Oscar de la Hoya says he hopes those who watch “The Next Great Champ” on Fox will learn things about boxing they didn’t know before.

“And more than that,” he adds, “I hope they will unlearn some of the things that are not true about boxing but which have given the sport a bad name.”

These would include, for example, the belief that criminal interests are involved, or that boxers — more than any other sport — have few options after their careers are over.

“I’m not saying that there aren’t bad guys (in boxing),” de la Hoya says. “But you can find them in any profession, and you make sure to do the right thing and get them out.”

As for the belief that former boxers face bleak futures, de la Hoya says, “That may have been true at one time. But today when you want to become a fighter, you’re taught that since most boxers will probably not fight beyond a certain age, you have to prepare for the time when you’re no longer making the big money.

“I know, for myself, I made sure to have people I could trust advising me about business matters, people who weren’t out to use me for their own purposes. They were and are people who look out for my interests.”

De la Hoya explains his tripartite role-playing on the series — mentor, motivator and friend — as the three essentials in training the young boxers.

“First, you’re there as a teacher. That’s what being a mentor is all about: You share what you know with others who can profit by what they learn from you.

“Second,” de la Hoya says, “no matter how eager a young person is to achieve something, sometimes they find they’re dealing with big problems and may feel they can’t go on. It’s my job to show them why they can go on, and how they can find the way to meet this challenge. And I point out that whatever you do in life, you’re going to be challenged in some way, and it’ll be up to you to overcome it, or let it overcome you.

“And as far being a friend is concerned,” he says, “I do what every friend does: I’m there for them.”

Asked if he believes he’s a role model for young people, Oscar de la Hoya says, “Yes I do. I think that young people see in me an example of someone who believes in himself and believes that you can be a successful person if you’re prepared to work hard and do things the right way.

For example, to be a successful fighter you have to learn to fight fairly; you have to train hard; you have to accept that there’s a discipline you must follow — as you do in every part of life — and that everything worth going for is worth the effort you put in to achieve it.”

Note to Boxing Fans: The fight between Oscar de la Hoya and Bernard Hopkins at the MGM Grand on Sept. 18 will be carried by HBO Pay-Per-View.

In Focus: Jane Pauley says of her new NBC daytime talk show, “This is where I’ve wanted to be for a long time.”

Pauley, who co-hosted NBC’s early morning “The Today Show” from 1976 to 1989, and then co-helmed NBC’s “Dateline” series with Stone Phillips from 1992 to 2003, says, “I always loved what I was doing at the time I was doing it. But more and more I began to think about what doing a daytime show could offer.”

She explains, “While we plan to offer a variety of topics of interest to the people who watch the show, we want to focus on what will help people most in their lives. We’ll look at one topic in depth each day, and we’ll have guests who can offer their special insight and information about the topic.”

As for how she thinks she’ll be able to deal with the transition from a long career as a newswoman to a daytime host, Pauley says, “Very easily. I’ve always told stories about people and events in some form (whether it’s on a news broadcast or a prime-time special), and I’ll continue to do that on the daytime show.”