Oscar De La Hoya gets a statue of limitations

A third statue was unveiled outside Staples Center on Monday, joining the likenesses of Magic Johnson and Wayne Gretzky, and you'll never guess who.

Jerry West? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Chick Hearn?

Think again.

Think of an athlete who is not affiliated with any Staples Center team.

Think of an athlete who competed in the building just once, where he was punched 284 times in a loss.

Think of an athlete who is preparing for a Saturday night competition in which he will probably get pounded again.

The Golden Boy has gone bronze and, no, I can't figure it out either.

Oscar De La Hoya is a Los Angeles hero, certainly, but does he really need to be immortalized so soon, in a place which should be treated with far more reverence, reflecting a history that should be so much richer?

Looking at his statue after Tuesday's ceremony, at least one Oscar fan asked the obvious question.

"Who gets the next statue?" wondered Javier Razo. "Todd Marinovich of the Avengers?"

Razo loves Oscar. I love Oscar. He has been a strong and proud representative of East L.A., a guy who gives back to the community, a guy who has fought through rocky times to keep his face smooth and his reputation steady.

But to have him raising his arms forever next to Magic's dribble and Gretzky's wave? When there are far more legendary Los Angeles sports stars who have yet to be immortalized? When the guy is still fighting?

Is this the first time in history that someone erected a statue of a guy who, five days later, could be knocked flat on his back?

"The timing is not great," said Tim Leiweke, chairman of AEG, which owns and operates Staples Center. "But when the decision was made, we didn't know he would still be fighting."

Like De La Hoya, Leiweke has done much for this city. Staples Center is a gem, the accompanying L.A. Live complex looks cool, downtown L.A. is getting its groove back. As long as you're not a Kings fan, you could easily endorse Leiweke's one day erecting a statue of himself.

But this one looks like a whiff. This one smells like a sellout.

Last spring, the statue's creation was announced. A week later, it was announced that AEG had bought a minority interest in De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions.

If you believe the two announcements were not related, then I've got 50 youth baseball fields I'll trade you for CC Sabathia.