LAS VEGAS -- In the decade since he won the gold medal in the 1992 Olympics, Oscar De La Hoya has won titles in five weight classes, made tens of millions of dollars and even launched a side career as a singer.

Now he's got his sights set on one more goal -- to go down in history as one of boxing's all-time greats.

"It's all about placing myself in history,'' De La Hoya said Wednesday. "My mentality is different now than it was before. I'm not thinking about a world title or making the money.''

De La Hoya will make at least $14 million more Sept. 14 when he gets into the ring against Fernando Vargas in a 154-pound matchup that carries some ugly overtones.

It's a battle of champions and neighborhood rivals who don't hide the disdain they have for each other. For De La Hoya, it's also the first of a series of final fights with which he hopes to close out his career.

If all goes as planned, they may be the fights he is remembered for.

"These are my last fights,'' De La Hoya said. "I already know in my mind these are the defining fights of my career. I'm going to go out with a bang.''

At the age of 29, De La Hoya isn't exactly running out of time. But he hasn't fought in 15 months and had to postpone the Vargas fight originally set for May when he reinjured his left hand in training.

De La Hoya would like to settle his grudge with Vargas, then beat Felix Trinidad and Shane Mosley, the only two fighters who have beaten him. Perhaps after that, there might be a way to make a fight with Bernard Hopkins.

It all sounds neat and tidy, but in boxing few things actually are as they seem. Trinidad says he has retired and Mosley has now lost twice to Vernon Forrest, making that rematch suspect. Hopkins would have to come down in weight to fight De La Hoya and that's not likely to happen.

And, or course, De La Hoya has been known to say one thing one moment and do the exact opposite the next.

Still, the WBC's 154-pound champion insists he now has a plan and will stick to it.

"Those are the fights I'm looking at,'' De La Hoya said in a conference call from Big Bear, Calif., where both he and Vargas are training. "I've come to realize boxing has been my life. I'm finally learning to appreciate the sport and appreciate all the hard work I've done over the years.''

To finish with a bang, De La Hoya has no choice but to come out banging against Vargas, the WBA champion who hails from the same Los Angeles area as De La Hoya but has done little to hide his disdain for the fighter who went before him.

De La Hoya found out the hard way that being too cute in the ring can be costly, as evidenced by his decision loss to Trinidad. He wants to impress the Mexican fans Vargas claims for his own by beating Vargas in spectacular fashion when they meet at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino.

"I will talk with my fists. That will be my personal satisfaction,'' De La Hoya said. "Once he feels that first punch in the ring it will be a wake-up call for him. He's going to feel the power, that's for sure.''

Vargas, whose only loss was to Trinidad in a fight that he took a beating in, has mocked De La Hoya for not fighting like a traditional Mexican boxer. Instead of mixing it up, De La Hoya has opted at times to simply outbox his opponent.

De La Hoya said Vargas might be jealous because of the crossover success he has had. And he warns him not to read too much into the fact he has made a different life for himself since his days in East Los Angeles.

"He has to realize I grew up in the streets of East Los Angeles and those streets are tough,'' De La Hoya said. "My decision was to overcome that and to work hard and strive to be successful.

"That doesn't make me soft whatsoever. It just makes me smart.''