There is so much hype behind this fight as the Multi Divisional Champion and sentimental favorite, “The Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya, 38-4, 30 KO’s, takes on the brash Pound for Pound King, “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather, JR., 37-0, 24 KO’s, in a fight that has everyone talking. In reality, nothing bad can come out of this fight, with the exception of a fluke head butt causing a cut that ends it prematurely and without closure. There are several scenarios that can transpire when that bell rings and each one of them will create an interesting bout. 1. We could see Floyd Mayweather knocked out cold, defeated for the first time in his career. 2. We could see De La Hoya dominated over the course of 12 rounds, which has never happened before. 3. We could see what many contend is out of the question, De La Hoya getting stopped by the smaller man, or we could even see, 4. Oscar outbox Floyd and take a decision. This is truly a pick’em bout, and I believe now, more than ever, it could go either way.
De La Hoya has been working with Freddie Roach, one of the best trainers in the game, and a man that has been essential in pushing Filipino Superstar Manny Pacquiao to the top of the boxing world. Roach understands strategy and has been involved in nearly every part of the sport, and from what I’ve seen, has meshed well with De La Hoya.
Another big asset for De La Hoya is the sparring with former rival, “Sugar” Shane Mosley. If anyone can mimic the style of Floyd, Mosley can. He is relatively the same size, good defensively, and has fast hands, and should get “The Golden Boy” into his best position to win. Team De La Hoya is taking no chances as they go into what could be very well considered the biggest and most important fight of his entire career, and I believe that it is. Never before has there been this much hype surrounding one of his fights and that includes his bouts with Felix Trinidad, Fernando Vargas, and Bernard Hopkins. You could probably put all three together and not match the intrigue going into this contest.
The biggest advantage for Oscar in this contest, I believe, is the big fight experience. The biggest stage that Mayweather has been on was his bout with Zab Judah on HBO Pay Per View, or perhaps his bout with the overmatched Arturo Gatti on another HBO pay event. He is showing many signs that he is nervous…very nervous in fact, acting very strangely at the press conferences. He says that it is to paint himself as the villain or perhaps to psyche out his opponent, but it seems that the anxiety is taking him over. This doesn’t mean that it will have a great affect on him. When he faced Diego Corrales in 2001, many sportswriters thought that the bigger and stronger “Chico” would roll over the smaller fighter and that was not the case, but the mental pressure that that bout put on Floyd did not affect his performance. If anything, he was sharper and a better fighter because of the challenge.
Floyd sits firmly atop the Pound for Pound boxing mountain, nearly universally recognized as the man to beat. Some question his qualifications but when you look at the list of opponents that he has beaten, it is hard to argue: Genaro Hernandez, Angel Manfredy, Gregorio Vargas, Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo (twice), DeMarcus Corley, Jesus Chavez, Sharmba Mitchell, Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, and Carlos Baldomir, all former champions, and all on the losing side to “Pretty Boy.” He is a legitimate great fighter and will be nearly impossible to beat.
There are several points of view that should be discussed going into what is probably the biggest fight in boxing in the past ten years.
I. Oscar De La Hoya is too big for Floyd Mayweather, JR., to handle.
One of the biggest arguments going into this bout is the size of Oscar De La Hoya. He is a natural 154 pound fighter. He is the bigger man, and I cannot dispute that, and there is a trend here that shouldn’t be ignored. Throughout De La Hoya’s career, he feasted on the smaller boxers: Arturo Gatti, Jesse James Leija, John Molina, Julio Cesar Chavez, Troy Dorsey, Shane Mosley and Hector Camacho to name a few, and he has walked right through them. None of the mentioned however, had the skill and were at the top of their game the way that Floyd is, outside of Shane Mosley, who actually defeated De La Hoya, twice.
If anyone on the list is comparable to Floyd, it is Mosley, and “Sugar Shane” handled an active De La Hoya on two occasions, and in my opinion, “Pretty Boy” is a much better fighter, more talented, and defensively better than Mosley. This argument doesn’t seem to have too much supporting it. Size alone will not be a factor in this bout.
II. Oscar De La Hoya has been too inactive to jump right back into the game and defeat the Pound for Pound Champion.
With only one fight in the past three years, Oscar De La Hoya does appear to be quite the long shot in this upcoming super fight. His victory was over the predictable and clumsy, Ricardo Mayorga. The fight was impressive and Mayorga is a very tough guy with a solid chin and a lot of ambition, but “The Golden Boy” walked right through him using skill and a great jab. He looked far better than his three outings prior to that bout against Bernard Hopkins (Ko’d in 9), Felix Sturm (won questionable decision), and Shane Mosley (lost decision). So the question becomes: Was that Mayorga win a sign that the break did him well or did he just pick the perfect opponent? I think that the answer is somewhere in the middle. Certainly Ricardo Mayorga was the ideal opponent with his wide and aggressive style, but I also think that the time away from the sport has helped Oscar re-focus and regain his love of the game.
Oscar De La Hoya can pull this upset. I would never advise betting against Oscar, and there has been a standard set of a fighter coming out of retirement to defeat a current Pound for Pound King. In April of 1987, Sugar Ray Leonard faced the best in boxing, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, who was coming off as a 4-1 favorite to win. Hagler, although some contend that he was a step slower going in, seemed more overwhelmed by the magnitude of the event and went on to lose a decision.
There are many parallels to that fight in fact. Hagler was the gruff champion, desperately seeking respect, and was certainly painted as the villain going in. He acted strange before, during, and after the event, dancing up a storm when that 12th round ended. He was not himself. If history repeats itself, De La Hoya could add his name to the very short list of great fighters coming out of retirement to take down the Pound for Pound best.
III. If De La Hoya in his prime couldn’t beat an old Pernell Whitaker conclusively, how can he beat Floyd Mayweather, JR., at this stage in his career?
In 1997, De La Hoya faced the greatest fighter that I have ever seen, Pernell Whitaker, and eked by with what many contend was a gift decision. The problems that Oscar had with Pernell were vast, and understandably so when you consider the defense and skill even at that stage of Whitaker’s career. Many draw the comparison between this bout and the upcoming match with Mayweather.
Now, Floyd is no Pernell Whitaker…not on his best day, but the comparison is fair. Both fighters are smart in the ring, and have great defense, and will play with their opponents. “Sweet Pea” did confuse De La Hoya throughout their bout and had he been younger, he would have dominated “The Golden Boy,” but Oscar is not facing a prime Whitaker. He is facing Floyd Mayweather and although he was in his physical prime when he faced Pernell, it could be argued that he is mentally stronger and smarter in the ring. He is more of a professional now and as much as a comparison can be drawn between that 1997 encounter and this 2007 match, we are going to see a different De La Hoya even though you can make the comparison, Whitaker and Mayweather are different fighters in the ring. This argument has its points but it does not matter that much as we go into May 5th.
IV. Oscar De La Hoya will probably win this fight due to the fact that it has to go to the cards, unless he stops Floyd, and if it does make it the full 12, “The Golden Boy” will probably get the favor of the judges regardless.
Now this is a very valid argument. Against Ike Quartey and Felix Sturm, Oscar received questionable decisions, and when he faces Floyd, every punch that comes near “Pretty Boy” will be loudly applauded by the audience, perhaps affecting the way that the rounds are scored. De La Hoya is also a beloved fighter and may just get a few points going into the fight because everyone wants him to win very badly. If the bout is close or even if it is just competitive, there has to be some concern that De La Hoya will get the decision even if he doesn’t deserve it.
Now, there is part of the argument that is wrong. Most contend that there is no way that Floyd can stop the bigger De La Hoya. Wrong. If anything, I see this as a probability. At this point in time, there is so much emphasis on “the smaller man” and how he will outbox Oscar to win this one if he does, but I contend that if you keep on chipping away at something, it will eventually break and don’t expect the bigger man to be moving away as he did with Felix Trinidad. This fight will be fought in a phone booth and the sharper Floyd could very well stop Oscar with the quantity of sharp punches as he remains in the pocket. Although Arturo Gatti is no De La Hoya, it is proof positive that Floyd can beat a guy to a pulp if they stand right in front of him and Oscar will.
So although there has to be concern about the judges’ scorecards, I don’t see it making it the full 12. Either De La Hoya will catch lightning in a bottle and land that left hook to shock the boxing world, or Floyd will beat the returning warrior down until the fight is mercifully stopped.
This bout is one of those contests that splits up the “boxing experts” right down the middle. This is truly a pay per view worth renting and we will see something historical and memorable come May 5th. De La Hoya is the underdog, but he is a live underdog, and he will be bringing his A game against the man that always brings his A game, Floyd Mayweather, JR. Both men have something to prove. Oscar wants to go out with a historic win, which he failed to do when he lost to Middleweight King, Bernard Hopkins. Floyd wants to send a message to the boxing world and if he stops De La Hoya, he will be not only the best pound for pound fighter in the world, but the richest.
I will be rooting for Oscar to win this one, as many will as well, and that is the way that Team Mayweather wants it. Much like Muhammad Ali, Floyd understands that if they hate you, they will pay to watch you lose, and now you have him facing the ultimate good guy in De La Hoya. This is the most intriguing fight in quite some time and no matter what, we should see something memorable on May 5th.
