It’s so close now, I can taste it. The standout date on the 2007 boxing calender and by far and away the biggest non-heavyweight fight since, er….Oscar De La Hoya-Felix Trinidad? Marvin Hagler-Ray Leonard? Marvin Hagler-Thomas Hearns? Thomas Hearns-Ray Leonard? Ray Leonard-Roberto Duran? One of them. Who cares? The hours up until the fight are now reduced to double figures; counting them becomes a little easier, but holding back my excitement is becoming a more and more arduous task with each passing day. I feel like a virginal adolescent again, my ?first time? looming, literally bursting at the seams and just wanting to get it over with. I don’t quite share the same youthful sensuality that accompanied that momentous (albeit brief) chapter in my life, but I’d say this slots in very nicely near the top of my most anticipated sporting moments.
The global media (oddly, the British tabloids aside) have done a bang up job since the fight was first announced, with the whole event now having morphed (suitably and inevitably) into an absolute behemoth of a hype machine. Log onto any boxing news site and it’s pretty much all you’ll hear about. Post on any forum, and with a few minutes you’ll find yourself typing ?if De La Hoya can cut off the ring and work the body, he could dismantle the smaller Floyd…,? before some poster with the moniker ?MayweatherIsBest#32? politely disagrees with a carefully thought-out 900-word retort which attempts to deconstruct your theory. I generally need to make a concerted effort to avoid discussing the fight, although 99% of the time that futile tactic does little good anyway, so I concede and let myself slip into yet another conversation on probably the biggest fight for two decades.
And for those reasons, with the amount of people who actually choose to talk about boxing at all nowadays dwindling like never before, that is what makes this so much more than just a battle for De La Hoya’s WBC Light Middleweight Title. Although most diehard fans and traditionalists would never admit it, this is very nearly make-or-break time for the sport. An overcooked subject of conversation for those who have an interest in either sport (mostly with concerned boxing fans,) MMA, and in particular UFC, has taken its considerable place alongside boxing at the table, and now commands arguably the lion’s share of television dollars between these two forms of contact fighting.
Increasing numbers of young fight fans tune in to watch the cage fighting that takes place on a frequent basis in what were historically prestigious pugilistic venues such as the MGM Grand. Most of these people would instantly recognize Chuck Liddell, whereas the name Floyd Mayweather, JR., may enjoy little familiarity. It is an oft-discussed topic, but it is a reality that young fight fans of today yearn for increasing extremities, something offered by the raw aggression and negligible boundaries of Mixed Martial Arts.
Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya are hardly the two most combative, hit-and-get-hit fighters to ever lace up the gloves- De La Hoya has been involved in a handful of exciting, skilful back-and-forth battles but nothing which could be considered an all-out war, and the closest Mayweather has come to toe-to-toe was when he stood face to face with his forthcoming opponent at each of their hugely-publicized tour venues earlier this year, but they have a huge task on their hands.
These two guys are the antithesis of Micky Ward and Arturo Gatti, whose three battles would seem so appealing to the hordes of contemporary MMA fans. But that is why we need these two men to put on such a show on May 5th. The world needs to be dazzled by their skilful elusiveness and deftness at the art of the sweet science, whilst mixing in a bit of the rough stuff. People need to either be reminded of, or be exposed to for the first time, everything that can make boxing such a great spectacle. Everything that enabled it to become one of the most popular sports across the globe at intermittent times throughout the 20th century.
It seems that when it comes to pitting two sluggers against each other and letting them pound out their professional differences, in terms of popularity boxing can no longer compete. It is up to De La Hoya and Mayweather to do what they do best, and the fight from recent history from which I can hope for a similar blueprint would be a retread of the Hagler-Leonard fight of twenty years ago. Mayweather assuming the role of Leonard, all shoe-shining, flashy fist-flinging with little power- a round-winning point machine until he is forced to trade from around the midway point by De La Hoya’s relentless model of Hagler, a stalking, powerful veteran with dynamite in both fists and a world-weary fearlessness that would probably carry him through a concrete wall if needs must.
The fight certainly has all the makings of a classic, one of such massive stature that it could rival the 1987 Fight of the Year. De La Hoya, the seasoned veteran, in his prime an outstandingly athlete who lorded over his rivals, is looking for one last win against another pound-for-pound monster within reach (Roy Jones, JR., apart, a man who was always a couple of stone too heavy throughout the 90’s, otherwise you can be sure De La Hoya wouldn’t have hesitated.) Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker, Ike Quartey…the honorable defeats to Trinidad, Shane Mosley and Bernard Hopkins notwithstanding.
Aside from the multi-million dollar purse that’ll be wired to his bumper bank account in the wee hours of Sunday morning, De La Hoya will be craving to add ?Pretty Boy? Floyd’s name to that list. Mayweather, on the other hand, is lacking exactly the kind of names that add so much weight to De La Hoya’s stellar resume, but beating the ?Golden Boy? would go a considerable way toward cementing his so-desired status as an all-time great. If he does so wish to be ranked alongside the two ?Sugars,? I wouldn’t recommend retirement as the next step should he win on Saturday evening, but with a win over De La Hoya things would lend his record a much more respectable look.
The result of the fight is far from totally predicable, but Mayweather should rightly be considered the favorite. Younger, fresher, faster more often than not prevails over the challenge of the older veteran. And when the younger of the two is probably the fastest fighter on earth, not to mention the most athletically gifted (and holds an unblemished, unbeaten record to boot,) Oscar’s chances begin to slim when thinking about the situation rationally, rather than conceding to sporting romanticism as one is tempted to do.
De La Hoya now has Freddie Roach working his corner, a man who has worked wonders with the diminutive Filipino firebrand Manny Pacquiao, but has little success elsewhere of late. Pacquiao aside, Juan Laczano, James Toney and Israel Vazquez have all tasted defeat in the last twelve months. Roach needs to stop the rot, and this fight presents a great opportunity for him and his current pupil. He has great ability as a coach, and will undoubtedly pick up on the relatively few chinks in the shining Mayweather armor, namely his size and what could be an potential vulnerability to constant yet measured pressure, especially from someone as talented as De La Hoya.
De La Hoya will land at least one telling punch during the course of the fight- he’s way too fast and precise not to, and his left hook is still there as was evidenced last year against Ricardo Mayorga- and Mayweather has never fought anyone as big or powerful as the WBC 154-pound Champion, but Mayweather is the favorite going in with good reason. He holds superior footwork, movement and ring generalship as well as the tangibles of age and athletic prowess.
Budding promoter De La Hoya will recognize the need to help revive a flagging sport in which he is now so heavily involved on a business level, so it is very much in his interests to contribute to a superb fight. Not that he will be thinking about anything else than victory on fight night. Mayweather, however, will be looking to succeed by any means necessary and then rush into the eventful (and likely short-lived) sunset of retirement. But make no bones about it, both men need each other. Ying and Yang. Good versus evil. De La Hoya to bookend his own already future hall-of-fame career and boost the profile of the sport he seeks to rule as a promoter, Mayweather to finally land the respect he has demanded for years and make by far the biggest pay day of his career to date. Something has to give, and for the sake of my beloved boxing (and, of course, my own satisfaction as a fight fan), I hope it does in the most dramatic and theatrically entertaining circumstances possible.
There goes another hour….
