There hasn’t been as much buzz about a non-heavyweight fight like this for a long time, at least since Oscar De La Hoya took on the unbeaten Felix Trinidad in 1999. Oscar vs. Floyd actually goes beyond that, though. It reminds me of the hype and atmosphere that surrounded Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran for their first encounter in Montreal back in 1980.
There are two important intangibles with this one. Mayweather Jr. is fighting a heavier opponent than he has ever met before. He has never gone above the welterweight limit. De La Hoya is comfortable at 154 and that is a huge plus in his favor.
De La Hoya is also four years older and hasn’t been nearly as active in recent years. That is a huge plus in Mayweather’s favor.
De La Hoya has fought just one time since losing to Hopkins in September of 2004, and that was a year ago against Ricardo Mayorga for the WBC light middleweight title. Granted, De La Hoya looked sharp and displayed little ring rust while knocking Mayorga down twice en route to the decision. But Mayorga isn’t in the same class as Mayweather and Mayorga, frankly, may have underrated De La Hoya a bit. There were many who thought before the fight that the Golden Boy was well past his prime.
