It is no secret that boxing has suffered a dip in popularity the last few years. With growing interest in mixed martial arts and no real dominant champion in the heavyweight classes in the mold of a Muhammad Ali or a Mike Tyson, the “sweet science” has been in the doldrums for quite some time now.
Sure, in these parts, with Manny Pacquiao pulling in unheard-of amounts (in American dollars, at that) with his ring exploits, the sport has experienced some sort of epiphany.
But elsewhere in the world, especially in the United States where television ratings and advertising money are accurate yardsticks for popularity, boxing has taken a back seat to other high-visibility sports as professional wrestling, ultimate fighting, and of course the ubiquitous basketball, baseball, football and hockey.
Alas, like a bolt of thunder and a streak of lighting, the Oscar de la HoyaFloyd Mayweather event crashes into the consciousness of a public ripe for a re- awakening. This match screams box-office sell-out and television ratings through the roof, making a genius out of whoever composed the marketing tagline “The World Awaits”.
De la Hoya made his mark in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics when he fulfilled a deathbed promise to his ailing mother that he would win the gold for her. Although she died before the promise was realized, the American public, always a sucker for heart-tugging drama, embraced the “Golden Boy”.
And he did not disappoint. With fistic flair and flurry, the good-looking Mexican-American born out of the tough East side of Los Angeles, comfortably switched from the tear-jerker drama to the super-hero genre as he annihilated several solid-credentialed foes, including Giorgio Campanella, Jorge Paez, Rafael Ruelas, Genaro Hernandez and Jesse James Leija among others, to gain Ring Magazine?s acclaim as “Fighter of the Year” in 1995, only three years after turning pro.
He then proceeded to annex six titles in different weight classes (Super-Featherweight, Lightweight, Junior-Welterweight, Welterweight, Super-Welterweight and Middleweight) adding such illustrious names as Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker, Hector Camacho, Ike Quartey et al to his long list of victims. By 1997, he was proclaimed Best Pound-for-Pound Fighter.
His four losses were to Shane Mosley (twice), Felix Trinidad and Bernard Hopkins (his only knockout defeat). The first three results were controversial. And two of the three boxers he did not get to beat (Mosley and Hopkins) he was able to persuade to join his promotional outfit as his business partners. If you can?t beat ?em??
The Golden Boy has, for the better part of a decade and a half, dazzled the public not only with his boxing conquests, but also with his matinee-idol looks, his showbiz flair, his affinity with the beautiful crowd (eventually picking a bombshell wife-Puerto Rican singer Millie Corretjer) and turning his boxing promotional outfit into one of the biggest stables of name-fighters around. De la Hoya is the complete package. A super-hero type, indeed.
His opponent, Floyd Mayweather Jr is a trash-talking braggart who has never been beaten. His style in the ring however, lacks the oomph that most fight fans want to see. While admittedly one of the most effective boxers around (he is acknowledged as currently the best, pound-for-pound), his stick-and-run formula is not exactly what the doctor ordered for the sport?s sagging popularity. A defensive specialist, his “Pretty Boy” tag is born out his ability to come out of a fight unmarked, rather than as a compliment to good looks.
Still, he could prove to be the foil to Oscar de la Hoya?s charmed saga. As of this writing, Mayweather was a 2-1 odds favorite.
So what do I think? My mind tells me it?s got to be Mayweather, but gut feel seems to point to De la Hoya. But don?t hold me to that.
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But if I were a betting man, I would place a bet on either Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista or AJ “Bazooka” Banal. These two courageous Boholanos will surely be hell-bent on making the most of the opportunity of being part of a huge promotion as “The World Awaits”.
Many have been questioning Bautista?s claim to fame, saying he has never really been tested by a capable opponent. Well, if anyone wants to debate that with de la Hoya, go right ahead. The Golden Boy himself has spoken… Bautista is the next best thing to come out of the Philippines since chickenpork adobo.
“Boom-Boom” sees action in an eliminator against equally-unbeaten Sergio Manuel Medina of Argentina. The winner gets a crack at the WBO Super Bantamweight title held by Daniel Ponce de Leon.
Meantime, “Bazooka” Banal is the young fellow whose career we have been following and whom we predicted greater things to come. He is up against a formidable foe in Juan Alberto Rosas of Mexico. We are confident he will hurdle this tough test.
With the rest of the world?we await.
