Steve Forbes weighed only two pounds when he was born a premature baby and almost didn?t survive infancy. Today, Forbes is alive and kicking. He?s 31 and a former IBF superfeatherweight champion.
This morning (Manila time), Forbes battles the legendary Oscar de la Hoya in a 12-round bout he?s not supposed to win. De la Hoya is warming up against Forbes for his Sept. 20 rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and the Golden Boy isn?t about to throw away a second chance to whip Pretty Boy by putting on a losing effort.
De la Hoya, 36, has announced he will fight only thrice more before finally hanging up his gloves. First in the agenda is Forbes, then Mayweather and in his farewell performance, a mystery opponent in what he called a ?big money? swan song. There is speculation that de la Hoya is fixing to face Manny Pacquiao in his last outing. Did Oscar mean ?Manny? in ?big money??
Forbes was handpicked by Oscar for slaughter. How he?ll lose depends on Oscar?s magnanimity. If de la Hoya takes pity on Forbes, he?ll hold back his power shots and make the fight go the distance. If he follows the script to the letter, he?ll score a spectacular knockout to send a strong ?watch out? signal to Mayweather.
In yesterday?s weigh-in, both fighters tipped the scales at the catchweight limit of 150. The biggest Oscar weighed in for a fight was 160 when he outpointed Felix Strum four years ago. In his last two bouts, de la Hoya checked in at the lightmiddleweight limit of 154. So he had to shed off weight for Forbes.
In contrast, Forbes ballooned to 150. Forbes weighed in at only 142 pounds when he scored a split decision over Francisco Bojado last October. He was at his heaviest at 149 in losing a unanimous 10-round decision to Grady Brewer in the Contender reality TV series finale two years ago. As neither Bojado nor Brewer is world-class, Forbes can?t be much better.
Just by sheer weight alone, de la Hoya will carry a major advantage in size against Forbes. Besides, Oscar is three inches taller at 5-10 1/2 and has a five-inch reach edge.
De la Hoya has lost three of his last five fights while Forbes, two of his last three. Neither is on any kind of a winning streak. Oscar didn?t even fight in 2005 and has seen action in only four fights the last five years. Clearly, he?s just prolonging his career. His last fight was a year ago.
De la Hoya doesn?t need the money to continue fighting. He?s so wealthy that he?s even invested in a team, the Houston Dynamo, in major league soccer. But you and I know that the hardest thing for a fighter to do is to retire from the ring. Fighters find it difficult to accept it?s the end of the line, even de la Hoya.
What?s keeping Oscar in the game is Mayweather. It?s his obsession to beat the undefeated Pretty Boy. Oscar nearly did it last year but Mayweather escaped with a split decision.
The Mayweather angle is glaringly evident in this morning?s fight. De la Hoya has rehired trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr. who is, of course, Pretty Boy?s father. Freddie Roach was in Oscar?s corner for the Mayweather bout and got paid $1 million for a six-week job. But in the Mayweather rematch, it will be Senior in Oscar?s corner. Father will conspire with de la Hoya on how to beat his son.
Mayweather?s trainer is his uncle Roger ? who is Senior?s brother. And to keep it all in the family, Forbes? trainer is Jeff Mayweather who is Senior?s and Roger?s brother. Roger, 47, is a former WBA superfeatherweight and WBC lightwelterweight champion who ended his career with a 59-13 record, including 35 KOs, in 1999. Known as the ?Black Mamba? (now Kobe Bryant?s moniker), he fought Julio Cesar Chavez twice, lost to Pernell Whitaker and Kostya Tszyu and beat Filipino Rod Sequinan in Las Vegas in 1994. Jeff, 43, was a lesser known fighter who held Filipino Paquito Openo to a draw in Honolulu in 1996. He wound up his career with a 32-10-5 record, including 10 KOs, in 1997.
Floyd Sr. also fought as a pro. In 1978, he was knocked out by Sugar Ray Leonard. Senior logged a record of 29-6-1, with 19 KOs. He turned pro in 1974 and hung up his gloves in 1990 after coming back from a five-year layoff.
Of the three brothers, Senior has the most impressive credentials as a trainer.
De la Hoya justified fighting Forbes by describing ?Two Pounds? as a Mayweather clone. Since Forbes resembles Mayweather?s sleek fighting style, he?s a perfect tune-up opponent for the Golden Boy. And if Oscar manhandles Forbes as it appears he will, the prognosis is he?ll do the same to Mayweather in their rematch.
For sure, Forbes won?t hurt de la Hoya. He has scored only nine KOs in a 33-5 record. ?Two Pounds? has no KO power so Oscar can afford to take chances and engage. De la Hoya can walk all over Forbes and won?t be hampered by counters.
Oscar has lost only five fights in his career ? two split decisions to Mayweather and Sugar Shane Mosley, a majority decision to Tito Trinidad, a unanimous decision to Mosley and a knockout to Bernard Hopkins who is a stablemate. He?s never been seriously hurt in a fight. Against a much bigger Hopkins, de la Hoya took the full count after taking a shot to the ribs. It didn?t look like he was badly hurt. He just didn?t want to continue, playacting by thumping the canvas with his glove as if to show disgust at himself.
Forbes has nothing to lose and everything to gain in facing de la Hoya. There is absolutely no pressure on ?Two Pounds? to win because he?s expected to lose and he will. As for de la Hoya, he?ll make ?Two Pounds? look like ?Two Cents? before it?s over.
