There was nothing truly revealing about the open workout Oscar De La Hoya held for the sports media at his mountain-top training camp in Big Bear Lake yesterday afternoon ? nothing that reporters who care to write about such things as technique and strategy could take away from the press function to hype his Dec. 6th showdown with Manny Pacquiao, anyway.
The days of star prize fighters training in earnest (or God forbid, actually sparring!) in front of ?outsiders? are long gone. However, De La Hoya?s lean physique and alleged weight suggested two things about his part in the highest-profile matchup in the sport this year:
1)He?s in good condition (duh!)
2)Making the contracted weight of 147 pounds (something De La Hoya hasn?t done since early 2001) won?t be a problem.
?I?m 145 pounds right now,? De La Hoya told a throng of reporters accompanied with TV and video camera men inside the ring of the Summit High Altitude Training Center, where he?s trained for the past four weeks.
If that?s what De La Hoya truly weighs ? and it certainly appears so ? the ?bigger man? in the Dec. 6th matchup is currently seven pounds lighter than naturally smaller man.
Pacquiao, who will weigh around 152 pounds until the final two weeks leading into the Dec. 5th weigh-in, is going into this catchweight bout heavier than most expected him to. De La Hoya is going in much lighter than most anticipated.
What does this mean for the fight? Will the added weight slow Pacquiao down enough for De La Hoya to clip him? Will coming in light increase De La Hoya?s hand speed?
I asked the Golden Promoter the latter question.
?The speed is there,? he said, ?but I?m noticing my power more at this weight. Yes, I might be faster, but the most important thing is that I?ve learned how to time my punches.
?You can be the slowest fighter ever but if you can time your opponent you can catch him clean. That?s something Floyd Mayweather [Sr.] taught me.?
Mayweather Sr., who has trained De La Hoya since his last fight at welterweight (vs. Arturo Gatti back in March of ?01) up to his last bout (vs. Steve Forbes), excluding last year?s bout with Mayweather Jr., has been replaced by Nacho Beristain for the Pacquiao fight.
Recently, hall-of-fame trainer Angelo Dundee has been added to De La Hoya?s camp in sort of an advisory role.
De La Hoya says the master trainers aren?t attempting to change his style or reinvent the wheel in terms of his training methods; they are there to make productive adjustments and suggestions where they see them.
De La Hoya, who idolized (or at the very least respected) many of the champions they?ve trained over the decades ? from Muhammad Ali to Vicente Saldivar to Sugar Ray Leonard to Ricardo Lopez ? sounds downright giddy about having them both in this camp.
?Just knowing how long they?ve been in the sport and how many champions they?ve trained ? what, like maybe 40 between them? ? it motivates me and it gives me confidence.?
De La Hoya said that with less than two months of working together, Beristain has helped to improve his form and his punch delivery.
?Nacho focuses on the angles of the punches, where they come from,? he said. ?He?s getting more power from my hook, which is surprising. I?ve always had a good hook and I didn?t think there much anyone could do to make it better, but he has.?
Beristain is also known for coming up with effective strategies for his fighters.
De La Hoya says he?s watched a lot of tape on Pacquiao in search of flaws to exploit on fight night.
?I?m watching more tape than ever with Nacho; he likes to analyze everything,? he said. ?We?re paying close attention to his second fight with Juan Manuel Marquez because he had to be at his best in that one.?
I asked De La Hoya if he?s noticed that Pacquiao is boxing more in his recent outings, particularly in his rematches with Marquez and Marco Antonio Barrera, and his last fight, vs. David Diaz.
?Yes, I have, but I?ve also noticed that he does little things with his body that give away when he?s going to punch,? he said. ?Manny does things with his arms and his feet before he punches; it?s even in his eyes. He does things to give it away that he?s about to let them go, and I can see it.?
I asked if he expected Pacquiao to box more than usual when they meet.
?Once we?re inside the ring and throwing punches with 8-ounce gloves on ? and by the way, I can?t wait to put those on; I haven?t put on 8-ounce gloves in eight years ? once he feels my punches and once I feel his punches, everything?s going out the window.
?Whether he was boxing in the gym or not, we?re just going to fight. I expect him to come right at me and come at me hard and try to get me to tire out. Obviously, Freddie Roach has been telling him that I?m going to get tired and that I?ll fade after six or seven rounds, so I?m expecting him to take it to me to try and wear me down.
?I just have to stick to my game plan and dictate the pace.?
De La Hoya?s half right about Roach?s gameplan for Pacquiao. He?s absolutely correct that the veteran trainer is telling his ace fighter to expect him to fade over the second half of the bout; however, Roach is not instructing Pacquiao to do anything rash, at least not in the early rounds.
From what I saw during a 12-round mitt session (with Roach ?armored up? with the body protection vest) last Friday, Pacquiao is practicing strategy and moves designed to make De La Hoya take the lead early in the fight.
Roach doesn?t want Pacquiao rushing forward or over-extending his reach while De La Hoya is fresh and focused. He wants Pacquiao to aim straight punches to the taller man?s chest and he?s drilling as many as 10 different counter moves for De La Hoya?s jab and straight right. He?s instructing Pacquiao to duck and roll under these straight punches while stepping in close where he can punish De La Hoya?s body from angles.
If this strategy works (and trust me, Roach has got a plan B and C if it doesn?t) and De La Hoya begins to either tire from missing the mark or wilt from their planned body attack, then Pacquiao will switch gears, lead more often and box a more aggressive fight with pressure tactics.
Many will question, as De La Hoya has, if Pacquiao will be able to box so disciplined a fight, especially after he gets hit. However, the same observers should also question if there?s any chance that De La Hoya will NOT fade. The Golden Boy has petered out in the late rounds of most of his major fights going back 11 years when he fought Pernell Whitaker, the last time he faced a naturally smaller southpaw.
Sometimes De La Hoya has blamed his late-round troubles on a lack of conditioning, other times he says it was because he was too tight. He says that beginning with his last fight, against Forbes this past May, he?s finally learned how to relax in the ring; and, of course, he always says he?s in the best shape of his life.
This fight is no different, but I heard good things about De La Hoya?s form and conditioning from members of his camp and from close observers.
De La Hoya?s three main sparring partners ? Edwin Valero, Cleotis ?Mookie? Pendarvis and Fred Tukes ? are impressed by different facets of his game.
Valero, the power-punching former WBA 130-pound titlist from Venezuela who sports a perfect 25-0 (25) record, said he admires De La Hoya?s footwork and ring generalship.
Pendarvis, a 22-year-old 140-pound prospect from L.A., was taken by the multi-division former champ?s speed and accuracy.
?His jab is fast, he throws sharp right hands, and his hooks are pretty good, too,? said Pendarvis, a speedy boxer who holds an 8-1-2 record. ?He?s working on the right and the right-hook combination.?
Tukes, a 35-year-old veteran sparring partner from Atlanta who has served in the big-fight camps of many notable former champs such as Kostya Tszyu and Zab Judah, said De La Hoya?s body shots are some of the hardest he?s ever taken.
Ken Adams, the decorated amateur and pro trainer who is currently coaching Valero in Las Vegas, says that in the six months that he?s trained the ?V-nom? only De La Hoya has been able to hold his own in sparring with 26-year-old KO Artist.
?Oscar has made [Valero] work,? Adams said. ?He doesn?t allow him to control everything. He doesn?t let Edwin chase him around the ring like everyone else. That?s something we?ve been looking for, for quite some time.?
Abel Sanchez, another decorated boxing coach who used to train the Norris brothers (Terry and Orlin) and Lupe Aquino, is the owner of the Summit gym.
The veteran trainer has watched De La Hoya closely for the past month and one thing stands out about the character of the biggest attraction in the sport:
?The work ethic,? Sanchez said. ?They way Oscar trains reminds me of the Terry Norris days.
?It?s refreshing to see someone at his level work as hard as he does. He comes in every morning and trains two-to-two and half hours and doesn?t sit down once until he?s done. You got guys with five or six fights who won?t work as hard as De La Hoya, who?s done it all and made all the money a fighter can make.?
Lazy fighters drove Sanchez, who has owned and operated his own construction businesses since he was in his teens, away from the sport for about five years, but building the Summit High Altitude Center ? a modern 40-by-40-foot gym that includes 22,000-square-foot and 32,000-square-foot houses on both sides ? has brought him back to the game.
Sanchez is currently training two tough Argentine fighters ? former welterweight champ Carlos Baldomir (who fights Jackson Bonsu in Belgium on Dec. 20th) and Carlos Abregu, a welterweight prospect with a 24-0 (21) record who is scheduled to headline a ShoBox card on Dec. 5th.
The challenge in trying to teach old dogs (like Baldomir) new tricks and attempting to instill proper technique to eager young guns (like Abregu) brings Sanchez to another of De La Hoya?s training qualities:
?He listens to his trainers,? he said. ?Oscar really listens. He listens to the new guys in his camp ? Nacho and Angelo ? as if he started his career with them. He pays attention to everything Nacho tells him. He respects his trainer as a teacher and he is the pupil.?
Dundee, the legendary trainer who just joined the camp a few days ago, sums up De La Hoya?s work ethic and thirst for knowledge this way:
?He loves to train,? said the semi-retired veteran. ?It?s as simple as that. Oscar reminds me of Muhammad Ali in that respect.
?He reminds me of Muhammad in another way, too. He?s like the Pied Piper. Where ever he goes, whenever he fights, he draws attention, he attracts a crowd. He?s good for the business, great for the sport.?
True. Whether or not Dec. 6th turns out to be his last fight we should appreciate De La Hoya while we can.
SHAMELESS PLUGS ? PART ONE
Video of De La Hoya meeting the press and going a few rounds on the speed and double-end bags can be seen on MaxTV right now.
Video interviews with trainers Dundee and Adams, as well as De La Hoya?s sparring partners (Valero, Pendarvis and Tukes) are coming soon (probably along with another SCN on the routine of De La Hoya?s camp).
SHAMELESS PLUGS ? PART TWO
More details on Pacquiao?s preparation along with video of the PacMan?s open workout and video interviews with his sparring partners (including Amir Khan) are also coming soon (maybe next week), along with training notes and video on James Toney, who takes on Tony Thompson at the Morongo Casino on Dec. 13th.
