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?THE WORLD AWAITS? ? PART II By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Wed, 02 May 2007  When Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. step into the ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sunday, Manila time, millions of people around the world and what many predict will be a record-breaking audience on pay-per-view, will be looking forward to possibly one of the greatest fights of all-time. If the pre-fight hype is any indication, indeed ?The World Awaits? this classic encounter between two of the most dominating fighters in the world today ? six division champion De La Hoya whose good looks and dimples and overall charisma has been like a magnet even to people, mostly women, who don?t care for the sport or know nothing much about it. Mayweather Jr, a four division, undefeated champion is just as charismatic with a silky ebony skin and a winsome smile that is accentuated by a set of pearly white teeth. But he is pictured as the bad boy and in fact admits that he is ?the villain in boxing.? In reality, its his father Floyd Mayweather Sr and his uncle Roger Mayweather who are the genuine villains. Floyd Jr?s father is an ex-con and a former fighter and is now training the talented Joan Guzman who he believes will somewhere down the road fight Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao ? and beat him. Uncle Roger was also in prison on a battery charge but got out in time to train Floyd Mayweather Jr for the De La Hoya fight. Roger Mayweather has sound credentials having been former WBA super featherweight and WBC light welterweight champion as well as light welterweight and welterweight champion of the lesser known IBO and IBA. Roger Mayweather, nicknamed ?Black Mamba? had a career record of 59-13 with 35 knockouts had some links with the Philippines in the ring having scored a ten round decision over tough Filipino southpaw Rod Sequenan on February 9, 1994. Mayweather won the WBA super featherweight title with an eighth round TKO over Samuel Serrano on January 19, 1983 when title fights were 15 rounds. Serrano was earlier held to a draw by the Philippines Ben Villaflor who retained his WBA super featherweight title on April 13, 1976 but lost in a title rematch with Serrano in Puerto Rico on October 16 that same year. Mayweather also battled the legendary Mexican Julio Cesar Chavez twice ? and lost. He retired in the tenth round in a WBC light welterweight title fight on May 13, 1989 after earlier losing by a second round TKO to Chavez in a WBC super featherweight title clash on July 7, 1985. Roger Mayweather lost a unanimous twelve round decision to the stylish Pernell Whittaker in a NABF light welterweight title fight on March 28, 1987. Ten years later on April 12,1997 De La Hoya won the title from Whittaker in a fight which boxing writer Cliff Reid of Boxing News described as a ?tactical battle in which De La Hoya?s power met Whittaker?s style and produced a scoring controversy that purists argue about to this day.? Floyd Mayweather Sr had his moments too but never won a world title. He lost by a tenth round TKO to Sugar Ray Leonard on September 9, 1978 and on April 26, 1985 dropped a unanimous decision to Marlon Starling in a USBA welterweight title fight. After losing a ten round decision to undefeated Roger Terner who had a record of 17-0 with 9 KO?s on November 3, 1999 Floyd Sr decided to call it quits. The brothers who don?t talk to each other followed a live-and-let-live accommodation when Floyd Sr showed up at training camp regularly after quitting his job as De La Hoya?s trainer. To De La Hoya, ever the gentleman, said it was nothing personal. De La Hoya said ?I?m passionate about this fight and I wanted somebody who will be as passionate as I was and obviously I didn?t see or feel Mayweather had that hunger as I do for this fight.? When Floyd Sr showed up at his son?s training camp, brother Roger said ?his presence doesn?t bother me at all. The bottom line is Floyd is going to win, regardless.? He added, ?the bottom line is Floyd Sr is his daddy so I?m not to tell him (Floyd Jr) to stay away from his daddy.? But the underlying differences eventually broke through the fa?ade of seeming harmony and soon Floyd the father was storming out of his son?s training camp. The breaking point was when Floyd Jr criticized the way his father brought him up on an HBO pre-fight show. In a cutting remark father Floyd Sr said ?when you get right down to it he didn?t do anything for me. Everything I?ve got, I got from De La Hoya.? ABS-CBN?s Dyan Castillejo who visited the Wilfredo Gomez Gym in Puerto Rico where De La Hoya trains along with emerging Filipino ring sensations Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista and AJ ?Bazooka? Banal told us that De La Hoya was unbelievably dedicated in training and worked harder than ever before. She said he was in great shape and high spirits and had nothing but praise for trainer Freddie Roach and high hopes fopr Bautista and Banal. But what struck Castillejo the most was the kind and pleasant attitude of De La Hoya both to her and the Filipino boxers as well as their outstanding trainer Edito ?Ala? Villamor. She said ?its really something.? ABS-CBN following through on their highly successful telecast of the classy Tony Aldeguer family?s staging of the ?Moment of Truth? at the Cebu City Sports Complez and the subsequent WBC super featherweight classic between Juan Manuel Marquez and Marco Antonio Barrera will telecast ?The World Awaits? on its pre-eminent Channel 2 and expects to attract another huge television audience. The added incentive will clearly be the presence of Bautista and Banal with ?Boom Boom? facing undefeated Argentinean Sergio Medina in a WBC super bantamweight eliminator and Banal clashing with Mexican KO artist Juan Alberto Rosas. In the closing days of their preparation Bautista and Banal were forced to spar with each other after their regular sparring partners stayed away after taking a bad beating with Bautista busting the nose of one of his sparring partners. Bautista who is in a career defining fight against the unbeaten Medina has been sparring with super featherweights Jonathan Oquendo and Billy ?The Kid? Dib as well as a couple of lightweights. Villamor who twice fought for the world minimum weight title but lost said Medina was a good boxer who ?likes to mix it up?. In in a message to Filipino boxing fans Villamor said ?watch the fights and our boxers will give a great show for their fans and our country.? While ?The World Awaits? for sure, next Sunday it will be one of those exciting and memorable moments when the Philippines awaits as two fine young men strive to add to the glory and pride that Filipino ring idol Manny Pacquiao has brought us every time he stepped into the ring. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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