MAKE mine golden. Although he’s pegged as an underdog, I’m picking Oscar de la Hoya to score a unanimous decision win over Floyd “Pretty Boy” Mayweather Jr.
Born under the sign of the Ox, Oscar possesses bull-like strength yet is as agile as a gazelle and as wily as a fox. Granted, Floyd may be faster than him, and possess better boxing skills than him, but he is not unbeatable. Nobody is. For a while we thought Roy Jones Jr. would be, but we were wrong. Here is a checklist for my fellow Aquarian. I hope he reads this.
ONE. Hit what is available. Floyd is known to be a master defensive wizard. His style of tucking his chin underneath his shoulder was bequeathed to him by his father, Floyd Sr. and so far, this inheritance has proved invaluable to his success. Floyd is undefeated and sits atop the pound for pound elite.
But this doesn’t mean nobody can lay the hurt on him. Oscar should not fall into the trap that this style offers. Most people think that when Floyd employs this technique, he is in a defensive shell. Actually he is waiting for you to punch him wide so he can unload on you. Most opponents opt to loop or throw wide punches to get to the chin or the head, which leaves them wide open for the straight left or right hand cleverly disguised by Floyd Jr., ready to be unleashed all along.
To counter this, Oscar has to hit what is in front of him, take what is being given to him, but all the while not neglecting his own defense. This means punching Floyd’s shoulders, arms, biceps or the upper side of his head. This may not mean a lot in terms of scoring but in terms of hurting, Floyd will feel like his arms are as heavy as lead by the late rounds. Oscar has to lay the hurt early and not let Floyd get comfortable.
TWO. Hit very hard. Undoubtedly, Oscar’s advantage in this fight is his strength and size. Oscar lost to Bernard Hopkins primarily because he was bigger and stronger. He also had a hard time against Felix Sturm for the same reason. In short, he had no business fighting middleweights. For this fight, he is in his most comfortable weight class at 154 pounds. As long as he follows his game plan, and utilizes his height, reach and strength advantages, he will do fine.
THREE. Be aggressive. Oscar has to take the fight to Floyd right from the opening bell. Jose Luis Castillo did pretty well in both fights with Floyd Jr. Zab Judah won the first half of the fight by being aggressive. Oscar is better than both fighters combined. The blue print is there. All Oscar has to do is apply it.
FOUR. Punch with him. When Floyd flurries, Oscar has to flurry too and when Floyd stops, Oscar has to be flurrying some more. This is the only way not to get behind on the scorecards. He should negate Floyd’s speed by being busier. Antonio Tarver also employed a similar technique when he knocked out the smaller Roy Jones Jr. He never waited for Jones to end his flurry. Instead, he punched with him and exposed Jones’ weakness.
FIVE. Beware of the traps. I have seen Floyd do this several times. He throws an uppercut. Whether it lands or not is beside the point, as it is a cover for the power punch behind it. The uppercut blinds the line of sight and paves the way for the follow up. Oscar should be wary of this and other traps the clever Floyd has up his sleeve.
THE LAST ROUND. This week’s last round goes out to my loving mom, Elena Mayol Quijano, who celebrated her birthday last week. She taught me that a mother’s love is unconditional and unwavering. Thanks mom for your prayers and support. Cheers!
