OSCAR & FLOYD ALL OVER TALK RADIO
San Francisco, CA- As a guest on the Gary Radnich mid-morning show on KNBR radio in San Francisco Friday, Radnich, himself the son of a professional fighter, put forth a couple of questions that went like this: Does the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather fight bring people back to the squared circle of combat? Will the multi-million dollar PR blitz that HBO has boldly taken pay off? And while both of those questions cannot truly be answered until after the fight, we will expand on both inquisitions, as De La Hoya-Mayweather is just a day away.
A ONE PARAGRAPH HANDICAP OF FIGHT
Having called all the shots thus far in 42 professional fights, De La Hoya, 38-4, has done the same in this his 43rd. Floyd Mayweather (37-0) is fighting Oscar at jr. middleweight (154 lbs.), because Oscar feels that the added weight will be an advantage for him and a detriment to the World welterweight (147) champ Mayweather. If Floyd doesn’t choke, Oscar shouldn’t be able to hit him in the ass sans a tennis racket. The speed, fluidity and overall natural advantages Floyd possesses make this Oscar’s Waterloo by decision.
LISTEN TO “SUGAR RAY” LEONARD HERE
Back in the last golden era of boxing, the decade of the 1980’s, Ray Leonard was a pugilistic performer like no other. Unlike Oscar, and now Floyd, Ray “gambled” in fights and explained why. “To win fights in a superlative fashion, you’ve got to gamble.” Unless Mayweather gambles and unloads a non-stop barrage of punches, he doesn’t get Oscar out of there. De La Hoya on the other hand will need to take risks and lunge at Floyd, if he is to inflict damage on the speedster. Seeing neither man rolls the dice in fights, this match is going 12 rounds.
BACK TO THE “TWO” RELATED QUESTIONS
Although I feel this fight was and has been a promotional plus, will a 12-round boxing match between a tortoise and a hair bring back fans in huge numbers? I think not! For this fight to do what HBO wants, to bring back the masses, one of these guys will have to gamble, and gamble big. Should no man take outwardly risks and this fight goes an “eventless” 12 rounds, all the money and energy HBO put into this promotion will be for naught.
MORE ON LINE HERE THAN TWO CAREERS
Personally, I’d feel a lot better if this match of styles looked like it could be combustible. It doesn’t look that way, more like a 12-round jaunt for a man light years faster than De La Hoya. Again, this looks like De La Hoya’s Waterloo, sans the bow and arrows.
