P.T. Barnum must have had people like me in mind when he coined the phrase, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”
That’s because no one was more of a sucker when it came to the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather fight than me.
I bought into the whole shtick about “The World Awaits,” epic showdown and fight of the century.
Left hook, line and stinker.
Perhaps it was the three months of massive overhype, fueled primarily by the extremely compelling — but now we know completely artificial — “24/7” series that reeled me in.
Or maybe it was simply what the fighters themselves promised: a fight.
Whatever it was, the bottom line is we didn’t get much of a fight at all.
What we got was “Dancing with the Stars.”
For the fan, the fight was akin to eating a big meal, only to realize you’re still hungry a half hour later.
It’s been two weeks since De La Hoya and Mayweather pranced and preened and pawed their way through 12 tedious rounds.
But the discussion is relevant today because ultimately, talk of a rematch will heat up.
My opinion?
Who cares about a rematch? Why would a second fight be any better than the first?
It wouldn’t.
Of course, I wasn’t the only sucker in this. There were 2.15 million others, each of whom shelled out $54.95 to watch a glorified sparring session and a shockingly lame undercard on pay-per-view.
We should have seen this coming a long way off.
This is what happens when you match a fighter whose nickname is “Pretty Boy,” Mayweather, against a fighter who’s widely considered boxing’s reigning pretty boy, De La Hoya.
Ever seen either of them after a fight with so much as a scratch?
This wasn’t the worst fight ever staged. Far from it. But considering what was promised, and what was at stake, it was a huge disappointment.
How bad was it?
If an NBA playoff series results in more blood and bruises than a world championship fight, boxing is in trouble.
Spurs vs. Suns belonged on pay-per-view, not De La Hoya vs. Mayweather.
A great fight wouldn’t have saved boxing any more than the actual fight killed it.
But how special would it be if today people were talking about what a great fight they saw, as opposed to feeling as if they’d just had their pocket picked?
The sport probably didn’t lose any fans that night, but it sure didn’t gain any, either.
Too bad. Because it could have been a night to remember.
Not a night to curse.
You have to give De La Hoya credit for taking a fight he didn’t have to take and for at least trying to make it a fight.
But at 34, he looked like a fighter who fights once every 16 months or so.
Mayweather makes everyone look silly at times, his defensive skills are that genius.
But even De La Hoya’s trainer, Freddie Roach, admitted after the fight that De La Hoya didn’t follow the game plan, that he settled into a crouch and abandoned his jab, making himself easier to hit and thereby freeing Mayweather to do pretty much as he pleased.
He wasn’t effective with his aggression and landed few meaningful punches.
Mayweather, on the other hand, did a better job at playing the villain than most Hollywood actors. But he’s also no fool, and he knew that he could outpoint De La Hoya with fancy footwork and just enough counterpunching to get by. And still get paid millions.
Both fighters left all their fight on the media tour.
So would I be interested in seeing a rematch?
Using another oft-quoted phrase, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” So definitely not.
* * * VIEW FROM THE CORNER
Top 10 pound-for-pound
1. Manny Pacquiao (junior lightweight, 44-3-2, 35 KOs): Always comes to fight and put on a show, which is why he is the new No. 1.
2. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (junior middleweight, 38-0, 24 KOs): Hard to drop a guy who’s undefeated, but who wants to watch him fight?
3. Rafael Marquez (junior featherweight, 37-3, 33 KOs): Steadily moving up the list, thanks to great all-around game.
4. Juan Manuel Marquez (junior lightweight, 47-3-1, 35 KOs) Rafael’s older brother posted big win over Marco Antonio Barrera.
5. Jermain Taylor (middleweight, 26-0, 17 KOs): Loss to Cory Spinks would drop him out of top 10.
6. Winky Wright (middleweight, 51-3-1, 25 KOs): July bout vs. Bernard Hopkins attractive, but may not be good style-wise.
7. Bernard Hopkins (light heavyweight, 47-4-1, 32 KOs): Ready for Wright, but what is left for him to prove?
8. Joe Calzaghe (super middleweight, 43-0, 32 KOs): Needs to fight the big boys now — Hopkins, Wright, Taylor.
9. Marco Antonio Barrera (junior lightweight, 63-5, 42 KOs): Pacquiao rematch could put finishing touch on great career.
10. Ricky Hatton (junior welterweight, 42-0, 30 KOs): The world awaits a breakout performance in America.
Straight shots
Manny Pacquiao got clobbered in his Philippines Congressional bid, losing to the opposition party incumbent by a nearly 2-1 margin. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the “Pac Man” is accusing his trusted advisers of bilking him out of millions during the campaign.
HBO Sports chief Ross Greenburg said he’s interested in re-signing boxing analyst Larry Merchant, but notice how Greenburg never said for what role. Rumors persist that Greenburg wants a younger broadcast team and he intends to reassign Merchant, who’s in his 70s, to another, lower-profile position.
ESPN is expected to announce that “The Contender” series is coming back for a third season.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. last weekend reportedly tossed wads of cash from a balcony at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas to an eager crowd below. No word on whether “Pretty Boy” is coming to San Antonio soon.
Speaking of Mayweather, the WBC soon will order him to decide which title he wants — the junior middleweight belt he won by beating Oscar De La Hoya or the welterweight belt he already owns.
Local notebook
Foe needed: Unbeaten San Antonio flyweight Raul Martinez (18-0, 12 KOs) was scheduled to take on Evert Brice?o (25-4, 21 KOs), of Nicaragua, in an eight-round bout June 2 in Atlantic City, N.J.
But Lou Mesorana, Martinez’s adviser, said Brice?o has pulled out and a replacement has not been found.
Judges rule: San Antonio junior welterweight Jerron Lockette (2-7-2) lost a unanimous decision to Heath Nicols (4-0) on May 12 in Marksville, La., in a four-round bout.
