In front of 27,000 fans that attended his ‘Homecoming’ at the Home Depot Center soccer stadium, Oscar De La Hoya did the expected by decisioning the game, yet physically overmatched, Steve Forbes over 12 rounds. It was a solid, if unspectacular performance by ‘The Golden Boy’ and it sets up a September rematch (‘This Time the World Can Wait – But You’ll Get it Regardless’) versus Floyd Mayweather Jr.
But I have to disagree with my buddy and HBO color commentator Emanuel Steward, who believed that Oscar was ‘spectacular’, turned back the clock and looked as good as he has in about a decade.
Really?
Now, perhaps Steward is getting a cut of the pay-per-view revenue for the Mayweather rematch, or he’s playing the role that Charles Barkley does for Shaquille O’Neal as his personal protector, but to these eyes, De La Hoya not only didn’t look as good as he has in the past, he looked as though he has even regressed physically from last May, when he was first defeated by Mayweather. His reflexes didn’t look quite as sharp, he only showed brief moments of the explosion and acceleration that marked his prime, and while he was able to shake Forbes late in the fight, he never really came close to stopping a guy who was about 10 pounds past his optimum weight class.
In short, I witnessed a guy who is still pretty good at age 35, but a guy who simply will not be competitive against the ?Pretty Boy’. Don’t let the HBO and Golden Boy rhetoric fool you, don’t be blinded by 24/7, the family drama that is the Mayweather clan or the fact that the first encounter was decided by a single, solitary point. The De La Hoya of 2008 is not even the De La Hoya of May 5th, 2007.
And please, don’t listen to Oscar’s rhetoric (because he’s so good at it and it comes with that million dollar smile that can sway even the harshest of cynics). When asked if the rematch is much more personal with Mayweather Jr., he would state, “First fight, believe me, I wanted to beat him. There was a lot of hype, a lot of new strategies that were being implemented when it comes to marketing and trying to make the biggest event ever. You do get caught up in that. Now that I’ve been in there with Floyd, now that I’ve been through that situation, it’s all business now. I mean, this is personal.
“I’m gonna beat him, you watch. I’m going to beat him. We’re going to go and fight. It’s about having the perfect game plan and I just can’t go in there and be stiff, it doesn’t work. The harder you try, the better it is for Floyd Jr. So we have to take our time, be on our toes, pop, pop, pop, and pick our shots, get him on the side. So we’ll get it down.
“But this is personal. You watch, I’m going to beat the best.”
Oh, yeah, this is now personal!!! He’s got Floyd Sr. back in his corner!!! Sign me up, I’m in…uh, wait a minute, he almost had me going there for a quick second (I told you this guy was good). But I’m sure a large majority of the two million-plus that threw away their hard-earned money last May for what turned out to be a multi-million dollar business transaction in boxing gloves will prove PT Barnum correct once again.
In many respects, Oscar is a lot like the aforementioned Shaq (who’s just a year older at 36), who at one time was the most dominant force in the NBA. But now, while he can still have big nights against the Jeff Fosters, Brendan Haywoods, Erick Dampiers, Rasho Nestorovics and DeSagana Diops of the world, he’s a far cry from the self-styled M.D.E. (Most Dominant Ever) and no longer in the stratosphere of Tim Duncan and Dwight Howard. Back a few months ago, as he was introduced to the Phoenix Suns crowd after his trade out of Miami, he would stand tall and point at his finger, as if to signify that the elusive Larry O’Brien Trophy was on the way to the desert. Perhaps his gesture was in regards to his impending divorce, but he certainly didn’t deliver on his promise to the Suns, as the first place Suns would sit in sixth place and get bounced out of the first round of the playoffs.
Folks, what Oscar is stating now is very similar to the empty promises made by ‘the Big Liability.’ The heart and spirit may be willing, but there simply isn’t enough left in the tank. He showed flashes of hand-speed, his left-hook is still stout, his jab still sharp as a knife. But there is simply no consistency in his output. Against Forbes, he showed a certain type of stamina that has been absent in the past. But perhaps it was because of Forbes? shortcomings- and no, that has nothing to do with his height – that De La Hoya didn’t have his usual fade down the stretch.
He’s still a pretty damn good fighter, but not nearly the fighter he once was. And no longer is he the caliber of fighter that can stay with Mayweather.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Whether De La Hoya can avenge his loss to Mayweather in September is almost inconsequential in many respects. The goal here was to get to the rematch and collect another huge windfall for himself and his promotional company. The outcome of the fight itself is almost secondary.
They did so by telecasting an infomercial on HBO, drawing a sizable crowd and getting enough people to believe he can defeat Mayweather – which of course, should that happen, lead to a third match.
They scored a hat trick on a soccer field, which is fitting.
27 GRAND
The announced crowd on Saturday night was 27,000 on the button, which of course is actually different than the actual amount of tickets sold. I know several people that were offered discounted tickets last week and I received a press release announcing that De La Hoya had donated 1,300 tickets to the students and faculty of the De La Hoya Animo Charter High School.
But the reality is, every show has some freebies floating around (especially when there are plenty of sponsors involved) but to get 27,000 fans to attend a fight these days, in a big city like Los Angeles, is impressive anyway you slice it.
My hat?s off to Golden Boy Promotions for pulling it off.
I was wondering when the last time Los Angeles had such a big outdoor event. Veteran publicist Bill Caplan believes that it was the bout between Mando Ramos and Chango Carmona at the Coliseum in September of 1972 that drew over 60,000 patrons, which Caplan just happened to work.
VICIOUS BATTLE?
Victor Ortiz got back into action with a fifth round stoppage of Dairo Esalas. But he got a bit of a scare as he was sent to the canvas in the third round. After flooring Esalas, he would run into a right hand that sent him on the seat of his pants.
But he would regain control of the bout in the fourth round and end the fight with a straight left-hand that sent Esalas twisting to the canvas, on his knees.
Now, the question is this, just who will be promoting him down the line? Golden Boy or Top Rank? I’ve been told that one of the provisions of the Golden Boy-Top Rank settlement last year that centered on Manny Pacquiao is that neither company would poach each other?s talent.
This could get very interesting.
FINAL FLURRIES
While there have been some preliminary discussions of a Nate Campbell-Juan Manuel Marquez fight, Campbell and his reps will only do this fight if it takes place by the summer months….Ishe Smith will always be a boxer that comes up just a bit short in big fights. He simply is too cautious and economical with his punches. He should think less, fight more….I heard that the Tournament of Contenders took exactly one-third of the pie that Forbes received ($200,000 of the total package of $600,000) for this promotion. To me, that sounds like an awful lot for a company that really didn’t do much but bring the B-side to the equation. So much for looking out for the fighters, huh?….Speaking of Forbes, I think at 140-pounds (where he belongs) he will make some noise….
