If you believe boxing historian Bert Sugar, it’s the biggest non-heavyweight fight since Leonard-Duran. If you believe Floyd Mayweather, it’s the biggest fight in the history of boxing. But that’s Floyd being Floyd.
But regardless of where you think the fight belongs on the list of mega bouts, the long-awaited Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya fight May 5 is big.
When tickets went on sale at the MGM Grand, they sold out in three hours. That’s big. A 10-day, multiple-city media tour to promote the fight is big. A three-week TV series by HBO, “De La Hoya-Mayweather 24/7,” will premier Sunday, April 15. That’s big. And the fight could break a box office record for total revenue, including the pay-per-view and closed circuit sales. That’s very, very big.
The disappointment, however, could be equally big. Don’t get me wrong, I love a big fight and the build-up that goes with it, but let’s get real here. We’re talking about a 34-year-old warrior who has only fought twice in almost three years (and was knocked out in one of those fights) against a crafty, slick boxer who doesn’t like to mix.
As good as Mayweather is, and he is very good, he has yet to show any inclination to slug it out in the trench. And why should he when he doesn’t have to? But that disposition doesn’t lend itself to great fights. Great technical performances perhaps, but not great fights.
So I have to question just how good this fight is going to be. As for it being the biggest non-heavyweight fight since Leonard-Duran, I would rate Leonard-Hearns I, when both were undefeated and in their prime, bigger. And I most certainly would rate Leonard-Hagler bigger, even though they both were a tad over the hill at that point in their careers. All three of those fights, incidentally, lived up to the expectations, something this one probably won’t do.
Will I fork over $50 to see it? Yes, it’s too big not to. But I don’t expect to see a great fight. I expect to see a very interesting, tactical fight, big on drama, but short on punches landing.
What makes the fight big, of course, is De La Hoya in what he says will be his last fight. The Golden Boy is without question the most popular fighter since Leonard and probably the biggest draw in boxing over the last dozen years, with the exception of Mike Tyson.
He will be the overwhelming sentimental favorite to shut Mayweather’s non-stop mouth, but don’t bet more than a cup of coffee on it. The golden one may have looked sharp against Ricardo Mayorga last May (De La Hoya’s first fight in 20 months), but Mayorga, a wild, free-swinging slugger who thinks defense is a disease, was made to order for him.
De La Hoya did show he still has good speed and power, enough some say to beat the smaller Mayweather, but the latter is quicker in addition to being a very good defensive fighter. Mayweather will on occasion trade punches against lighter-hitting opponents, but he will be very cautious against De La Hoya.
I see the fight going a lot like Mayweather’s bout with Zab Judah, with De La Hoya controlling the early rounds with his jab and combinations, and Mayweather coming on in the latter half of the fight to win a unanimous decision.
One of the things that make Mayweather a great fighter is his adaptability in the ring — he can beat you a lot of different ways. He will also have his father, Floyd Sr., who spent the last three years training De La Hoya, back in his corner as the two have reunited. But don’t be surprised if there are more feints thrown in this “showdown” than punches.
As Ricky Hatton said about his June meeting with Jose Luis Castillo: “If you want to see chess, watch De La Hoya and Mayweather. If you want to see two guys knocking the spit out of each other, watch us.”
COLON BACK IN ACTION
New Bedford junior welterweight Jose Colon will try to make it three straight March 23 when he takes on James Ventry (2-2, 1 KO) of Niagra Falls, N.Y., in a four-round preliminary bout at the Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Conn. Colon won his first two professional fights by decision. In the junior welterweight main event, which will be carried on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights, Delvin Rodriguez meets Jesse Feliciano, who is coming off a draw with former Contender I semifinalist Alfonso Gomez. Feliciano also holds a win over former junior welterweight champion Vince Phillips. Rodriguez, meanwhile, is riding a 10-fight win streak, seven of which have come by knockout.
CASAMAYOR SNAKE-BIT
Joel Casamayor has experienced some tough losses, but none tougher than his latest loss. Casamayor gave up his recently won IBF lightweight title belt to fight WBO lightweight champion Acelino “Popo” Freitas rather than make a mandatory defense against IBF interim champion David Diaz. But the Freitas match fell through when no TV network would pick it up. The end result? Freitas will fight WBA lightweight champ Juan Diaz in a unification bout, while David Diaz was promoted to full-time champion by the IBF. As for Casamayor, he winds up with no fight and no title.
REMATCH PROMISED
Promoter Gary Shaw has promised a rematch of Saturday night’s war between Rafael Marquez and Israel Vasquez. Marquez (37-3, 33 KOs), the IBF bantamweight champion, took Vasquez’s WBC super bantamweight title when Vasquez (41-4, 31 KOs) quit at the end of the seventh round because of a breathing problem due to a broken nose. Marquez was ahead on the judges’ cards when the fight was stopped. “Israel is a great fighter,” said Marquez, who was floored in the third by Vasquez. “He deserves a rematch.”
WEDNESDAY FIGHTS
Wednesday Night Fights will return to ESPN2 April 11 with a middleweight match between Raymond Joval and Willie Gibbs of Brockton at a site to be determined. Gibbs will be trying to rebound from his first round knockout at the hands of Edison Miranda, who decked previously unbeaten Allan Green twice in the 10th round en route to a unanimous decision Saturday night. Bob Hanna covers boxing for The Standard-Times. Contact him at [email protected]
