Much has been made about the upcoming fight between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather, JR. Enough ado that both fighters have embarked on an eleven city tour to promote the fight. If you?re not lucky enough to be in a city which hosted one of these soir?es then you?re probably wondering what you were missing. The answer is not much, just your run of the mill braggadocios hot air that fans of boxing have come to expect from these types of events. As you can probably tell from the tone of the article, I am not a big fan of these affairs. I don?t feed into the pre-fight hype nonsense because it doesn?t mean a thing. It is one thing to promise a knockout at a press conference, but it?s another thing to get it accomplished in the ring. One thing that I do enjoy about pre-fight festivities is the analysis and strategies. What can Oscar de to combat Mayweather?s speed or what can Mayweather do to overcome the physical advantage of Oscar? That is the kind of talk that I can get behind.
One is a brash young undefeated fighter who many consider to be the pound for pound champion of the world. The other is the biggest draw in boxing today, with many of his fights being atop the list of the highest selling pay per views in boxing history. De la Hoya brings the money and Floyd Mayweather brings the respect, both looking to deprive the other of each. Mayweather has defeated every boxer he has faced in his pro career and he is looking for that huge payday that has eluded him so far in his career, while De la Hoya has no problems drawing the crowd but has failed to capture the respect of the boxing world. So how does Mayweather capture the bank or Oscar De La Hoya capture the respect?
Keys to Victory for De La Hoya:
1. Use the jab. It is important for De La Hoya to establish the jab in the early rounds. It will serve to score him points and throw Mayweather off his rhythm. It will also allow him to hit the faster Mayweather with more than one punch at a time, which could be the key to hurting him. Mayweather is not used to being hit with more than one punch.
2. Press your weight advantage. De La Hoya isn?t going to be able to outbox Mayweather in the center of the ring. The more space Mayweather has, the harder it will be for De La Hoya. ?The Golden Boy? may not be stronger than Mayweather but he definitely is bigger and he should use that advantage to push him into the ropes and keep him there.
3. Knowledge is power. Mayweather is known to hurt his hands in fights, so De La Hoya should make sure that when Mayweather goes to his body, he should be hitting his elbows. If he can force Mayweather into being a one handed fighter he will be a lot better off.
Keys to Victory for Mayweather:
1. Check your pride at the entrance ramp. The worst thing Floyd Mayweather can do is to not respect Oscar De La Hoya or any fighter for that matter. If you know he has a big left hook don?t tempt fate by trying to prove you can take any shot he can dish out. Avoid it at all cost.
2. Stay focused. Don?t use all your energy fighting before you step into the ring. From what I have seen already on this tour, Mayweather doesn?t look to be as cool as he has been in the past. He is using a lot of energy telling the boxing world how he feels about everything, while Oscar just watches on. Floyd should conserve his energy, both mental and physical.
3. Watch the Hands. Floyd knows he has had hand problems in the past and its imperative in a fight with a guy as fast as Oscar to have them both working. He should choose the glove that is safest for his hands and be careful when throwing punches that could render his hands immobile.
Keys to Victory for Both Fighters
1. Be smart. Both fighters are adept at making opponents pay when they get careless. Make sure you keep your hands up and don?t swing wild or you could be on the other end of that talent.
2. Don?t exchange punches. Neither fighter is a knockout artist, so the chances of either one changing the fight on one shot is highly unlikely. If this fight ends in a knockout it will be because of accumulated punishment. For all the talk about Mayweather being the smaller man, De La Hoya started his pro career in the 130?s also. He may have more experience fighting in this division and carrying the extra weight in the ring but most fighters don?t fight at their real weight anyway.
3. Be first. This is the most important piece of information for both fighters. In a match with two skilled fast fighters the person that lands the first punch will be the one coming out on top.
With both fighters looking to capitalize on the other?s name, there is a lot at stake in a seemingly ordinary boxing match. Mayweather is looking to capitalize on the name De La Hoya to cash in on a huge payday and Oscar is looking to capitalize on the Mayweather name to gain the respect that comes with beating one of the best Pound for Pound champions of the world. A fairly interesting set up to a mega fight that one can only hope lives up to the spectacle it has become.
