De La Hoya-Mayweather IS ON: The Final Word
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by user KMcRae
After month's and month's of hype the De La Hoya-Mayweather fight is nearly upon us. In just a few short hours were will learn not only who is the best fighter in the world today but also who may well go down as the best of his generation. As a lifelong boxing fan I find it difficult to remember a fight in recent memory with this much hype and hope attached to it. The World Awaits, the biggest non-heavyweight fight in the history of the sport, the fight that will save boxing, the fight which will either solidify Oscar De La Hoya's credentials as an all-time great or launch Floyd Mayweather into true superstar status. This fight was designed from the get-go to be one that would draw in not only the hardcore boxing fan, like yours truly, but also the casual sports fan. With this goal in mind we were treated to an unprecedented reality show which gave an intimate look into the personal lives and training camps of the two fighters.
There is no shortage of storylines in this fight. Has Oscar De La Hoya's on again, off again fighting career left him a few steps shy of his best. How will he adapt to Freddie Roach in his corner for a one and only shot? How will Floyd Mayweather respond to the big stage. Sure Floyd has faced some good fighters in his day but nothing that compares to the skill-level of DLH and nothing that compares to the pressure of the biggest fight in recent memory. How will Floyd respond to the family drama that seems to have infected his training camp? After Floyd Mayweather Sr. (Floyd's Dad and Oscar's trainer for the past several years) priced himself out of the range to train Oscar he made his services available to his estranged son. The offer was denied in favor of Uncle Roger Mayweather who just completed his suspension for his near-riot inducing actions during the Zab Judah fight.
As far as most boxing pundits are concerned there are two ways this fight can go. Either Oscar will take advantages of his advantages in size, power and experience to score a stoppage or Floyd will utilize his quickness and boxing ability to dance circles around the Golden Boy and score an easy, albeit boring decision.
When the two men enter the MGM Grand Arena tonight they will do so at opposite ends of the spectrum. Oscar De La Hoya enters the ring as a sure-fire first ballot hall of famer. He has fought and beaten many of the best of his era including Pernell Whitaker, Julio Cesar Chavez, Ike Quartey, and Fernando Vargas. Many boxing pundits, including myself, believe he deserved the nods over Felix Trinidad and Shane Mosley in the rematch as well. In addition to his in-ring body of work, Oscar has long been a fan favorite and the darling of the boxing world. In other words he enters the ring as everything Floyd Mayweather aspires to be.
For his part Floyd Mayweather's talent is unquestioned. His boxing ability, slickness and defense are the best the sport has seen in a long time. But Floyd's arrogance and seeming unwillingness to step-up to the plate and face serious challenges has left him one of boxing's best but also least popular superstars. Tonight he hopes to shed that image and breakthrough to the mainstream.
So how does the fight breakdown? Who wins and why? The consensus seems to be that Oscar has a punchers chance but Floyd will ultimately prevail with take no risks strategy. His boxing ability is simply too good and Oscar is simply too slow at this stage to really make him feel his power. This seems to be the consensus among some of the biggest name writers in the sport including Bert Sugar, Dan Rafael of ESPN.com and Tim Smith of the New York Daily News. It's also a consensus that I will disagree with by predicting that Oscar De La Hoya scores a 10th round knockout.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. isn't coming to Las Vegas to launch a caution-filled fight plan. You can take my word on that. Just as important as winning the fight is winning the crowd for Floyd. That means taking risks and that means exposing himself to the kinds of punches and the kind of skilled, intelligent fighter he has never seen. He will take chances and eventually he will get caught. Oscar De La Hoya will outweigh Floyd Mayweather on fight night, he is the natural Jr. Middleweight having campaigned at that weight or above for the past six years and holds a 2 1/2 height advantage. Historically speaking the old adage goes that the good big man will beat the good little man. For little Floyd this will be his first foray into the 154 pound division which is about 20 pounds above his best fighting weight.
De La Hoya has certainly been helped immensely by his training camp in which his main sparring partner was Sugar Shane Mosley. Mosley's size, speed and style should have provided the best possible simulation of Floyd Mayweather.
Another key factor entering this fight and one that normally isn't used in reference to boxing matchs is home-ring advantage. Floyd Mayweather has effectively cast himself as a villain. His arrogance, sometimes abrasive style and willingness to use terms to describe DLH and his camp that would make momma cringe have cast him as persona non grata when he enters the ring. The crowd will be overwhelmingly pro-Oscar and that's another thing that Floyd has never seen before. At least not at this level.
Oscar De La Hoya might not be as skilled as Floyd Mayweather. At this stage in his career he's not as fast and not as good defensively. But he's been there before while Floyd hasn't. He's the bigger, stronger and more composed fighter. He will win this fight and solidify his position as an all-time great. Mark it down.
As the fight goes on we will do our best to give a round for round but depending on how good the fight is that's no guarantee.
