[Previous entry: "Micky Ward to undergo eye surgery"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Popular Chicago Fighter, Ray “Rocky” Martinez Announces His Retirement"]
09/13/2004 Archived Entry: ""
Note to Oscar: Outdo Tito first, Hopkins Second
By Dean Vios
Here we are on the cusp of the next megafight, and once again boxing produces an improbable matchup that captures the imagination and stirs controversy. This is not two fighters in their primes meeting head-to-head in a division showdown. Nor is it the rise of an up-and-comer, or the fall of a champion. This is a novelty in which two exceptional boxers will stretch their limits and engage in a chess match. Talents are challenged. Physics are challenged. The way that this particular stage has been set—hell, even common knowledge is challenged.
By most accounts, the outcome of this fight is a foregone conclusion. But it’s not that simple. Most people try to forecast the outcome of such an event by examining historical similarities, but we need not look further than the present for hints on how this will play out. I’m not talking about skills or strategy as I am just perception. We have boxing’s biggest star in De La Hoya here not to slay one dragon, but two or even three. We have another unlikely and envious man looking to pound another career into life support while especially enjoying the fact it’s the Golden Boy. And just as was the case in many of his previous matchups, De La Hoya’s strategic timing will give him advantages.
HOPKINS IS OLD!
Physiological fact: The human body does not operate at the same level over time regardless of how well it is maintained. Hopkins is truly a freak of nature, and although he’s not too littered with boxing miles, the truth of his current condition may be masked by less-than-stellar matchups since his domination of Trinidad. Hopkins has not been in a pressured situation physically or stylistically for some time. Not even the Trinidad fight put his conditioning to a real test. For the better part of a decade Hopkins has “had it his way.” Hopkins’ style is much to thank for this, but the styles (or lack thereof) of his of opponents are just as guilty.
In De La Hoya, Hopkins is facing a much more complete boxer who has been fed a diet of champions, fulfilling expectations from an early age. Although there is no true blueprint to beat Hopkins, one could only hope to outdo his speed and movement, which are two things De La Hoya is capable of doing with optimal preparation. Getting old doesn’t have to happen over the course of several fights, because with the right matchup and other variables, it can happen right before our eyes.
DE LA HOYA IS FINALLY AN UNDERDOG
This is the first time Oscar is faced with. Some will say that Oscar will be content with just showing up to this fight, but this is Oscar’s opportunity to wipe his slate clean in one swoop. A win over Hopkins makes for a sweet retirement and an even better redemption. The unfinished business with Mosley and Trinidad suddenly will not pinch as it used to.
De La Hoya has lived a life of boxing; his instincts will not allow him to give a fight like this anything less than his best. This will be the only time De La Hoya will truly feel the need to win every minute of every round, and he has never been one to pack it in when faced with a rough moment in a fight. De La Hoya has only proven to be most dangerous to himself when he feels he is ahead. Hopkins has already had his defining moment in Trinidad, and Oscar is supposed to be icing on the cake. This “last hurrah,” as De La Hoya calls it, would cap his career ever more convincingly.
Sturm only helped De La Hoya’s cause. And it might have hurt Hopkins’ perception. A fight like that was necessary to tattoo the severity of Hopkins and sink his complacent mind into a chilling vat of reality. I am willing to sweep that performance under the rug, because De La Hoya has served his fans well over the years, and I don’t believe it is in him to disrespect his fans or himself like that again. If Tito had had such a bad night against William Joppy, who knows how it would have played out. That De La Hoya himself was flabbergasted in the post-fight interview speaks volumes. He knows that act would not fly any other night, and I’m pretty sure he feels he owes the public one back.
TITO WAS NOT PROPERLY PREPARED FOR HOPKINS, DE LA HOYA WILL BE
Aside from Hopkins and maybe Roy Jones Jr., the entire planet was so high on Tito that they could not see through their own cloud of smoke. Even before the middleweight tournament, King was already jockeying for a Jones fight. The destruction of Joppy made this plan seem imminent, but there was still one unwilling pawn left in place.
The Joppy fight made matters worse for Tito and his camp. Because Joppy completely disregarded Tito’s power while trying to assert himself as the bigger man, their fight ended relatively quickly. No one ever got a chance to really see how Tito’s condition would have held up in a long, tough fight at that weight. All that was concentrated on was the fact that Tito had appeared to bring his power to 160. Although Joppy is a decent fighter, his strategy that night was made to order for Tito.
Though Tito had never yet faced someone with a package comparable to Hopkins’, Tito’s camp felt Hopkins should be more concerned with him than they of Hopkins’ style. Tito’s camp (Tito included) believed power would save him, and conditioning was not even a blip on the map. As a result, Tito followed Hopkins all over the ring like a puppy dog, and Hopkins picked him apart piece by piece as he wound down. Tito seemed to forget the devastating effect he had on Joppy was because Joppy was coming to him.
De La Hoya will not be making these miscalculations given the history before him. You won’t see De La Hoya chasing Hopkins around, and Hopkins basically admitted as much. Hopkins believes he will lead and pressure De La Hoya into exchanges. As long as De La Hoya turns and remembers to move his head, this will give De La Hoya his best opportunity to score and land punches that will make Hopkins think. Hopkins might want to think again that a high-pressure fight is his best medicine at his age. Even in De La Hoya’s puffy state, he managed to throw a lot of punches at Sturm.
VEGAS, BABY, VEGAS!
The judging of this fight will be crucial. All of the rounds Hopkins usually takes tend to be the same. If you are not hitting him cleanly, he takes the round by default. If De La Hoya gets in some clean shots and starts to make the expectations of this fight questionable, I can see judges having an easier time giving De La Hoya rounds. (It is Vegas after all…)
SO, WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?
Well, simply, De La Hoya will fare better against Hopkins than Tito did. You don’t have to believe any of what I’ve described so far, but not many will argue that De La Hoya is a better strategist and takes a better punch. Hopkins instantly became a god with his destruction of Trinidad. People are so amazed by this feat that it taints much of everything around him. Much of this perception is garnered by the fact that Tito had so far to fall, and Hopkins was completely overlooked. As much as I am impressed with the victory, I don’t think it means Hopkins beats Tito any night of the week. Tito was a fattened cat who bit off a tad more than he could chew. Hopkins was good and smart enough to capitalize on his unsuspecting prey. Tito was not just a one-trick pony waiting to get exposed.
De La Hoya has a tremendous task in front of him. Hopkins is too big, driven and fundamentally sound to convince me to pick De La Hoya. This former cruiserweight stuffed into a middleweight’s skin suit can still hang and bang, even at the doorstep of 40. Hopkins’ stifling style and sneaky punch accumulation make for a very tall order for the Golden Boy who, since his style makeover, has been in the path of too many punches. Cerebrally, I pick Hopkins in a surprisingly close but tad dull decision. With these boxing personalities involved, I can almost guarantee a scorecard from outer space to land at ringside.
Even with my heart, I have trouble picking De La Hoya. I already feel all parts are in place for a slim upset, but what prevents me from buying it is the fact I have not seen a solid 12-round performance from De La Hoya in years. Odds are, it won’t happen September 18, either. In the home stretch of this fight, whether or not Oscar has made a strong enough case to the judges, he will most likely move more than Tito did, in the interests of finishing the fight in better shape than his nemesis—while hopefully looking better physically than Joppy! He might not win, but I’m fairly certain De La Hoya will finish the fight on his feet without having left them at all, and he will have clearly done better than Tito in the end. If he does outdo Tito, and because he is the Golden Boy, a chance will be there to slip past Hopkins.
Replies: 3 Comments on this article
A really informative and entertaining article! I can't wait to watch the fight!
Posted by evans_waswa@yahoo.com">Evans @ 09/16/2004 06:38 AM EST
My God this is awsome writings!!
Posted by christierock @ 09/14/2004 08:10 PM EST
My God this is awsome writings!!
Posted by christierock @ 09/14/2004 08:10 PM EST
