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05/04/2007 Archived Entry: "De La Hoya-Maywether Predictions from the CBZ Staff"
De La Hoya-Maywether: The World STILL Awaits
The CBZ Staff Let's You Know What to Expect in De La Hoya Mayweather
What a wait it's been and we're almost there. "The Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya vs. "Pretty Boy" Floyd Maywether, Jr., a fight that has captured public interest. It feels like the 80s. This fight, the latest and possibly the biggest boxing match in years, may not be a fight of the Gatti-Ward variety but it has all the makings of an intriguing fight due to all of the intangibles, the personal history and the fact that the winner has a shot at eternal greatness, something that neither has achieved in their accomplished but unfinished careers. Forget who has the hot temper or the inititive to want to beat the holy hell out of the other guy. Yeah, Floyd's behavior has possibly motivated De La Hoya but consider that the younger Floyd, has bottled up more animosity because of the drama of his father and that Floyd has always aspired to be what De La Hoya has been to the sport. This is as much as any big fight of the last 20 years, a fight of epic proportions.
For one, you have boxing's biggest star since Mike Tyson, Oscar De La Hoya, a 6-division world champion, trying to beat perhaps the most skilled opponent he's ever faced. On the flipside you have a less marketable and near flawless boxer if there has ever been such an individual, trying to top his biggest and best opponent of his underappreciated career. Should De La Hoya lose the fight, he would still get a lot of first ballot voting for hall of fame status but in truth, he would be considered the guy who didn't bode very well against the elite fighters of his generation.
Julio Cesar Chavez wasn't the world beater he had been in previous years and turned into more of a quitter in the latter stages of his legacy by the time he and De La Hoya had met in the ring. Oscar's wins over a faded Pernell Whitaker and Ike Quartey were considered to be controversial despite being big wins. A thrilling TKO over arch-nemisis Fernando Vargas could be conceived as a win over a talented fighter who never recovered from the beating he received at the hands of Felix Trinidad. And speaking of Tito, though many, myself included, felt that De La Hoya deserved his verdict over the Puerto Rican superstar, the record books will say otherwise. His ledger also shows that he lost to Shane Mosley twice and that he was uncharacteristically knocked out by a Bernard Hopkins left hook to the liver. At least Thomas Hearns who is sometimes compared to De La Hoya in that they have captured multiple belts, beat two of the best light heavyweights (Virgil Hill and Dennis Andries) during and after his era so to speak and crushed the legendary Roberto Duran when they met. Oscar, though perhaps the most important boxer of our generation will not be someone we'll look back as one of the best of this era should he lose to the younger Pretty Boy.
Pretty Boy Floyd, conversely has for the most part, beaten the best fighters of each of the weight classes he has competed in. His wins over Genaro Hernandez and Diego Corrales proved that he was likely the best at 130 pounds. His two wins over Jose Luis Castillo supports the idea that he was the best lightweight and in beating Zab Judah and Carlos Baldomir proved that he was the best welterweight. Having not faced Kostya Tszyu and Ricky Hatton doesn't mean that he may not have been the best jr. welterweight but considering that Kostya was at the tail end of his career when Floyd invaded the division, it's easy to imagine Floyd being too much for the Russian. The aforementioned Duran also skipped the jr. welterweight division without anyone really noticing.
Now with Floyd moving up to jr. middleweight to win his 5th legitmate world title, much is at stake and though Mayweathr has always seemed to have been the better boxer, Oscar does own some advantages in the intangible department. The Golden Boy has been the boxing attraction for well over a decade now. He knows what big fights are all about and he is also the naturally bigger man. With the exception of maybe Zab Judah, Oscar possesses faster hands than just about anyone Floyd has faced in a professional bout and should Floyd's almost untested whiskers taste some of Oscar's leather, you have to wonder how little Floyd can absorb it. Though Oscar more or less grew into a true jr. middleweight over te last few years, Floyd could have hung around the lightweight division for the remainder of his carrer had his ambitions and talents not carried him this far. Oscar could beat Floyd.
But at this stage, I'm not ready to imagine Floyd showing any signs of weakness having severe difficulty with weight issues under middleweight or that Oscar will have what it takes, especially in the later rounds, to pull off the upset and cement his legacy. Sure, De La Hoya has shown some late round heroics but he did so in spite of showing some fatigue. In wathcing HBO's answer to reality television, 24/7, I picked up on watching De La Hoya's training and hitting the speed bag. To the untrained eye or for someone that really doesn't understand the mechanics of hitting the speed bag, Oscar looked impressive. But what I saw was De La Hoya resting and going through the motions. While he used one fist to hit the speed bag, he let his other arm rest by his side. Had he been doing that under trainer Dick Eklund's watch, he would have been scolded for not keeping his hands up. There was also a segment where De La Hoya was hitting the target pads that caught my attention. He was told that there were 10 more seconds in his routine of firing consecutive and fast one-two combos. Though 10 seconds may have gone by, he stopped before one of his assistents or trainers yelled, "Time!," what all boxers listen for during training.
It may just be me but these are some of the things I like to keep in mind if I'm made aware. Floyd Maywether, Jr., however not anywhere near the ambassador that De La Hoya has been, is just a much better and disciplined boxer who doesn't get tired. Floyd all the way, by late stoppage or unanimous decision.
J.D. Vena,
Associate Editor/ Media Relations
Oscar by 10th round TKO if he gets really lucky.
Stephen Gordon, a.ka. "The Ol' Spit Bucket,
Co-Publisher/ Managing Editor-In-Chief
I'm picking Mayweather by decision, for all the familiar reasons.
Katherine Dunn,
Staff Writer
Mayweather by late TKO. Mayweather is fast enough to get in and out and pepper De La Hoya with shots; after nine boring rounds, Oscar twists his knee and, two round later, is forced to quit on his stool due to ligament damage. So ends the Fight of the Century. Afterward, boxing slips into a coma.
Lucius Shepard,
Staff Writer
Mayweather by decision. Unless De La Hoya puts a lot of heat on him from the opening bell to the last toll of his career, I dont think Mayweather can lose this. This fight means much more to Floyd's career than it does to Oscar's so I expect Mayweather to rise to the occassion. I wouldnt want him for a neighbor, but you have to respect his talent.
Tom Smario,
Staff Writer
I have never been a De La Hoya fan. I appreciate that the guy has talent, but always thought he was more style than substance. Mayweather has a lot of great tools, but I've never been a fan of his because he acts like a punk most of the time.So for one of the few times in his career, I am rooting for Oscar to win. If he has enough speed, stamina and grit left in the tank, he could actually make a fight of it. But if I was putting money on it, I'd say Mayweather fights as safety-first as possible, uses his speed and mobility to cruise to an easy points win.
Cliff Endicott,
Staff Writer
Unless Mayweather gets caught with something major he will outspeed De La Hoya. The only question I have about Floyd is his unknown chin. For Oscar to win he will need to catch Floyd, freeze him and finish him on the spot. I just don't think he will. If Floyd dominates I don't want to hear afterwards that he is suddenly in the class of Sugar Ray Robinson or even Sugar Ray Leonard. Beating an Oscar that Mosely beat 7 years ago doesn't prove that much.
Monte Cox,
Staff Writer
Oscar by decision. He already handled faster fighters, Hector Camacho and Whitaker and now has more experience and desire.
Mike Delisa,
Founder/ Co-Publisher/ Encyclopedia Editor
This is one of those fights where most people's very first reaction upon hearing about it will be to choose Mayweather, as I did. There are a few intangibles, though, that make me rethink my initial choice. Number one, I believe the one major intangible needed to give Floyd his first loss is a very good jab and if Oscar has one thing in his arsenal it is a very good jab. He also has quite a bit of ring intelligence, as does Mayweather. Their styles seem like they will mesh to provide a more tactical, thinking type of fight and if it comes to that I think Oscar's size and power as well as his jab can make it a very, very close fight as opposed to a scenario where Oscar would rush in and try to make it bombs away and open himself up to Mayweather's sharp defense and counterpunching. I think Oscar is smart and clever enough to make Floyd have to think more than he ever has in his entire career. Another thing is that many people, especially Floyd himself, claim that Oscar gets tired in the late rounds but the fact of the matter is that his late round bursts in his fights with Quartey, Vargas and Whitaker are what brought him victory and I fully expect him to be on point physically this time, too. I don't bet on fights and certainly wouldn't risk any money on this one but if I had to put a dollar or two down on one guy I would go with Oscar De La Hoya in an upset.
"Ice" John Scully,
Contributing Writer
Mayweather by unanimous decision. His overall skill, speed, stamina and mental toughness will be too much for a past prime De La Hoya. I think the fight will be competitive for the first 6 rounds and then Mayweather will pull ahead and win convincingly.
Dan Cuoco,
International Boxing Research Organization/ Staff Writer
Mayweather by TKO within 9 rounds.
Ron Lipton,
Staff Writer
I was thinking about my response earlier, but hesitated because our local guy, Jose Hernandez, isfighting a tough battle against Rocky Juarez on the undercard and I'm vascillating on De La Hoya vs.Mayweather.
I like Jose a lot and hope he wins. I believe he has the puncher's chance, but he's facing an uphillbattle. As for De La Hoya, I also side with him and think he could pull out a victory. Memories of George Foreman kayoing Michael Moorer come to mind. However, analytically speaking, I think Mayweather's speed will carry the day and wouldn't be all too surprised if Mayweather caught him with a shot he didn't see and stopped him at some point in the mid to late rounds. And, who knows? Maybe he catches him early and pours on a furious flurry and blows an off-guard De La Hoya out early with the follow-up.
Juan C. Ayllon,
Newswire Editor
Mayweather wins on points.
Barry Deskins,
Staff Writer
