"The World Awaits"
On May 5th, one of my childhood heroes, Oscar de la Hoya, will defend his WBC Super Welterweight title against the current “pound-for-pound” champion “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather. The flight is being promoted as “The World Awaits.” I’ve been waiting for this fight for some time. I have dedicated far too much time to reading every news article that surrounds the hype and hoopla of this fight. Normally I’m not a betting man, but even I put some money down to prove I have some “skin” in the game. It's kind of like being involved in politics. If you don't vote, don't complain. Or in the words of my grandpa Lazo, "Tu voto es tu voz."
Regardless of the naysayers, Oscar is a class act. Far too often, boxers who come from the “streets” or “ghetto” or whatever the case may be are relegated to an anonymous oblivion once their careers are over. For the fortunate ones, some turn to coaching as a way to continue in the sport they love. But these are the rare instances. Most boxers never amount to much once their fighting days are over.
De la Hoya on the other hand stands alone. He has superseded the sport that has given him everything. How many boxers get to become multi-millionaire promoters? Contrary to popular belief, and despite his “telenovela” good-looks, he is an intelligent man inside and outside the ring. De la Hoya is the best thing that has happened to this sport in over 20 years.
I hate to vote with my heart, but I’ve also done my homework. I tried to remain unbiased as I read who current and former boxers, trainers, managers, promoters and sports reporters picked to win the fight. My vote is that De la Hoya will win by a late TKO. Floyd has never been hit as hard as De la Hoya hits. De la Hoya wants to cement his legacy in history and this is his redemption song for having lost three controversial decisions. But don’t take my word for it. Take a look at the “A lister’s” predictions below and make the call yourself.
Predictions:
De la Hoya wins
• “Sugar” Shane Mosley – by knockout
• Felix “Tito” Trinidad – “should not be a difficult fight for Oscar.”
• “Sugar” Ray Leonard – “I think Oscar de la Hoya has enough of the proper physical attributes to take Mayweather to the limit."
• Roberto Duran – by decision
• Carlos Baldomir – by decision
• Buddy McGirt, former IBF junior welterweight and WBC welterweight titleholder – by decision
• Glen Johnson– by decision
• Angelo Dundee, Hall of Fame trainer of 15 world champions – convincing decision
• Teddy Atlas – “I would make Mayweather the favorite, but I love live underdogs and De La Hoya is a very live underdog.”
• Lou Duva, Hall of Fame trainer - by knockout in 10
• Yoel Judah, trainer – by knockout in 9
• Tommy Torino, former fighter and promoter – by decision
• Dwaine Simpson, former fighter– by decision
• James Ali Bashir, assistant trainer– by unanimous decision
• Nettles Nasser, trainer for middleweight Jerson Ravelo – by decision
• Pat Lynch, manager/assistant trainer for Arturo Gatti – by knockout in 10
• Joey Gamache, former WBA super featherweight and lightweight titleholder – by decision
• Hector Roca – by decision
• Bob Van Syckle, trainer – by decision
• Adrian Grenier, “Entourage” actor – win
• Jeremy Piven, “Entourage” actor – win
• Kevin Connolly, “Entourage” actor – by knockout
“Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather wins
• Roy Jones, Jr. - "He's going to beat Oscar.”
• Steve Forbes, former IBF junior lightweight titleholder – by decision
• Iran Barkley, former WBC middleweight, IBF super middleweight, and WBA light heavyweight titleholder – by decision
• Tim Graham, president of the Boxing Writers Association of America) – by TKO
• Hank Kaplan, Hall of Fame boxing historian – by decision
• Ed Kaplan, WQAM-AM (560) talk show host – by decision
• Rick Encinosa, boxing historian – by decision or late round knockout
• Jeff De Forrest, 790 The Ticket talk show host – by decision
• Dino Duva, promoter – by decision
• Tommy Brooks, trainer – by knockout in eight
• Harold Knight, longtime assistant trainer – by a close decision
• Donna Duva, promoter at Hall of Fame Boxing – by knockout in 10
• Lou DiBella, promoter at DiBella Entertainment – by a hotly contested decision.
• Tim Dahlberg, AP sports writer – by decision
• Jamie Hector, “The Wire” actor
• Chad L. Coleman, “The Wire” actor
• Andre Royo , “The Wire” actor – (half-black, half-Spanish) – undecided, “whoever’s winning”
Undecided
• P.Diddy
• Seth Gilliam, “The Wire” actor
posted by Antonio at 4:39 PM
1 Comments:
After being pulled into the hype of “the World Awaits Superfight” between “the Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya and “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather Jr., I felt compelled to put my two cents into the mix. The consensus on this fight is that Mayweather is too fast for De La Hoya and that the fight will go the distance and end in a unanimous decision with Mayweather outpointing De La Hoya. Boxing purists state that Oscar De La Hoya is too old and too slow to even contend with Floyd Mayweather’s quickness and cat like reflexes. This is where I have to disagree.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. has never faced the caliber of fighter of a De La Hoya. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a tremendous boxer, but I don't think he knows what kind of fight he is in for. First of all, Mayweather Jr. was so desperate to get this fight that he gave into Oscar’s every demand, including venue, ring size, the gloves that will be used as well as the weight class. These factors weigh heavily against Mayweather and it seems very few people have discussed their importance in this battle.
Venue:
The venue will be at the MGM Grand (Las Vegas, Nevada), where Oscar has fought 10 previous times, including his last four fights. Mayweather, on the other hand, has fought there on only three previous occasions. Oscar De La Hoya is still king of the town in Las Vegas despite the fact Mayweather calls Sin City his home. In addition, De la Hoya has fought in Las Vegas 25 times to Pretty Boy’s 13 times. De La Hoya has been in bigger fights and previous SuperFights, where as Mayweather has not.
Edge: De La Hoya
Ring Size:
Next we have to discuss ring size, the ring will be small, which obviously plays to the slower De La Hoya’s favor. Mayweather, who is an excellent defensive boxer, will have less room to evade Oscar’s pressing attack.
Edge: De La Hoya
Boxing Gloves:
Both boxers will be using 10 oz Reyes boxing gloves. At the 154 lb. weight class, boxers are required to use 10 oz. gloves, which should negate some of Mayweather’s hand speed as he has fought his whole career using lighter 8 oz gloves. Recently, Mayweather has been using the Winning brand of boxing gloves to provide additional padding for his brittle hands. De La Hoya made sure Mayweather would be forced to wear the smaller Reyes gloves, in a move to allow for less hand protection for Mayweather as well as having less padding to block Oscar's punches.
Edge: De La Hoya
Weight class:
This is where I think the single biggest factor comes into play for this fight. If you look at the tale of the tape, it is evident that Oscar is the much bigger man. He is taller and stronger. He has fought six previous fights at 154 lbs. and one at 160 lbs. This will be Floyd’s first fight at 154 lbs. Also, what nobody is talking about is that Floyd has to weigh in at a certain weight minimum, or the fight will be called off. Oscar knew that he would be facing a smaller, quicker man, which is precisely why he didn’t want to fight at a catch weight.
Edge: De La Hoya
Prediction:
Oscar De La Hoya will win with a late round TKO. His power will prove to be too much for Pretty Boy Floyd. Oscar needs to win this fight to solidify and cement his legacy as this generation’s greatest fighter. He's taken on all comers and lost a few along the way, but that's what happens when you fight the best. The same cannot be said about Mayweather.
I just want to go on record before the fight and state that I am predicting a De La Hoya knock out. Oscar knows that this battle in all likelihood is his last and as such, he's going out on top like the true king and warrior he is.
5/04/2007 10:29 AM
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