Pretty Boy vs. Golden Boy

I like De La Hoya.  I like the way he handled his career and grew it from the amateurs, pros, and beyond creating a legacy that is going to live on.  Problem is, he didn't quite make the transition from boxer to businessman.  He is still dabbling in both worlds and I think that is a mistake.  For one, he needs to be on top and right now he has that.  The boxers he is looking to promote want a promoter that understands them and is not a washed up has been.  Right now Oscar can do that.  If he persists in boxing he will end up the way so many others do that push their abilities.  At some point, he will lose and continue to lose and then what clout will he hold in the boxing world?  No matter how good you were, at some point people start to judge you by how good you are.  Ending up with a string of losses to finish off his career will only hurt him on the business end of things.

And that is exactly where I think he is headed.  Yes, he beat Mayorga decidely, but it wasn't pretty, and quite frankly, I don't have much time for Mayorga.  Can he beat Mayweather Jr?  My answer is no -- at least right now without having analyzed everything I analyze before deciding on a fight.  I will do that prior to this fight and post my prediction, but right now knowing what I know about the past histories of both fighters, I agree, Oscar is going to have a lacklustre night.

I dislike Floyd Mayweather Jr.  He is an arrogant S.O.B. but he is also the only boxer I know of in recent times that can back up every disrespectful thing he says.  I think his attitude and way of carrying himself is bad for boxing and while it may sell more tickets and create passionate fans on either side, it erodes at the very honour that two professionals should be espousing and protecting in and outside of the ring.  He is extremely talented and there is no doubt in my mind that his lightning quick reflexes are going to frustrate the hell out of De La Hoya.  Oscar may be bigger, but he is slower and undoubtedly getting slower by the day.  Mayweather is in his prime and it will show.

I think the true motivations behind this fight are the number of Payperview sales it is going to generate.  No doubt, this is one matchup everyone will want to see.  I even thought briefly about going to Vegas to see it, but at $1000-$12000 a ticket plus expenses, -- well that's a lot of food for the family.  I also believe Oscar thinks he has a shot.  He wants to make history again and the prospect of this fight has been on the table for years.  It had to culminate eventually and is not only about Oscar and Floyd but also about Mayweather Sr and his son.  Can trainer train fighter to beat son who is champ?  The fight has a lot of emotion tied into it and that as much as boxing skill makes a good fight from a fan's perspective.

So yeah, my vote isn't on Oscar. (at least not unless I discover something before the fight I didn't know...)

 

First post here, hello. Seeing DeLaHoya fight Sturm convinced me of two things: Against anyone with superior fundemental skills( Like Sturm, and probably Mayweather ), or better speed ( Like Sturm, and clearly Mayweather ), he just doesn't have a chance. I like DeLaHoya also. Seems like the kind of guy I would want to have my back in a street fight, or the kind of guy I would like to train me, but Mayweather is just such an animal, and in at his peak. He is going to make DeLaHoya embarresed, just like Sturm did( although somehow he got the decision ), but he hits harder and has more killer instinct. This will truely get ugly.

Admin: I couldn't agree more. DeLaHoya is making a mistake by spreading himself too thin. And he does run the risk of deteriorating his image by getting in over his head. If Mayorga could catch him (however infrequently) a guy like Floyd will have no problem tattooing him.

The one thing I have to say in Floyd's defense (who I also think is an arrogant SOB), is that, like Ali, he says a lot leading up to a fight to hype the bout, but afterwards handles himself as a gracious victor. He gave a lot of credit to Gatti after he whooped him, and other fighters, too. Even after the Judah fight, despite the controvercy and the horrific low-blow, Mayweather was a real gentleman about things. I think it's all an act. There has to be fighters like Floyd and Ali, who'll be loud and obnoxious, and make you hate them. It's smart because it sells tickets, while at the same time giving people an emotional investment in you. Even if it's negative, even if they hate your guts, they still want to see you and they still think something about you. You know? However, I don't see Mayweather pulling it off as well as Ali did. Mayweather seems more purely boastful, Ali was creative and funny and interesting. I don't know...just thinking out loud. Mayweather is a jerk, though.

Web dev: Again, I agree 100%. The Sturm fight is my strongest reference, too. The key is fundamental skills (like you say), and that's Floyd's speciality. While Oscar could avoid some (if not all) of Mayorga's wide, looping shots, the lightening quick jabs and straights will without doubt tear him to pieces. Sturm tatooed Oscar's face bright red in their bout. He shut him down with just a jab, and after seeing him (Sturm) fight a few more times, he's no where near as technically solid as Mayweather. And while quick, no one's hands are quite as fast as Floyd's.

Admin: I'm curious to hear what you think once the fight gets closer.

Did you know that Oscar got rid of Mayweather Sr. and hired Freddie Roach to train him? I love Roach, and really think he's one of the best trainers in the business. However, I think it's doubtful that he can completely turn DeLaHoya around and give him the skills or strategy necessary to beat the P4P best. Although, there is rumor that Shane Mosley (!) will act as a sparring partner for Oscar in the upcoming weeks. I think that if anything can help DeLaHoya, it's having someone as crafty and quick as Shane in the ring with him, sharpening up his tools. Unbelievable, though, that a world champ would act as a sparring partner for a former opponent. Very cool on Shane's part. Classy.

We'll see...

AWOL

I'm torn... I think De La Hoya will only win if he has the best night of his career and Floyd has his worst. I think the change in trainers for Oscar will be to his further detrament. I'm no expert but i just get this feeling...

am all for del la hoya .he's fought some of the best in his hey days. pretty boy is a great fighter i must say, everyone wants to fight oscar for the money he generates. oscar all the way tko 8th round .pretty get pinned against the ropes and pounded like vargas,chowww

Not a lot of knowledge about boxing but was wondering a couple of things about the fight prep and comments on my purely novice predictions. First the prediction: I hope the golden boy beats, no knocks out pretty, in the mid to later round which is the only way I believe he will win, otherwise he will get bitch slapped for the whole fight and lose on decision trying to chase down pretty. MORE on why I want Golden Boy to win later. Pretty stated he would "beat his pussy ass", but if that means standing toe to toe now and then, he will make the crucial mistake. I do believe, or want to believe, LaHoya is still young enough and smart enough to give Badweather a better challange than pretty expects by comparing him to the last fighters he has fought. Next question on fight prep: How much effect will changing trainers before a big fight late in the career have for better or worse if any effect at all, even though he is one the most respected trainers. Second question is: I read where pretty boy weighed in at @154 which is right on target, and that Oscar weighed in at 164.5, both official sanctioned wiegh in by commission. To me La Hoya has a lot of weight to lose in one month but maybe that is how it should be done in boxing? One comment to younger boxers from an old man with young kids. DO NOT compare the talk that Mayweather talks to build up a fight to ALI!!! He is not worthy to lick the sweat off his protection belt! ALI talked smack but it was poetic and fun even though it got under the skin! It was great for boxing promotion as well as himself. Anyone any age could listen and learn things like using what is now classic statements even a book written about them, to phycologically defeat an opponent. NEVER NEVER did he say he would whup some pussy ass, Mother fucker, bitch, etc. and it is a shame that it is shown on HBO. How in the hell can a person expect parents to incourage kids to become interested in a technical sport like boxing with this representation. I can't expect to say something positive about a champion who says that in front of my kids anyway. What if crap like that is said in Baseball for instance before the World Series game? Then boxers cry why UFC is kicking ass in the tv rankings, not noting they talk respectively when interviewed. WWE talks more trash than NYC Sanitation Dept. but it is in line with ALI. Don't disrespect ALI by comparing Pretty to him by talking trash. I'll step off the soap box now thank you for listening. bhadams

I AGREE WITH ADMIN. I THINK DE LA HOYA NEEDS TO CONCENTRATE ON ONE THING OR ANOTHER.BOXING OR PROMOTING.I THINK MAYWEATHERS RECENT COMMENTS WILL REALLY FIRE OSCAR UP. I THINK THAT MIGHT GIVE HIM THE EDGE IN THIS FIGHT

YOU KNOW PRETTY TALKS A LOT OF TRASH ,HE IS I GREAT FAST FIGHTER BUT HIS TINY ASS WILL GET KNOCK-OUT IF HE GET'S HIT RIGHT ON THE BUTTON ,AGAINST CORRALAS HE WAS QUICKER BUT NOT STRONGER ,WHEN HE GOT HIT HE FLEW LIKE I LIL KID .CUT THE RING LAY HIM OUT .DELA HOYA 8 ROUND TKO ... FREDDY ROACH GREAT TRAINER WITH THE RIGHT PERSON TO TRAIN!

im sideing with delahoya in this one,i think he's naturaly a bigger man,he's been fighting bigger men,i reckon he'll catch up with mayweather late on to win by stoppage(i hope)+ he's got one of the worlds best trainers in freddy roach.

i like de la hoya but i don't think he will win the fight i didn't see the fight tonight but i think it will be pretty evan up untill the last few rounds when meywether will dominate but then agian you never know de la hoya has pulled out some suprises over the past few years ....also i agree witht the admin in the fact that meywether is putting on an acted ...because of this: "there can't be two good guys one of has to bad and i choose to be the bad guy" meywethers says in a privet interveiw so its only purpose is to talk trash and get attetion alot of people are hopeing that this fight will pull boxing out of its dark age ..... boxing has slowly become un-popular over the years say this yahoo news(http://sports.yahoo.com/box/news?slug=dw-fightnight050407&prov=yhoo&type=lgns) i don't know you guys can read this and tell me what you think ....

i was the only in my home rooting for mayweather..and he won, but personaly i thought that de la hoya foght way better. he was more active and made the fight alot more interesting...but mayweather threw alot less punches and laned way more...i just wish some one would have gotten knocked out, i mean there was ALOT of shit talking going on.... stay up bud Jay

Personally I really would have called it a draw. I had 2 even rounds 5 for Oscar and 5 for floyd. I know one thing is that Mayweather will never get the respect he deserves until he starts standing and fighting some people I know he gets the wins but it makes for extremely boring fights the whole fight was Oscar chasing him around trying to fight and Mayweather just hitting him enough to move away!! I will never pay money to watch another Mayweather fight when I pay that much I want to see someone have the balls to stand in there and fight not run away all night. That is not impressive all it proves is that he is very fast, not tough. I felt bad for Oscar at least he tried to give a fight worth the money.

I must start off by saying that I am a PBF fan and have been since his fight with Arturo Gatti. I was fascinated by a whupin he put on Gatti. After that fight I started doing my homework on Floyd and downloading fights and reading up on him more and more. From Corrales, (RIP), to Zab and to include De La Hoya, I have been impressed with his abilities. He has gone up in weight starting from 130lbs to his last fight of 154lbs. Each weight class winning belts and taking names. People are so judgemental to Floyd because they think he should be a warrior instead of a master of the sweet science. Personnaly I believe that the warrior attitude does give alot of blood and glory, but I am more impressed with the abilities of not getting hit and being able to hit your opponent not only as many times as you care to but with accuracy amongst the best. There is a video on youtube with a group of about 8-10 people with gloves in a ring. It starts off and everyone just starts punching people and getting punched. As entertaining as this is, it isn't boxing at its best. Not to take away from the fights of year bouts like Corralles/Castillo, Gatti/Ward or even Pavlik/Miranda because they put it all on the line, Floyd can stand toe to toe and exchange but is able to punch at will and make his opponent miss. Isn't that what boxing is all about. I agree that the language will have to be more acceptable for the families to enjoy boxing. Its always mentioned how arrogent Floyd is and how people wish he would just get his but whooped due to that. I will go on a line here and actually say how humble he is. I have looked as far back as I can with his videos and no matter what trash is talked before the fight (hype), he has always been respectful to the opponent stating they did a great job, but even better starts off with the exact same thing after each fight,"I'd like to thank God for this victory. Without Him this fight would not be possible." There are many fighters who never give praise to God for any of their accomplishments. Ajwp