12.05.06 – By David Douse: Much has been made of Oscar De La Hoya’s impressive return to the top with his emphatic win over Ricardo Mayorga but I wonder just how well he might fare if he should come face to face with a ‘Ricardo’ from the other side of the Atlantic, namely Ricky ‘Hitman’ Hatton. Certainly The Hitman has to get past Luis Colazzo this weekend for this particular match-up to even be an outside chance, but I don’t doubt for a moment that it is a fight that would be a major attraction, falling only short of a fight between The Pretty Boy and The Golden Boy as an event..
Oscar was clearly highly motivated for his fight with Mayorga and obviously trained hard to get himself in shape to take on Ricardo the bullyboy, but if he were to take on the Pride of England I have the feeling that he might well be mistaken in thinking that he could deal with Hatton quite so easily. De La Hoya’s choice of opponents in taking on Mayorga was every bit as masterly as the clinical job he made of first imposing his authority, and then his superiority, over a man who was sadly exposed has having insufficient skills to deal with the resurgent DLH ; but could he do the same against rib cracking Ricky Hatton?
Still with hats off to DLH for his outstanding performance, questions still remain in my mind as to just where Oscar is at in terms of his body and whether he has actually got enough left in reserve to take on a fighter who fights with the unceasing aggression that is the Englishman’s no mercy and no prisoners style. Against Mayorga, despite his obvious superiority, I still did not think De La Hoya was quite as hard or as strong looking as I had hoped to see him, with hints of a softness that had me feeling that his physical peak is now past and that he is no longer capable of regaining it. Had Mayorga been able to actually apply pressure in the fight, rather than just swinging and hoping, then Oscar might well have had a little more trouble despite his obvious advantages in boxing skill, and that ability to fight under pressure from an opponent who just wont let up is what I question whether Oscar still has.
I see a match between the two having to be made at welterweight as I don’t think Hatton is ready to go up so soon to the junior middleweights. Perhaps here lies one of the obstacles to making what would no doubt be a truly exciting prospect. I believe Oscar feels he is now a light-middle and would struggle to make 147lbs and still be strong but, if he does still want to fight again, just who is left as a big money attraction? Nobody at light-middle that I can see. In the welters Antonio Margarito does not appeal to Oscar both for business and boxing reasons, [it seems Margarito is the fighter everyone wants to avoid] and that Mayweather, whilst representing a tremendous challenge and mega- payday to boot, probably wouldn’t want to fight up another weight just yet either, still leaving Oscar to think about coming down again.
So, back to Hatton, fighting at welterweight again, but could Oscar do it? Despite advantages of height and reach, and notwithstanding his ability to throw beautiful combinations to catch Hatton on the way in, I remain doubtful that De La Hoya has enough left in the tank to overcome such an incredibly tough, durable, and committed warrior as Hatton. This is a man who remorselessly rips body punches home until the opposition entirely runs out of resistance and Hatton’s impressive KO percentage is testament to this. Oscar showed us that he still has a lovely left hook but personally I was not that surprised to see him deck Mayorga so early, as the Nicaraguan had been Ko’d a couple of times before and I think De La Hoya was betting that he could reach Mayorga without too much trouble. Whether this remains as a weapon of sufficient potency to hurt Hatton, I’m not sure because Hatton, for all his walk in style does not seem to leave himself open in the way Mayorga did and gives every sign that he is a fighter who can actually take it as well as dish it out.
It is true that Hatton has made one visit to the canvas that I am aware of, albeit very brief, but he did get up easily and went on to win that fight inside the distance, as he has so many times. Significantly, the heavy handed Kostya Tszyu didn’t stagger him in their fight, although he never really got a good clean shot at Ricky, and I don’t see Oscar as being quite the one punch artist that Kostya is.
Remaining doubtful that this is a fight that we’ll get to see I still believe that if it could be put together we’d be in for a fistic feast that would see Oscar finally having to hang up the glove and Hatton’s place as present day star confirmed. An emphatic win by the Hitman, greasing the Golden Boy anytime from round eight onwards but feel free to disagree!