16.08.07 – By Jack Presscot: And there I was at the MGM Grand on the day of the Weigh in, of the most anticipated and hyped boxing match in the History of our fair sport. I was part of the largest crowd in history for a weigh in. And let me tell you, that was a pro Oscar crowd if ever I’ve seen one. Pretty Boy, Uncle Roger and 50 Cent were all heavily booed, and when Team DLH hit the Stage, it reminded me of when they announced a new pope at the Vatican after the death of John Paul II. The fans went crazy for Oscar, and after the stare down, there was no doubt in their minds that Oscar was going to win.
I tried to talk some sense into them, in the lobby of the MGM Grand after the spectacle. I reminded them that this was no longer 1997, and the Oscar of the nineties, the juggernaut who plowed through an ancient Chavez and Camacho, the slick fighter who wasted Hernandez and Ruelas was a mere memory.
They, instead were stuck with a 34 year old fighter who fought once a year, had been exposed as a runner by Trinidad, (Sorry Oscar fans, I had it 115-114, 6-5-1 Trinidad W12 DLH) and had been shown what real handspeed was all about by Sugar Shane Mosley.
A 34-year old fighter who had been nearly laid to rest by a single shot from Bernard Hopkins, and who had a sick look on his face, as he was handed Felix Sturm’s little WBO trinket, because Oscar knew, as anyone who saw that fight knows, that Oscar got away with murder, much the way O.J Simpson did with that decision. I tried to tell them how Oscar couldn’t even handle Shane’s handspeed and that Pretty Boy was a hair faster than Shane, and that Oscar had a lot of trouble with technicians, and he was facing a Defensive Wizard with quite possibly, the most accurate hands in the sport.
What screwed up the Oscar fans, was the fact that Oscar looked like King Kong against the one dimensional and Trinidad-Battle Damaged Ricardo Mayorga in 2006. Oscar fans were all praying for a repeat of that perfect performance by DLH on Cinco de Mayo, 2007. But alas, The Pretty Boy, and El Matador, are perhaps as polar opposite as is humanly possible for two fighters to be. Whereas one can throw a rock in a darkened room in Mayorga’s general direction from 50 meters away, and still hit him somewhere, Pretty Boy is another matter. Scoring a clean, flush shot on Floyd Jr. is about as easy as scaling Everest with no oxygen.
Oscar and his fans found that out as the first bell rang. His laughable/desperate holding and hitting antics aside, he was really hitting nothing but elbows and gloves all night long. I told the one PBF fan behind me at the Mandalay Bay (Where incredibly, it was 95% Oscar fans) “We can gauge how PBF is doing based on this crowd’s silence. The quieter they are, the further ahead we are on points “…He agreed wholeheartedly, and it truly was a silent crowd from about the 5th on. Oscar, faced with a fighter with faster hands, and the best counter punching ability this side of James Toney, abandoned his jab, and as I’ve always stated, that jab is 50% of Team De La Hoya’s game plan. Oscar’s new tactics were to follow Floyd. Jr. around the ring and get caught flush in his face with a laser like right hand that wouldn’t miss, and try to trap PBF on the ropes, where Floyd simply covered up, or took a page out of the Bernard Hopkins blueprints of victory, and clinched.
Oscar felt Floyd’s underrated power a few times that night, and felt it was unwise to stand and exchange, until the 12th, where the two finally resembled Hearns and Hagler for the final 20 seconds or so. It sure was fun walking around Vegas the rest of that weekend with a roasted crow and a big fork offering mouthfuls to disenchanted fans who were crying, until they were reminded that eight years earlier, Oscar himself had ran for four crucial rounds. The fans of Oscar de la Hoya resembled extras from a George Romero Dead Trilogy flick that wonderful night.
And at the HBO Replay a week later, Mayweather called out a pensive and evasive Oscar de la Hoya to a rematch. And Oscar, being Oscar hemmed and hawed and said he had no decisions made yet, he’d have to consult with his family, etc. Team Mayweather made no bones about the fact that they wanted Oscar again inside those ropes. But with no chance of a September Rematch, and Floyd needing a challenge, they accepted the challenge of a red hot Ricky Hatton, snatching away that Superfight from Oscar’s legacy. Now on December 8th, Mayweather will possibly get a TKO victory over the Manchester Mexican, and possibly cement Fighter of the Year honors, while Oscar ages.
But what of the aftermath? This will mean that Pretty Boy is interviewed post fight, and all of the GBP CEOs will be in the ring wearing apprehensive smiles. The Golden Boy himself will flat out be called out in front of live PPV cameras by an amped up Pretty Boy wearing about 6 different belts. It’s up to Oscar at that point, but the bottom line is that he needs to sign a fight for Cinco de Mayo 2008 by December, to allow sufficient training time, and time to promo the fight properly. At that point, Hatton is out of the picture, as Oscar will want no part of people saying he beat on Mayweather Jr.’s leftovers, a DLH-Hatton match up after Hatton is tko’d by PBF would be little more than an exhibition.
Kermit Cintron, the IBF titleholder, and Miguel Cotto, the WBA beltholder are both Puerto Rican, and as anyone who reads the ESB Boards knows, Millie flat out told Oscar he was not allowed to fight Puerto Ricans. We can all assume that Oscar answered in a meek voice “Yes Dear” and all of boxing is deprived of a Trinidad rematch, and other great fights, due to Oscar’s obedient attitudes about marriage.
So, that being that, Oscar is now in a strange predicament. Does he fight Sugar in a rubber match? Fat chance, he knows Sugar has his number. No other beltholders at 147 he is “allowed” to fight, and if he chooses to avoid PBF, there is nothing for him at that weight. So he can go up to 154 and fight Cory or Vernon, but style wise, those are unwise match ups for a 35-year old De La Hoya who fights once a year.
My opinion is that he is simply having a case of “sour grapes” as he knows what I have written is true, and is once again, going to be forced to sign a rematch with Team Mayweather. And the results will be the same, PBF will turn up the heat in about the 5th, as Oscar’s lack of stamina rears it’s head like an ancient dinosaur in front of the castle at Loch Ness. It will be a pleasure to be there once again, and clean out the Sportsbook.