By Paul Strauss: To no ones surprise Oscar earned a one sided decision against Steve Forbes. Although one-sided, the fight was still entertaining, primarily because of the aggressiveness shown by Oscar, and the good defensive skills demonstrated by Forbes.
The 27,000 in attendance at the Home Deport Center saw a 35 yr old Oscar looking sharp, delivering a fast hard jab, and following with solid combinations. During Oscar’s post-fight interview with Larry Merchant, he admitted being a little bit disappointed with not stopping Forbes, adding that Forbes is better than his nickname of “2 Pound”. He added that he wasn’t able to stop Forbes, because “that’s the way Forbes fights”, which was a polite way of saying Forbes doesn’t take chances..
This victory is the first of three fights Oscar wants this year to end his career.
Of course he plans on obtaining two more victories, and he is determined that one of those will be against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. He told Larry Merchant the proposed Sept date against Mayweather isn’t official, but he’s determined to chase him down, because he believes he can beat him.
In fact, Forbes was picked as his opponent for tonight’s bout because he has been trained by the Mayweather family, and spared many rounds with Floyd, Jr.
His defensive style is somewhat similar to Floyd’s, but it’s obvious he doesn’t have Floyd’s ability to counter. He also doesn’t have Floyd’s punch.
Larry Merchant made an interesting post-fight observation when he said, After the first De La Hoya vs. Mayweather Jr. fight, no one was really interested in seeing a rematch. The question would be why?” The obvious answer being the results undoubtedly will be the same. Larry then added another question …….”Did Oscar’s victory tonight change that perception?”
The whole Mayweather Family dynamic always sheds a little added flavor to the scene, and tonight was no different. We had Floyd, Sr. in Oscar’s corner, and Jeff Mayweather in Forbes’ corner. But, Jeff was there by default after Roger Mayweather was told by Floyd, Jr. to quit training Forbes. So, tonight we not only had Forbes trying to pull off the big upset, we also had Jeff admittedly trying to get on the same level as his two brothers. One other noteworthy fact……..Jeff Mayweather had been KO’d by Oscar in the Golden Boy’s 4th fight.
In the next act of the pugilistic soap opera we will have in this corner the best P4P fighter in the world with his uncle training him and working his corner. In the opposite corner we will have the most popular P4P fighter in the world, and in his corner will be the estranged father of his opponent.
Does Floyd Sr. want to see his son lose? In his own words yes. He doesn’t want to necessary see him get knocked out, but he would like to see him take a beating. According to Sr., his son needs it. Sr. dismisses the idea that the family is dysfunctional, explaining it’s Jr. who is the dysfunctional one. Sr. feels he made Jr. what he is today, and that Jr. has forgotten that fact. Sr. also feels he is the best trainer in the world, bar none, implying that that will be the difference in the re-match.
The reality of tonight’s fight was Oscar was probably in the best shape (at least as far as his weight was concerned) since 2001, and his height and reach advantage, plus his greater punching power. Forbes’ asset was the Contender show name, and the fact that he’s never been knocked down or stopped. He presented a respectable, solid opponent. But, the pattern set in the first round by Oscar carried through for the rest of the fight, which was reflected in the score cards. Two judges scored the fight 119-109, with the third scoring a shut out at 120-108. Oscar threw about 100 more punches, landed with a better percentage, and with the harder more effective punches. Forbes went the distance, which seemed to be his goal, rather than the pre-fight boast about scoring an upset. Neither of the fighters was hurt, and both sustained only minor evidence to their faces of fight. All in all, the fight went according to plan …….Oscar’s plan that is!