08.03.06 – By James Slater: Fighting in the new weight division of middleweight, having started his career at super featherweight, is the equivalent in weight divisions of a guy starting off at light welterweight to one day wind up swapping punches with light heavyweights! This puts Oscar De La Hoya’s decision to move up to 160, almost two years ago, in perspective. It really was an audacious move and although he wasn’t greatly successful as a middleweight, he did manage to get his hands on the WBO title. This came courtesy of his win over the German, Felix Sturm.
This fight though, was more in the way of a testing of the waters at 160 pounds. In a double header with Bernard Hopkins fighting Robert Allen for a third time (the first fight had been a no-contest when Hopkins had been accidentally pushed out of the ring by referee Mills Lane and was then unable to continue.
Hopkins KO’d Allen in seven rounds in a rematch) and De La Hoya fighting the German, the plan was for the two to win and then meet one another. Oscar wanted to make a statement at the new weight and at the same time pick up another title belt. This wasn’t the one he really wanted of course. He would have to defeat Hopkins to be considered the true best at middleweight, but it would still be an achievement winning this title in a weight class that was such a big step up for him.
Hopkins entered the ring first and in a dreary affair soundly out pointed Allen, the only break from the dullness being a knockdown scored by the champ in round seven. Then it was Oscar’s turn. At the weigh-in for the match, Oscar hadn’t taken off his top and now people could see why. He wasn’t exactly flabby but he wasn’t toned up properly either. His body looked soft and this confirmed to many the notion that he wouldn’t be able to be effective as a middleweight. He started out fast and seemed desperate to get a quick KO win. There had been rumours of a back problem in training and, what with the excess weight he was carrying for the first time, he may well have been concerned at the thought of having to go more than a few
rounds.
He won the early rounds fighting at this pace, throwing over a hundred punches in round one. But these tactics, if they didn’t get him the desired KO, would surely leave him exhausted. And after four rounds Sturm was still there. He had an excellent jab and was now starting to snap De La Hoya’s head back with it. He was fighting in a manner that proved he was anything but overawed by the occasion. Oscar was Sturm’s boxing idol but he wasn’t showing this in the ring. Amazingly the upset might occur. De La Hoya, despite making his middleweight debut, was the overwhelming favourite over a fighter very few knew much about. As it turned out he’d had an excellent amateur career and was a very talented pro. De La Hoya really had to dig deep and a nervous looking Hopkins was doing his own sweating while watching on TV in his dressing room. Even if he won this one, would Oscar fight again as a middleweight?
At the end of twelve tiring and embarrassing rounds for De La Hoya, the judges began adding up their totals. All three gave him the fight by identical scores, 115-113. Maybe “gave” is the appropriate word because a lot of people were unhappy with the verdict and some more cynical observers even claimed that the fix was in, purely to set up the potentially massive money earner that was Hopkins Vs De La Hoya. It was a very close fight but people tend to exaggerate and not for one second do I think this fight was fixed. De La Hoya had landed a lot of his own punches too and there is a tendency to be more impressed by a boxer if he is beforehand classed as a no hoper but does well, and maybe he is given too much credit. People start watching him rather than the favourite and fail to take his work into consideration. I think this was the case here. But take nothing away from Felix Sturm, he came close to pulling off an upset, though I think Oscar did just enough to win. Surely Sturm will get another chance soon; he earned it here.
As we know, Oscar and Bernard fought; with a successful nineteenth defence for “The Executioner”. Many will no doubt deride De La Hoya’s abilities up at 160, but he still managed to win world honours as a middleweight. In the process he achieved the overly ambitious goal he set for himself upon turning pro. Namely, to win world titles in SIX different weight classes!
The fact that he did this, no matter how tarnished the manner in acquiring the final belt to make his dream a reality may seem to some, should guarantee him immense respect.
And to think, his career is not over yet! How about a De La Hoya v Sturm II fight as an encore? Felix would be more than keen.