21.02.07 – By Jim Amato: I really can not remember ever rooting for Oscar De La Hoya to win a fight. He was the Olympic “Golden Boy” who was turning professional and was going to become the next Sugar Ray Leonard. The hype, the ever present smug smile, were just too much for me to take. Things just seemed to come too easily for Oscar. Yes, he rang up his winning streak and even captured the WBO junior lightweight title in 1994. Four months later, he stopped Jorge Paez to win the WBO lightweight title. He beat the stuffing out of Lorain, Ohio’s Carl “Stuff” Griffith, but by 1995, Oscar had yet to meet a serious boxing challenge.
Finally, the quality of Oscar’s opposition improved. He beat John John Molina, Genaro Hernandez, Rafael Ruelas and Jesse James Leija. In 1996, he halted Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez in a bloody affair to win the WBC junior welterweight title. Ten months later, he met soon to be Hall Of Famer Pernell Whitaker for the WBC welterweight title. Although the scores were 115-111 and 116-110 (twice) for Oscar, a lot of people thought Whitaker had done enough to keep his title.
The Golden Express kept moving along. There were wins over Hector Camacho, Chavez in a rematch, Ike Quartey and Oba Carr. Then in 1999 came his showdown with Puerto Rican hero Felix “Tito” Trinidad. I wanted Tito to win this fight so badly. Trinidad was a tremendous puncher and I wanted him to wipe that golden smile from Oscar’s face. On this night, though, Oscar fought the fight of his life and he boxed Felix silly for eight rounds. Finally, Trinidad started to come on. Oscar even danced the last few rounds away feeling he had a comfortable lead but in the end Tito got the verdict, but I still feel Oscar got robbed.
In 2000, I thought Oscar suffered his first legitimate loss when he was outpointed by former lightweight titleholder “Sugar” Shane Mosley. In 2001, Oscar captured a title in his fifth weight class out-scoring Javier Castillejo for the WBC light middleweight title. Then came his 2002 super fight with arch enemy Fernando Vargas. Talk about bad blood. This was a grudge match for the ages. I was wrong in the opening statement of this article. There was a time I rooted for Oscar and that was the night he battled Vargas. Fernando was brash and showed Oscar no respect. De La Hoya gave Vargas a sound thrashing that evening. Two fights later, Oscar again lost to his nemesis Shane Mosley. This one was much closer then their first bout and I actually felt Oscar did enough to earn the decision. So up to this point, in my eyes Oscar had suffered only one un-disputable loss.
Sometimes you reach for something that is just a little to high and you over extend yourself and fall. That is just what happened when Oscar attempted to take Bernard Hopkin’s middleweight belt. Bernard halted Oscar in the ninth round. Nearly two years later, Oscar challenged Ricardo Mayorga for the WBC light middleweight crown and gives Mayorga a well deserved drubbing. Now a year later, Oscar will put that title on the line as he faces undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Why am I rooting for Oscar now? Well, by looking back at his career, I’ve been able to put things into perspective. Oscar was not some well promoted and spoon fed pretty boy. He fought the best of his era and ducked no one. The names on his record read like a who’s who of the best boxers from 135 to 160 pounds. Ruelas, Molina, Genaro Hernandez, Leija, Chavez, Whitaker, Camacho, Quartey, Oba Carr, Trinidad, Mosley, Vargas and Hopkins. Now that is impressive. Respect? In my book, he’s earned it and then some.
Will Oscar’s strength, punching power, and better overall opposition be enough to over come the challenge of Mayweather? Oscar looked great in stopping Mayorga, but there are many who feel that Mayorga has always been a bit over-rated and he was the perfect “name” foe for Oscar’s return. De La Hoya is now thirty-four years old. Since September of 2003, Oscar has had only four fights and has lost two of them. It may very well have been three as he barely got by Germany’s Felix Sturm. By bringing in Freddie Roach to train him for this fight, I believe Oscar made a very wise decision. Freddie’s one of the best trainers in the business today. Still, with Roach in his corner or even the ghost of Ray Arcel giving him advice, it is obvious that the deck is stacked against Oscar. Mayweather is one of the most naturally gifted boxers I’ve seen since Sugar Ray Leonard and Roy Jones Jr. He has terrific hand speed and he has a great defense but, does he have the power to get De La Hoya’s attention or the chin to withstand Oscar’s booming left hook?
All questions will be answered on May 5th. I say Floyd fights smartly, especially in the early going, and establishes his speed. He’s in, he’s out. No foolish exchanges. By the middle rounds, Floyd is so dominant that he might go for the knockout. I doubt if he’ll get it because Oscar has a good chin. In the end, I see Floyd winning a conclusive decision. Still, I’ll be rooting for Oscar.