HOYA - HOPKINS: THE COLLISION COURSE REVISITED By Elisa Harrison

 

The June 5th Collision Course card originally shown on PPV, which featured Bernard Hopkins vs Robert Allen and Oscar de la Hoya vs Felix Sturm, was replayed on HBO this past Saturday June 12. The pot of gold  at the end of the rainbow, a mega fight between the projected winners Oscar de la Hoya and Bernard Hopkins, in the fall of 2004.  Like many avid fans, I tuned in last night and at the end of the broadcast couldn't resist writing about it again, but this time with a different approach. Rather than talking about the round by round action, I have chosen to address my thoughts on some of the Collision Course participants... ROBERT ALLEN: Allen's performance -or lack thereof- brought to mind Sonny Liston vs the young Cassius Clay. Folklore has it that Liston fought so poorly, allegedly taking a dive following a phantom blow because he had been threatened by Nation of Islam men who were associated with Clay. Could it be that somebody was threatening Allen? He surely fought like it... BERNARD HOPKINS: The ugly duckling should bring his rhetoric down a notch. The Allen-Hopkins fight was one of the most boring bouts I've had the displeasure of watching in quite some time... It actually ranks up there with his mandatory against the Frenchman what was his name, and we all know how badly that one stunk out the place. Hopkins also disgraced himself -again- with the Joe Cortez antics, only to yield when faced with the real possibility of a multi-year suspension. Larry Merchant said it best, "Bernard Hopkins' paranoia wears on people," may I add that his performances -with the exception of the starching of Felix Trinidad- are beginning to accomplish the same feeling... OSCAR DE LA HOYA: Perhaps Oscar bought into the hype, perhaps he totally underestimated Fred Sturm, perhaps he just had an off night. The truth of the matter is that Oscar de la Hoya looked bad, lost and bewildered at times, against Felix Sturm. The adage about a fighter growing old in front of the audience's eyes took a whole new meaning last Saturday in Las Vegas. Oscar was beaten -plain and simple- by a young champion from Germany who above all other qualities demonstrated tremendous poise and self-confidence. Oscar de la Hoya is no middleweight, I hope he will come to realize that before he further tarnishes his legacy. Oscar, your body language spoke volumes as to who you believed to be the real winner of the match...   FLOYD MAYWEATHER, SR: I don't really know what happened last Saturday between the teacher and the student, but I sense that something did. Oscar seemed frustrated, at times he seemed like he was trying to look away from Floyd when the senior Mayweather was giving him instructions. Did I say instructions? That's another thing that was different about the corner.  Floyd seemed uncharacteristically quiet, at a loss for words at times. He certainly was on to Oscar's demeanor though, as we clearly heard him tell De la Hoya 'don't get discouraged, man'... Will Floyd follow the not so yellow brick road several other trainers before him have traveled? Perhaps, but if that's the case, I want to throw this thought at you... It isn't Floyd Mayweather, Sr. who picks Oscar de la Hoya's opponents, and I will refer you to an interview we did with Floyd Sr. back in September of 2001. It went like this: FLOYD:  I wouldn't want to see him (Oscar de la Hoya) fight Trinidad, I think Trinidad is too big for him now. Oscar beat Trinidad the first time, I know. Oscar beat him, I thought Oscar beat him convincingly, with no questions, he beat him hands down! BRC: So, you wouldn't want to see him fight Tito... FLOYD: Well, only because of his size, Tito has grown into a full Middleweight. Tito has to lose 15 pounds to get to Middleweight, so we are talking about a much bigger stronger man. I would think that had Floyd been the one making the call, the same thought  would have applied to Felix Sturm... FELIX STURM: You tarnished Oscar's gold in front of a huge audience. It was a very valiant performance, (perhaps you could give Robert Allen some pointers on motivation and self-assurance); it was a winning effort indeed. As a boxing fan I feel embarrassed about the mugging you suffered at the hands of the judges in Las Vegas. NEVADA STATE ATHLETIC COMMISSION: Is it time for new leadership or what?  The judging in Nevada is a joke no longer funny, it's hurting the sport and it's turning much needed audiences away.  It's gotten so bad out there that if a fighter is the victim of a bad decision, he will be gifted one on his next outing.  Isn't that what happened here? Oh, and another thing, the NSAC's backing of Joe Cortez was more show than reality. Cortez refereed a very boring fight wearing not one, but two pairs of kid gloves. He acted more like a Hopkins supporter than the impartial official he was being paid to be. Shame on Cortez and on you for allowing, better yet -encouraging- this type of strong arm tactics by a paranoid boxer who -given a chance- will create chaos at every turn. ROY JONES JR: HBO is not getting their money's worth out of comments like "Great shot!" which you repeated all too many times during the broadcast of the Hoya-Sturm bout. It caught my attention because I was listening to the broadcast at one point, not really watching, and when you said "Great shot!" I looked up trying to figure out who had thrown it, what kind of shot was it, etc. , to no avail. Seems like to me that for the millions you are being paid, and considering you are a former pound for pound top dog, you could and should do more to serve the viewing audience. I'm sure Lampley too would appreciate an improved effort on your part, because after every "Great shot!" you called -and there were many- Lampley was forced to qualify the blow. When HBO hired you, you said: "Analyzing and breaking down fights is a natural part of my boxing experience." Your boss, Ross Greenberg, President of HBO Sports, said: "The winners here will be the HBO subscribers who will hear insights from one of this generation's most accomplished boxers." I guess you musta forgot... 6-12-2004 Brought to you by Saratogamist copyright 2001-2004