“Save the last dance for me….
but will Mayweather dance to De La Hoya’s tune?”
 
 Floyd Mayweather Jnr. Vs Oscar De La Hoya.
 
 W.B.C. Junior middleweight championship of the world.
 
 May 5th, M.G.M. Grand Arena, Las Vegas.
 

 
     On the 5th of May, Oscar De La Hoya will defend his 154 lbs. title  against Floyd Mayweather Jnr., in a mega fight which will be worth  millions of dollars to all the players involved.
 
    This fight will break all the previous records for pay per  view, and on the night, it will eclipse the existing Las Vegas  live gate attendance, making this the richest fight in the history of the sport.
 
    This is not just another world title fight. It’s the biggest  fight since Roberto Duran fought Sugar Ray Leonard.
 
    For me, De La Hoya needs this fight much more than  Mayweather.
 
    At 34, “The Golden Boy” really has no where else to go, to state his claim as the best fighter of his era. Who else could he fight to achieve that status?
 
    In a tremendous career, he has won a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and has compiled a professional record of 38 wins, 4 losses, with 30 knockouts and has won world titles at  super featherweight, lightweight, light welterweight, welterweight,  light middleweight, and middleweight, taking no prisoners along the way. If you look back at his opponents, he was just too good for them.
 
    The only fighters who came close to beating him were Ike Quartey, and Pernell Whitaker. They fought brilliantly, but couldn’t take him out. At the time it looked like no one could.
 
    In September, 1999, he tried to unify the welterweight division, when he faced the big punching, Felix Trinidad, but lost on a close points decision to the Puerto Rican legend. Less than a year later, he fought the slick speedster, “Sugar” Shane Mosley, and lost again, this time by a split decision. De la Hoya returned again at 147 and took out his frustrations on Arturo Gatti, battering him around the ring , before moving up in weight to fight his first fight at junior middleweight, against the tough but limited, Javier Castillejo. Only De La Hoya could fight his  debut at a new weight, and win his opponents world title belt.
 
    Next up, he tamed the “Ferocious” one, Fernando Vargas by knocking him silly, around the ring, into the corner, and finally hammering Vargas until he could take no more, to unify the light middleweight division. No doubt, that night , he was physically and mentally at his very best.
 
    De La Hoya was peaking as a fighter, and after beating up Yori Boy Campas, he wanted another crack at Mosley. Three years had gone by, since their last encounter and both fighters had moved up in weight, but this time around, Mosley fought even better, winning a unanimous decision, to take Oscar’s title again.
 
    Just when everyone was talking about him retiring, De La Hoya came back again. It was now June, 2004, and he had a set himself a new goal before he settled down with “ the pipe and slippers” ! He wanted to become a six weight world champion.
 
    Again he fought his debut fight at a new weight division,  for a world title. The champion was the tremendously upright jabster, Felix Sturm, for his W.B.O. title, and in the pre fight build up, it was just expected that De La Hoya would win. Come fight night, Sturm didn’t follow the script, and fought the fight of his life. De La Hoya looked terrible and under trained at the weight. The fight went the distance, with scores of 115-113 ,
 all for “The Golden Boy” but it was much closer.
 
    At the time, it seemed to me that De La Hoya didn’t come back for Sturm’s W.B.O title. That was just a means to an end, and a stepping stone for greater things ahead for him, and his legacy.
 
    Bernard Hopkins was the number one fighter in the middleweight division, and he had been so dominant , that fight game experts were comparing his achievements to the greats of the past, like Carlos Monzon, and “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler. [Me, I never put him in that class!].
 
    Hopkins also felt he needed to prove something, so the wheels were put into motion for the “History” fight for the undisputed middleweight championship of the world.
 
    I’ll never forget the build up to this fight. I was in Vegas to do book signings at the M.G.M. Grand, and obviously be part of  “history.”
 
    After the weigh in, the fight fans flocked to the sports book in the casino. I was in the cue with this big guy, and we got talking about the big fight. “ B-Hop’s gonna kick his ass,” the big guy said. I agreed with him 100%. Anyway, he steps up to the lady in the betting booth, and places $250,000 on Hopkins to win. The lady took his bet and off he went. I stepped up and put on $20 bucks, but felt confident of winning enough back for a few beers and a burger.
 
    Come fight night, Bernard, and the big guy from the bookies were very happy indeed. Hopkins stopped De La Hoya with a superb crunching body punch, knocking him out to make history, and a whole lotta money on the way.
 
    Sitting ringside, I remember thinking, that this was it for him. He had to retire. He had done it all, and more.
 
    Almost 18 months later, he came back again, lost a few pounds, still looking for the missing piece. The piece he lost when Mosley took it from him, and never gave it back.
 
    De La Hoya came back to challenge the wild man , Ricardo Mayorga.
 
    Mayorga had beat the man who beat the man who beat De La Hoya, and Oscar had to prove he could beat him, if not for the belt, then for himself.
 
    To be honest, Mayorga was the perfect comeback fight for him, as he was wild, and wide open, and De La Hoya knew he had his number.
 
    In the fight, Mayorga was knocked down in the first round with a perfectly timed hook, that spun his head around, leaving him dazed, confused and pissed.
 
    Mayorga rallied back, and on occasion, gave Oscar, and the people at ringside, something to think about. Mayorga raised questions on De La Hoya’s defence, catching him with hard jabs, and uppercuts, snapping his head through his open guard.
 
    In the end though, Oscar was too strong, and had too much for him at 154, leaving Mayorga, down and out, after a heavy onslaught of punches in the 6th round.
 
    Another world title in the bag [10 in 6 weight divisions] but still not content.
 
    Like Sturm, Mayorga was just another stepping stone to greatness, and there was only one fighter in the world, who could give him that now. The pound for pound champion, “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather Jnr.
 
    Floyd Mayweather Jnr. Is the best fighter in the world today. Since turning professional after the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, [which he won a bronze medal] Mayweather has dominated every division, he has fought in, and he is unbeaten in 11 years.
 
    He has won world titles at , super featherweight, lightweight, light welterweight, and welterweight, and has a tremendously impressive record of 37 fights, with 24 knockouts.
 
    Unlike De La Hoya, Mayweather didn’t receive any special treatment after the Olympics, and it was always a battle to be recognized as a main event, pay per view fighter, even as a world champion.. De La Hoya got his first title shot after 11 fights. Mayweather got his after 17 fights.
 
    At age 30, he has a few years left at the top, and with that, a chance to make millions of dollars, fighting a choice of  “A” list opponents, if he wants them. Why jump up in weight to take on De La Hoya? Other than the money, why? Simple, Mayweather wants De La Hoya’s legacy, and his respect. Mayweather must surely feel, he could have beaten all of  “The Golden Boy’s” opponents [with the exception of Hopkins] which is possible, but with Genaro Hernandez and Arturo Gatti being the only two opponents, between the two, it's hard to say.
 
    With talk of retirement from both boxers, it could be the last dance for at least one of them.
 
    Which brings us to the 30,000,000 dollar question, Will Mayweather dance to De La Hoya’s tune? Will De La Hoya try and come out fast, setting a fast pace, hoping to overpower the smaller Mayweather, catching him cold?
 
    If he does, he could catch him and be the first man to stop him. If he decides to try and box, then he will lose badly. In the Mayorga fight, he was very flat footed, and at 154 lbs., he had lost all the bounce from his Mosley days.
 
    The key to a De La Hoya victory is constant pressure on the  inside, but he will have to be at his very best to do so, as Mayweather will hit him with 2 or 3 punches coming in. Mayweather is notorious for finding himself on the ropes, where he ducks and weaves, using his brilliantly elusive defensive skills, making his opponents miss and punch themselves out, before opening up with his own blistering combinations. De La Hoya must capitalize on this, and throw everything at Mayweather’s body.
 
    The key to Mayweather winning is easy, just stick to fighting his own fight. Box in flurries at range, and dance around , using angles. Every time De La Hoya throws the jab, Mayweather must catch or block it, and counterpunch every time.
 
    Mayweather’s people will have noticed that De La Hoya is very open to the uppercut, and Floyd throws them brilliantly, so watch out for that one.
 
    To finish off my analysis, here is my list of “fors” and  “againsts” for both fighters.
 
 FOR Oscar De La Hoya.
 • Power  [tremendous left hook and straight right hand]
 • Experience
 • Height and weight on the night
 • Brilliant tactician
 • Class and quality
 • Tough
 • World class chin.
 • Pride and passion
 • Carries his power till the end of his fights.
 • Great finisher
 • Has fought at 154 since 2001 on 5 occasions
 
 AGAINST Oscar De La Hoya
  • Age [34]
 • Heavy on his feet at 154.
 • Leaky defence. [drops his hands too low]
 • Has been stopped  [body shot]
 • Has lost 2 out of last 4 fights.
 • Open to the uppercut, and the over hand right.
 • Past injuries [is he 100%?]