There will be no surprise in De La Hoya-Mayweather bout

We may only be seven years into it, but again, we have another Fight of the Century this weekend. In this version, we’re going to see unbeaten Pretty Boy Floyd Mayweather 37-0 (24) take on a still youthful, but veteran fighter in Oscar De La Hoya 38-4 (30) for De La Hoya’s WBC Light Middleweight title.


What exactly makes this a candidate for Fight of the Century status? Well, we have Mayweather, who’s generally regarded as the best pound for pound boxer on the planet against The Golden Boy, one of the sport’s most popular fighters ever, and still a world class warrior. The fight stacks up pretty evenly as the advantages Mayweather carries into the ring with him, such as speed for example, could possibly be negated by De La Hoya’s naturally larger size. While Mayweather has been weaving a path of destruction through the super featherweight to welterweight divisions over the years, this is going to be his first fight as a light middleweight.


De La Hoya may have the experience factor going for him as he’s arguably had the bigger fights against some of the best in the world in the likes of Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosely, Felix Trinidad, and Julio Cesar Chavez. However, let’s not forget that De La Hoya lost to Hopkins, Trinidad, and twice to Mosely. If De La Hoya was a baseball player, his batting average would actually be quite low when coming to the plate with all the marbles on the line.


Could this possibly help the Golden Boy though? Will he have learned a valuable lesson in losing his big fights, such as knowing not to cruise over the last few rounds like he did when having a lead over Trinidad? It’s possible that Oscar will be more aggressive because of his past mistakes, and he’s going to have to be, to beat Mayweather. De La Hoya needs to use his left jab and also hook off of it, as this tactic seems to keep Mayweather off balance and on the defensive. At least it has in the past. De La Hoya needs to set the pace and not let Floyd get into any type of rhythm. He has to constantly be throwing punches as Mayweather can strike like a bolt of lightning if you relax and give him the opportunity.


As for the Pretty Boy, well he’s also had his share of big fights in the past against Diego Corrales, Arturo Gatti, and Zab Judah. His most difficult fights however, were both against Jose Luis Castillo, who Mayweather beat twice by unanimous decision. While Mayweather’s an excellent boxer, I don’t think he’s quite lived up to his reputation as being an all time great or the best pound for pound boxer out there yet. If he wins on Saturday night, it will surely help his cause though.


Actually, it might not be Mayweather’s fault that he hasn’t lived up to his billing though, because he hasn’t really been consistently tested. Sure, Castillo gave him a hard time, and Judah actually won the first four rounds against him in my books, but I haven’t seen him involved in a rock em sock em fight and I haven’t seen anybody keep the pressure on him all night long. I think he’s going to get hit harder than he’s ever been hit before when the bigger De La Hoya connects with a solid shot.


There are also some intangibles here. De La Hoya definitely needs to be well prepared, and Freddie Roach, his trainer, is a good man for the job. The Mayweather camp is often surrounded in controversy and turmoil and it’s often seen as a tug of war between Floyd’s dad and his uncle Roger. But, Mayweather doesn’t really seem to be a guy who lets this bother him. He has all the confidence and swagger in the world and genuinely seems to enjoy everything going on around him. If you’ve seen HBO’s excellent 24/7 preview series on the fight you know that Mayweather basks in the limelight and is in love with the camera. And that’s great, that’s what boxing needs right now.


On the other hand, De La Hoya seems to be taking the low road and quietly goes about his business, with the odd hint of emotion thrown in now and again. But, I think Oscar fights better when he’s pissed off. He needs to be riled up. For most boxers, fighting angry is often the kiss of death, but it motivates, and works for De La Hoya because he’s a very proud man and it hurts his pride when he feels he’s been insulted. Just ask Ricardo Mayorga about that. He paid for it dearly as De La Hoya systematically beat the hell out of him. In fact, it was exactly a year ago from this Saturday’s fight. And don’t laugh, but because of his Mexican heritage, the date of this bout may also give De La Hoya a slight psychological boost as it’s being held on Cinco de Mayo Day.


So who’s going to win this year’s version of the Fight of the Century you ask? Well, I think De La Hoya possesses the size and skills to beat Mayweather, but doing it is another thing entirely. He has to have all cylinders firing and can’t afford to let Mayweather set the pace. He also has to stay focused at all times. If De La Hoya wins on Saturday night it won’t come as a surprise to me. Then again if he loses, that won’t come as surprise to me either.