This was a reasonably good, but not great fight. As a fan of Oscar De La Hoya, I wanted him to win, as a true lover of boxing I have to admit he did not. It’s not that he did not try, he did, especially when he chose to use his jab., but it takes two to tango, and Floyd Mayweather was content to play it safe and never really attempted to make a statement in this fight, as he promised he would.To his credit Oscar did the best he could, it just was not enough, maybe a few years ago it might have been another story, but on this night as the fight wore on it became painfully obvious to me that Oscar was aging. He made the fight much closer than most believed he would, and like most fighters in a reasonably close fight, he felt he won. He did not. He wasn’t griping he was just answering the questions. He was gracious in defeat, just as he was when he was the winner.
Which brings me to my main point. Oscar has been a class act and credit to the sport of Boxing. It will be a while before we see his like again and from my perspective, it is the end of an era. He has contributed greatly to the sport and is a sure fire bet for the Hall of Fame when his time comes. Personally I would like to see him retire and concentrate full time as a promoter. There was a hint of a rematch last night. I hope it doesn’t happen. It would probably make tons of money, but I would prefer Oscar preserve his legacy. He fought with pride last night and did his best to turn it into a real fight. He can walk away now with his head held high and I hope he does. If he does fight again watch him and enjoy the fight because it will be some time before someone that special comes along again.
As for Mayweather, the champ still remains a chump in my eyes. He is the type of fighter I detest the most. He is a arrogant thug and all the championship belts in the world will not give this guy class.
2 comments:
Great analysis,Randyman....after seeing it the first time,I'd "probably"....or "maybe" give Mayweather a slight edge and like most people who picked Oscar,if I were in his corner,I'd be yelling at him to throw,say three jabs per round when the fight was in the middle of the ring...I don't think he missed with a jab all night...with his hard stuff,it sorta looked like Oscar's fight with Pernell Whitaker-and when Oscar didn't have Mayweather on the ropes, al ot of the fight looked like Oscar's last 4 rounds with Felix Trinidad...but Oscar also did a good job on defense,he was the promoter and if he chose to "box",this wouldn't have been a fight in any sense.Mayweather is an obnoxious punk,who I hope stays retired.Interesting judging...if Jerry Roth had given the last round to Oscar,the fight would've ended in a draw.Now...how did Oscar not deserve to get the last round?
As you say Brian, Mayweather had the edge, and that is the best I can say for him, but I did think it was close. I still feel that Mayweather is overrated. I just wasn't impressed. I also felt that when Oscar was going to the body, his punches seemed to lack their usual steam. And where was his uppercut? I saw many opportunities for him to sneak one in there. There were a lot of people at my daughters house where I saw the fight and I was doing my best to stay focused. I would prefer that he retire but if he fights Mayweather again I'll still be pulling for him to kick his ass, with his personal touch of class of course!
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