NOTES ON FLOYD-OSCAR “CHESS MATCH”

06 May,2007 by Reylan Loberternos


“PRETTY BOY” OUTPACES “GOLDEN BOY”!

Tagbilaran City, RP – “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (38-0-0, 24 KOs) kept his unbeaten slate as he eked out a split decision victory over a game, but evidently outpaced “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya (38-5-0, 30 KOs). Both fighters stuck to their respective game plans early on, with De La Hoya having the better of the exchanges, utilizing his jab and his left hooks to the breadbasket of the very elusive Mayweather.

OSCAR SAYS “IT WAS ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS”

“It was one of those nights.” This was what the erstwhile defending WBC super welterweight champ said in the post fight interview with HBO’s Larry Merchant, referring to his “sudden” abandoning of his jab. In the first seven rounds, Oscar efficiently utilized his “effective reach” advantage by throwing jabs that somehow staved off Mayweather’s relatively few, but carefully measured attacks. In my scorecards, De La Hoya did enough to win rounds 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7. The fourth and seventh cantos showcased the perfect strategy that the Golden Boy should have utilized throughout the fight. He effectively blocked Mayweather’s stinging jabs with his gloves and arms during that stretch.

THEN CAME THE EIGHTH AND ONWARDS!

While Oscar was slowly sidetracking from his initially successful fight strategy, Floyd wisely and patiently stuck to his game plan, using his lightning quick reflexes. Mayweather moved around the ring and fought from a distance. De La Hoya kept moving forward, but only this time, he was moving in without throwing his jabs, which apparently turned out to be a very big mistake. This paved the way for Mayweather to accurately measure his foe and beat him to the punch with precise jabs and right hooks to the head and mid-section.

CONDITIONING WON IT FOR FLOYD!

While it can’t be denied that Floyd probably has the best defense and natural skills in the business, his superb conditioning definitely did him well for this particular encounter, too. Going into the tenth round, De La Hoya was visibly exhausted from his non-stop stalking of speedy Mayweather. Floyd, on the other hand, still looked as fresh as he was in the first round. Those crisp body shots he received in the earlier rounds coming from a De La Hoya left hook, including ten consecutive to the side of the belly in the fourth, could have taken their toll on him in the later rounds had he not been in excellent condition.

FLOYD “MASTERED” THE ART OF CLINCHING!

Caught in the ropes to the delight of the pro-De La Hoya crowd, Mayweather would get himself out of trouble by pinning Golden Boy’s arms to halt the attack. Referee Kenny Bayless, who did a great job officiating the event, would immediately step in and provide Mayweather enough space to avoid another assault from De La Hoya. One other thing that aided and abetted Pretty Boy was his tremendous composure. He displayed remarkable poise especially every time he was faced with a De La Hoya onslaught.

LAST ROUND TOO CLOSE TO CALL

The final round was close. It could have spelled the difference between a win and a draw (at least on my scorecard). Nevertheless, while everybody probably expected Floyd to just cruise and dance it out till the sound of the final bell, he somehow did the unexpected. Floyd duked it out with Oscar, throwing and receiving some, the way great fights should be fought.

BOTH CORNERS DID A SPLENDID JOB!

It is also but fitting to recognize the impressive way Freddie Roach and Roger Mayweather handled their respective pugs. Freddie never failed to remind De La Hoya to throw his jab, while Roger kept on telling Floyd to continue fighting the way he did and just stick to the plan. The only difference was on how each fighter absorbed his corner’s instructions. Fatigue might have played a huge role, as Floyd, the leaps and bounds better-conditioned athlete, was able to execute them from start to finish unlike De La Hoya who faded in the later rounds.

DID BOXING DRAW MORE FANS?

Winning the fight might be one thing, but winning the fans is certainly something else. The Mayweather – De La Hoya fight card has broken box office records and could go down in history as the most anticipated boxing event of this era. After the massively hyped show, has Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s victory won him more fans? On a larger scale, has that particular event injected new life and improved fan base to what many consider as a dying sport?

HAS FLOYD ANSWERED HIS CRITICS AS WELL?

With Mayweather’s win over De La Hoya, has the world’s top fighter, in one way or another, already answered his critics regarding his perceived deficiency in quality of his choice of opposition? Noting that the De La Hoya who fought Mayweather was considerably bigger and most probably better than Cotto, Hatton, or Margarito? Was Floyd right in saying that he has nothing left to prove in this sport of boxing? Make yourselves heard, boxing fans!

ONE SHOULD EXPECT OSCAR TO BEAT FLOYD!

02 May, 2007 by Reylan Loberternos


IS PICKING OSCAR LIKE SAWING OFF A LIMB?

LAS Vegas, NV- Undefeated, and some would say ‘untested’, “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (37-0-0, 24 KOs) is in his absolute prime. He will trade mitts with the sports’ most identifiable figure in “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya (38-4-0, 30 KOs) Saturday at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. Here are some of the reasons why I think “Golden Boy” is going to beat the “Pretty Boy” and might I add, somewhat convincingly, or not so convincingly in the year’s most anticipated boxing spectacle.

PRIMARY REASON: SIZE!

1992 Olympic gold medallist Oscar De La Hoya will be the biggest opponent Floyd Mayweather Jr. is going to face, thus far professionally. While Floyd has been campaigning most of his career around the 130 lb. super featherweight division, Oscar on the other hand has been fighting at least 17 pounds north since 1997, the same year the “Golden Boy” eked out a highly contested unanimous decision victory against another staunch advocate of the sweet science in Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker. Floyd’s power hasn’t also been as effective as it has usually been when he was still a 130-lber. In his first 27 bouts, all but 7 of them didn’t last the distance for a 74% knockout ratio. However, his last 10 outings, while moving up in weight, show that his knockout percentage considerably dropped to 40%. With his fragile hands and the reasons mentioned above, I don’t see Floyd knocking Oscar down, much less end the bout unless it is due to cuts.

DID I EVEN MENTION HEIGHT AND REACH?

You might find it amusing that I didn’t include De La Hoya’s advantages in height and reach to the “size” topic above. Well, I purposely categorized size as a power factor from which we can attribute one’s capacity to hurt the opposing party. I specifically reserved height and reach for topics about boxing, the science, not the sport. Floyd is listed at 5’8” with a 72-inch reach, while Oscar is considerably taller at 5’10 ½” inches with a reach of 73 inches. Why am I mentioning these stats?

“PRETTY BOY” CANNOT SCHOOL “GOLDEN BOY”!

If the stats mentioned above are accurate as listed, then Mayweather is at an obvious disadvantage. Try to check Floyd’s list of 37 previous opponents and see if you can find any of them who have both advantages in size and reach over him. If you are successful, then you can stop reading and I will certainly rest my case. If you can’t, then read on and know the facts.

IT’LL BE ALL ABOUT “EFFECTIVE REACH”

Let’s talk about “effective reach”. It’s not only the reach that determines how far a fist can travel. Effective reach is also directly proportional to height. Oscar now enjoys both these advantages and for the first time in his career, Floyd will try to dance with someone whom he has a considerable disadvantage in this department. That said, we most probably couldn’t expect Mayweather to employ the same boxing strategy as successfully as he did against his 37 other foes. He could not easily use his jab to land a punch on Oscar without the risk of being on the receiving end of a De La Hoya jab first. In his previous assignments, Floyd would usually only think of how to land the jab. This time around, he’ll have to first figure out how to avoid De La Hoya’s jab before he could land his own version of it.

LET’S NOT FORGET OSCAR CAN BOX SOME TOO!

The things I mentioned above won’t mean a thing had it not been Oscar De La Hoya we’re talking about here. Notice that I intentionally referred to Oscar as an Olympic gold medallist instead of using the six-division champ as an identifier. He definitely can box and if his Olympic success isn’t enough proof yet, then I don’t know what is. The “Golden Boy” has one of the best jabs in the business. He can utilize his effective reach advantage by constantly throwing jabs and occasionally unleashing his vaunted left hooks to keep Floyd at bay. Floyd is superb defensively, not to mention that he’s also an extremely patient boxer…but noting the fact that he will be in an unfamiliar territory, he could very well get frustrated and could opt out of his comfort zone and engage, which I think, would be a very big mistake!

THIS MAY BOIL DOWN TO A BATTLE OF WITS

Comparatively, Oscar has an advantage in size and experience based on the quality of his previous opposition. Floyd, on the other hand, has a clear upper hand in agility, which can be attributed to his relative youth. If there’s one thing that nobody in the boxing world would probably dare question, it should be the fact that both protagonists are exceptionally smart inside the squared circle. I could very well be wrong in my assessment and I may stand all alone with my analysis…but I can rest assured that this will, by no means, be an easy fight for either Oscar or Floyd. This clash shall be decided upon which fighter maximizes his advantages and best exploits his foe’s weaknesses.

IF FLOYD BEATS OSCAR…

Mayweather has been widely criticized for his choice of opponents in a span of approximately four and a half years. Possible encounters with Hatton, Cotto, and Margarito were shelved for undisclosed yet palpable reasons. But wait! Doesn’t this bout, in a way, restore some lost reputation? Don’t you think that De La Hoya is better than Hatton, Cotto or Margarito even at this point in time? It’s now time to speak your minds, boxing fans!


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