The Danger for Oscar De La Hoya
By Eric Marks (Dec 28, 2008) DoghouseBoxing.com  
And now, three weeks after Manny Pacquiao’s dismantling of Oscar De La Hoya, we are left to ponder if we’ll ever see De La Hoya fight again. Most have weighed in with the verdict being Oscar De La Hoya should retire. If he chooses to continue fighting, who may be on the radar? Rumors have circulated about a fight with Julio Caesar Chavez Jr. This may be a good proposition for Oscar in that Chavez has not really been tested plus the fight could take place at De La Hoya’s natural fighting weight of 154 lbs. Another realistic option for De La Hoya would be Ricky Hatton, a guy whose style may be tailor-made for Oscar, not to mention Hatton has shown significant vulnerability at welterweight let alone the 150 lbs De La Hoya would probably want for this potential encounter.

Aside from these two guys there are few other potential options for a De La Hoya farewell fight/s. A third fight with Shane Mosley has been mentioned in recent months, but it’s uncertain that Oscar would want this particular given they are business partners, and Mosley is fitter and fighting at a higher level than De La Hoya. Nevertheless, given the closeness of their first two fights and Mosley also nearing the end of his career, this remains a possibility.

The greatest danger for De La Hoya would be for him to somehow convince himself that he could beat Pacquiao and Mayweather in rematches. The closeness of his fight with Mayweather and the weight loss in the Pacquiao fight could convince him of this. Oscar may reason that a rematch with Pacquiao at 154 would suit him well because he could bully the smaller guy around the ring. This was the same logic he used in his fight with Mayweather and he looked quite awkward throughout that fight despite only losing a split decision. He may suggest Mayweather’s recent layoff and seeming diminished interest in boxing plus his having the right game plan would be the difference maker in a De La Hoya/Mayweather rematch.

To be fair to De La Hoya, this writer never believed he should have fought Pacquiao at welterweight. Would he have beat Manny at 154? It’s hard to say he would have based on his flat performance, but he probably would have faired a little better. Would he have beat Mayweather if he kept jabbing him and not tried to use his size advantage to bully him? Again, it’s hard to say the outcome would have been different, though the game plan argument does seem to have some merit.

Did Oscar De La Hoya age overnight like so many fighters before him without any warning sign? The answer is uncertain. As others have pointed out, he was still a top 20 fighter and had been competitive in every one of his fights even the Bernard Hopkins tango up until Hopkins stopped him. And while it may be true there were some signs of decline in the Mayweather and Steve Forbes fights, they obviously weren’t serious enough to warrant retirement. But now De La Hoya is in unchartered waters. And while he may be able to sail against the right wind, he should be careful in selected his remaining fight/s, because he will most likely fight again.

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Eric at: ericmarks66@hotmail.com

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