Also from Today:  Interview with Oscar De La Hoya
When Oscar De La Hoya steps into the ring against Ricardo Mayorga on May 6th, it will have been 18 months since his knockout loss to Bernard Hopkins and nearly four years since his last impressive victory versus Fernando Vargas. For a lower to mid-weight class fighter, time is an especially merciless enemy. Especially for a fighter who has made a career out of dangerous division jumping, coupled with long periods of inactivity and the accompanying weight gain – not to mention the grueling task of being a high profile promoter with a newborn baby.
At this point, having not fought since September 2004, it is hard to say what De La Hoya has left. The only thing that you can say with any certainty is that he still has his technique. De La Hoya’s jab and trademark left hook have always been there for him when all else has failed as evidence by his freelancing from Floyd Mayweather Sr.’s tutelage in the late rounds against Vargas or his last stanza against Ike Quartey. The Golden Chin has always held up nicely as well and considering De La Hoya has only been downed by once by a body shot since his fight with Quartey back in ’99, there are few reasons to believe it will fail him now. However, that protector/bodysuit seems to have gotten higher over the years as De La Hoya’s middle has gotten softer. The way Hopkins and Vargas were able to manhandle him, you get the feeling that twelve rounds with a man who held his own with Tito Trinidad in an all out brawl and who won’t be intimidated by the Golden Hook, The Golden Jab nor the Golden Shoulder Roll, might seem a risky proposition.
Mayorga may be the shorter fighter but he is without question the more physical of the two and arguably the stronger as well. De La Hoya has always been more of a finesse fighter, though capable of going to war, he was always at his best bouncing on his toes, whipping someone with that jab and throwing combos to set up the hook. No matter who is training him, it always comes back to that with De La Hoya and isn’t likely to change with two fights to go in his illustrious career. As we saw with Hopkins, while the technique and intelligence is still there, the stamina and will to win may be waning.
To beat Ricardo Mayorga at his best , you have to be able to do one of two things at a high level . Either you box the hell out of him, dancing on your toes, turning him while pumping the jab followed by the old one-two just to get his respect while generally staying on your bicycle all night, OR you beat the hell out of him by staying in the pocket all night and overwhelming him with power shots to the head and body all the while taking a few to give even more in return. Obviously a perfect blend of the two would be optimum and if anyone can pull that off, it’s De La Hoya. Somewhere between his Trinidad strategy and the Vargas game plan lies the taming of Ricardo Mayorga. The last time we saw that De La Hoya was against Vargas. In his campaign at 147, De La Hoya went 10-2 with 7 KO’s. Of those KO’d opponents, four had never been stopped and all were at the same stage that of their careers as De La Hoya and Mayorga are currently at: late.
Considering Mayorga’s loss to Trinidad and his subsequent lackluster performance against Michele Piccirillo, it is fair to say that this may ultimately be a tune-up bout in the guise of a super fight. On paper, De La Hoya has the tools to defeat a crudely skilled fighter who doesn’t change tactics or gear. However, locks on paper have a funny way of going the other way. Mayorga has been a spoiler before and you can never discount a fighter with his heart, chin, desire and most importantly, his ability to knock you the hell out with either hand from odd angles. Under new trainer Joel Judah, Mayorga has of late has looked to be at least defensively aware. It’s my opinion that it takes a new trainer/fighter combo three fights at least to gel so the presence of Judah may not play much of a factor. However, to beat Mayorga at his best, Judah or no Judah, will take something that De La Hoya has not shown since his fight with Fernando Vargas: a complete performance. To quote Milton, “Time, the subtle thief of youth,” forgets no one.
Also from Today: Interview with Oscar De La Hoya
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