Boxing: Mayorga vs De La Hoya

[H2O Man]

On Saturday, May 6, Ricardo Mayorga defends his WBC super welterweight "title" against Oscar De La Hoya. It is an interesting match-up, at least on paper, and it could end up an interesting fight. It will be on HBO PPV.

At this point, Oscar is a 3 to 1 betting favorite. Interestingly, ESPN's Teddy Atlas is picking Mayorga in an upset. Bert Sugar makes a good case for either man being able to win. That's what makes it an interesting fight -- though not one I think should be PPV.

Oscar is called "the Golden Boy." He is from Los Angeles. Ricardo is considered an anti-Oscar. He comes from the slums of Managua, Nicaragua. The two are not on friendly terms. It is a classic "good guy" versus "bad guy" promotion, though Oscar's niceness is a media creation. He is as much of a villian as Ricardo.

Oscar is one inch taller, at 5'11". Both are said to have weighed in at 154 lbs; Ricardo might put on more weight than Oscar by fight time. Oscar has an inch in reach, at 72". Ricardo has a larger chest, which can play a role in endurance.

Oscar's strengths are speed; a good jab when he snaps it; and, as Sugar notes, mobility and versitility. Sugar notes he has power; I don't think he does at this weight. The guy has also fought a lot of great champions: Chavez, Vargas, Trinidad, Mosley, Whitaker, Quartey, and Hopkins. This can be seen as an advantage, and it can also indicate he is at very least approaching the time to retire.

Oscar's weaknesses are his long lay-off; he last fought 20 months ago, in 9-04, when Hopkins knocked him out with a beautiful body shot. Before that, Oscar was given a gift decision over Felix Sturm in 6-04, in a fight that showed he isn't the same at middleweight. Also, he sometimes stands still in front of an opponent, and he is not hard to hit, other than when he ran cross-country in the late rounds against Trinidad.

Mayora's strengths are explosive power in both hands; a style that is kindly called "crude and unorthodox"; a very solid chin; and an attitude that allows for no fear. His weaknesses include, but are not limited to, a poor defense; a lack of footwork; the ability to be frustrated and foul while the ref is watching him; and he is not particularly fast.

Overall, most boxing people agree that in his prime, Oscar would have been heavily favored. However, it is unclear how much he has slipped. Training is one thing; fighting another. Style-wise, Ricardo's best fights were against Vernon Forest, who style-wise was not unlike Oscar.

It could be a heck of a fight. Any predictions?

[dr.zoidberg]

1. I got DLH winning.

I just don't see Mayorga beating DLH, at all. I feel that DLH will box circles around Mayorga and win by UD. The card has a good undercard fight with Kassim Ouma taking on Marco Antonio Rubio. That fight could steal the show.

I just found out that Koki Kameda just won his fight today in Japan. He's ranked #4 by the WBA and WBC and has stated that he hopes to get a title shot in his next fight. He beat Carlos Farjado, who is not a bad fighter, by KO in the 2nd round. The thing about this kid is that he is just 19(!) years old and he is selling out 10,000 seat arenas!

[H2O Man]

3. If Oscar's legs

carry him, he should win a decision. Of course, that doesn't include carrying him like when he ran away from Tito to avoid a fight. Mayorga isn't gifted at cutting off the ring on someone with good side-to-side movement, but if he can force Oscar straight backwards, it could get interesting. Or, if Oscar stands in front of him, it would be risky.

[bigwillq]

2. I hope Mayora beats his ass!

I hate De La Hoya! :puke:

[H2O Man]

4. While I respect

Oscar for fighting everyone, which is becoming rare among the top fighters, I find him an unattractive package. "Golden Boys" aren't what I watch boxing for. I would prefer to see Mayorga win, because I like the underdogs that come from the back alleys of society.

[dr.zoidberg]

5. Mayorga got wacked.

He talked a lot a shit going into the fight and got put on his ass around 1 minute in to it. I can't wait to see it next week.

[H2O Man]

6. Impressive fight.

Oscar made Ricardo quit. Oscar took some very hard punches, too. I don't like Oscar at all, but he sure did a fantastic job.

[TroubleMan]

7. From the coverage and footage I've seen,

it sounded like Oscar completely dominated him.

[H2O Man]

9. He dominated the fight.

But I wouldn't say completely. I think that it was a bit of a Zale-Graziano match. Mayorga fought hard most of the fight, and Oscar felt his power. Again, though I do not like Oscar, I have to give him a lot of credit for winning a most impressive, tough fight.

[Lefty48197]

8. Sweet. Pretty Boy still has it.

.

[Stephist]

10. If you are going to talk the stuff that Mayorga talked...

you should be obligated to put up more of a fight then he did. Mayorga can not be taken seriously any more. Oscar looked great no doubt but I still find Lampley's and Merchants love afair with him nauseating. Manny Stewart was trying to say that as good as Oscar looked he was still making mistakes and showed rust and everytime he would say it Merchant would inerupt him. And what was with Merchants Boy named Sue comment about Guzman? I know H2O man doesn't like Nady, and I don't disagree, but I thought he did a good job last night.

All in all it was a subpar PPV. None of the fights were very exciting. Jorge Paez JR. fought a kid from Omaha (not a hot bed of boxing talent.) and the kid from Omaha aquitted himself well but Paez won easy. Guzman won every round of his fight though I agreed with Manny Stewart he should have tried for a knockout. Kasim Ouma got knocked down in round one, Merchant made a condesending remark about him, and then won every other round. Somehow Dalby Shirly had Rubio winning the fight by a point but the other judges got it right. Then Oscar fustigated Mayorga.

Oscar Vs PBF? I think oscar should strongly think twice about it. I don't think it would end the way Oscar wants it too.

[H2O Man]

12. Nady

did a good job. When he warned Mayorga for rabbit-punching, of course I yelled, "It's Oscar's fault!" The friends who were watching the fight would expect no less of me. What was bizarre was, in between rounds, one of Ricardo's cornermen tried to tell Jay that it was Oscar's fault. I felt ashamed for them. Jay properly brushed that one off.

If Ricardo had attempted to fight back, the flurry at the end would not have been enough to stop the fight. But Ricardo was behaving like a wimpering pup. Oscar had scared the hell out of him, and was in absolute control.

I'm not fond of Oscar or Jay, but I attempt to be fair. Both did as good a job as possible.

It will be interesting to see what, if anything, is next for Oscar. I've heard that he is again asking Tito to come out of retirement for a rematch. I think that fight will always haunt Oscar. I also think if Tito returns, he'd stop Oscar between 8 and 10.

[Renew Deal]

11. Here's a video of the last round

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aTfLkQa5KpA&feature=Views&page=1&t=t&f=b