Mayweather Jr. Edges De La Hoya
Possible Rematch?
By:/Por: Sal Acevedo Jr.
Photoby:/Foto Por: David Studio (Grafika Cuatro)
Issue/Edicion: July/Julio 2007
The highly anticipated junior middleweight showdown between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. May 5th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, NV resulted in an entertaining chess match that ended in a close split decision victory for “Pretty Boy,” who now becomes the new WBC Super Welterweight Champion and remains king on the pound-for-pound lists.
Although Mayweather’s performance was less than stellar, his remarkable speed and De La Hoya’s fatigue in the later rounds proved to be the decisive factor in pulling out the win.
Oscar forced Mayweather to the ropes several times during the fight, and tried relentlessly to knock out his opponent but was unsuccessful, mainly because Mayweather made sure of that by fighting his fight, which meant being patient in picking his shots, landing a punch or two, and then getting out of the way of incoming blows by the “Golden Boy.”
De La Hoya fought the only way he could to win, stalking Mayweather and trying to rough him up at every opportunity landing to the body and snapping Floyd’s head back with stunning jabs. It worked well until about the eighth round when, for reasons even his trainer Freddie Roach couldn't understand, he decided to stop using the jab that had been so effective early in the bout.
Mayweather’s defensive style of boxing and unwillingness to trade punches failed to win over the mostly pro-Oscar fans in attendance who raucously booed the decision as the announcement was made that Mayweather was the new champ. But it wasn’t for a lack of effort, as Floyd entered the ring wearing a white sombrero and the colors of the Mexican flag, and his robe inscribed with: “Mayweather Loves Mexico, Mexico Loves Mayweather.”
De La Hoya, 34, hadn't fought since last May when he ended a twenty month layoff by knocking out Ricardo Mayorga to win the WBC super welterweight crown. The six-division world champion thought he did enough to deserve the decision.
"I felt like I won," a disappointed De La Hoya said. "I felt I landed the harder and crisper punches. You got to beat the champion impressively. As a champion, I wanted to stop him. I just tried to close the show. I hurt him with a few punches and I know he felt it."
At the age of 30, Mayweather insisted on his previous announcement for retirement saying this was his last fight.
"I am still retiring after this fight," Mayweather proclaimed. "I am a six-time world champion in five divisions. I have nothing else to prove. I am going to move on to bigger and better things."
If Mayweather were to keep his word, he would become only the third fighter in history –joining heavyweight Rocky Marciano and Mexican strawweight Ricardo Lopez –as world champions that retired undefeated.
As for De La Hoya, the sport's most popular figure wouldn't thoroughly comment on his decision to continue lacing up the gloves or hanging them up for good.
"I got to go back to the drawing board, see how my body feels," Oscar declared. "This is a game I love. The fight game has brought me here. Win or lose, I am going back to the drawing board and then I will decide."
Richard Schaeffer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions advised Oscar to go home and give his future careful consideration.
“Oscar is such a great champion, he gave the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world an amazing fight,” said Schaeffer. “If he retires, he does so off a great performance. Oscar has nothing left to prove."
The MGM Grand Arena was pure energy on this “Cinco de Mayo” night boasting an unforgettable atmosphere that has fans hoping for a follow-up match. True, this wasn't the greatest fight of all time and the build up may have been larger than the bout itself, but it was good enough to leave everyone asking for more.
Oscar’s take on a rematch: “We’ll have to wait and see.”
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