Floyd Mayweather is a liar: Mayweather didn't deliver vs. De La Hoya
By BRIAN LINDER
T&D Sports Writer
Floyd Mayweather is a liar.
He told everyone he would massacre Oscar De La Hoya. And, on De La Hoya-Mayweather 24/7 -- HBO's semi-reality show -- he asked who in the (insert f-bomb here) would care about De La Hoya? Oscar was boring.
But last Saturday night, Floyd Mayweather was the most boring fighter to climb in the ring, and that includes the pay-per-view undercards. That's why it wasn't the fight to save boxing.
Instead of exposing Oscar, Mayweather danced and ran. He won. That was clear. He outpointed De La Hoya easily. He fought a smart fight. He fought a fight that boxing purists, the guys who watch and understand the game, could truly appreciate.
His defense was masterful. Fighting like that, there was no way he was going to lose.
But that's the problem. Floyd didn't promise defense. He promised an annihilation. He said De La Hoya couldn't fight. He said Oscar would quit. It was all talk. It was all a lie. And, worst of all, it turned people off.
Because, many of the pay-per-view buyers or watchers were not boxing purists. They didn't tune in to watch Mayweather use his speed and quickness to put on a defensive display like no other. They were not watching to see Floyd Mayweather win on points.
They were watching to see Floyd Mayweather take it to Oscar De La Hoya. The casual fan wanted to see "Pretty Boy" move across the ring and take on the "Golden Boy," and many of them wanted to see De La Hoya battle him. They wanted Ali-Frazier. They didn't get it.
The boring guy -- De La Hoya -- he was the one who brought the war. He spent most of the 12-round fight coming forward, stalking Floyd across the ring. Sometimes he caught him, and that's when the flurries came. He'd get him against the ropes or in a corner and let his fists go. Uppercuts, hooks, round houses, over the top, straight to the face, clubbing, whaling away; De La Hoya tried to give the viewers what they wanted. He tried to make it the war that everyone anticipated it might be.
That's why one judge, Tom Kaczmarek, scored the fight 115-113 in De La Hoya's favor. He brought the fight. He pushed forward. He walked in the fan favorite, and he walked out the fan favorite. Floyd, meanwhile, looked scared from the time he entered the arena, with Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson rapping him to the ring with his new song, "Straight to the Bank."
In fact, the only time that Floyd didn't look scared was before, and then immediately after, the fight. His uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, made sure to make it to the mic and tell the world that Floyd had just "whooped his ass." Of course, that reasoning couldn't explain why Floyd's left brow was sagging, and why Oscar only had a small cut over his right eye. Line them up side by side, take 20 people who didn't watch the fight and ask them who won. They'd tell you De La Hoya.
Floyd won, but how much credibility does he really have left? He false-retired immediately following the decision. Boxers do it all the time, but it's getting stale. Nobody believes it ... not for one second. Floyd Mayweather will be back, and he will fight De La Hoya again. He will probably win. He probably won't stand toe to toe, but he will probably talk plenty of smack before and after the fight.
He'll tell everyone he won't leave any doubt this time, and he will walk out of the ring leaving plenty of that behind him. He'll boast, he'll brag, he'll bet big money on basketball games and he'll continue to be a great fighter and a great anti-hero. He'll never be Ali ... not even Frazier ... and casual fight fans will get tired of the act. He'll lose fans by the droves.
He's -- no doubt -- already lost many of the casual fans who watched a week ago. It's why De La Hoya-Mayweather II can count on at least 200,000-less buys.
Take that straight to the bank
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