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In an absorbing, if not classic, bout, Floyd Mayweather Jr won a world title in a fifth weight division by a split decision over fellow American Oscar De La Hoya.
For me, it was a better fight than I expected but what happens next in the career and lives of the two combatants?
Immediately after the bout, Mayweather said two things that completely surprised me. The first thing he said was that he thought it was an easy fight and he was having fun. A split decision win in a fight that I had him losing up until the last three rounds makes a mockery of that statement.
The second statement was that he still planned to retire and that he had nothing left to prove. For Mayweather, there’s still many big name opponents out there for him.
After a successful leap into the light middleweight division and the fact that he was four pounds under the 154 pound limit suggests that he could easily switch between welter and super welterweight. Names such as Paul Williams, Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito could easily be accommodated.
Mayweather now should be recognised as pound for pound number one. Although many people could argue a case for Manny Pacquiao, Mayweather has proved that he deserves this accolade as he made the jump through a span of 24 pounds without losing his dazzling speed and stamina. Also, against De La Hoya he showed surprising power, shaking The Golden Boy a couple of times.
In terms of Mayweather, I will be amazed if he sticks to his statement of retiring. His ego wont let him. He’s at his peak and has just won the biggest fight of his career. Surely if Oscar comes knocking at his door, he wont say no.
As for De La Hoya, again his stamina let him down. I had him winning the fight up until the 10th round, but once again his workrate went down in the last three rounds although not as dramatically as what occurred in the Trinidad fight. One fight in the previous three years didn’t help either.
With millions in the bank and other business interests, will he want to put his body through four months of hard training? I think not, but in his post fight interview De La Hoya thought he won the fight.
Don’t be surprised if a rematch does happen between these two men sooner rather than later. Mayweather feels that he has De La Hoya’s number, De La Hoya feels he once again was on the wrong end of a Las Vegas points decision.
Also, don’t be surprised if a Las Vegas casino is booked for a rematch sometime in mid September.
