Boxing Viewpoint: Where De La Hoya Went Wrong Against Mayweather

The fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Oscar De La Hoya was truly a classic clash that will be remembered for many years to come.

I thought the fight was much closer than official stats have shown, and I could understand Oscar De La Hoya’s disappointment when the decision was announced. It seems that Oscar was genuinely convinced that his advantage in power and physique would bring this fight solidly in his favor.

His strategy of being aggressive and and keeping his talented opponent on the back foot with his stiff jab before unleashing his dazzling combinations was working just fine. Unfortunately for Oscar, he didn’t stick to it.

As rounds progressed, he continued to force the fight from inside, but then all of a sudden he would just stop throwing punches.

I am not sure whether this idea of abandoning the aggression and giving away the fight initiative was designed to bring Mayweather out of his defensive shell, to make him throw the punches and in doing so, to open himself to counterattack?

Didn’t that same strategy bring Oscar De La Hoya a knockout in his last fight against Ricardo Mayorga? Unfortunately, due to the Mayweather’s speed, movement and accuracy, this was not working.

Every time that Oscar would lead with a jab and put pressure on Floyd, he was winning exchanges, just to be beaten to the punch after he would stop and hesitate. And I failed to see the wisdom of trying to counter the fastest counter puncher in boxing.

All this suggests that Oscar’s fight plan was built around desire to knock out his opponent. He certainly seemed to be successful from outside, where he managed to block most of Mayweather’s punches. Having closely analyzed the fight round-by-round, I am convinced that many of these blocked punches were the reason why Floyd Mayweather’s punching stats looked so superior.

Fortunately for boxing fans, Oscar didn’t stay on the outside, opting to bring the fight to the Mayweather, and fans seemed to appreciate this far more than judges did.

In the end, Oscar’s effort was not enough to bring him a decision, and if a rematch ever happens, Oscar should go for attacking variety, starting with a jab and using straights, uppercuts, feints, and not relying on hooks alone to knock a smaller opponent out and thus win the fight.

Having said all this, Oscar was game in this match, and throughout the fight it was not clear who was wining or losing. That was what kept the audience on the edge of their seats throughout 12 action packed rounds.

Congratulations to both fighters, HBO and Golden Boy Promotions for this memorable boxing spectacle.