De La Hoya vs. Mayweather: Only in My Dreams.

I had the luxury of spending some quality time watching some old footage of Oscar de la Hoya’s two fights against Shane Mosley and a thought entered my mind right then and there. What would a fight be like between De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather? This fight has the promise of rising to the occasion and presenting a huge plus sign to the sport of boxing. I could also be the springboard for Mayweather’s mainstream career. Let’s not forget the large paycheck, sold out tickets and a high amount of pay-per-view buys. Before you cast off De La Hoya as being an old boxer, listen to yourself and compare other attributes that could make these two boxers even. Oscar is thirty-two, Floyd is twenty-seven, Oscar’s height is five-feet ten or eleven, and Mayweather is five-feet-eight or nine. A seventy-three inch reach will help support Oscar’s jab and Floyd’s reach is seventy-two inches. Mayweather’s speed is one that reminds you of Meldrick Taylor.

Another huge factor to consider when thinking of this match would be the education of boxing these two share. Yes, boxing education is an essential requirement for a boxer. It’s what separates a slugger from a punching technician. An educated boxer will pay close attention to every movement of his opponent, and not just consider him a piece of trash. Yes, Mayweather called Gatti all sorts of names, but if you look beyond the loud protest, you could clearly see, Mayweather studied Gatti and was just a student in class, yelling out the right answers, whenever the media placed a microphone in his face. It is what Bernard Hopkins uses so well. Remember the Cus D’Amato years that induced Mike Tyson into the one hundred punches landed count. Throw forty-seven jabs, forty-seven hooks and if they all land accordingly, the right and left uppercut are punches number ninety-nine and one hundred that should have your opponent taking a nap on the canvas. That is why Mike had power in both hands equally.

Of course, you would have to dispense these punches over some rounds; hopefully, twenty landed punches a round should have your foe out in round five. You see, they don’t teach boxing like that anymore. An educated boxer’s mind is a calculator, they will know how much they have connected, what is working and what is not and from there, they will make their style fit their opponent.

The bond between the trainer and an educated boxer is that of twin brothers. Mayweather Jr. is a bragging student, but nevertheless, an A-plus student. Three active Mayweather family members know the original commandments of boxing. One is Floyd Mayweather Jr., his uncle and trainer Roger Mayweather and his brother, trainer of De La Hoya; Floyd Mayweather Sr. This serves as an important step in understanding this fight. De La Hoya knows just as much as Mayweather Jr. Speed is always a problem, but it’s not always the sure sign to winning. What does a speedster do if the shots he is landing is not backing his opponent up, and his opponent is landing stiff body shots?

The Meldrick Taylor vs. Julio Cesar Chavez fight is the manual of stopping speed, if you need to believe the concept of decreasing a boxer’s speed and winning. Mayweather’s speed would not confuse De La Hoya, as Oscar has had fights with speed specialists: a past his prime Pernell Whitaker and Mosley, an extensive amateur career and he understands the requirements and extra bonuses it takes to sway the judges into scoring a round for him. It is called a boxer’s education; “Sugar” Ray Leonard did it in the Marvelous Marvin Hagler fight, informing his corner to tap on the mat during the closing seconds of the round, so he could turn up his speed and leave a lasting impression on the judges, right before they score the round.

De La Hoya has a solid chin; he has been down a couple times in his career, held his own with the prime “Tito” Trinidad and actually won some rounds from the middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins. Experience and education are big factors for any important fighter. As for Mayweather, he is on the top of a mountain named Mt. Talent. His footwork is graceful; he punches so fast that you are afraid to blink. Mayweather also presents high stamina; the man never tires out. He has hand problems, but his fort-like defense can create a coasting period during the fight, if his hands start to bother him.

The only issue I see in Mayweather’s record is his lack of big fights and being placed under pressure. Of course, there could be a theory to this. Perhaps Mayweather’s talent is so overwhelming that his challenger’s style cannot parallel it and they fall into deep distress when in the ring with him. All of the high levels Mayweather set for himself while promoting the Gatti fight added pressure upon himself, and if he had fallen short of his victory prediction, he would have to be man enough to accept the backlash.

Mayweather stepping up when the time was right is evidence of him being able to carry the pressure successfully. Oscar de la Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr., that sentence alone coming out my mouth, to my ears sounds so entertaining it is dangerous. I must also conjure up the idea that De La Hoya’s response in an interview on fighting Mayweather Jr. was a straightforward NO! It would be hard to for De La Hoya to punch the son of his trainer, with intentions of winning and staying competitive. As some will clearly try to connect De La Hoya’s lack of wanting to fight Mayweather as a sign of De La Hoya shaking in his boxer’s boots.

It is truly a conflict of interest on all sides. Mayweather Jr. could allow emotions to cloud his judgment and resort to that behavior a son always tries to show his father he is man enough. Roger Mayweather might attempt to outwit his brother in corner advice and smart strategic tactics could be more harmful than competitive. De La Hoya has a personal and professional relationship with his trainer, Mayweather Sr. and I am sure the two share familial and professional boxing memories, pain, situations, and past joyful times to one another. With that being said, De La Hoya might refuse to take this fight, not wanting to add fuel to the fire of Mayweather Sr. and Jr. On the other side, Floyd is more than willing to jump up to welterweight and meeting De La Hoya there, the fame from that fight would be half the push Mayweather needs to increase his monarchy on being number one, pound-for-pound, no questions asked.

Sometimes, boxing fans, me included will suffer from the latest impression syndrome and forget all about another boxer’s past. Mayweather’s current fight leaves a mark in my thoughts when I think about his growing legacy. Yet, another portion of a fight plays in my mind, all of De La Hoya’s fights, win or lose, and most recently the De La Hoya vs. Mosley fights. As I think about this match-up even more, I start to see this fight not happening, it could be De La Hoya’s large bank accounts, or respect for his trainer. It might be that De La Hoya sees his career mellowing out and has a third rematch in store for Mosley, with an idea that he can win. I will surely record their third match with justification to watch it when I am bored or need to study boxing education.

Shaun Rico LaWhorn can be reached at filmmaking_mentality@msn.com