Is Oscar in for a beating?

www.eastsideboxing.com

04.05.06 - By Tim Nielson: On Saturday night Ricardo Mayorga (28-5, 23 KO's) defends his WBC light middleweight title over challenger Oscar De La Hoya (37-4, 29 KO's), as the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada. To b honest, both of these fighters are clearly on the downsides of their careers, especially De La Hoya, who has lost two of his last three fights.. Although, some would say (this author included) that Oscar has lost three fights in a row, considering his gift decision against middleweight Felix Sturm, in June 2004. Whereas, Mayorga, 32,has lost two out of his last four fights and not been overly impressive even in his two winning efforts. With the obvious signs of wear and tear on both fighters, it's a wonder that it was ever considered for PPV. However, I suppose with De La Hoya's huge following, he would be able to fight on PPV whether he's winning his fights are not, since people only seem to remember him in his youth, not his last few years.

By all accounts, this fight is a setup for De La Hoya, who if he comes out on top, would like to fight one more time on September 16, 2006, against a fighter such as Floyd Mayweather Jr. or Winky Wright. Nevertheless, I have serious doubts whether that dream will ever come to fruition, for Mayorga, a fierce puncher, will be one tough customer for De La Hoya, 32, to deal with in the ring.

Yes, both fighters are close to the same age, however, Mayorga appears to be the younger fighter and is still quite dangerous in the ring due to his power and unorthodox style of fighting. Just as was the case with De La Hoya looking ahead to Hopkins when he was fighting Sturm, it seems to be a similar circumstance here with Mayorga. I think personally, De La Hoya is making a huge mistake and will probably pay for it by taking another beating.

You might be wondering, "Why is Oscar coming back after two months of ring inactivity to fight Mayora, since he's so fabulously rich?" To tell you the truth, I have no idea. He clearly doesn't need this fight, so why do it? I could understand it if he was hurting for money but he's clearly not. No, I think the real reason has more to do with cementing his legacy, as he's taken a real hit with his 9th round stoppage loss to Bernard Hopkins in September 2004, as well as a 12-round decision loss to Shame Mosley in September 2003. Clearly, not the way he imagined he would be going out of the ring. However, as much as I respect him for wanting to do this, I don't think it's going to be a success, not against someone as good as Mayorga.

Indeed, De La Hoya has seemed to be on a downward slide since his loss to his to Felix Trinidad in September 1999. At that time, however, De La Hoya still had most of his skills intact, yet he was beginning to show poor stamina in the later rounds of his fights. Three years later, in 2002, De La Hoya beat Fernando Vargas, who from, my perspective, wasn't the same fighter after having been beaten up and knocked out by Felix Trinidad. Following that loss, De La Hoya, once again, lost to Mosley, this time in 2003. Again, as was the case the last time around, De La Hoya's poor stamina was clearly evident in the later rounds, when Mosley turned the fight around. For an aging fighter, stamina is the first thing to go.

Quite obviously, this is fight has the potential to be one of the most important in De La Hoya's career, since it's the final piece to his legacy, and it's imperative that he wins. What makes it even more interesting, to me, is that De La Hoya will be doing with much less of his physical skills that he had in the past. In a way, it's comparable to the great Ali, who in his later years, depended a lot on his great ring knowledge to win a lot of fights with younger and stronger opponents.

With all that said, I don't expect De La Hoya will be able to defeat Mayorga on Saturday night. The Nicaraguan fighter just appears to be the larger and hungrier fighter at this point, and when you add in his power advantage, I see for an ugly outcome for De La Hoya. Look for Mayoraga to win this by 8th round knockout, after having put a severe beating on De La Hoya. Following this fight, I predict that De La Hoya will announce his retirement rather than taking the chance and facing future beatings to younger fighters, such as Mayweather or Wright.

I hope so.

;D me too....

From what I've seen, Mayorga looks ready. Oscar has the skill to win this fight on points relatively easy, but is he conditioned? If not, Mayorga will knock his head off. If this fight becomes a war, I can't see Oscar winning. But, Oscar is dangerous, and if he's mad, this could be fight of the year. However, I don't see Oscar standing with Mayorga. Who knows. This fight has alot of variables. Whos in shape? Will the lay-offs affect either fighter? Does Oscar have any legs left? If Oscar can land to the body early, without getting caught, he will win. Everyone talks about Mayorgas chin, but Oscar has a good one too. Either way, I can't see this being a boring fight.

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Originally Posted by Unknowndonor

From what I've seen, Mayorga looks ready. Oscar has the skill to win this fight on points relatively easy, but is he conditioned? If not, Mayorga will knock his head off. If this fight becomes a war, I can't see Oscar winning. But, Oscar is dangerous, and if he's mad, this could be fight of the year. However, I don't see Oscar standing with Mayorga. Who knows. This fight has alot of variables. Whos in shape? Will the lay-offs affect either fighter? Does Oscar have any legs left? If Oscar can land to the body early, without getting caught, he will win. Everyone talks about Mayorgas chin, but Oscar has a good one too. Either way, I can't see this being a boring fight.

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I agree with ya man, good breakdown. Oscar does have a damn good chin too, I aknwoledge that. I don't know if a Mayorga punch to the chin will stop Oscar, if anything, repeated shots to the temple, and sheer aggreession from Mayorga when Oscar is trying to look for a break will carry him to victory. There are a lot of variables. I am no fool, I know how risky of a fight this is for Mayorga, Oscar can really box, and worst case scenario could be him potshotting and circling Mayorga all night. I am banking on Mayorga's desire coupled with Oscar's lack there of and detererating skills eliminating that possiblity. Let's go MAYORGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :action:

Oscar's desire is nothing compared to Mayorga's. Like Lamon Brewster said, the one keeping you from the land of milk and honey was Golata for him... its De La Hoya for Mayorga.

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Originally Posted by Starr

Oscar's desire is nothing compared to Mayorga's. Like Lamon Brewster said, the one keeping you from the land of milk and honey was Golata for him... its De La Hoya for Mayorga.

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Thats true. It's all or nothing for Mayorga. Do or Die.

I think Oscar is going to win this, unless he trades.

Oscar will destroy him easily........... i think the hype has really gone to your heads ;D

Not only will Oscar win, he won't even look like he's been in a fight with practically no marks on him afterwards. Mayorga will be embarrassed.

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Originally Posted by The_One77

Oscar will destroy him easily........... i think the hype has really gone to your heads ;D

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It's not hype,from me,it's hope,that he whoops Oscar but Oscar theoretically should win.

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Originally Posted by The Game

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Originally Posted by The_One77

Oscar will destroy him easily........... i think the hype has really gone to your heads ;D

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It's not hype,from me,it's hope,that he whoops Oscar but Oscar theoretically should win.

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i dont buy into hope, i buy into realism....


there are many variables at play here.....when did oscar last look good?

how long ago was it anyone? ;D

if mayorga is ready for this, then he can take out DLH.... ;)

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Originally Posted by miles

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Originally Posted by The Game

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Originally Posted by The_One77

Oscar will destroy him easily........... i think the hype has really gone to your heads ;D

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It's not hype,from me,it's hope,that he whoops Oscar but Oscar theoretically should win.

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i dont buy into hope, i buy into realism....


there are many variables at play here.....when did oscar last look good?

how long ago was it anyone? ;D

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yes... but when did Mayorga last look good. at the beginning of 2003 he KOEd Forrest.. Since then he has, imo.. lost the rematch by a close margin when Forrest clearly fought scared.. After that, at the end of 2003, he was outboxed and outclassed by Spinks and lost the UD. Then he went on to win a decision over Eric Mitchell(who..) Then Tito smashed his face in, in one of the most one sided beating I have ever seen(trinidad was also coming off a huge layoff, longer than Oscars I believe, and he had also been KoEd by hopkins in his previous fight.).. So 10 months after the brutal beating Tito handed him, Mayorga fought Michelle Picerillo, and won a boring UD where he actually got tired and started to eat straight punches towards the end of the fight.. It looked a little like Vargas Castillejo. Anyways, that fight was 10 months ago.. and Mayorga hasn't fought since. Basically he has no advantage and this fight should be an easy pick for DLH.

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Originally Posted by p4pking

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Originally Posted by miles

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Originally Posted by The Game

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Originally Posted by The_One77

Oscar will destroy him easily........... i think the hype has really gone to your heads ;D

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It's not hype,from me,it's hope,that he whoops Oscar but Oscar theoretically should win.

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i dont buy into hope, i buy into realism....


there are many variables at play here.....when did oscar last look good?

how long ago was it anyone? ;D

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yes... but when did Mayorga last look good. at the beginning of 2003 he KOEd Forrest.. Since then he has, imo.. lost the rematch by a close margin when Forrest clearly fought scared.. After that, at the end of 2003, he was outboxed and outclassed by Spinks and lost the UD. Then he went on to win a decision over Eric Mitchell(who..) Then Tito smashed his face in, in one of the most one sided beating I have ever seen(trinidad was also coming off a huge layoff, longer than Oscars I believe, and he had also been KoEd by hopkins in his previous fight.).. So 10 months after the brutal beating Tito handed him, Mayorga fought Michelle Picerillo, and won a boring UD where he actually got tired and started to eat straight punches towards the end of the fight.. It looked a little like Vargas Castillejo. Anyways, that fight was 10 months ago.. and Mayorga hasn't fought since. Basically he has no advantage and this fight should be an easy pick for DLH.

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you could well be right ;D

but i disagree....oscar has coasted in a long time....

b hop was too much for oscar, and sturm beat him plain and clear...

in his last 10 fights what is oscar exactly?....its nearly even....

i wouldnt be surprised if mayorga knocks oscar out for the second time.....still, easy money for the bank...

i mean the second guy to stop oscar there......oops....

doesn't matter what you mean Oscar will wipe the ring with Mayorga ;D Youll see, it won't even be a fight.

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Originally Posted by p4pking

doesn't matter what you mean Oscar will wipe the ring with Mayorga ;D Youll see, it won't even be a fight.

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;D, oscar will be shaken big time, trust me....

mayorga is gonna stop oscar.....its not going to be the expected comeack...

Never heard you sounding so assertive Mr.Miles,your usually a it could be this guy winning but on the other hand it could be the other guy winning....Whatever the case,I hope you are right!

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Originally Posted by The Game

Never heard you sounding so assertive Mr.Miles,your usually a it could be this guy winning but on the other hand it could be the other guy winning....Whatever the case,I hope you are right!

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i need oscar to get back into promotion...he has no business in the ring anymore....

yes, miles, is on edge here....mayorga will beat him....

oscar knows he doesnt need boxing and after the third round then he will know it....

Hmmm,interesting,I like your thinking but Oscar comes across to me as the type of guy who does not want to go out on a loss so even if he does lose,do you not think that he may actaully have ANOTHER match?? As horrible as that sounds,I think it is a possibility!

no, oscar is a sound business man. promotion is his realm after boxing. and he will be fine at it.

whats your prediction, the game?

"mad" mayorga or Oscar?

Like I said,I realllly want Mayorga to win but in all honesty,I can see Oscar winning via UD,unless Oscar's lost it DRAMATICALLY and Mayorga has worked out amazingly on his stamina etc. He does seem to have had a good training camp but I think De La Hoya still has enough left in the tank to beat him,hopefuly you're right though and after a few rounds,Oscar thinks,after this match,it's on to promoting and promoting alone for me!

20 months is a terribly long time.... ;)

i cannot wait for this one...i think mayorga wil beat him and openup the entire division....


l

You guy's tend to forget ( or just hate )....This is Oscar De La Hoya!!!!!!....Love him , Hate him or feel in between...this guy is one of the best P4P fighters in the last 20 yrs.....His record speaks for itself....He has only been stopped by Hopkins...Oscar was outsized and out gunned.....Mayorga is a great slugger but nothing more!!!!...De la Hoya has beaten guys 10 times better than him...Oscar also a punch on him ( not one punch power but not a pitty pat guy either) Look at Oscar's resume....Tito beat Mayorga silly....after a long lay off....Oscar has not had as much time off as Trinidad did...C'mon guys go with your knoweldge of the sport not your personal feelings....De La Hoya also has a mean streak in him when he wants

That's the thing I most dislike,it's as if Oscar can call allll the shots and I hate that!! That is another reason I want Mayorga to win,Floyd will have to fight Tony/Hatton but someone dangerous,Mayorga can whoop as much ass as he likes and Oscar can stick to promoting PERMANENTLY! At this stage in their careers,I'd rather see ayorga sticking around than Oscar,I like Mayorga's character more whereas Oscar does not appeal to me as the "Golden Boy" anymore!

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Originally Posted by DaxxKahn

You guy's tend to forget ( or just hate )....This is Oscar De La Hoya!!!!!!....Love him , Hate him or feel in between...this guy is one of the best P4P fighters in the last 20 yrs.....His record speaks for itself....He has only been stopped by Hopkins...Oscar was outsized and out gunned.....Mayorga is a great slugger but nothing more!!!!...De la Hoya has beaten guys 10 times better than him...Oscar also a punch on him ( not one punch power but not a pitty pat guy either) Look at Oscar's resume....Tito beat Mayorga silly....after a long lay off....Oscar has not had as much time off as Trinidad did...C'mon guys go with your knoweldge of the sport not your personal feelings....De La Hoya also has a mean streak in him when he wants

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I agree which is why i said that Oscar will probably win but I HOPE Mayorga wins!!!!

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Originally Posted by DaxxKahn

You guy's tend to forget ( or just hate )....This is Oscar De La Hoya!!!!!!....Love him , Hate him or feel in between...this guy is one of the best P4P fighters in the last 20 yrs.....His record speaks for itself....He has only been stopped by Hopkins...Oscar was outsized and out gunned.....Mayorga is a great slugger but nothing more!!!!...De la Hoya has beaten guys 10 times better than him...Oscar also a punch on him ( not one punch power but not a pitty pat guy either) Look at Oscar's resume....Tito beat Mayorga silly....after a long lay off....Oscar has not had as much time off as Trinidad did...C'mon guys go with your knoweldge of the sport not your personal feelings....De La Hoya also has a mean streak in him when he wants

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okay, mayorga will beat delahoya......if im wrong please remind me ;)

im a pretty sound judge....

The thing is... if Mayorga does beat DLH, FLoyd will probably just fight him..

I started to laugh after reading all these threads because I remember reading the same threads back in 2003 when Vernon Forrest had just come off of two wins vs the previous p4p champ Shane Mosley. Everybody felt as though Vernon was one of the best boxers in the world and they gave him 7-1 odds in beating Ricardo Mayorga. What Happen? He got his ass knocked out in the third round. Why? Because he was in there with a stronger more determined fighter who he felt he could slug with and he was wrong. Vernon Forrest came back for another fight and what happen? He changed his strategy up from brawler back to his strategic boxing using his job and he got his ass beat for the first six rounds in a brutal manner with his legs looking like jello 50% of the time. The only thing that saved him from another knockout was Mayorga was winded and not use to being a late round fighter. I see the same thing happening to De La Hoya, everybody talking about his extreme boxing skills and ring generalship just like they said about Forrest in 2003. Fact is Mayorga is a bigger stronger fighter than De La Hoya with a stronger will, yes De La Hoya has much better boxing skills but he will have to run away for the first six rounds just to display them. If he can survive the first six rounds I believe he will win a majority decision, especially in Vegas where he has many questionable victories (Sturm, Quartey, Whitaker) Whitaker he clearly lost? Don't expect a knockout from De La Hoya, he does not have the power of Felix Trinidad and he is not a brawler like Felix Trinidad, he only has one knockout out of all his mega fights and that was against Vargas. This fight goes two ways 1. Knockout by Moyarga before the 6 2. UD for De La Hoya.

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Originally Posted by gbrandon

I started to laugh after reading all these threads because I remember reading the same threads back in 2003 when Vernon Forrest had just come off of two wins vs the previous p4p champ Shane Mosley. Everybody felt as though Vernon was one of the best boxers in the world and they gave him 7-1 odds in beating Ricardo Mayorga. What Happen? He got his ass knocked out in the third round. Why? Because he was in there with a stronger more determined fighter who he felt he could slug with and he was wrong. Vernon Forrest came back for another fight and what happen? He changed his strategy up from brawler back to his strategic boxing using his job and he got his ass beat for the first six rounds in a brutal manner with his legs looking like jello 50% of the time. The only thing that saved him from another knockout was Mayorga was winded and not use to being a late round fighter. I see the same thing happening to De La Hoya, everybody talking about his extreme boxing skills and ring generalship just like they said about Forrest in 2003. Fact is Mayorga is a bigger stronger fighter than De La Hoya with a stronger will, yes De La Hoya has much better boxing skills but he will have to run away for the first six rounds just to display them. If he can survive the first six rounds I believe he will win a majority decision, especially in Vegas where he has many questionable victories (Sturm, Quartey, Whitaker) Whitaker he clearly lost? Don't expect a knockout from De La Hoya, he does not have the power of Felix Trinidad and he is not a brawler like Felix Trinidad, he only has one knockout out of all his mega fights and that was against Vargas. This fight goes two ways 1. Knockout by Moyarga before the 6 2. UD for De La Hoya.

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I as #1 Mayorga fan on this site must agree. Oscar must box/ run/survive through the storm of the first 6 rounds. But what a storm it will be. One I think Oscar will get blown away by. A hungry, pissed off, focused Mayorga is difficult to OUTBOX. I mean look at Lewis, Forrest, and Picarillo, all tried to outbox the man, and all failed. Mayorga is comin to conquer folks! He gonna SHOCK THE WORLD ONE MORE TIME!!!

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Originally Posted by miles

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Originally Posted by The Game

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Originally Posted by The_One77

Oscar will destroy him easily........... i think the hype has really gone to your heads ;D

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It's not hype,from me,it's hope,that he whoops Oscar but Oscar theoretically should win.

---

i dont buy into hope, i buy into realism....


there are many variables at play here.....when did oscar last look good?

how long ago was it anyone? ;D

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this is the same as Vagras-ODH......except vagras is better than Mayorga
ODH has something to prove come saturday

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Originally Posted by miles

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Originally Posted by DaxxKahn

You guy's tend to forget ( or just hate )....This is Oscar De La Hoya!!!!!!....Love him , Hate him or feel in between...this guy is one of the best P4P fighters in the last 20 yrs.....His record speaks for itself....He has only been stopped by Hopkins...Oscar was outsized and out gunned.....Mayorga is a great slugger but nothing more!!!!...De la Hoya has beaten guys 10 times better than him...Oscar also a punch on him ( not one punch power but not a pitty pat guy either) Look at Oscar's resume....Tito beat Mayorga silly....after a long lay off....Oscar has not had as much time off as Trinidad did...C'mon guys go with your knoweldge of the sport not your personal feelings....De La Hoya also has a mean streak in him when he wants

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okay, mayorga will beat delahoya......if im wrong please remind me ;)

im a pretty sound judge....

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oops, miles was typing under the influence last night!!! :-\

damn beer!! >:mad


i sure hope mayorga pulls this off....

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Originally Posted by The_One77

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Originally Posted by miles

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Originally Posted by The Game

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Originally Posted by The_One77

Oscar will destroy him easily........... i think the hype has really gone to your heads ;D

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It's not hype,from me,it's hope,that he whoops Oscar but Oscar theoretically should win.

---

i dont buy into hope, i buy into realism....


there are many variables at play here.....when did oscar last look good?

how long ago was it anyone? ;D

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this is the same as Vagras-ODH......except vagras is better than Mayorga
ODH has something to prove come saturday

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THAT was nearly 4, count em FOUR, years ago. Time's a makin changes. It is now Mayorga's time. Time for Oscar to pay for beating up on aging champions all those years ago. Time to pay for Chavez, Paez and Camacho. Time to pay for screwing over Whitaker and Sturm. Time to be a stepping stone himself. >:mad

Mayorga WILL drop this fool....

haha he may drop him, but Oscar will get up
Mayorga is the one who's gonna stay down