DelaHoya: "I am satisfied"

www.fightnews.com

May 7, 2006

By Mike Sloan

It seems as though a year-and-a-half off from participating in a real boxing match means nothing to Oscar De La Hoya; just ask Ricardo Mayorga. De La Hoya silenced most critics by severely brutalizing and eventually stopping Mayorga in their hotly-anticipated showdown tonight inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena. De La Hoya scored an emphatic sixth round stoppage of “El Matador,” a beating so intense that Mayorga decided to skip the post-fight press conference altogether.

After a rather lengthy delay until De La Hoya finally arrived at the dais to address the hundreds of media personnel, a victorious and gleeful Golden Boy candidly spoke about his triumph over his fierce nemesis and hinted at his future inside the ring.

“I felt great tonight,” De La Hoya said. “I felt as though I was in the best shape of my life. We put in a lot of work in the gym for this fight and it paid off. I was so motivated for this fight and I wanted to prove to him and to everybody else that I was not going to back down from Ricardo Mayorga.”

When asked if he thought Mayorga was going to be taken out in the first round, Oscar was realistic.

“I knew I hit him with a perfect left hook,” he said. “But Mayorga has a lot of heart and I know he wasn’t about to quit. I knew I was going to knock him out, though. I just had to bide my time and pick him apart. He is so wild, so awkward, but my defense paid off and I was able to capitalize.”

There was a ton of pre-fight hoopla surrounding this fight and Mayorga was able to get under De La Hoya’s skin on numerous occasions. Mayorga had taunted De La Hoya’s manhood by calling him all sorts of profane names, ridiculed his family and his Mexican heritage. Mayorga also spoke badly about De La Hoya’s wife, a move that sent Oscar over the edge.

“I am very satisfied with this win,” he said. “I told him that I was going to make him pay for what he said and I did. He’s a tough guy and we were able to talk after the fight. He apologized for what he said about me, my heritage and my family and I forgave him.”

“This was one of the best of my career,” Oscar said about how high the win ranks for him personally. “I haven’t been this satisfied with a win in a long time. I never wanted to knock someone out so bad like this. It is so satisfying.”

Many members of the boxing media and most of the fans are clamoring for a De La Hoya showdown with the likes of either Floyd Mayweather, Jr. or Antonio Margarito. De La Hoya didn’t exactly say who he’d like to face, although rumors have been flying around the press conference that a date with Mayweather is tentatively set for September 16.

“I don’t know where we’ll go next,” he admitted. “I don’t plan on fighting much longer, maybe one more major fight. Who knows? Mayweather is probably the best fighter in the world, but we’ll see what happens. Margarito is great, too, but we aren’t making any decisions until we can all sit down and see what to do next. I only want the best fight available.”

he mentioned margarito, eh??? ;D

the world becomes ever more surreal....gonna be interesting seeing where it all goes from here...

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Originally Posted by miles

<snip>
[Oscar said:] "Mayweather is probably the best fighter in the world ..."
</snip>

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Does Oscar consider Mayweather a better fighter than Oscar? Sounds like it! Interesting.

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Originally Posted by NuthaPug

Quote:

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Originally Posted by miles

<snip>
[Oscar said:] "Mayweather is probably the best fighter in the world ..."
</snip>

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Does Oscar consider Mayweather a better fighter than Oscar? Sounds like it! Interesting.

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mayweather is undeniably P4P no 1....oscar has been away a long time....

until oscar actually beats him im sure he will say such things....but would he beat mayweather? thats the other key question??

Quote:

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Originally Posted by miles

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NuthaPug

Quote:

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Originally Posted by miles

<snip>
[Oscar said:] "Mayweather is probably the best fighter in the world ..."
</snip>

---

Does Oscar consider Mayweather a better fighter than Oscar? Sounds like it! Interesting.

---

mayweather is undeniably P4P no 1....oscar has been away a long time....

until oscar actually beats him im sure he will say such things....but would he beat mayweather? thats the other key question??

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Yes, that is where we must speculate until they meet. Certainly Mayweather has a less ambiguous record - zero defeats - but Oscar has met a greater variety of challenges. But Oscar's words are rather clear. He didn't say "based on Floyd's unblemished record he deserves to be called P4P best boxer in the world." He didn't couch his words on 'if you look at it this way .... if you use these metrics ....' - he just said "Mayweather is probably the best fighter in the world."

After the flush of an Oscar win, there will be many who will gladly say that Oscar will beat Floyd, and then it will settle down to be debated more reasonably. I hope they will meet, and I will be rooting for Oscar.

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Originally Posted by NuthaPug

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Originally Posted by miles

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NuthaPug

Quote:

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Originally Posted by miles

<snip>
[Oscar said:] "Mayweather is probably the best fighter in the world ..."
</snip>

---

Does Oscar consider Mayweather a better fighter than Oscar? Sounds like it! Interesting.

---

mayweather is undeniably P4P no 1....oscar has been away a long time....

until oscar actually beats him im sure he will say such things....but would he beat mayweather? thats the other key question??

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Yes, that is where we must speculate until they meet. Certainly Mayweather has a less ambiguous record - zero defeats - but Oscar has met a greater variety of challenges. But Oscar's words are rather clear. He didn't say "based on Floyd's unblemished record he deserves to be called P4P best boxer in the world." He didn't couch his words on 'if you look at it this way .... if you use these metrics ....' - he just said "Mayweather is probably the best fighter in the world."

After the flush of an Oscar win, there will be many who will gladly say that Oscar will beat Floyd, and then it will settle down to be debated more reasonably. I hope they will meet, and I will be rooting for Oscar.

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good posting :coolclick:

If, indeed they do meet I will be supporting Oscar.....Oscar is back in my good books after that...

He hasnt looked that impressive for a long while....awesome...

Floyd for me. I want him to be unbeaten still when he finally gets battered by Joel Julio.

I have to laugh at all you Oscar haters, now that he DESTROYED!!!!!! Mayorga, everybody is on The Golden Boy's jock like a pitbull, Oscar's an Hall of Fame bound fighter plus an all time great. If Floyd wants to face Oscar let him bring his punk ass up to 154ibs, fuck that catch weight bullshit, if you want what that man has.... go after it, don't cry like a lil bitch...I'll meet you at 149,..... please, and if they do meet at 154ibs, which they should...Floyd would be less mobile and his hand speed would be affected also, and over a 12 rd fight carrying extra weight, all I can say is don't count Oscar out!!!!

the weight issue is something that is weighing on me (no pun intended :P).....what exactly will the weight be??

its gonna be a huge factor in any fight that takes place between the two....

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Originally Posted by miles

the weight issue is something that is weighing on me (no pun intended :P).....what exactly will the weight be??

its gonna be a huge factor in any fight that takes place between the two....

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Miles can you see the difference in Floyd from 140ibs to 147ibs, I can, big time, hand speed and mobility, I'm surprized nobody else has posted on it, and if they fight at 154ibs that would hamper Floyd's speed and mobility even more IMO. Like I said don't count Oscar out yet!!!

CC for the article Miles bro,very interesting that he mentioned Margarito! With the Floyd fight,I agree,Oscar should not move down but should syat at 154,it will give him an advantage and it is clear Floyd has not carried his power well so I don't think he can hurt Oscar. The only thing,as amazing as De La Hoya was,Mayweather will be COMPLETELY different to Mayorga so who knows and there is 1 question I still have about Oscar-the issue concerning his stamina.Can he last 12 high paced rounds with Floyd? I must admit I was toooootally wrong about Oscar, I thought he had lost it. Silly of me to bet against the Golden Boy and the PBF fight does not look like the mismatch it did before although I think Floyd would still be favourite!
Anyone know when Oscar will actually make an announcement? I heard Floyd was very happy in the crowd.....but who knows....I'd LAUGH MY ASS OFF if Oscar said he wanted Tony!!!!

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Originally Posted by miles

the weight issue is something that is weighing on me (no pun intended :P).....what exactly will the weight be??

its gonna be a huge factor in any fight that takes place between the two....

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Good point!!!......Though IMK Floyd is not a true welterweight yet...he hasn't grown into it fully.....Oscar IMO was his best at 147....Question is can he still make that weight comfortably????....His speed would increase.....His power would be devestating!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

I think Oscar would be better suited to fighting Floyd@154,,more chance of Floyd losing morepower and speed, and I think 147 would be a tight fit for Oscar at this age.DaxxKahn,I owe you a CC,all the points you made about Oscar prior to the fight turned out to be true and I'm glad the Golden Boy is back...I was mistaken,I did not think that he had the fire in the eyes,I thought he had become the lazy corporate Golden Boy buy nope...boy was I proven wrong!!!!!

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Originally Posted by atomic bull

Quote:

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Originally Posted by miles

the weight issue is something that is weighing on me (no pun intended :P).....what exactly will the weight be??

its gonna be a huge factor in any fight that takes place between the two....

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Miles can you see the difference in Floyd from 140ibs to 147ibs, I can, big time, hand speed and mobility, I'm surprized nobody else has posted on it, and if they fight at 154ibs that would hamper Floyd's speed and mobility even more IMO. Like I said don't count Oscar out yet!!!

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exactly....its a huge factor...

154 is untested ground for mayweather....and i would have to favour oscar there....

mayweather isnt stupid....we shall see....

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Originally Posted by The Game

I think Oscar would be better suited to fighting Floyd@154,,more chance of Floyd losing morepower and speed, and I think 147 would be a tight fit for Oscar at this age.DaxxKahn,I owe you a CC,all the points you made about Oscar prior to the fight turned out to be true and I'm glad the Golden Boy is back...I was mistaken,I did not think that he had the fire in the eyes,I thought he had become the lazy corporate Golden Boy buy nope...boy was I proven wrong!!!!!

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Good point...on the Floyd the 154 being better chance for Floyd losing more power and speed....And like I said don't know if Oscar could even make 147 and be healthy....IMO I always thought DLH was his best at 147....
The real reason I would like to see the fight happen at 147 is so if DLH won it wouldn't taint his win...Because if they fought at 154 and Floyd lost it would open up a hundred excuses for the diehard PBF fans...Why is it when someones favorite fighter loses they cant just count it as a loss and thats it???...Seems as though fans make more excuses than the fighter themselves :-\
Thanks for the CC mention

Nooo,I think if Floyd wants to prove he is the man,by beating the man,then he should move up and Floyd fans can't use it as an excuse because he wants a title at that weight,and he is fighting a 33 year old guy who has had 1 fight in nearly 2 years so if anything,the Oscar fans wil have ever MORE excuses!!! ;)

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Originally Posted by The Game

Nooo,I think if Floyd wants to prove he is the man,by beating the man,then he should move up and Floyd fans can't use it as an excuse because he wants a title at that weight,and he is fighting a 33 year old guy who has had 1 fight in nearly 2 years so if anything,the Oscar fans wil have ever MORE excuses!!! ;)

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im not in a sound frame of mind at all.....the weight is a catchy issue for me.....cant decide what is correct...

PBF will still win by decision, at any weight. PBF is just like Mosley, only younger.

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Originally Posted by eugepang

PBF will still win by decision, at any weight. PBF is just like Mosley, only younger.

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He can't punch like Mosley and Mosley's power was greatly diminished at 147ibs, even more so at 154ibs, so Floyds power will be minimal at best at 154ibs. Not to mention his handspeed will be slower.

Oscar! Oscar! Oscar! Oscar still loses to Floyd by UD. Hate on that!

De la hoya has fought greater situations, but not a more difficult style.

I'd say Whittaker was the closest thing DLH has faced, and he was given all the trouble in the world even in his prime. Mind you Whitaker was slicker than PBF but he was past it and didn't punch enough or he would have won.