Quote Originally Posted by ono
While i agree that Mosley is a good choice of sparring partner i also don't think any sparring partner is going to be able to replacate what De La Hoya is going to experience in the ring. Sparring partners that are just helping De La Hoya deal with speed are only good for him to a certain extent. Mayweather does use his speed and elusiveness but that isn't the only thing that De La Hoya has to worry about. Mayweather manages to hit his oncoming opponent with enough power to make him think twice about launching another attack. De La Hoya cannot replacate that in sparring without engaging in full on boxing, which is obviously not going to happen building up to a fight. The big factor i feel is wether or not De La Hoya can mentally cope with Mayweather. Does Oscar have that positive mentally that will stop him from being discouraged everytime he is pot shotted by Mayweather? This very thing happened to Diego Corrales when he fought Mayweather. He was frequently pot shotted but with enough power and accuracy to discourage him. I can just see that happening to De La Hoya and as the fight moves into the middle to latter rounds i think we will see Mayweather putting together powerful combinations with a confused De La Hoya following him around the ring. I can just see the hunger disappearing after about 4 or 5 rounds. Might be wrong and i don't want to discredit De La Hoya, but that's just what i see happening.
De La Hoya is a much more skilled fighter than Corrales. This whole sparring partner discussion is ridiculous. Whether Shane can truly imitate Floyd or not is beside the point people! He is a world class fighter. How many people can have this caliber of a fighter as a sparring partner?! Will it help Oscar win the fight...maybe. It certainly wont hurt his chances.