Is DelaHoya a natural 140 pounder?

[Taeth]

Oscar is a natural WW no quesiton about it, I put him in the same picture as Cotto, he could fight at 140, but he would become weight drained as he got older doing so. I put Oscar at his peak in the 147 pound division.

[rjj tszyu]

Oscar is a natural WW no quesiton about it, I put him in the same picture as Cotto, he could fight at 140, but he would become weight drained as he got older doing so. I put Oscar at his peak in the 147 pound division.

He is no longer in his peak though and the body gets harder to keep at lower weights the older you get. How many 30+ fighters do you know that could drop 20lbs? Remember he fought at middleweight just 4 fights ago.

[Taeth]

Roy Jones did it, obviously it fucked him up, but you have to take into consideration how fast he did it, De La Hoya never weighed in at 160, he weighed in at 154 or 155 against Hopkins which is pretty much staying at LMW. He has had 3 years to lose the weight effectively. He had no troubles with stamina or anything else against Forbes at 150, if you are asking do I think Oscar can make 140, no I don't, but I said he would have had trouble making it in his prime just like Cotto did against Paulie. I am saying Oscar was 147 in his prime, and there are ways to get back down to that safely, and he has taken every step properly to insure that he gets there in peak shape. He hasn't been bloating up between fights, and he's a lot more focused on his boxing this last year.

[GAME]

Oscar Dela Hoya recently quoted saying he is a natural 140 pounder. Do you believe him?

Here's a recent photo of DelaHoya this week with some lightweights and junior lightweights. Hoya looks like of the same size with the guys. Heck Jorge Barrios even looks bigger than Hoya...

... ...

Barrios is a big guy for a superfeather isnt he . I reckon hes got a real chance against Juarez but thats another topic

Oscar will look considerably bigger than Pac when they stand together . Alot of late money will go on Oscar after people see the weigh in. I reckon Oscar at his prime was at 147 even though he struggled with Ike , Shane and Tito

[XaduBoxer]

Many boxing writers/reporters present during the weigh-in of Katsidis-Juan Diaz yesterday commented that Oscar looks "small"... I guess he's dead serious about the Pacquiao fight... And the fight is still 3 months away...
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[TitoFan]

"Is De La Hoya a natural 140-pounder?" = Another sad attempt to hype a potential mismatch.

Again, I'll be rooting for Pacquiao. But to say it's an uphill battle is an understatement.

[Thread Stealer]

I'm not really too sure on this whole "natural" thing, but Oscar's so full of it.

He was talking about how it was such hell to make 150 for the Forbes fight, but now claims he can make 144 or even 140.

He was talking about moving back to welterweight in 2005, but wasn't even gonna fight Mayweather at 147 for the aborted rematch.

Now listen to him:

Oscar De La Hoya: "Pacquiao Fight Will Be a Battle" - Boxing News

De La Hoya called Pacquiao a complex fighter and sold the fighter as a much closer contest than many predict. Pacquiao has to move up by two weight divisions to 147-pounds, De La Hoya last fought at 150. He says the reason he took the fight was because Pacquiao and his trainer, Freddie Roach, challenged him. He forgot about the amount of money involved.

"Manny is very complicated; he's awkward, very explosive with both hands and fast," De La Hoya told the Houston Chronicle. "The fact that yes, I am older, and I have to come down in weight, which is going to be a struggle, is going to benefit him.

"But I chose this fight, obviously, because he challenged me, his trainer challenged me, and it was a big challenge for me to take this fight and accept it. We realize it's going to be a battle."

While De La Hoya says that he may fight on after the Pacquiao encounter, he would consider closing the door on his career if the performance against Pacquiao is spectacular.

"If I have a perfect performance against Manny and all the stars are aligned that night, why not?" De La Hoya said. "That would be a perfect moment."

[Thread Stealer]

I actually think he is the perfect build for a Welterweight, if he thinks he is a natural 140lb fighter then why did he high tail it out of that division at the end of 1996 and not fight Kostya Tszyu? I'm not sure De La Hoya knows what to think anymore, still he gets his easy final fight win i suppose.

I think Arum wanted to hype a potential fight for DLH-Tszyu in 1997, as Tszyu-Mas was on the undercard of DLH-MAGO. Tszyu-Mas didn't help hype the fight as it ended in a one-round no contest, and then Tszyu lost to Phillips shortly after DLH fought Whitaker.

Tszyu-DLH probably would've been at 147 anyway though. The bigger name usually calls the shots.

[Bomp]

He was 147 at his peak.
Picture means jack shit, you'd be surprised how little the gap can look between a natural welter and a natural middle even when they're actually together. Hagler looked no bigger than Leonard, and people would be seriously surprised at the similarity in size betwenn Margarito and Pavlik.

[TitoFan]

The prospect of facing Margarito or even Cotto would make De La Hoya go down to 130, if he had to.

[Puerto Rican Punch]

A good couple of years ago, yes... now, no... He can not make 140.

[THE THIRD MAN]

I actually think he is the perfect build for a Welterweight, if he thinks he is a natural 140lb fighter then why did he high tail it out of that division at the end of 1996 and not fight Kostya Tszyu? I'm not sure De La Hoya knows what to think anymore, still he gets his easy final fight win i suppose.

What was the point? There was no money in a Tszyu fight after Vince Phillips knocked him out.

VD, the Phillips fight was in May 97', Oscar got out of the 140lb division to fight Whitaker ( a lighter puncher) in April of 97'. In 1996 both DLH and Tszyu were at 140lb. The fight should have happened.