It's my objective on this web site to comment on the history of boxing, not present-day matchups. But I just have to express my disappointment over how such an ordinary welterweight fight as the one that happening tonight between occasional boxer Oscar de la Hoya (he's emulating that other occasional boxer, the similarly overrated Ray Leonard) and former WBC flyweight and current WBC lightweight titlist Manny Pacquiao can be billed as a superfight.
It's not that Pacquiao is fighting far above his natural weight that spells sham (he seems stronger at higher weights), but that this is a fighter who lost his WBC flyweight title by way of knockout in his first defense, drew in an attempt to win the WBA featherweight title, and enjoyed some considerable acts of favoratism along the road (Nedal Hussein comes to mind) to his notable win over capable David Diaz to win WBC lightweight title. Pacquiao is a thrilling fighter, no question, but what makes him thrilling is how everytime he fights he could lose.
On the other side of the ledger you have in de la Hoya a fighter who picked off an old Julio Cesar Chavez, won the world welterweight title years ago on a robbery over Pernell Whitaker, ran to a loss against one-dimensional Felix Trinidad, and was knocked out by a body shot in a bid to claim the middleweight title from Bernard Hopkins. In fact, except his wins over Chavez and his "win" over Whitaker, de la Hoya has lost to every elite fighter.
Everything indicates that de la Hoya will win. He's much bigger and stronger and defensively superior. If WBC Pacquiao should win, however (and I hope he does), it will go down as one more indication of how overrated de la Hoya has always been. But the real loser will be the boxing fan. Oscar de la Hoya should have been fighting several times every year over the past several years, proving his worth through action, not through slick promotion trying to preserve what the press considers to be his pretty face.
Update: I was half right. Oscar de la Hoya had nothing left. He was frozen. Pacquiao was too fast, too smart, too strong. It was an embarrassing beatdown. I hope de la Hoya never boxes again.
I would love to see a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather.
Update (2): Why is Oscar de la Hoya considered a great fighter? He lost six of his last fourteen fights going back to 1999. That means that things went south for de la Hoya at the age of 26, the age at which he should have been entering his prime.
It's not that Pacquiao is fighting far above his natural weight that spells sham (he seems stronger at higher weights), but that this is a fighter who lost his WBC flyweight title by way of knockout in his first defense, drew in an attempt to win the WBA featherweight title, and enjoyed some considerable acts of favoratism along the road (Nedal Hussein comes to mind) to his notable win over capable David Diaz to win WBC lightweight title. Pacquiao is a thrilling fighter, no question, but what makes him thrilling is how everytime he fights he could lose.
On the other side of the ledger you have in de la Hoya a fighter who picked off an old Julio Cesar Chavez, won the world welterweight title years ago on a robbery over Pernell Whitaker, ran to a loss against one-dimensional Felix Trinidad, and was knocked out by a body shot in a bid to claim the middleweight title from Bernard Hopkins. In fact, except his wins over Chavez and his "win" over Whitaker, de la Hoya has lost to every elite fighter.
Everything indicates that de la Hoya will win. He's much bigger and stronger and defensively superior. If WBC Pacquiao should win, however (and I hope he does), it will go down as one more indication of how overrated de la Hoya has always been. But the real loser will be the boxing fan. Oscar de la Hoya should have been fighting several times every year over the past several years, proving his worth through action, not through slick promotion trying to preserve what the press considers to be his pretty face.
Update: I was half right. Oscar de la Hoya had nothing left. He was frozen. Pacquiao was too fast, too smart, too strong. It was an embarrassing beatdown. I hope de la Hoya never boxes again.
I would love to see a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather.
Update (2): Why is Oscar de la Hoya considered a great fighter? He lost six of his last fourteen fights going back to 1999. That means that things went south for de la Hoya at the age of 26, the age at which he should have been entering his prime.
