Oscar's "showcase" goes as planned
by SC
on May 3, 2008 11:47 PM EDT
in News
| Bad Left Hook Unofficial Scorecard | |||||||||||||
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Total |
| Oscar de la Hoya | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 120 |
| Steve Forbes | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 108 |
Official scores: 119-109, 119-109, 120-108
Image © AP
Oscar de la Hoya's return to the ring was all but completely advertised as a tune-up fight, almost a glorified sparring contest to prepare him for a proposed September rematch against pound-for-pound king, Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
It turned out to be nothing more and nothing less. "The Golden Boy" used an effective jab and some re-energized legs that didn't fail him down the stretch to score an easy win over veteran Steve Forbes, exactly as everyone expected it would be. Official scores were 119-109, 119-109 and 120-108. I had a clean sweep for Oscar, 120-108.
Steve Forbes wasn't really uncompetitive, just out of his depth. He's a good fighter, too good for most guys to want to fight, and tough as hell. He kept up his 39-fight professional streak of never being knocked down.
Some are going to point to this as a mild rebirth for Oscar, but I say wait until we see him in against a better fighter than Forbes. During the fight, I tried to picture what Oscar was doing being employed against Mayweather. It's the right idea, jabbing and working the body, but Forbes is just not Floyd Mayweather. I think Oscar can always be competitive against Floyd, but I don't think he can beat him.
We're going to find out, though. Like it or not, Oscar-Floyd II is a reality.
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1st Round
If he fights like that with Gayweather in September he'll mostlikely beat 'em. I'll catch it the week after on HBO--I have no intentions of watching unless there is a good undercard I'll watch that and avoid the mainevent.
by CRAZEDANG1280 on May 4, 2008 1:59 PM EDT 0 recs
Mayweather
But here's the thing: this fight was ultimately all about "Floyd Part 2." And that's a letdown. Don't get me wrong - It's been great to see a talent like Floyd rise up in boxing, and I felt honered to be included in the blh p4p rankings countup. But it's clear I was the only one involved who thought that Floyd's schedule lately just disqualified him from the #1 p4p spot. I'm not complaining, and I get it. I mean, he got my #2 based on raw talent alone. But if (when) Floyd fights Oscar, do you guys think there will be enough question marks to say "I don't know if Floyd is the best anymore?" I mean, regardless of the outcome of FM/DLH II, the winner of Cotto/Margarito will own all rights to welterweight in my mind, and a win over a retired Oscar doesn't really move the pieces for me at jr middle. It's just not something I care about, and I don't think it proves anything.
by jrok on May 4, 2008 3:20 PM EDT 0 recs
Floyd as #1
I also think Floyd-Oscar II being at 147 matters, because Oscar is a real welter, and a really good one at that.
And, you know, there's other guys that'll have cases, Calzaghe and Pacquiao. Even Juan Manuel Marquez could have a case were something to come up (like that rumored fight with Nate Campbell and then a third fight with Pacquiao, were he to win that one).
Mayweather is astoundingly great at his job. I am not a Floyd hater or a huge Floyd fan. I appreciate him for what he is, and I think he's great for boxing in a lot of ways. And I don't think anyone considering knocking him off their own personal P4P top spot is wrong; I really see it as more congratulating someone else for passing him, because that's how it would be for me.
by SC on
May 5, 2008 5:55 AM EDT
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That's what I meant
by jrok on May 5, 2008 10:57 AM EDT 0 recs
well
Bottom line is that Floyd has to fight Cotto, because almost everyone else is taking on top-tier challenges. Calzaghe-Jones is a lot like Floyd-Oscar, really. Pacquiao-Diaz is a placeholder. Cotto-Margarito is a great fight.
But after Calzaghe-Jones, assuming Calzaghe wins, you gotta guess he'll look to fight Kelly Pavlik (he will not retire 46-0, guaranteed), who is looking to fight Abraham after Lockett and Rubio, and then let's say Pavlik beats Lockett, Rubio, Abraham and then Calzaghe, which I think he can do. Where does HE slide in?
Vazquez and Rafael Marquez are probably capped out, but if Cotto beats Margarito, then wins a rematch with Mosley, then fought and beat Oscar, maybe -- what's stopping anyone from going, "Hey, this guy's undefeated, too, and isn't screwing around with Ricky Hatton?" I love Ricky Hatton, but at the end of the day he presented as much challenge for Mayweather as Gomez did for Cotto. A rematch with Hatton is simply preposterous.
Pacquiao-Marquez III will happen, I'm quite sure of that. And if Pacquiao won that one, then how can you argue against his case?
The troublesome thing about Mayweather -- and I realize I'm rambling for the sake of rambling, since we agree on this issue, really -- is that there is not a shred of doubt in my mind that he IS the best fighter. On pure talent, he's got everyone smoked, and there are great, great fighters in the game today. The P4P top 30 or so is as healthy as it's been in a long time. The sport is healthy. And here we have a charismatic draw at 147 pounds, a guy people either love or love to hate (money in the bank, either way), and he's denying us a chance, in many cases, of seeing him pit his skills against the other top 147 pound fighters. Mayweather-Cotto is intriguing on every single level. The two men couldn't be more different, really, and the only thing they have in common is they're both terrific fighters, though in totally different ways.
Mayweather's so good it pisses me off that he's spending the prime of a brilliant career dicking around with fights that don't prove anything we don't already know. I don't blame him as a businessman, of course, but I do blame him as a fighter.
by SC on
May 5, 2008 11:31 AM EDT
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