Will Oscar be up to the challenge?

LOS ANGELES -- It seemed as if a rock band were about to arrive at the Chinese Theatre in the LA Hollywood Boulevard. The fans, armed with their digital cameras and cell phones, were ready to capture the moment and, maybe, even get a snapshot with their idols.

Long before the arrival, the steel barricades kept the public away from the red carpet where a celebrity, definitely worth the five-hour wait, would march towards the stage.

In a city where only two days ago dozens of movie stars made their way through another red carpet just a block away from these grounds for the Academy Awards ceremony, scenes like these are not uncommon.

However, the euphoric cries of women and the everlasting chants of the excited fans were not exactly ordinary. Who were they waiting for? Brad Pitt? David Beckham? Not really, because they kept crying "Oscar, Oscar!"

The fans are actually waiting for the last stop of the US promotional tour for the May 5 matchup between Oscar de la Hoya (38-4, 30 KOs) and Floyd Mayweather Jr. (37-0, 24 KOs), a great event in Hollywood and throughout Los Angeles, with a Spiderman avant-premiere style.

Here, in his home town, the Golden Boy closed the introduction to what will become the most lucrative event in the history of Boxing. De la Hoya, 10-time world champion in six different categories, will try to defend his WBC junior middleweight title.

It will be a great fight, for sure, but the most interesting side could be the records it will set. It will certainly be the most viewed single event in the history of the sport. Tickets sold out in barely three hours, already setting a new mark in the box office with more than 19 million dollars cashed in. Besides, the PPV anticipated profit is of over $1.99 million, the record set by the Evander Holyfield-Mike Tyson rematch in 1997.

And as if that weren't enough, there will be 20,000 closed circuit seats available in several hotels in Las Vegas and the fight will be transmitted in 176 countries around the world (¿Doesn't it sound like Super Bowl caliber coverage?)

This means serious money for both boxers. De la Hoya is expected to earn $25 million and Maywather Jr. something between $10 and $12 million; these figures do not include the PPV sale percentage, which will most likely translate in bigger numbers.

De la Hoya acknowledged that "this is the biggest promotion I've ever been involved in," which is really something considering the magnitude his promotional tours for the fights against Julio Cesar Chavez and Felix "Tito" Trinidad.

During this tour, Floyd Mayweather Jr. never stopped talking about his rival, and his words weren't exactly of praise. In LA, Mayweather pulled out a caged chicken with a label that read "Golden Girl"; He later put a golden medal around the chicken's neck and looked at it with a challenging stare.

When the fighters stood face to face for the pictures, Mayweather continued to aggravate his rival and several times raised his fist towards De la Hoya's jaw. In a press conference they almost brought the fight forward. But De la Hoya controlled himself and listened to everything the "Pretty Boy" had to say, while waiting for his turn to let on his own feelings towards the undefeated fighter from Grand Rapids, Michigan.

"I don't have a problem," said De la Hoya at the time. "Obviously, he's the one who's making a fool of himself. He'll talk too much during the next few months, but on May 5 my fists will speak, and they will speak a lot."

De la Hoya says he wants to teach Mayweather Jr. a lesson and that everything he's been saying has only motivated him more. The Golden Boy even pointed out that he is more motivated now than for his fight against Ricardo Mayorga, who also spoke too much at the time. Oscar stopped him in the sixth round.

De la Hoya is being prepared by Freddie Roach, the experienced trainer chosen over many other candidates to replace Floyd Mayweather Sr., who had trained De la Hoya since 2001.

Mayweather Sr. virtually asked to be ruled out of the challenge by demanding a $2 million purse for the fight against his son. De la Hoya answered with an offer of $500,000 for Mayweather Sr.'s training and another $500,000 for a win. Many people think it was just a way of stepping aside and avoiding the inevitable problems and distractions that the situation would have caused.

Roach, on the other hand, is definitely qualified for the challenge of preparing De la Hoya for the most important fight in his career. In 2003, he was named Coach of the Year and has prepared 18 world champions, including Mike Tyson, James Toney and Wayne McCullough.

Before De la Hoya, Roach's most important fighter was Manny Pacquiao, who is regarded as one of the most successful fighters of the day. Roach and De la Hoya will train in Puerto Rico, where the Golden Boy is currently living.

Even though he is the only boxer with six belts in different divisions, this is his chance to become one of the greatest fighters of all time, for he would defeat, at age 34, the man who is widely regarded to be the world's best boxer.

De la Hoya's achievements make him the most outstanding fighter of this generation, but many Hispanic fans, mostly Mexican, haven't entirely accepted him as one of their own. His Golden Medal for the US in the 1992 Olympics had something to do with this. But, more importantly, his two landslide victories over Julio Cesar Chavez didn't favor his popularity. On May 5, however, he will have all the Latinos in his corner maybe for the first time in his life.

Throughout his impressive career, the Golden Boy earned his reputation on skill rather than for being a "punisher". Another of his qualities is his great natural agility. He isn't one of those fighters who deliver punches just to prove that he is tough. His intelligence has made him a great man, both inside and outside the ring, as can be proved by the success of his own agency, Golden Boy Promotions.

Mayweather is extremely talented. His clean slate gives him the right to speak freely, but a black spot marked by the most successful boxer of all time could change many things. Mayweather Jr. has come out of his 37 fights with a clean face.

If De la Hoya manages to mark him, in addition to defeating him, and keeps true to his words by retiring afterwards, he would end his career as every fighter wants to buy few actually do; as "The man who defeated the man."