EL MUNDO ESPERA
src="https://a.espncdn.com/photo/2007/0221/box_a_oscarmayweather_134.jpg" width="134" height="75" border="0" alt="De La Hoya-Mayweather" />
OSCAR DE LA HOYA vs. FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.
Sábado 5 de mayo, MGM Grand
English
Features
• Steinberg: EA Sports report
• Rafael: Floyd's hanging 'em up
• Rafael: And the winner is...
• Rafael: Mayweather, the villain
• Rafael: Roach good fit for Oscar
• Five key fights: Mayweather
• Five key fights: De La Hoya
• Struby: Is De La Hoya the best ?
• Simmons: Sleeping giant awakes
• Notebook: War of words rages on
• Rafael: Mosley to spar with Oscar
• Rafael: Catching the wave in DC
• Contursi: The day after...
• Contursi: History in the Making
• Faitelson: No favorites
• Faitelson: On Chavez's footsteps
• Sosa: How each of them can win
• Motta: Oscar's biggest challenge?
The Magazine
• De La Hoya is all business
• Mayweather: 'I'm the best'
Video
• Boxing's savior
• Rafael's pick
• Experts' picks
• Rafael: From the presser
• Talking the talk
• Kenny: DLH interview
• The rivals arrive in Vegas
• Bert Sugar's fight preview
• De La Hoya training
• Mayweather training
• Jump on the hype train
• Mayweather on the Hotlist
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• Portada de Boxeo
• Tale of the Tape
Columnistas
• Contursi: Empieza lo bueno
• Faitelson: No hay favorito
• Sánchez: La gloria o el fracaso
• Sosa: Por el amor mexicano
• Contursi: Un combate histórico
• Faitelson: JC Chávez, el modelo
• Sánchez: Mayweather favorito
• Sosa: Qué harán para ganar
• Contursi: El día después
• Faitelson: La chance de Oscar
• Rafael: Y el ganador es...
• Simmons: Despierta un gigante
• Struby: De la Hoya, ¿el mejor?
• Rafael: Floyd cuelga los guantes
• Rafael: Mayweather el villano
• Rafael: El aporte de Roach
ESPN Deportes La Revista
• Motta: Oscar va por el honor
• Ibarra: Perfil de Mayweather Jr.
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Chats
• Lo que dijo Mayweather Jr.
• Habló Shane Mosley
• También Bernard Hopkins
Galería de fotos
• Las últimas peleas de cada uno
Video
• De la Hoya y Mayweather listos
• Oscar habla después del pesaje
• Failteson: Difícil de predecir
• Contursi da su pronóstico
• Cronómetro: ¿Qué pasará?
• Exclusiva con De la Hoya II
• Exclusiva con De la Hoya I
• Mayweather Jr.: ¿El mejor?
• Los guantes del Golden Boy
• De la Hoya listo para la pelea
• Floyd Mayweather se alista
• La opinión de los campeones
• El mundo espera el combate
• Una pelea para la historia
• Charla Dominical: De la Hoya
LAS VEGAS - Certain experiences leave indelible marks in a person's life. Births, weddings and graduations are the most common examples. After going through any of these, people are never the same, for better or worse.
Saturday, May, 5th will be one of those milestones for those who dedicate their lives to boxing. The superwelterweight WBC championship fight between Oscar De La Hoya (38-4, 30 KOs) and Floyd Mayweather Jr. (37-0, 24 KOs) will have a profound impact on those directly or indirectly involved with it.
The huge amount of fight-related material published by different media in the last months is proof that this is the most important battle of our generation.
In one corner, the "Golden Boy": For many, the best boxer of our time - If not the best, at least one of the greatest boxers of all times. And that is a judgement purely based on his boxing merits, without even mentioning his popularity.
His presence was a vital injection for modern boxing, which was falling to dangerous levels after the extinction of the last two generations of stellar fighters, such as Leonard, Hagler, Hearns, Duran or later, Tyson, Holyfield, Lewis or J.C. Chavez.
Despite the fact that he has fought only twice in the last two and a half years (against Hopkins and Mayorga) and doesn't look invincible any more, De la Hoya is one of those magical characters, that always finds a way to be under the public eye. Evidently, he has been blessed by Mother Nature with special gifts: Boxing talent, intelligence to manage a brilliant career and unequalled charisma.
All of these aspects lead to a fight that will make history in several ways. Oscar's inactivity - due mainly to his new career as a succesful promoter - is one of the most appealing factors.
After all, Oscar is already 34 and he didn't fare well against serious competition (Hopkins y Mosley) lately, excluding a debatable win over German, Felix Sturm.
So then, why would he have a chance to win against a younger, faster and hungrier boxer like Mayweather Jr.?
Common sense indicates that "Pretty Boy" is the clear favorite. But, as we said before, the prominence of certain characters stand beyond any purely theoretical analysis, leaving the door open for any possible outcome, which is what keeps everybody interested in the first place.
That is what happens with men like Diego Maradona, Michael Jordan or Pete Sampras, who were capable of outplaying any rival and beating any foe. Leaving hateful comparisons aside, De la Hoya is also capable of doing it.
As he did in his old days, De La Hoya took eight weeks to prepare for this fight in the Wilfredo Gomez gym in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, working under a new manager, Freddie Roach, and a new trainer, Rob Garcia. He even had Shane Mosley as a sparring partner.
He looks physically strong but, without a doubt, if he has an edge over Mayweather it is a psychological one. Oscar knows the meaning of a mega-fight and has less to lose than his opponent.
Nothing could take away De la Hoya's glory. Not even a categorical defeat against Mayweather Jr. Such an outcome may tarnish his reputation a little bit, but it could be justified by the moment in which the fight took place.
A MATTER OF STYLE
De la Hoya has always been a calculating boxer, someone who waits for the right moment to attack. And it is undeniable that his fists are still dangerous.
Oscar should shorten distances to impose his physical strength and powerful punches to prevent Mayweather Jr. (37-0, 24 KOs) from making his life impossible, by stepping in and out like a wild cobra.
The real problem is how to do it. Those who chose to chase him (Carlos Baldomir is the best example), ended up frustrated.
That is why one could guess that De la Hoya will try to counter-attack whenever Mayweather makes a mistake.
For Mayweather Jr., lateral movement could be the key for success. He needs to avoid becoming an easy target, taking special care when moving to the right, where Oscar could use his lethal left jab. One can imagine he will go forward for two or three-punch combinations before stepping backwards immediately.
Overall, we'll hardly see them exchange punches in the middle of the ring. But we'll probably witness an interesting tactical duel, enriched by their technical resources.
Tactical matters aside, Mayweather Jr.'s weight gain - it will be his debut in the 154 pounds category - could be a deciding factor. Maybe it will, considering he only fought three times in 147 pounds, while De la Hoya's body has six years of experience in this category.
Even though he's hardly caught, Mayweather Jr. has showed a resistant jaw. He has only fallen once in his career, against Carlos Hernandez, but it was mainly due to a hand injury that made him kneel and touch the canvas with one of his gloves.
Beyond that, Mayweather Jr. has put up with several heavy fighters, such as Diego Corrales, Jose Luis Castillo and even Jesus Chavez.
The last, but one of the most important aspects to analyze in this fight, is how could the fact of having so much to prove could affect Mayweather Jr.
The "Pretty Boy" is one of those sportsmen who, despite having an immaculate record, highly regarded talent and several world titles (four), has still to achieve complete public recognition. Only a victory on Saturday could provide him such honor.
But his talkative and arrogant style could lead him to shoot himself in the foot. When the fight begins, he won't have the security barrier provided by microphones and camera flashes.
The clock keeps ticking and the relative truths of preview analysis are giving way to real facts. But there's one thing that cannot be denied: The world of boxing won't be the same after next Saturday.