Wednesday, May 09, 2007 Quijano: A Travesty of the lowest order By Jingo Quijano Last Round
IT was a travesty, pure and simple. De la Hoya may have lost the bout via split decision, but it will probably go down as one of the most brazen displays of scoring ineptitude in pro boxing.
And if you are one of those people who believe that crap about De la Hoya’s punches not connecting solidly then you probably believe that Michael Jackson was white when he was a kid.
De la Hoya fought exactly the way he should have and, except for the occasional lapses in defense, was the one controlling the action for the entire fight.
Sometimes fight stats for punches thrown and landed are misleading and inaccurate, simply because they are also being recorded not through electronic means but through human perception. Thus, the punches which were directed at Mayweather’s arms, shoulders, torso, elbows, etc. may not have “landed” cleanly at so-called prime scoring areas, but make no mistake about it, they were landing and Mayweather was hurting.
This is not amateur boxing fellas where we only count certain punches that land. The pained expression on Mayweather’s face evident during the entire fight, which he tried to hide behind a fake smile, was more than anything else a clear demonstration of the trouble he was in.
To my mind, a clear indicator of a winner in a close fight is one who was able to impose his will on his opponent. Who was forced to change his style? Who looked more comfortable in there? Who was able to execute his game plan?
Applying the foregoing criteria, we can readily acknowledge the Golden Boy as the winner. Mayweather hardly looked like the best pound-for-pound fighter in there? Sure he had his moments, but what did you expect? Oscar was in there with a younger and supposedly better fighter. But Floyd’s flawless defense and fluid combinations were for the most part negated by De la Hoya’s aggression and determination.
PRAISES. Kudos to Freddie Roach who was able to execute a near-perfect game plan. Oscar effectively used his size to bully Floyd Jr. around the ring and he showed no respect for the latter’s much revered pugilistic skills.
Oscar looked very motivated in there, and he was indeed able to turn back the hands of time to show the world that although it was a good 10 years ago when he reigned as pound-for-pound best, he can still kick it up a notch and beat up today’s best fighter.
SYSTEM FAILURE. One culprit in the scoring system is the perception that rounds must not be scored even and that a winner has to be chosen for each round. To me, this accounts for all the crappy decisions we have been getting lately. When two boxers fight so evenly it’s a terrible injustice to one when you are “forced” to pick the other just because scoring rounds as even is perceived to be a sin.
To demonstrate my point, think about this for a moment. Theoretically, when two fighters hardly throw a punch in a round, but just circle and feel each other out, how the hell do you pick a winner? How about who wore the more colorful trunks? Or who had a nicer haircut. Or who snarled more. The list is endless guys, but your guess is as good as mine.
THE LAST ROUND. The last round goes out to my godchild “Kreng kreng” de Jesus who is celebrating her birthday today in this beautiful town of Dapa, Surigao del Norte. Cheers!
