Sunday, May 11, 2008 Quijano: Should dela Hoya retire? By Jingo Quijano Last Round
REACTING to my last column “Cotto first, before Floyd,” Last Rounder Tarsus Torres” (tarsus.torres@gmail.com) e-mailed this writer to share his wonderful insights.
Tarsus, however, disagreed with my assessment that the Forbes fight may have been one of Oscar dela Hoya’s best technical displays in recent years. He points out that Oscar missed wildly and got countered with some good shots. Finally, he opines that Oscar will not last 10 rounds against Miguel Cotto and that he should probably retire.
Thanks for your e-mail Tarsus, the Last Round appreciates feedback from such knowledgeable fight fans such as yourself.
REPLAY. Fortunately I was able to catch the replay of the fight the other night, but I must say I would have to stand pat on my observation.
Dela Hoya indeed got hit several times by Forbes and that’s why in that same piece, I pointed out his porous defense remains to be a nagging weakness.
But defensive slickness has never been Oscar’s stronger traits. Instead, he is best known for his hand speed, aggressiveness and a brilliant left hook.
In short, he’s never really been a technical wizard of a fighter in the same mold as a James Toney or if you want to be Mexican about it—a Ricardo Lopez.
But in that fight, after failing to hurt Forbes in the first few rounds and finding stubborn resistance from the latter, he made adjustments and rediscovered his long-lost jab.
He fittingly took advantage of his height and reach advantage and peppered Forbes with that thudding jab all night long, from which flowed several combinations.
Of course, Oscar obviously took advantage of the fact that he was stronger than his opponent (Who wouldn’t?) but it wasn’t exactly a brutal display of punching power that won him the fight, much like he did against Ricardo Mayorga or Arturo Gatti.
It wasn’t that pretty, but coming from Oscar, that was as technical a display as I’ve seen from him in recent years, especially when you consider his last two victories which came against Mayorga and Felix Sturm.
RETIREMENT. So, should we back up the hearse on Oscar’s boxing career?
Well, judging from his performance in that fight, Oscar still deserves the benefit of the doubt. He has already announced that he just wanted three more fights, (including the Forbes bout) and so retirement is indeed just around the corner.
If he can still beat the Steve Forbeses of the boxing world (a younger man than him, and a former world champion with a very decent record) then I think he is at least entitled to his planned farewell tour.
At 35 years of age, Oscar may not be the punching dynamo that he once was, but in my opinion he’s still worth a few more fights. Cotto may seem to be a formidable proposition, but if Oscar can execute a perfect game plan, he may be able to pull off the win.
CONTEMPORARIES. The subject of when a fighter should retire is quite touchy. That’s because it’s different for every fighter and several factors have to be considered.
But Oscar is doing the right thing by setting a workable goal for him before he exits the fight game. Some of his contemporaries are better off hitching a ride on his exit bus.
Who are these fighters? More in my next column.
MOM’S THE WORD. Happy Mothers’ day to all the moms out there. Today is your day, so take a bow. Indeed, nothing is truer than a mother’s love.
LAST ROUND. It’s on my godchild Dylan Katarra who recently celebrated her birthday. Cheers!
