Tuesday, September 30, 2008 Quijano: Selling a suggestion By Jingo Quijano Last Round
(Conclusion)
SO EXPECT a smattering of boos and jeers when Oscar De La Hoya ascends to the ring on Dec. 6. The public perception, rightly or wrongly—is that he is taking an “easy” fight for gazillions of dollars.
Years from now when he looks back at his Hall-of-Fame career, Oscar will realize, win or lose—that he really dropped the ball this time.
Many boxers, some of them former foes and potential opponents have voiced out their concerns about how uncompetitive this fight is going to be. Ricky Hatton, Nate Campbell, Julio Cesar Chavez, Stevie Forbes, Tito Trinidad are almost in unison that this bout is a blatant mismatch.
How much of a mismatch is this fight going to be?
Much of the media binge has been focused on the size difference (which is quite daunting) but really, it’s not size alone that matters. It’s when the opponent also happens to be a good boxer that the size discrepancy is amplified.
What’s insidious is the disrespect accorded to Oscar’s boxing abilities. It’s a mortal sin in boxing. When you underestimate your opponent, it will usually come back to bite you.
I don’t for a moment believe Freddie Roach’s claim about Oscar having trouble pulling the trigger against Floyd Mayweather Jr. The punch stats will readily confirm that Oscar threw more punches than Floyd but it was in the accuracy department where he was found wanting.
Just watching Shane Mosely get jarred repeatedly by the limited Mayorga the other day, reaffirms my perception that Oscar’s boxing abilities remain to be quite decent.
Simply put, if you elevate Oscar’s boxing skills to where they should be and factor in the size difference, Manny definitely has his work cut out for him.
But what about the fact that Oscar wasn’t quite impressive against 5-foot-6 fighters Pernell Whitaker and Hector Camacho?
If you analyze Oscar’s career, you will notice that he always has problems with fast fighters. Speed being a good part of his game, an opponent who is faster than him is able to neutralize Oscar’s advantages.
Whitaker and Camacho both have terrific hand speed, but remember that they also possessed exceptional defensive abilities. They were both slick, slippery cunning fighters. A big part of their games was making the other fighter miss and making him pay. You couldn’t hit Whitaker in the butt with a handful of sand. He was so adept at making himself scarce, the guy probably doesn’t get wet in a thunderstorm.
Unfortunately, that is not the way Pacquiao fights. To a certain extent, Manny is the anti-Whitaker. Offense is the name of the game for Pacman and his exciting style is what has endeared him to millions of fans worldwide. In contrast, the superbly-skilled Whitaker was perennially criticized for his boring, defensive style.
Is Manny in any danger in this fight?
If there’s one thing I would congratulate the Pacquiao team on accomplishing in this experiment, (aside from the obvious financial considerations) it would be the fact that they were able to lure Oscar to 147 pounds, a weight he has not fought in for over seven years.
It’s always better for a fighter to move up in weight as his age advances, rather than move back down. An extreme example would be Chris Byrd who just a few months ago, moved back down to light heavyweight. At 38 years of age, having lost two of his last three, with his speed and once-feared defensive skills ebbing, Chris went on a diet, slimmed down to 190 and was knocked out in nine rounds by Shaun George, a young upstart with less than 20 fights to his name.
Nonetheless, the danger factor will always be present. Even with the drop in weight, Oscar could conceivably outweigh Manny by 15 to 20 pounds by fight time. And in boxing, all it takes is just one punch. I’m not going to overplay the danger angle, but I’m not ignoring it either.
THE LAST ROUND. It’s on the Kawit Inter-comeback Basketball team, winners of the Medellin Fiesta Basketball Tournament. Last Rounder Fr. Oscar Banzon send you the best all the way from San Diego, California. Cheers!
