I’ve talked about Oscar De La Hoya’s 2008 plan before, but let’s do a short recap.
He was going to fight Steve Forbes in the spring, which he did. Then he was going to follow that up with a rematch against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the fall, and then one more fight in Los Angeles in December to end his career.
Part one of his plan worked out as his “tune-up” bout that wasn’t called a “tune-up” bout against Forbes ended with him winning a one sided decision. But part two never happened. Somewhere along the way, Floyd Mayweather Jr. walked away from a huge purse and retired.
(With the recent negotiation struggles to find a fight, as well as Manny Pacquiao initially turning it down because he wanted a bigger split, I don’t think it’s wrong to wonder if Mayweather Jr. retiring had something to do with a similar struggle with Camp De La Hoya. I’m not sure if negotiations even started, but it’s something I’d wondered before.)
He had a great plan. He was going to fight three times this year and end his career with a bang. He was going to fight a tune up bout in the spring to get him ready for his rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr., who beat him in 2007. It was the biggest money fight of all time, and though the second fight more than likely wouldn’t have done the same business, it would’ve been the biggest fight of this year. And then, in December, he was set to end his career with one more fight, possibly in his home town.
Part one of the plan went to fruition. De La Hoya beat Steve Forbes in May to set up his fight with Mayweather. But Mayweather Jr. decided to retire instead of take the fight.
(According to Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer there were early talks for both De La Hoya and Mayweather Jr. to be involved in this year’s Wrestlemania to help sell their fight for later this year. Obviously, De La Hoya wasn’t involved in Wrestlemaina, but Mayweather Jr. was.)
While the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. super fight may no longer be taking place this year, another super fight has been signed. Roy Jones Jr. is set to challenge Joe Calzaghe for his light heavyweight championship. It’s a fight that Calzaghe has said that he wants, and Jones Jr. obliged.
According to Dan Rafael’s story, Jones Jr. is also promoting the fight, which is scheduled for September 20, and will be held in Madison Square Garden. Jones Jr. asked Don King to step aside for this one so that his Square Ring could promote the fight, according to the article.
Before Oscar De La Hoya can get a second fight with Floyd Mayweather, he’s set himself up with a tune up fight. There’s really no reason to have the fight except to to close out his career the way he wants. De La Hoya wants to fight three more times this year and then call it a career. If he beats Steve “2 Pound” Forbes, who was the best fighter in the second season of The Contender, but lost in the finals of that show, he wants Mayweather. And then he wants one more fight, maybe with someone like Miguel Cotto. But those plans don’t work out if De La Hoya can’t get by Forbes, who is fighting at about ten pounds above his best fighting weight.
What’s the hook for a second Mayweather/De La Hoya fight? Well, the first one was the biggest money fight in the history of boxing. But other than that, De La Hoya has Floyd Mayweather Sr. in his corner, after staying away from him and having Freddie Roach train him for the last fight. It would be a bit of redemption for both Floyd Sr. and Oscar to give Floyd Jr. his first loss. There’s even a bit of Mayweather family drama in this fight. Roger Mayweather, the trainer for Floyd Jr., was originally training Forbes, but Floyd Jr. told him to stop because if Forbes beat De La Hoya, it would screw up the biggest money payday of Mayweather’s career. Jeff Mayweather, the third brother, is training Forbes. Let’s just say that De La Hoya is going to be a harder fight than Grady Brewer.
The one reason that stands out as the reason De La Hoya might’ve wanted Forbes is because out of his 33 wins, he only has 9 knockouts.
Round One
Forbes is throwing really quick punches, which look great, but aren’t landing that well. De La Hoya is throwing to the body mostly. Forbes was stung with a left jab that caught him as he was going backwards. De La Hoya is stiffing Forbes with that jab. Forbes caught him with good left hook to finish the round. He started decently and ended well, but De La Hoya controlled the round.
Round Two
In the corner, Jeff Mayweather told Forbes to try to steal the round at the end. He didn’t do that well enough in the first round. De La Hoya is throwing more power punches at the start of the round. He is the much bigger and strong man and is setting up Forbes to eat the left hook, his best punch. When Forbes ducks into his left jab, De La Hoya makes him pay with his left jab and left hook. It’s De La Hoya’s round again, but Forbes is looking ok.
Round Three
Because of the size, Forbes has to reach to hit De La Hoya and De La Hoya is making him pay. Even though De La Hoya is busier and looks to be landing more, Forbes is also doing a good job defensively. He’s blocking a lot of the punches with his arms. Not Forbes’ round, but his best round. He’s getting a little more confident.
Round Four
Forbes’ confidence may provide his undoing as he’s standing right in there with De La Hoya. He’s not throwing many of them yet, but that left hook is going to come and if Forbes is showboating, he’s going to eat them. Even though he’s showboating, nothing has changed except he’s not mixing it up as much and is trying to be Sugar Ray.
Round Five
If anything, Forbes has been able to minimalize De La Hoya’s left hook. Oscar’s best punch has been his left jab. Forbes is doing a great job at taking away De La Hoya’s biggest strength. But, he’s still losing every round.
Round Six
Harold Lederman gave Forbes the last round.
Oscar throws a nifty combination, but Forbes blocked it all. De La Hoya gets inside and throws some power shots and this time, Forbes doesn’t block them all. He misses a wild left hook. De La Hoya also lands a good right hand before the round ends. It’s his strongest round since probably the second.
Round Seven
Forbes landed a few quick body shots. De La Hoya threw two uppercuts, with at least one landing, in a nice combination. De La Hoya has him up against the ropes and throws two nice combinations, but Forbes was able to make him miss with some of the first. But not the second combination.
Round Eight
Oscar is fighting the perfect fight, but it’s not going to be impressive if he wins a decision. I have a feeling that in the next two rounds, he’s going to take some chances. I’m not sure how Forbes thinks he’s going to win any of these rounds by simply blocking Oscar’s punches, and not throwing his own. Forbes landed an uppercut but Oscar answered with his own. Very boring round.
Round Nine
When Forbes punches, he doesn’t back Oscar up. All Oscar has to do is throw a jab and Forbes takes a step back. It’s the defining thing that you see, when judging this fight. Oscar does look a little tired, but every time Forbes tries to get inside and throw with him, Oscar’s eyes light up and he lets loose. I still have Oscar pitching a shut out.
Round Ten
Forbes finally backed De La Hoya up and against the ropes and landed some shots. Oscar bounced right back and answered him. He’s got Forbes backing up now. He just missed hitting a left hook flush and Forbes is very lucky. Oscar’s round all the way.
Round Eleven
All Forbes did for the entire round was stay away and make sure he didn’t get hit with big shots. I’m not sure about you, but when you’re winning zero rounds, I’m not sure that the best strategy is to stay away. It’s not like Forbes gains anything from just going the distance here. Beating De La Hoya gives him everything.
Round Twelve
Forbes is trying to get inside and De La Hoya is peppering him with good shots. Oscar buckled him with a left hook to the body. I think Forbes was just happy to be there, which is exactly the opposite of what he said he was going to do. I have Oscar winning every round.
Decision
119-109
119-109
120-108
Winner: Oscar De La Hoya by way of unanimous decision
Basically, Forbes got one round from two judges and none from the other.
EXC took a lot of flack from the hardcore MMA fan base for putting Kimbo Slice up against Tank Abbott as the main event of their big show last weekend. As I said last week, it’s a much different approach from a show that also happened last week, WEC 32. That event showcased smaller fighters and more technical bouts, while the EXC show was fixated around the freak show main event. At the end of the day, as far as I’m concerned, it’s about having a business model that works. If the EXC can utilize main events that help them make money that might not be your prototypical MMA fight, so be it. Watching that show, Kimbo Slice looked like a huge star. They need to figure out a way to keep him at that level and find more eye balls. I don’t know if they are THE ALTERNATIVE, but they definitely have someone who can draw a crowd in his hometown (over 7,000 in Miami vs. a little over 4,000 for Carlos Condit in Albuquerque) and possibly get some folks to give it a shot.
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While the Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. super fight may no longer be taking place this year, another super fight has been signed. Roy Jones Jr. is set to challenge Joe Calzaghe for his light heavyweight championship. It’s a fight that Calzaghe has said that he wants, and Jones Jr. obliged.
