Oscar vs. Floyd: Which Boy Will Be The Man?

By Carlo Juarez
Photos: William Trillo

A lot of different scenarios are being played out in the minds of boxing fans during the final days leading up to the biggest fight in years. Some of the conjured scenarios have Kenny Bayless raising the hand of Floyd Mayweather Jr. His unmatched hand speed and ring smarts ended up being too much for the flat-footed Oscar De La Hoya. Other contrived scenarios involve Kenny Bayless raising the hand of the “Golden Boy” simply because the weight and power of Oscar proved to be the deciding factor in the demise of the unblemished reign created by the “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather Jr. Both scenarios are plausible in their own way. Floyd Mayweather Jr. did not acquire the moniker of “Pound-for-Pound Picasso of Boxing” for no reason. His blazing hand speed, skill and agility in the ring have undoubtedly and unanimously set him apart from all active boxers in the sport today. On the other hand, one cannot discredit the brutality of Oscar’s punching power. His left-hook proved to be too much for the anabolic steroid driven Fernando Vargas. His devastatingly vicious power also proved to be too much for another “performance-enhanced” boxer by the name of Ricardo Mayorga. Let’s look at the “Tale of the Tape” of the careers of Oscar and Floyd to see if we can bring some clarity to the outcome of this mega-fight!

There is no doubt that Floyd Mayweather Jr. has the fastest hands in boxing. The only two boxers that come close to matching his speed are Zab Judah and Shane Mosley. We have yet to see how Shane would fare against Floyd; however, Floyd was successful in breaking Zab Judah down through twelve rounds. The Zab vs. Floyd matchup was very interesting because it pitted two of the three quickest fighters in the sport today. In addition, Zab is a southpaw with more snap to his punches. Floyd chose Zab as his second fight in the Welterweight division. His lack of punching power added to the fact that he was not a career Welterweight created more of a disadvantage for the “Pretty Boy.”

The first four rounds of the Judah vs. Mayweather Jr. fight was all Zab Judah. Momentary hesitancies by Floyd in initiating an attack resulted in quick, straight left hands landing for Judah. Those opportunities, fleeting for most other boxers, were capitalized by Zab because he is so undeniably quick. As Mayweather Jr. tried to come in and land some shots on Judah, his guard would be open just wide enough for Judah to land some short left and right hooks. Zab’s stance and posture during the first portion of the fight made it hard for Floyd to be assertive with his jab. He ended up over extending his jab to the point that Zab was able to punch over Floyd’s jab and land his shot. All in all, most of Zab’s effective shots in the first four rounds were the ones he threw up the middle when Floyd went on the defensive.

Zab seemed to be cruising to a unanimous victory when the brilliant boxing mind of Floyd Mayweather Jr. took over. Floyd is an inscrutable fighter for his opponents because of his multi-faceted, on-the-spot ability to strategize. His current course of action was not getting him anywhere with Zab, so he adjusted his game plan and started to systematically break Zab down. Floyd started measuring Zab with his left to make sure Zab was at a proper distance to where he could fire and land at will. Next, Floyd would time Zab and throw that quick right when he knew it would land. Soon, Judah began retreating and Mayweather Jr. started to throw some combinations downstairs to slow him down.

Eventually, Floyd’s connect percentage began to increase as the rounds progressed and Zab’s steadfast confidence began to slowly diminish. That point became evident when the “Pretty Boy” was able to land those hard, straight right hands without setting them up with a quick left jab. Straight right hands, combinations to the body and even reaching left hooks began to land regularly for Floyd Mayweather Jr. In the end, Judah-Mayweather Jr. once again reflected another dominating and masterful performance by the “Pretty Boy.” That fight proved once again why he is the true master of the Sweet Science.

The moral of the Judah-Mayweather Jr. duel is two-fold: 1) Mayweather Jr. is a spontaneous strategist with an uncanny ability to adjust his game plan when he senses his opponents are manipulating the fight to their advantage. It is one thing to possess the boxing skills reserved by such ring greats as Muhammad Ali, Pernell Whitaker and Ray Leonard; however, it is quite another to have the wit and ring generalship to match. Such a combination formulated by the sly Mayweather Jr. has proven to be too much for boxers with strong, formidable skills. 2) Zab Judah interestingly laid the groundwork for others, such as Oscar De La Hoya, to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. Although Floyd was ultimately able to dominate the fight against Zab, Zab’s “Super” four round performance transformed Mayweather Jr. from a fictitious superman character he is known for to a mere mortal with flaws every human being possesses.

So you have to be a fast and slick southpaw like Judah to beat Mayweather Jr., right? Wrong! After a frustrating first round performance by Kostya Tszyu in his fight against Zab, a more assertive Tszyu walked Zab down in the second round until a straight right ended the night for Zab. Tszyu did not match Judah in the speed department. So, he had to rely on other tactics to overcome Zab’s blazing speed. In the second round, Tszyu began to press the action by consistently pursuing Judah, throwing assertive jabs and straight rights all the while not allowing Zab’s speed to fluster him. Kostya got closer and closer until Zab came into punching range of Kostya’s devastating straight right hand.

Another example where speed faltered rather than killed was when Shane Mosley fought Vernon Forrest. Although Forrest is a quintessential boxer with quick hands, he still seemed to be at a disadvantage since he didn’t possess the lightening-fast reflexes of the Pomona, California native. How did Forrest overcome “Sugar” Shane’s sweet speed? Vernon chose to aggressively trade jabs with Shane and repeatedly use his jab to create opportunities for his hard, straight right hand. Forrest tried throwing hard, looping right hands over Shane until he finally connected amazingly stunning Mosley before using the right uppercut to send Mosley to the canvas in the second round of their first fight. Although Vernon did not score a knockout, he went on to unanimously defeat “Sugar” Shane Mosley.

In order to drive this point home, let us take a look at the Roy Jones Jr. vs. Antonio Tarver II fight. In retrospect, Antonio Tarver won that fight the minute he uttered the words “got any excuses tonight, Roy?!?!” Tarver got into the head of Jones Jr., and then he used that advantage to nullify Roy’s speed and make the fight go his way. There was no feeling of trepidation or hesitancy in the game plan of Antonio Tarver. He did not flinch at Jones’ flashy punches. He pressed forward relentlessly and waited for the opportune time to throw that left hand. Most fighters never dared to close the gap between themselves and Jones Jr. Instead, they fought on the outside. In plain English, they fought Roy’s fight. Tarver broke with convention and decided to be the aggressor, work to get on the inside and catch Jones Jr. when he least expected it.

Aside from the fact that Floyd Mayweather Jr. was not involved in any of the three aforementioned fights, each of the three fights presented an underlying and recurrent theme. This theme is important to grasp because it lies innate in the boxing principles of Oscar De La Hoya. It opposes an old adage in boxing that goes something like this: “speed kills.” Kostya Tszyu, Vernon Forrest and Antonio Tarver did not use speed to conquer their opponents. The big question we have to ask ourselves is, “what kills speed?” Timing!

Kostya, Vernon and Antonio were undaunted by the superb skills of their opponents. They remained focus, assertive and imposing. Their confident and willful demeanors were so powerful that you could see the once resilient state-of-mind of Judah, Mosley and Jones Jr. regress to a more timid and vulnerable state right before our eyes. Such a regression causes mistakes, second guesses and hesitancies. Once a fighter has controlled the mind of his opponent, then it makes it that much easier to time an opponent’s punches and land the strong, effective counterpunches. Zab was on the righteous path in his first fight with Floyd, but Floyd was able to mentally and physically take control of the fight during the last eight rounds.
 

Oscar certainly has the focus to attack Floyd both mentally and physically. Oscar has the size and power advantage to make his fight with Floyd very physical. Jose Luis Castillo did not have such an advantage as Oscar does, but he quite successfully bullied Mayweather Jr. to lose a highly disputed twelve round decision. Losing is obviously never a good thing, but Castillo was the first fighter to aggressively pursue Mayweather Jr. by cutting off the ring and landing strong hooks to the body and various right hands and uppercuts to the head. Castillo wasn’t successful because he lost. He was successful because he was the first to cast credible doubt to the mystique of Floyd Mayweather Jr.

DeMarcus Corley became the second opponent to give Floyd Mayweather Jr. a difficult time in the ring. He too did not seem intimidated by Floyd and opted to stand in close with Floyd and trade some heavy handed blows. Although Corley’s triumphant moments were few and far between in his unanimous twelve round decision loss to Mayweather Jr., those moments must be pretty impressive since I am still able to vividly recount those images in my mind three years later.

Although Corley did have fleeting moments of success, it was Castillo’s courageous first fight effort against Mayweather Jr. that should be commended because he managed to impose his will on the “Pretty Boy” in a weight class where Floyd was his strongest and most dominant. Fast forward five years later and three weight classes higher where Floyd is trying to achieve the same dominant success he had in the Lightweight division at the Junior Middleweight division. It is a real dangerous move because his arsenal has now been stripped of punching power. He has never been known as a KO artist, but it is always better to add to your repertoire. Floyd cannot hurt Oscar and now he has to be vigilant of that “left hook” or any one of Oscar’s power shots. He is going to be dealing with a much bigger and more highly skilled Jose Luis Castillo. The more Floyd feels the power of Oscar, the more psychological points Oscar scores.

It may seem subtle to the boxing world because De La Hoya presents himself with class and dignity, but he has vehemently staged psychological warfare on Mayweather Jr. De La Hoya’s attitude during the press conferences with Floyd was much the same as it was before his fight with Ricardo Mayorga and Fernando Vargas, who have been De La Hoya’s most hated rivals. However, behind the placid smile lies the De La Hoya “look!” Some boxing writers have caught on to Oscar’s “look.” It’s a look of determination, confidence and an eagerness to prove to the world that he is the best fighter. Although I tried my best to label that look, it transcends anything that can be put into words. That look is clearly evident during his stare downs with Floyd. Oscar uses no trash talking words, no threatening expressions. He simply stares Floyd cold in the eye.
 

Sometimes I wonder if Floyd’s reluctance to fuel the intensity of the stare down with an equally cold look illustrates a mental weakness on his part. As much as I want to believe that I know Floyd is not scared because he is convinced that Oscar is too slow and too flat-footed to lay a meaningful glove on him.

Mayorga and Vargas were equally confident before they stepped into the ring with De La Hoya. During his fights with Mayorga and Vargas, Oscar imposed his will, remained assertive as far as positioning himself to move forward and press the action until the opportunity to land the big punches presented itself. For Vargas, it was Oscar’s “rocket left hook” that sent him to the canvas and out of contention with the “Golden Boy.” For Mayorga, Oscar was able to time him a bit more and successfully land that thunderous left hook in the first round. The mental breakdown for Mayorga began after that knockdown and finally consumed him after a barrage of punches ended the fight in the sixth.		  

Oscar has always shown the heart, determination and focus. He has shown the boxing skill set needed to put himself in position to mentally breakdown Floyd with his now natural Junior Middleweight size and strength; however, he has lacked the timing and ring generalship that is needed to beat Floyd. Two of the biggest blemishes of his career were his fights with Shane Mosley and Pernell Whitaker.

A prime Oscar De La Hoya fought a past-his-prime Pernell Whitaker and won a controversial unanimous decision. The fight basically boiled down to this: those that appreciate the Sweet Science in its purest form had Whitaker winning the fight; others saw De La Hoya as the victor. Hand speed and crafty footwork were all that were needed to befuddle De La Hoya. A prime “Sugar” Shane Mosley, in his first fight with Oscar, took it one step further and used his prime quickness to land two and three punch combinations before Oscar could mount an attack of his own. Mosley made De La Hoya look clumsy and inferior for the first time in his “golden” career. The most ardent Oscar De La Hoya fan succumbed to the reality that speed conquered the “Golden Boy” that night. Surprisingly, even an aged Pernell Whitaker managed to controversially best a ‘97 De La Hoya with a fraction of the boxing skills he once possessed.

The upside to De La Hoya’s disappointing performance in his first fight with Shane Mosley is that he had the opportunity to avenge the first convincing loss of his career to Mosley and managed to make tremendous strides in improving his strategy against the crafty “Sugar” man. Although the scores were much closer and unanimously not in his favor, Oscar appeared to move better in the ring and at times landed his jab more frequent than in their first encounter. Compubox numbers for Mosley-De La Hoya II illustrated what was clearly evident during the early rounds of the fight: De La Hoya landed more jabs and power punches. Perhaps Oscar’s fading stamina and Mosley’s rallies in the later rounds of the fight were enough to solidify Mosley as the winner in the minds of the judges. Whatever the case may be, the moral victory lies with De La Hoya simply because he showed strong versatility as a fighter by not only changing his tactics and approach, but to prove on paper and to a plethora of boxing fans watching the fight that he can do so effectively.

Although De La Hoya made a convincing argument, in his second bout with Mosley, that he is aptly capable of handling the most elite boxers of fistic prowess, it was thoroughly overshadowed by a recent decision he made prior to training for his Cinco de Mayo showdown with Mayweather Jr. Oscar chose to ditch Floyd Mayweather Sr. and hire Freddie Roach as his head trainer. First and foremost, Roach is a highly respectable trainer and has done wonders in his attempt to nurture and diversify Manny Pacquiao’s boxing ability. Yet, any trainer would be hard to contend with the one trainer who happens to be the creator of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. style. Floyd Sr. would have undoubtedly been the secret weapon for De La Hoya. The reason is simple: those that create know how best to destroy their creation. Floyd Jr.’s style is impeccable and indomitable, but it was built on a foundation of another man’s creation. Roach could teach De La Hoya the tools that conceptually appear as an effective game plan, but Floyd Sr. knows where the imperfections in Mayweather Jr.’s stylistic foundation are and would teach Oscar the tools necessary to expose and ultimately benefit from such inherent and irreparable faults.

Given the aforementioned strength and weaknesses of Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr., it is clear that no scenario can be discredited. The only point of clarity in this fight is that there is no predictable outcome. The fact that this fight hinges on uncertainty and unpredictability creates the drama, anticipation and build-up the boxing fans long for as fight night approaches. Although this fight will be for De La Hoya’s WBC Light Middleweight title, they will be fighting for much more when they enter the ring on May 5th. For Oscar, he would like nothing more than to end his career as the Pound-for-Pound King of Boxing. The only meaningful title of boxing has eluded De La Hoya throughout his illustrious career. For Mayweather Jr., he is striving to continue his incredulously dominant win streak and beat the man atop the Junior Middleweight division. It would be an amazing feat considering he moved up fourteen pounds within a two year period.

How will Floyd handle the raw power of Oscar? Will Oscar’s left hook put an end to Floyd’s perfect 37-0 record? Will Floyd stand and trade with Oscar or use his speed and fast footwork to beat Oscar to the punch and stay out of harm’s way? Will Oscar’s stamina fail him or will he enter a new, never-before-seen dimension and surprise us all? Does Floyd really possess the power to hurt Oscar as he has stated to the media? Most importantly, which boy will be the man? “The World Awaits” the answers on May 5th!