How good was he? We all know he beat the highly talented Vernon Forrest 2 times. How would a prime Mayorga fared up against the likes of the following fighters in there primes @147. Is Mayorga a 1 hit wonder or could he have been a threat to the other great welterweights in his prime? 1. Tito 2. Delahoya 3. Mosley
Are you serious? All three of those guys knocked Mayorga out long past their primes, but you wonder if it would've gone differently had they been in their primes?
I think Mayorga declined much faster then the previous fighters mentioned. Ricardo was never the same above 147 inlcluding after the savage Tito raping. He was never the same, his will was broken and so was his spirit. If you watch his fights with Forrest he was a complete different animal.
Agreed. Mayorga really wasn't that gifted --- he was perhaps not as untalented or ineffective as he is sometimes painted to be, but he barely (if at all) won his return fight with Forrest, & Forrest himself was good --- not great. After that? You have losses left, right & center in all his remaining big fights. The way he was KO'd by Trinidad & Mosley (both well past-it) was comical. He isn't threatening any of the top-30 WW Champions through history.
Maybe the dumbass shouldn't have stuck his jaw out for Tito to take a free, defenseless left-hook on. That shot alone probably knocked him out of his prime.
I'm saying. Not to mention that all were coming off of career-long layoffs going into their respective fights w/ Mayorga. I honestly don't see Trinidad-Mayorga ever playing out any differently. DLH-Mayorga might be more somewhat more competitive at 147, but I'd still take Oscar. Perhaps not by knockout, but at least by very comfortable decision. Mosley-Mayorga would've been the most different outcome of the three - prime Shane wouldn't have struggled with Mayorga as much as he did.
I know that some called it running when Cory Spinks beat him. I saw a guy finding a way to take nine out of 12 rounds against a limited brawler without taking very much in return. I'd have to believe that prime Tito, Oscar and Shane would've figured out a way to beat that same version of Mayorga. Tito just happened to be the first person to figure out how to beat the crap out of him.
De La Hoya would've really badly-outclassed Mayorga in his pomp. De La Hoya, by the time he fought Mayorga, was a part-time fighter. Look at his outings surrounding the fight with Mayorga. It was his last victory inside the distance (& he never got even close to stopping anyone again). He lost four of his last seven fights, during which time the Mayorga fight fell (I thought De La Hoya definitely deserved the nod against Mosley, but got a gift against Sturm, which evens things out) & he had obviously seen much, much better days. Mayorga circa-2003 against the De La Hoya of around 1998-00 would've been completely one-sided.
Some people on this site think Mayorga would be VERY competative against Cotto in his prime. IMO mayorga is a one trick pony. Against cotto he gets stomped. Cottos prime or past it.
Mayorga's toughness and volume punching could have made things very interesting. I'm not saying he would beat any of the fighters mentioned, but would have made things very interesting IMO.
I can't see it. De La Hoya was so much faster around that time than he was when they met in '06, & one thing Mayorga could not cope with during their real meet was De La Hoya's fading swiftness.
Forrest wasn't all that good mate, just for openers. Mosley was on juice and Trinidad had special wraps- take them off that and Mayorga is in with a chance. Oscar beats his ass severely.
A prime Fernando Vargas would had raped a prime Mayorga. The Vargas el Matador faced was not even a shadow of his former self. Heck, even David Reid would had beaten Mayorga easily!
<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EIi7U_xOUDM" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe> WAR MAYORGA!!!
<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/j-BFScdlnvQ" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>:laughing:
For what it's worth, it's no more ridiculous than the theory that Ivan Calderon should've moved up six weight classes to challenge the modern day Fab Four in order to enhance his popularity and bank account.
Oh shit, that was you too ::... I honestly thought it was someone else. Sorry, homie. It's all good. We poke fun, but your enthusiasm is certainly to be appreciated.
Mayorga had certain entertaining aspects to his game, he was wild, he invited his opponent to take pot-shots, he talked a lot of smack and most of it was never serious. But as a prize-fighter, I wouldn't give him any more than a 6 out of 10- he had a good chin, good power, but he was wide open, had less-than-great balance, and could be taken out. As mad as this sounds, I give prime Ricky Hatton a good chance of beating him.
