This matchup hasn't been done in a long time. Who wins at junior middle? I think we can all agree that DLH needs a KO to win. I can't see him outboxing Norris. Does he get that stoppage?
Because Norris was faster, more fluid on his feet, a better combination puncher, could maintain a higher workrate and do so all night (Terry had chin problems, not stamina problems), and generally had better skill overall. Oscar struggled with Oba Carr, he's not outboxing Norris. Granted, he has a legit chance of stopping him, but if the stoppage doesn't come, he gets outboxed.
Norris has his fair share of advantages over De La Hoya @ 154 but if Oscar could stop a much bigger roided up Vargas in the 11th round with essentially one punch i'd have to feel like he finds away to land it here. Yes i know Vargas and Norris are nothing alike but the point is the same. Sure Terry could win, but i'm not betting on a notoriously hot-headed fighter to be disciplined enough to pull it off.
I think the peak Norris of 91-92 beats DLH. I think Oscar stops the circa 95-96 Norris who was still quality, but had lost a step.
I like Oscar here, regardless of which version of Norris he faces. Yea, definitely DLH over 95/96 Norris but also over early 90s Norris too.
I think De La Hoya has a decent chance to catch Norris, but I'm taking Norris of the early 90s to do similar as Mosley did in the first fight. Blitzing Oscar and taking it to Oscar with more speed and power than he had.
Norris would have to use more angles than Shane did. Shane took many left hooks in that first fight that Terry wouldn't be able to handle. Fortunately for Norris, he was in fact better than Mosley at attacking from different angles. He had much more technically fluid footwork than Shane.
Absolutely but Oscar was never going to make Shane go to sleep with one hook even if well timed, so it didn't matter as much. I don't think Trinidad could either but this is Norris, not Mosley. It's one of those fights where "puncher's chance" is more than a 1 in 10 or some such. I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Norris win, i just wouldn't make him the favorite.
Oscar didn’t have a great ring IQ, though. He was often poor in the late rounds of his biggest fights. And while Norris didn’t have the best chin, he wasn’t gonna be as easy a target as Vargas was. I just think Norris on his game picks Oscar apart and counters in between De La Hoya’s sloppy flurries.
I like Norris relatively easy tbh. Always thought that Oscar was a bit undersized and average at 154 and didn't carry the same whack despite stopping Vargas. Typical Norris fight capitalising on a big name naturally smaller or older fighter.
