http://www.thering-online.com/ringpages/ringupdate.html MAYWEATHER-DE LA HOYA II: THE WORLD SNORES By William Dettloff If you thought the fight game shot its load in 2007, you haven’t taken a look at the schedule lately for ’08. Lots of excellent matchups are either made already or said to be in the works. The Kelly Pavlik-Jermain Taylor rematch is a mere month away. The rubber match between Israel Vasquez and Rafael Marquez comes right after. Two weeks later is Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez II. Chad Dawson against Glen Johnson is said to be done. Same with Juan Diaz-Nate Campbell. Maybe Joel Casamayor against Michael Katsidis, too. Bernard Hopkins-Joe Calzaghe is close to being done, reportedly. Same with Antonio Tarver-Jeff Lacy. Also being worked on, it is rumored, is Floyd Mayweather-Oscar De La Hoya II. That’s right. An ugly rumor made its way around the Internet late last week that De La Hoya is lobbying hard for a rematch to his loss last year to Mayweather in the richest fight in history—humbly billed “The World Awaitsâ€â€”and that the two sides are hammering away at one another. Here’s the question: Why? I know: Mayweather and De La Hoya probably can each count 30 million reasons to get together again. But what does that matter to us? Let’s face it: Their first meeting was better than, say, Hopkins’ win over Winky Wright, but not by much. It was taut and well boxed and competitive. But there was little drama. It was a reasonably good fight, but nothing very memorable. There wasn’t a moment until the last 20 seconds when either guy really opened up and took real risks. And that’s the problem. Both guys are too wealthy and too successful to be desperate anymore, or even particularly hungry. Their lives are too good. They’ve got too much to lose. I can’t blame them. If I had their money, I’d never risk getting off the couch. It’s a dangerous world out there. Why take chances? But they still like the giant paychecks and the sycophants and the attention and everything else that goes with being superstar athletes, so they keep fighting—sort of. It’s boxing still, but not remotely the way they did it on the way up. If they’re honest, they’ll admit as much and, in fact, Mayweather did just that during HBO’s Mayweather/Hatton 24/7 series. To make matter worse, their styles are such that they just won’t make any great moments together. Mayweather is a boxer through and through and De La Hoya is a born counterpuncher. In my mind, it doesn’t even matter that Mayweather barely edged De La Hoya in the first one and that, had De La Hoya not inexplicably abandoned his jab late in the fight, he might have pulled off the upset. A decision victory would have been for De La Hoya a great accomplishment; it would not have made it a great fight. There is one fighter with whose team Mayweather should be negotiating, and that’s Miguel Cotto. Any fight other than that is just showbiz, just confirmation that Mayweather’s no longer in love with the idea of being a great fighter, but with being a great businessman. There are myriad options for De La Hoya if he’s still serious about being a fighter. Who wouldn’t like to see him against Vernon Forrest, or Cotto? How about Paul Williams, or Kermit Cintron, or even Shane Mosley again? And what if Felix Trinidad beats Roy Jones this weekend? De La Hoya-Trinidad II might sell a few pay-per-views, no? Mayweather-De La Hoya II? It doesn’t break the top 20 of rematches I’d pay to see. They did it already. It was enough.
God i hate these two sons of bitches..... I wouldn't mind seeing DE La Hoya fight again...but against someone else...someone where the outcome is not predetermine.....VS. Cotto, Margarito, fuck i'll take him fighting Judah or Hatton..i don't give a fuck... and Mayweather...well that motherfucker doesn't have any excuses not to have BIG FIGHTS....Margarito,Cotto,Cintron,WIlliams....
Looks like Oscars going to eventually get out of the game without ever having taken even a slight beating. That Hopkins bullshit was nothing.
that was a DLH predetermine....Hopkins fought those early rounds...well the entire fight as if he was fighting some boxer/puncher...putting very little pressure on DLH...and just allowing it to go rounds...then alove tap from Hopkins..and DLH ended on the ground in miserable pain...
I can't think of a fight boxing needs less than this one- De la Hoya is one goddamn greedy SOB. Why the hell is Floyd not fighting one of about half a dozen highly rated, potentially dangerous 147lb-ers? I wonder if the obvious answer is the stand-out one...:shit:
Floyd doesn't give a fuck about the fans or being "great". That is why. I don't understand why so many fans defend this guy as if he's really trying to be the best. Fuck Mayweather. It's understandable for Oscar, he's on his way out and doesn't have much time left. Mayweather is basically squandering his prime.
Mayweather is way past his prime, and he takes on the very best time and time again. Why are you bitching and moaning?
They should just make a reality show called the Mayweather's. It'd have to be on HBO though, if you put it on primetime they'd have to beep out every 4th word of every sentence.
If Floyd is SMART, he'll CONSTANTLY Remind DeLa of those CrossDressing Pics of his... He Should Even BRING them to the Press Conferences... REED
Why WOULDN'T He???... Despite Being Business Partners, they've NEVER HIDDEN the Fact that they DISLIKE Each Other... As Such, WHY Would Floyd Give a Fuck about Embarassing DeLa???... REED:dunno:
Better yet Oscar should come to press conference in drag. That way he'll make Floyd think he's fighting one of his usual girl friends who easily wilt under his attack. Then come fight night Floyd will be unprepared. Maybe. :dunno:
I'd rather see dlh fight other guys, too, but I don't think I've ever blamed any fighter for taking the greater money. It's when they avoid the greater money/challenge that I speak up. Unlike a lot of modern 'greats,' Floyd has stepped up quite a few times and has a very solid resume at age 30. Perhaps dlh's was better by now, but I really doubt Roy's was and I know Hopkins' and Tszyu's sure weren't.
I think most fighters in Floyd's position would do the same and accept the DLH rematch, but it still does basically nothing for his legacy regardless.
I say if Floyd does this, he owes the fans at least 2 fights of 2 opponents of the fans choosing. If he were to agree to that, I'd easily have no problem with this fight happening and would even be happy for him getting his loot on. Instead, after this fight, I expect to hear Floyd's next speech about retirement and how he no longer has anything left to prove in boxing. :doh: He needs a late career loss because like Jones and Tito he'd hang around longer trying to caress his ego.
Shitty fight, but LOL at the hypocrites trashing this fight then rooting for their favorite fighters to fight DLH. Basically, it's a good fight if Cotto, Williams, Margarito or whoever fights DLH but not Floyf? Bullshit, DLH should just get the hell out. Oh, and Floyd embarrasses real bad this time.
