Recently when channel surfing late night I came across an old tape being
shown of Oscar De La Hoya wining his first title against the Danish Jimmi
Bredahl in the Olympic Auditorium which is now a church There was this
hunger in his eyes as this Super featherweight Oscar he stalked his the
WBO opponent in front of an intimate crowd of fans.

When I saw Oscar in Los Angeles during the recent media tour for his
upcoming fight I saw that hunger in the eyes may have waned but it has
not diminished when he talks about this fight with Mayweather. Still it
will take more than hunger to win against a crafty opponent like Floyd
Mayweather. Pre-fight hype aside I can’t imagine this being anything but
an easy fight for De La Hoya. There are those who say Mayweather has a
speed advantage and that De La Hoya has struggled with quick fighters
like Sugar Shane Mosley.

Mayweather has never fought a true 154 pound fighter with the kind of
power and skill Oscar will bring into the ring Cinco De Mayo weekend.
Oscar’s hands at 154 are also fast and I don’t think the speed advantage
that Mayweather may have will be all that effective against Oscar.
While Oscar Looked crisp and had excellent defense in his TKO of Ricardo
Mayorga last year, in the interim Floyd Mayweather looked confused in
the first few rounds against Zab Judah, Judah’s power was obviously
frustrating him. Zab Judah failed to make the tactical adjustments to
keep up his advantage and Mayweather eventually imposed his will on the fight.
Oscar is a far more dynamic fighter than Zab Judah and will be able to pour
it on and win possibly by KO sometime in the mid-rounds. Mayweather’s opponents
have been hand picked and none of them have been as skilled as The Golden Boy.

Finally there are the intangibles; this is truly in many respects
Mayweather’s biggest fight. He’s under the microscope far more in this
fight than any other and will likely face a very hostile crowd in this
fight. It’s what we might call the Battling Siki effect. In 1923 Battling
Siki the first World Champion from Senegal foolishly put his title on the
like against Mike McTigue, on Saint Patrick’s Day in Dublin. Predictably
the judges saw it for Mike McTigue the new world light weight heavyweight
champion Mayweather faces a similar “Siki effect” facing a west-coast based Mexican
fighter, on Cinco De Mayo, in Las Vegas. Those punches from Oscar are
going to feel a lot harder when thousands of fans jeer in agreement and
judges are forced to take notice. Then there is the ongoing drama between
Mayweather Jr. and his father there off and on again relationship has
grabbed headlines and just recently recently split up again for good and
Mayweather, Sr. will NOT be in Mayweather, Jr.’s camp on Cinco De Mayo.
This turbulent family roller coaster has often been a large distraction
and one Mayweather, Jr. didn’t need into the build up to this mega fight.