AYOUB Posted May 5, 2007 De La Hoya-Mayweather: Power vs. speed Michael Hirsley ON BOXING May 5, 2007 12:00 AM LAS VEGAS -- Oscar De La Hoya needs to start fast, establishing his power and left jab early. Floyd Mayweather has to be fast, making his quick punches and footwork a frustrating factor. That is the shared perception of top trainer Emanuel Steward, former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and noted boxing historian Bert Sugar as they await the opening bell of the De La Hoya-Mayweather mega-fight Saturday night, a scheduled 12-round bout for De La Hoya's 154-pound World Boxing Council junior-middleweight title. All three note that De La Hoya has been bothered by speed, as evidenced by two losses to Shane Mosley; and that Mayweather, while unbeaten, tends to fight with his chin exposed and could be vulnerable to well-timed jabs. "Oscar has a great jab, but can he catch Floyd?" Lewis asked. He also wondered how much De La Hoya has slowed at age 34, averaging only one fight a year over the last three years. "If you can't catch a person," Lewis said, "you're in a world of trouble." Steward said Mayweather must exploit his superior quickness, a more significant advantage than De La Hoya's size. "Floyd needs to be extremely fast with hands and feet, confuse Oscar with speed," Steward said. "I've never seen anyone physically handle Floyd. Normally, a fight of this type favors the younger, faster fighter." For De La Hoya to overcome Mayweather's speed, Steward said, "he needs to apply pressure behind the left jab, to set up the left hook. And he needs to stay in an upright position, don't make himself shorter than Mayweather." Sugar agreed about the left jab, advising that De La Hoya double- and triple-jab, making Mayweather lean to the right and thereby become vulnerable to follow-up left hooks. That said, here is a Tale of the Tape and a composite of what Lewis. Steward, Sugar and I see as the two fighters' strengths and weaknesses: De La Hoya's strengths?He is two inches taller. He is also bigger, coming down to the 154-pound limit while Mayweather is moving up to that weight. After Friday's weigh-in, De La Hoya could regain enough to outweigh his opponent by 10 pounds or more. He has a thunderous left hook, surely a knockdown if not a knockout punch. In addition, he can jab effectively with above-average speed. Mayweather's strengths?He is fast and elusive afoot. He possesses terrific hand speed and accuracy. His quickness in moving and punching does not diminish as the fight wears on. He can sustain his energy and pace for 12 rounds. Unbeaten and determined to remain so in his quest to be recognized among the sport's all-time best, he has the heart of a champion. De La Hoya's weaknesses?He is four years older and with only three bouts in the last three years, has been far less active than Mayweather, who has fought six times over that span. He has shown signs of tiring in the late rounds of fights. At times he nullifies his height advantage by fighting from a crouch. Speedy opponents have given him trouble. Mayweather's weaknesses?Since he often initiates with power shots rather than jabs, he may not jab as effectively as his opponent. Although elusive, he is sometimes not in position to counter if pressured. He has a history of hurting his tender right hand in fights. As an unbeaten champion who hasn't been seriously tested as a pro, he may be overconfident coming into this bout. mhirsley@tribune.com http://mobile.chicagotribune.com/detail.jsp?key=35452 --------------------- I hope this one lives up to the hype. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N.O.R.F Posted May 6, 2007 Man that Mayweather has a BIG mouth! Wanted Oscar to do it but Mayweather got it on points. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DigibAc Posted May 6, 2007 "Mayweather's strengths?He is fast and elusive afoot. He possesses terrific hand speed and accuracy. His quickness in moving and punching does not diminish as the fight wears on. He can sustain his energy and pace for 12 rounds." that's what did it. man, that boy is fast. it's a crime to be that fast mayweathe made no mistakes. he kept de la hoya away with left jabs and made use of his speed to keep out of trouble. mayweather won almost every round, he did not throw nearly as many punches as de la hoya yet he landed more and a higher percentage. what a fight! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
N.O.R.F Posted May 7, 2007 ^^I remember a Dela Hoya vs Moseley fight. I have more respect for those two guys and Felix Trinidad. Those guys have been through 'wars'. Mayweather has not been through a war. Hes good and very fast but the guy has a BIG mouth! Never seen/heard a boxer talk so much nonesense. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DigibAc Posted May 7, 2007 Alot of people think Hoya won the fight. But mayweather landed more punches. Mayweather talks trash, lots of it, and it's true he hasn't been through any hard fights. But thats because he avoids getting hit. He really uses his speed. If he let people hit him then he wouldn't stay "Pretty Boy Floyd". Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
