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Hopkins has been on a hot streak ever since losing to Roy Jones Jr. in April of 1993, having won 25 straight fights, and some would say that he has rarely lost a round. He finally got the props he deserved when he dismantled Felix Trinidad in 2001, but instead of taking advantage of this victory by taking on all comers, he has sat back and just waited for this opportunity to earn the most he's ever made in a prize ring, over $10 million. This seems like a lot, but when compared to the $30 million plus De La Hoya is getting, is seems like penance to the Undisputed Champion of the world.
Only De La Hoya can be the challenger coming into a fight and get 3 times the amount as the champion on a regular basis. Here's how these two distinguished champions stack up.
Ring Walk
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Reciprocally, De La Hoya, out of East Los Angeles with a record of 27-3 with 29 knockouts, started his career in 1992 after capturing an Olympic gold medal with a resounding bang which has resonated throughout his career. Starting his pro career at Jr. Lightweight help as his 5' 11" frame was too much for many of his smaller foes. With a reach of 73", he was able to bang out most fighters from 130 to 147, but had his first hiccup when he was defeated by Trinidad. Although De La Hoya, most fans, and those in the media feel De La Hoya won the fight, he served himself up with that loss by not fighting as hard as he could have in the final 4 rounds. He came back in his next fight to take the IBA title (whatever that is) from Derrell Coley and in his next fight ran into the buzzsaw that is Sugar Shane Mosley. In this fight, De La Hoya went straight at Mosley, which served Mosley and in the last few rounds, Mosley showed he has the heart of a champion and outboxing De La Hoya.
After this loss, De La Hoya ditched his trainers (which he has done several times in his career, got Floyd Mayweather as his new trainer, and moved up to take on WBC 154 champ Javier Castillejo. Although he won the fight, the power was missing, and at times he seemed to be bullied by the bigger man. He then took on hated rival Fernando Vargas, and although he was losing the fight when it reached the later rounds, he stopped Vargas in the 11th round and took Vargas' WBA title. Later Vargas tested positive for steroids, but this did not taint the victory for Oscar, as he moved on to human punching bag Yory Boy Campas in a PPV fight which was to prepare him for a rematch with Shane Mosley. De La Hoya thought he was getting damaged goods after the Sugarman lost twice to Vernon Forrest, but once again Mosley won the fight and De La Hoya vowed to investigate the shadiness in boxing. However, he failed to do so when after his next fight, he apparently lost the fight to then little known WBO champion Felix Sturm.
Pre-Fight Instructions
Hopkins has undergone a transformation sine losing to Roy Jones. In that fight, which was early in his career and in which Jones says he only had one hand due to a motorcycle accident, Hopkins was frustrated in trying to catch the fastest fighter in the world. But he eventually did catch up with Roy and made it an interesting fight, even though the fight was decisively won by Jones. Since then, Hopkins has picked up numerous tricks of the trade and he tightened up his defense, shown the ability to use both hands effectively, improved his footwork, and uses his angles better. Probably even more impressive is that in these days of moving up in weight to collect multiple championships, Hopkins has fought most of his career at one weight and has been extremely successful at it. He has the toughness that Philadelphia is known for and a mental strength that comes from the life he's lived, which includes prison. He's also had the same trainer for most of his career; although he and Bouie Fisher separated during the ugly period after beating Trinidad, which includes a split from Lou DeBella and the libel suit against him that cost him over $600,000, they shortly got back together and looking as good as they always have.
De La Hoya has also improved dramatically. Early in his career he was just a whirlwind of energy and took most of his opponents out with his bunches of punches. But also with the energy was speed, and this allowed him to run through the lower divisions. As he added pounds, he lost a little speed and didn't throw as many punches, but was still about to beat most of the men he's faced. In addition, he's added the right hand to an already devastation left. Since his time with Mayweather, De La Hoya has incorporated several new wrinkles into his arsenal. As stated earlier, he used to be mostly dependant on the left hand, and this hurt him against Mosley. But in the Castillejo fights and those after, the right hand was a potent weapon, especially against Vargas. His has also incorporated the shoulder roll; this is a defensive maneuver that allows fighters to let punches roll off of them when hit. This has not been as effective as it is when used by Floyd Jr., but it has come in handy when De La Hoya is pressed against the ropes.
Referee's Instructions
This is a fight that seemingly is a mismatch. Hopkins has many strengths in this fight. He is the taller man, he has the longer reach, he's been at the middleweight division longer, and he's not showing any signs of being shopworn. But the fact that he is 39 years old is a factor that cannot be glossed over. At some point in time, Hopkins is going to have to show that he's getting old for a boxer, but then again Archie Griffin fought well into his 40s. The only problem that has been noticed for Hopkins is that he has somewhat of a problem with speed fighters. It's unfair to compare the speed of Roy Jones to De la Hoya, but De La Hoya does have some good hand speed. If Hopkins gets a little lax in the ring, he could easily be outworked by De La Hoya. But the power of Hopkins has always been underrated. He's not known for 1 punch power, but "The Executioner" batters opponents enough to have executed 70% of his challengers. And he has a work ethic that is incomparable. Hopkins has never tired in his fights; against Joppy, he tried as hard as he could to knock Joppy out. Only Joppy's will to win the $50,000 bet (and his corner's negligence) prevented that fight from being stopped within the distance.
De La Hoya has a mountain to overcome, but in his biggest fights, he has come up big. He has won every title fight in which he was the challenger by KO except for Pernell Whitaker, Castillejo, and Sturm…notice that these were all in or after a move to 147. Looking more closely, in De La Hoya's fights before welterweight, he KOed 20 of 23 opponents (87%). But after joining the welterweight ranks, he's KOed 9 of his 17 opponents (53%). But the only big fights he's lost were to pound for pound fighters at the time. Also, you can never question the heart of the Golden Boy. Remember in the Quartey fight when Oscar was in jeopardy of losing that fight when he came up with the knockdown just when he needed it? Remember him exhausting himself to try to finish the fight with Quartey being stopped (If Nady had been in there, who knows what would have happened)? He's shown that even though he's a millionaire hundreds of times over, he still is a warrior. The most glaring of his shortcomings that don't involve Hopkins is the fact that he's tired in the later rounds. This has happened in all of the fights he's lost, and in those he should have lost. Tiring out against Hopkins will be an unhealthy career decision for De La Hoya this time around.
The Fight and the Decision
With all that said, it doesn't look good for De La Hoya. Hopkins is more determined than anyone else Oscar has ever fought. He's bigger in size than anyone Oscar has fought. Oscar has a history of tiring near the end of fights, and Hopkins' body punching will expedite this. This is only Oscar's second fight at middleweight. Plus, let's not forget that Oscar can be outjabbed. This occurred against Quartey, Vargas, Mosley, and Sturm; add Hopkins to this list. Hopkins may also be the better boxer. Boxing is Oscar's only change to beat Hopkins and I don't see him outboxing Hopkins. And don't underestimate Hopkins' speed as well. With him throwing short, crisp, quick punches, De La Hoya can't win a fight on the inside either. And Hopkins is undoubtedly the stronger man.
I see Oscar getting brutally beaten, the most vicious beating of his career and maybe one of the most savage beatings Hopkins has ever demonstrated. I know people will say that was said when Ali fought Foreman, but Foreman wasn't as skilled as Ali or Hopkins. People said that about Leonard and Hagler, but Leonard had 3 years to properly transform his body to that of a middleweight, and Sugar Ray didn't have a history of tiring in fights (and many people STILL think Hagler won that fight). De La Hoya will do OK for the first few rounds, but for every question he asks Hopkins, Hopkins will have an answer, and sometimes they will be answered with an explanation point. After wearing Oscar down for several rounds, De La Hoya will realize that he has more than enough money in the bank, won't want to risk irrevocable damage to his body and mind, and will be stopped in the 9th round.
Please send all questions and comments to crice@catsmpo.com.
